TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Walter Owens Jr. 1933–2020 Athlete, Coach, Hall of Famer, Educator
By Dana Butler
W alter Owens wasn't just a winner in sports. He won the hearts of the scores of students who called him "Coach O." "Walt Owens is a true legend in sports and life," said Matt Hicks, an Owens protégé and fellow Northern Illinois University Athletics Hall of Famer. "He always could turn boys into men." Owens has a long list of athletic and academic accomplishments expected of a sports legend, but his students' stories are what truly capture the man. There was the time a player got a chance to attend a preseason practice with the Chicago Bulls but didn't have a way to get there. Coach threw him a set of car keys. Or the time a student didn't have money to pay for his meal ticket at school. Coach pulled some strings. "We fed a few mouths," Owens once said. And then there were the "life talks," lessons from Coach after practice that went beyond sports. Brother Walter Owens, Jr. (Gamma Beta 1954) entered the Chapter Invisible on September 20, 2020, at age 87. He was born in Cleveland, OH, in 1933, but raised in Detroit, MI. Owens attended Detroit's Northwestern High School, where he was a three-sport athlete. He excelled in baseball, bas- ketball, and cross country. He attended Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, MI, on a basketball scholarship. While a senior at WMU, Owens ran track with the team that set a Mid-American Conference record in the 880-yard relay.
During college, he played for the Detroit Stars in the Negro
League from 1953-55, lured by the prom- ise of $25 a game. He was a pitcher and outfielder. After playing with the Negro League, Owens helped integrate baseball by joining the Detroit Pepsi-Cola team. He was instrumental in that team winning four national championships. After graduating from WMU with a B.S. and an M.A. degree, Owens taught in the Detroit public schools. He coached bas- ketball, baseball, cross country, and track, winning multiple city and district cham- pionships. In Detroit, Owens taught and coached many future celebrities including Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Richard Street of The Temptations, Detroit Tigers All-Star Willie Horton, California Angels 1970 American League batting champion Alex Johnson, former Los Angeles Dodg- ers general manager Ned Colletti, and two-time track and field gold medalist at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics Henry Carr. Owens' son, Mel, was a first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1981 NFL draft. He joined the faculty of Northern Illinois University (NIU) in 1973. He also served as assistant basketball coach and took over as head coach of the NIU baseball program before the 1976 season, guiding the Huskies to 133 wins in seven seasons. Owens ranks third in Huskie baseball history in career victories and is fourth in program history in winning percentage. A Life Member of the Fraternity, Owens served as faculty advisor to the Epsilon Omicron Chapter at NIU until the mid- 1990s. Owens called eventually receiving his 50-year fraternity membership pin
"quite an honor."
Electors inducted Owens into the Negro Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2000. Major League Baseball in 2008 conduct- ed a Special Negro Leagues Player Draft in which the Chicago Cubs selected Owens with the fifth pick in the first round. He was inducted into the first class of the Detroit Negro Slow-Pitch Softball League Hall of Fame in 2010. Owens also was a founding member of the National Congress of Black Faculty. Upon retirement from NIU in 2011, NIU named Owens an emeritus profes- sor in NIU's College of Education in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Owens also received the E. B. Henderson Award at the National As- sociation for Health and Fitness for his leadership in fighting racial discrimina- tion in his profession and society. He was a member of the Illinois Com- mittee on Black Concerns in Higher Education, the presidential commission on the Status of Minorities, and task force member on Racial Discrimination and Sexual Harassment. Brother Walter Owens, Jr. is survived by his wife, Janice, and three children. He is predeceased by one son. Plans to ensure Coach O's legacy will endure at NIU are underway with the establishment of the Walt and Janice Owens Ballpark. To donate to the proj- ect, please go to https://www.myniu.com/ give.php?c=1092
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