Harold Pryor "Spud" Owen (March 10, 1905 – February 8, 1981) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

Culver–Stockton College Culver–Stockton College is a private Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian liberal arts college in Canton, Missouri. It was founded as Christian University in 1853 as the first institution west of the Mississippi River chartered sp ...

Canton, Missouri Canton is a city in Lewis County, Missouri, Lewis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,774 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Canton is the home of Culver-Stockton College, a small liberal arts college affiliated with ...

from 1948 to 1951,

Eureka College Eureka College is a private college in Eureka, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1855, it is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The college enrolled approximately 559 students in 2023. Eureka College was founde ...

Eureka, Illinois Eureka is a city and the county seat of Woodford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,295 at the 2010 census. Eureka is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. Eureka is a small community centered on the intersection of what is ...

from 1952 to 1955, and

Elmhurst College Elmhurst University is a private university in Elmhurst, Illinois, United States. It has a tradition of service-oriented learning and an affiliation with the United Church of Christ. The university changed its name from Elmhurst College on July ...

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 45,786 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History M ...

from 1956 to 1958, compiling a career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coaching record of 21–60–5. Owen was also the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

at Eureka from 1952 to 1956 and coached

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

at Elmhurst. A native of

Orrick, Missouri Orrick is a town in Ray County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 753 at the 2020 census. History The first community in the area was Albany when it was established by Ely Carte ...

, Owen attended

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri ...

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willia ...

, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He as an all-

Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its fourteen mem ...

(MIAA) selection as a halfback in football and all-state at

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

in basketball. Owen played

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for several teams in the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 a ...

and was a player and manager for the North Platte Buffalos in 1932.

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

* * 1905 births 1981 deaths American football halfbacks Guards (basketball) Player-coaches Beatrice Blues players Culver–Stockton Wildcats football coaches Elmhurst Bluejays football coaches Eureka Red Devils athletic directors Eureka Red Devils football coaches McCook Generals players Eureka Red Devils men's basketball coaches William Jewell Cardinals baseball players William Jewell Cardinals football players William Jewell Cardinals men's basketball players College golf coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Illinois High school football coaches in Illinois People from Ray County, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri Baseball players from Missouri Basketball players from Missouri 20th-century American sportsmen {{1950s-collegefootball-coach-stub