Tinker Owens grew up in Miami, in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. As a high school sophomore, his brother, Steve, won the Heisman Trophy for the Sooners. Tinker Owens eventually went to OU, too, and became one of the Sooners' greatest receivers.
In those wishbone days, Owens had just 62 career catches but averaged 23 yards a catch and made all-American in both 1974 and 1975. Then Owens played four seasons with the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
The death Monday of another 1970s OU all-American, Jimbo Elrod, has Owens in a reflective mood.
I met Jimbo in 1972 at the All-State game.