Detroit Lions running backs and their knees have often been at odds with each other. Many careers have been sidetracked or halted altogether -- promising careers, too -- because of that traditional NFL bugaboo, the recurring knee injury.
There was Nick Eddy, whose knee trouble actually began in college, at Notre Dame. But he had such an upside when healthy that the Lions took a flyer on him in the 1966 draft anyway. For this the Lions could hardly be blamed, because if Eddy had stayed healthy, he would have been something. But from 1967-72, Eddy could barely stay on the field due to one knee injury after another.
There was Mel Farr, who had to hang them up in 1974 before his 30th birthday due to ravaged knees.
And who can forget Billy Sims, who was tackled by Minnesota's Walker Lee Ashley in 1984 in the midst of a great season, statistically, and would never play another down in the NFL, retiring in 1986 at age 31.
Between Farr and Sims there was Steve Owens.
Owens, from Oklahoma, was the Lions' first-round draft choice in 1970, the Heisman Trophy winner for 1969. He didn't play much in his rookie season, but in '71, Owens became the franchise's first 1,000-yard rusher, and its last until Sims did it in 1980. In the 14-game season in '71, Owens rushed for 1,035 yards. He was the prototypical NFL fullback: tough, with little speed, but with a propensity for running OVER people as opposed to around them. And he could catch a football, too, as well as block rushing linebackers. In that '71 season, Owens added 32 catches for 350 yards, giving him nearly 1,400 total yards from scrimmage.
Portrait of an NFL fullback: Steve Owens
But Owens hurt himself in 1972 and spent most of the next three seasons trying to stay on the field. Finally, it all came to a head on Thanksgiving Day, 1974.
It was also the Lions' last home game ever at Tiger Stadium. The opponent was the Denver Broncos. And Owens, damning the torpedoes as usual, tried to gain some extra yardage with second effort on one particular play. His knee popped.
Owens gave it a go for a couple more years, but could never make it all the way back as an active player. He finally officially retired in 1976, at age 28. Yet he managed to score 20 rushing TDs as a Lion, and rushed for over 2,400 yards. Not awesome numbers, but serviceable for his limited action.
I rooted hard for Owens to recover from his severe knee injury, as I remember my father rooting hard for Eddy, who was one of my dad's favorites. When Sims tried like mad to make it back during the summers of 1985 and '86, I remember having much the same feeling I had when I watched Owens struggle, some ten years earlier.
The running back injuries with the Lions haven't been limited to the knee. James Stewart (shoulder) and Kevin Jones (foot) have fallen victim. Another knee victim was veteran Wilbert Montgomery, the ex-Eagle who was signed to replace, ironically, Sims.
The Lions aren't the only team to have its backs ravaged by injuries. Take a peek at the New Orleans Saints' history in this area (especially in the 1980s and '90s), if you want another extreme example. And, for all the Lions' bad luck in the backfield, there was Barry Sanders, who managed to stay virtually injury-free in 10 seasons.
Steve Owens, old no. 36. Last week I wrote about another Oklahoma running back, Joe Don Looney, and his bizarre escapades. Owens was about as 180 degrees away from Looney as you can get. They were both Sooners, but that's pretty much where the similarities end.
The Oklahoma connection, though, was pretty good to the Lions: Owens, Sims, Sanders (Oklahoma State).
Owens, after his football career, became a successful Detroit-area businessman, then eventually returned to his alma mater as Athletic Director at Oklahoma in the 1990s. The university erected a statue of Owens in 2006 on campus. You can view it at his Wikipedia page, HERE.
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