Early Life
Owen was born in Cleo Springs, Oklahoma and raised in an area known as the Cherokee Strip in the Oklahoma Territory, where his original goal was to become a jockey, a dream denied by his 5–11, 230 lb frame that earned him the nickname "Stout Steve." While working on a cattle ranch, he attended Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma where he was an all-around athlete in 1917-18. He supplemented his income at that time as a professional wrestler under the pseudonym "Jack O'Brien," a ruse to preserve his amateur status.
Read more about this topic: Steve Owen (American Football)
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