John Owen (athlete)

{{short description|American athlete}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}

John Owen, Jr. (August 18, 1861 – August 25, 1924) was an American athlete and businessman.

Biography

John Owen was born in Detroit,{{Cite web |url=http://www.onlinebiographies.info/mi/wayne/owen-j.htm |title=Biography of John Owen |access-date=January 9, 2014 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230946/http://www.onlinebiographies.info/mi/wayne/owen-j.htm |url-status=dead }} and took up athletics in 1889 at the age of 28. He was discovered and coached by Mike Murphy at the Detroit Athletic Club. In 1890, he ran the 100-yard dash in a world record time of 9.8 seconds.{{cite news|title=The Good Trust Guarding Thirty Thousand Collegians|newspaper=Ft. Wayne Sentinel|date=1911-10-28}}

Owen died on August 25, 1924, after a horseback riding accident at his summer home on Mackinac Island.{{cite book|last=Voyles|first=Kenneth H.|author2-last=Rodrique|author2-first=Mary|title=The Enduring Legacy of the Detroit Athletic Club: Driving the Motor City|year=2012|publisher=The History Press|pages=23–26|isbn=9781609495053 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9k-M1lgAYhAC&pg=PA23}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32362811/detroit-free-press/ |title=Owen, Famous Athlete, Dead |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |page=3 |date=1924-08-27 |access-date=2020-03-13 |via=Newspapers.com}}

References

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