Rick Owens, formerly of Pine Bluff and a former sports reporter for The Pine Bluff Commercial, will be one of five honorees to be inducted into the University of Arkansas at Monticello Sports Hall of Fame today.
Others include Cotton Blossoms softball All-Americans Sarah Hayslip Santo and Becca Tipton Greenwood, basketball All-Region player Derylton Hill and UAM Spirit Award winner Jeremy Woodall.
Owens was a four-year starter and letterman for the UAM baseball team from 1976-79, earning All-AIC, All-NAIA and Academic All-American during the 1978 season. He played third base and batted a then school record .441 his junior year.
He also played baseball for the Pine Bluff High Zebras 1973-75, and worked at The Commercial all three years in high school. He was a member of the host Pine Bluff team that played in the 1972 Babe Ruth World Series.
"I don't think I ever had a free weekend off my entire high school years, as I was always working or covering a sports event. I loved working for the Commercial and have great memories working with Frank Lightfoot, Bill Darling, Carl Whimper and others those three years.
"I really thought I would go into journalism after college, as I also worked for The Advance Monticellonian as sports editor for four years in college. I was always busy in college working for the UAM SID department, yearbook and campus newspaper."
But Owens entered the business world after college, managing Kell Athletics in Pine Bluff before buying the Kell's store in Monticello in 1981. He changed the name to Southeast Athletics and owned it until closing in 1986.
He also opened a baseball card store (Baseball Cards, Etc.) in both Monticello and Pine Bluff's Pines mall during the early 1990s.
He was the UAM head baseball coach for three years from 1984-86 while he had his sporting goods store.
After closing his store, he taught geometry and coached at both Monticello Junior High and High School from 1992-95. But his success and love of baseball memorabilia took over in 1995 and moved to Arlington, Texas, to manage Sports Legacy Art Gallery inside the Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers.
"That was the hardest decision I ever made," Owens says. "We had a 3-year old that was the only grandchild of my wife's parents, and my wife Donna had lived in Monticello for all of her 35 years. So moving six hours away from our folks was tough."
From there, Owens moved to Houston as the sales manager for Tristar Sports Productions. He still resides in Houston and has owned his own sports memorabilia business, RGO Sports, for the last 10 years.
He is son of Violet Ross, who still resides in Pine Bluff.
"My mom (Violet Ross) and brother David still live in Pine Bluff, so we get back 2-3 times year during the different holidays and summers," he continued.
"I've been involved in some type of sports my entire life, either playing, coaching, refereeing, umpiring and I'm still in business selling sports autographs. I've met 100s of professional athletes from the Tom Bradys to the Mickey Mantles, so it's been a fun ride and I wouldn't change a thing."
Owens and the other four honorees will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a banquet today, then also recognized at halftime of the UAM-Northwestern Oklahoma State homecoming game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
"I still can't believe it. It's a great honor and going to be a lot of fun," Owens said. "I hope to see a lot of old friends, teammates and some of my former players. I can't wait."