TWO GREATS: Our sagas about sports greats from this region has
brought us a lot of feedback, including today’s about players of
different sports and from different towns.

First, we need to tell you about Jim “Bear” Owens of Gifford who
excelled as a baseball pitcher and went on to play pro ball – one
of the few from this area.

Our information comes from a former neighbor of his in Gifford,
the Rev. Richard Pytcher.

Rev. Pytcher tells us that “Bear” graduated from Bradford High
in 1951, and then went on to play for the Bradford Blue Wings in
1951, going 6-2 for the season.

From there, he played for Miami, Oklahoma, in 1952 and went
22-7. The following year, he set a strike-out record of 308 when
playing for Terra Haute, Ind., in the “3-I League.” He was
22-8.

In 1954, he was Rookie of the Year in the International League,
Syracuse.

Subsequently, “Bear” pitched at Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and
Houston. From 1967-1972, he was a pitching coach under Leo
Durocher.

“Bear” now lives in Houston, according to Rev. Pytcher.

Here’s a little asterisk to the story. The Reverend tells us
“Bear” was born on the exact same date as Bradford opera star
Marilyn Horne – Jan. 16, 1934.

From the other end of the region we hear from John V. Petrilli
of St. Marys in response to our request for current information
about St. Marys native and former Oakland Raiders linebacker Dan
Conners.

John writes: “As a great longtime friend of more than 60 years
of Dan’s I would like to answer the last article which asked, what
is Dan doing now?”

“Dan was an active player with the Raiders for 12 years. He
played in Super Bowl II. When he retired, he spent one year each
with the Tampa Bay and San Francisco 49ers as a scout.

“Dan went back to the Raiders for 24 years in a variety of
assignments. At one time, Dan was the owner of three bars in San
Luis Obispo, Calif., but has since sold all three properties.

“Dan has been retired since 1997 and is residing in San Luis
Obispo, Calif.,” according to Mr. Petrilli.