Raleigh Climon Owens revolutionized professional football by inventing the "Alley Oop" pass play, transferring his extraordinary basketball leaping ability to the gridiron and introducing a term that later became synonymous with spectacular aerial plays across all sports. Born November 12, 1934 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Owens moved with his family to California, graduating from Santa Monica High School before attending College of Idaho where his roommate and teammate was future NBA legend Elgin Baylor. Standing only 6-foot-3, Owens possessed long arms and phenomenal jumping ability, averaging nearly 28 rebounds per game as a college sophomore and once receiving a contract offer from basketball's Minneapolis Lakers. He also played amateur basketball with the Seattle-based Buchan Bakers after their national championship season.