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Marv Owen

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Marv Owen

Marvin James Owen (March 22, 1906 – June 22, 1991) was an American baseball player, manager, coach and scout.

A native of northern California, Owen played both baseball and football at Santa Clara University. He made his Major League Baseball debut in 1931, but spent the 1932 season in the International League where he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. He returned to the Tigers in 1933, became part of Detroit's "Battalion of Death" infield, and remained the team's starting third baseman from 1933 to 1937. He had his best season in 1934 when he compiled a .317 batting average with 98 RBIs. He was involved in a fight with Joe Medwick during the final game of the 1934 World Series that led to a near riot and Medwick's ejection from the game.

In December 1937, Owen was traded to the Chicago White Sox where he played in 1938 and 1939 and compiled a career-high 305 assists in 1938. In December 1939, he was sold to the Boston Red Sox where he concluded his major league career during the 1940 season. During his nine-year career in Major League Baseball, Owen compiled a .275 batting average and .339 on-base percentage, appeared in 1,011 games, and totaled 1,388 total bases, 1,040 hits, 499 RBIs, 474 runs scored, 338 bases on balls, and 242 extra base hits.

Owen later served as a minor league manager for 11 years for the Portland Beavers (1944–1946), San Jose Red Sox (1947–1951), Davenport Tigers (1952), Durham Bulls (1953), and Valdosta Tigers (1954). He was also a scout for the Detroit Tigers until retiring in the 1970s.

Owen was born in Agnew, California (now part of Santa Clara), and attended Bellarmine College Preparatory. He then attended Santa Clara University where he played for the Broncos baseball and football teams. In his senior year at Santa Clara, he was declared ineligible to play baseball as he had signed an optional contract to play professional baseball for the Seattle Indians. Instead, he served as the coach of the Santa Clara baseball team during his senior year.

Owen began his professional baseball career in 1930 with the Seattle Indians of the Pacific Coast League. He appeared in 138 games and compiled a .300 batting average with 24 doubles and seven triples.

Prior to the 1931 season, Owen was purchased by the Detroit Tigers from the Seattle Indians. Tigers manager Bucky Harris rated Owen as "the greatest prospect the American League has seen in many years." During the 1931 season, Owen appeared in 105 games, 37 as the team's starting shortstop, 34 as the third baseman, and 21 as the second baseman.

After batting only .223 with the Tigers in 1931, Owen returned to the minors. He split the 1932 season in the International League with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Newark Bears. In October 1932, he hit a home run to clinch the Little World Series championship for Newark. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the International League for the 1932 season.

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