Owens racked up impressive win totals in minor league baseball, with 22, 22 and 17 victories posted in levels ranging from Class D to Triple-A from 1952 to 1954.

But in the sixth, after a 36-minute rain delay, Owens surrendered home runs to Carl Furillo and Roy Campanella and was chased from the mound with the Phillies trailing, 5–0.

The 1956 season began in similar fashion, as Owens was treated harshly in two early-season starts (against the Pirates and the Cincinnati Redlegs).

In his one game pitched in 1958, on September 23 against the pennant-bound Milwaukee Braves, he hurled seven strong innings for the win, allowing two earned runs.

His best season was 1959: to complement a solid ERA of 3.21, Owens went 12–12 for a last-place team, with 11 complete games and 135 strikeouts in 2211⁄3 innings of work.

Eighteen days later, on July 8, Owens retired from the field to become the Astros' pitching coach, succeeding the fired Gordon Jones.

He held that job through the end of the 1972 season, working with hurlers such as Mike Cuellar, Larry Dierker and Don Wilson.