Otto Stowe (born February 25, 1949 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver who played four seasons in the NFL for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

. He played college football at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

Early years

At Feitshans High School he was an All-state selection in both football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He went on to play

, before focusing on football after his sophomore season and proceeding to lead the team in receiving for 3 consecutive years. He began as a defensive back before being switched to wide receiver. As a senior in 1970, he had the most prolific receiving season in school history up to that point, breaking single-season school records in receptions (59), receiving yards (822) and

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s (6). He also led the Big Eight in all three categories and ranked 13th nationally in receiving, earning first-team all- Big Eight honors. His 59 catches ranks fifth all-time and his 822 receiving yards seventh all-time in school history for a season. He finished his career as

all-time leader in receptions (132) and receiving yards (1,751), and second in career

s (10). He still ranks third in career receptions and fifth in receiving yards. In 2008, he was inducted into the

Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Stowe was selected by the

in the second round (47th overall) of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

. As a rookie, he was the backup to

Paul Warfield Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year in ...

, catching 5 passes for 68 yards and 1

. He again saw limited action in his second season, with 13 receptions, 276 yards and 2

s). Six of the receptions for 140 yards and both touchdowns came in a single ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

'' game against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

while replacing an injured Warfield. Despite winning a Super Bowl, he requested to be traded after the season. On May 10,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for wide receiver Ron Sellers and a second round draft choice (#47-

Benny Malone Benjamin Malone, Jr. (February 3, 1952 – March 19, 2020) was an American football running back. He played in college at Arizona State University. He was drafted in the second-round (47th overall selection) in the 1974 NFL draft by the Miami Dol ...

). He played on two Super Bowl teams, including the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Dallas Cowboys

, he was having a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

type season starting opposite to

Bob Hayes Robert Lee Hayes (December 20, 1942 – September 18, 2002), nicknamed "Bullet Bob", was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who then became an American football split end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys (for 11 seasons). ...

, but suffered a broken ankle in the seventh game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, that placed him on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

and would hamper him for the rest of his career. He was replaced with rookie Drew Pearson for the rest of the season, but still led the team with 6

receptions and was second in receiving with 389 yards. Even though he was starting for the Cowboys, he wasn't happy with his contract, so he was traded to the

for a third round draft choice (#75- John Smith) on September 5, 1974.

Denver Broncos

In 1974, he had a disappointing season after not being fully recovered from his previous injury which limited his mobility. He appeared in 8 games, while registering 2 receptions for 9 yards and one touchdown. On May 6,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, he was traded along with a sixth round draft choice (#156- Art Best) to the Los Angeles Rams, as compensation for signing

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Phil Olsen.

Los Angeles Rams

On August 18, Stowe informed the Los Angeles Rams of his decision to retire before the start of the 1975 season. He finished his career after only four seasons, registering 43 receptions, 742 yards, and 10

Personal life

In 1976, he was a college football graduate assistant at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

. The next year, he became the wide receivers coach at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

References

External links

Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stowe, Otto 1949 births Living people Sportspeople from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago American football wide receivers Iowa State Cyclones football players Miami Dolphins players Dallas Cowboys players Denver Broncos players Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Washington State Cougars football coaches