<figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-093ce5edb869fa47baf5c132ea7afa88.jpg" alt="Photo -
Coach Bennie Owen ran afoul of an army commandant for having the OU football team practice without the commandant’s permission during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. Owen won the battle and his Sooners went 6-0 in a flu-shortened season. [OKLAHOMAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION]" title="
Coach Bennie Owen ran afoul of an army commandant for having the OU football team practice without the commandant’s permission during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. Owen won the battle and his Sooners went 6-0 in a flu-shortened season. [OKLAHOMAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION]"><figcaption>
Coach Bennie Owen ran afoul of an army commandant for having the OU football team practice without the commandant’s permission during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. Owen won the battle and his Sooners went 6-0 in a flu-shortened season. [OKLAHOMAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION]</figcaption></figure>
Ryan Aber
Ryan Aber has worked for The Oklahoman since 2006, covering high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the Oklahoma City Barons and OU football recruiting. An Oklahoma City native, Aber graduated from Northeastern State. Before joining The...
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Jeff Patterson
Jeff Patterson is the sports editor of The Oklahoman. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, he allegedly once told his father on a childhood trip passing through Oklahoma that he would one day live there. He doesn't recall this, but he fulfilled that...
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![Coach Bennie Owen ran afoul of an army commandant for having the OU football team practice without the commandant’s permission during the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. Owen won the battle and his Sooners went 6-0 in a flu-shortened season. [OKLAHOMAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION]](http://cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/large960_blur-093ce5edb869fa47baf5c132ea7afa88.jpg)