The New York herald., 1922-02-11
doc OWENS FALLS
TO DEATH IN HAVANA
News of Accident in Hotel,
Which Closed Career of
Gambler, Confirmed.
RULED OFF THE OCEAN
With His Occupation Gone,
Doc Became Angel of Lon
don Millinery Shop.

Cable dispatches from Havana last
night verified the report that has been
current in New York gambling circles
that w. ]. DOC" Owens. one of the most
notorious of the group Of card sharps
and gamblers who flourished during the
early years Of the present century, had
died recently in the Cuban capital.
According to the dispatches. which
were confirmed by the law firm of John
ston & Messler of 256 Broadway. Doc
Owens fell down winding stairway al
tie Hotel Almendares in Havana on
january IA and died few hours later
An investigation by the American Con-
sul-Generai proved Owens's death was
due to an accident His body was
brought to New York some time later by
the law firm and buried here.
Owens's death closed a spectacular
career, although the gambler had mol
been much In the limelight during the
last three years. He went somewhat
into eclipse about 1906. when the COM
panies operating the big transatlantic
liners barred him from the ships on the
ground that he spent all his time ir
the smoking room fleeing passengers
The direct cause of their action was the
report that Owens had won $2O0,0Ot
from William Thaw of Pittsburgh dur
ing one of his trips across the ocean
Both Thaw and Owens denied this nap
pened.
Gives Up Card Playing.
Some years after this occurrence
DOC" Owens went across the ocear
under his own name and never "touchet
a card" giving out statement in whicf
he declared that he had reformed anf
would never gamble again. In 1913 NJ
tried to get back to the United states
where he had been naturalized, hut th'
State Department ruled that he had peei
abroad so long that he had lost his citi
zenship. After that Owens lived 10
some years in London. where he sup
piled the bankroll for prosperou
dressmaking and millinery estapnsn
ment in Piccadilly. His attorneys SAT-
that he had left quite substantia
estate In England, as well as consiu
erable personal property that Is now IL
the hands of the American Consui-Gen
eral In Havana. Owens had peen il
Havana often during the last two years
and was still trying to get into TN
United States when he died.
Gamblers who have played IN game
with owens and who knew him Wen oe
clared last night that the mans iuc'
with cards was uncanny he couid sta:
In a pot with nothing and come out VIII
xryfthnvrf reGOrtln,
TO the stacking and other dealing tricA
of which he was a past master.
Owens. when on shipboard. usuail'
worked with confederate. apparentl
n novice at the game, who got the bi
! hands signaling Owens just what caro-
/ he needed. There was one fnstanc
where Owens's confederate stayed in
raised pot with high stakes on pair o
deuces against pat full house. and tnel
ne knocked his chips off the table. Whel
the chips were replaced and the dca
came Owens dealt him two more deuces
Cheating the Chenter.
Owens gambled in and around New
Yorl, from about 1904 to 1913. and wa
employed by some of the biggest gam
bling houses in the city, which at tha
time were more or less wide open for sucl
things. 1t was Owens's job In these es
Establishments to sit around and watch
and when he saw man with phe
nomenal run of luck, or against whom
suspicion of cheating was raised 1t wa
his duty to get into the game and chea
the cheater or put a stop to the run
luck. He seldom failed to accomplish
this as he could manipulate deck 0
cards better than any other man Of hi
time. At least, this seems to be tn
general opinion among men who knew
him Many declared that his equal neve
lived, and that II was practically impos
sible to catch DOC" stacking the decl
or dealing from the bottom or doing an.
of the other things that card sharp
have to do sometimes to win consistently
DOC" Owens Is credited with winning
huge sums Of money on ocean liners. bu
the only cases that ever got into prin
show hi mwinnlng such amounts as $50
500 and up to $1,000. He won the las
named from the Earl of Roslyn. Their
Is no doubt, however. that he often VOL
large sums He was arrested here onl.
once. then on n minor charge. bu
tho police promptly photographed hin
and put his picture In the Rogue'sl Gal
lery. This made Owens furious III
brought suit to make the department re
move II, but Judge Leventritt ruled tina
Owens could have no relief excepting
through civil action. Owens neve
brought suit.