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 221 innings of work. But in 1960, he went 4–14 (5.04) and in 1961 his record was 5–10 (4.47). The Phillies finished in the NL basement each season, and Owens received notoriety for his off-field carousing as a member (with fellow pitchers Turk Farrell, Jack Meyer and Seth Morehead) of the "Dalton Gang," a group of hard-drinking players in frequent conflict with the Phillies' management. After Owens' poor 1962 season—a 2–4 record with a 6.33 ERA—the Phillies traded him to Cincinnati for second baseman Cookie Rojas.