Forget Webster's.

You want the real definition of irony? Try this: A guy nicknamed 'Stone Hands' making one of the most important catches in Penn State history.

Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne, he of 200 wins but no national championships, probably still cringes at the mention of Kirk Bowman.

A reserve tight end, Bowman made exactly two catches in 1982. Both were against Osborne's 'Huskers. Both went for touchdowns.

Bowman's second catch, a two-yard scoop of a Todd Blackledge pass in the back of the end zone, capped an improbable drive which saw Penn State march 65 yards in 78 seconds to stun Nebraska, 27-24, in front of a raucous Beaver Stadium crowd that long-time Lion play-by-play man Fran Fisher (1966-1982) calls, "the best I've ever seen."

"It still seems like it happened yesterday," Bowman recently recalled of the game that made a folk hero out of him. "People still ask me about it."

And people still remember him as Stone Hands. Never mind that Bowman, who currently resides in Clearwater, Fla., is miles and miles away from the site of his glorious grab. Like any good nickname, the one his teammate and pal Kenny Jackson tagged him with has stuck.

"People remember Stone Hands before they remember my name," Bowman said.

But there's no hint of bitterness in his voice. In fact Bowman seems to relish the moniker. And why not? When people remember Stone Hands they also remember The Catch.

Actually, Bowman presents a pretty good defense when asked how he got his nickname. A four-year letterman at Penn State, Bowman changed positions as often as Elizabeth Taylor changed husbands.

He started out as a linebacker, moved to defensive end and spent time as an offensive guard. The coaches finally put Bowman at tight end in fall practice of the 1982 season.

Playing his new position for the first time since his days at Mechanicsburg High, Bowman estimates he dropped "50 percent of the passes" thrown to him during the first week of practice.

"It was kind of difficult making the transition from not having caught the ball for several years and then having someone like Todd Blackledge throwing you the ball, rather than your high school quarterback," Bowman said.

"When the season came around I was catching the ball as well as anybody," he points out, laughing.

Well, Not quite. Exactly one week before the Nebraska showdown Bowman dropped a pass in Penn State's 49-14 romp over Rutgers. Thus "Stoney" -- what Jackson had been calling him -- evolved into Stone Hands.

"As far as Stone Hands, I always teased him because he was a defensive player on offense," recalled Jackson, who is currently the wide receivers coach at Penn State. "I would say 'Oh no we've got someone from defense touching the ball.'

"He was actually a pretty good receiver," Jackson confirmed.

To say Bowman would emerge as the hero against then-No. 2 Nebraska . . . well, there's a good shrink in town, someone would have told you.

The game started auspiciously for Bowman, as he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Blackledge in the first quarter to stake Penn State to a 7-0 lead.

But for much of the game Bowman languished on the sidelines. In fact, he recalls that he only saw action for "10 to 15 plays."

Penn State roared to a 21-7 halftime lead but Nebraska, behind its explosive triumvirate of Turner Gill, Mike Rozier and Irving Fryar, fought back. The 'Huskers took their first lead 58 minutes and 42 seconds into the game when Gill snuck in from the 1-yard line.

But Penn State was not finished.

Todd Blackledge, cool as a cucumber, ran the two-minute offense to near perfection, driving the Lions to the Nebraska 2-yard line.

Eight seconds remained on the Beaver Stadium clock. Paterno, calling for a two-tight end set, inserted Bowman into the lineup.

In the two-tight end set, Bowman normally lined up on the weakside, with starter Mike McCloskey on the strong side. But in practice earlier that week, the coaches had concluded that McCloskey would have an easier time getting open from the weakside on the play Paterno had just called. So the coaches had flipped-flopped Bowman and McCloskey for just that play.

But things didn't go according to plan.

"What happened in the Nebraska game," Bowman remembered, "was the defensive ends were not letting us off the line of scrimmage to the outside.

"(On that play) I think Mike either got hung-up or got covered real quick. For some reason no one seemed to be covering me trailing across the back."

Blackledge's pass just cleared the outstretched arms of a diving Nebraska linebacker and the man they called Stonehands scooped the ball, not more than six inches from the turf, and cradled the pigskin as if it were a newborn baby.

The crowd erupted. For Bowman, the moment was doubly special. He had caught the winning touchdown pass not more than a marshmallow's throw from the seats he used to sit in as a youngster, dreaming of following in his father's footsteps.

"I think from a personal perspective it was obviously the most satisfying," Bowman said, "simply because my father played football for Penn State (Wayne Bowman was a center for the 1962-63 teams) and I had been going to Penn State games since I was 3-years-old.

"Later on you realize how important that catch was," Bowman added. "It's pretty amazing."

Arguably, the greatest game at Beaver Stadium. The most thrilling comeback in Penn State history.

Pretty amazing, indeed.