Henry Lever from 1938 Oak Leaves yearbook, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon. Linfield College football head coaches (left to right) Ad Rutschman (coached 1968-1991), Paul Durham (coached 1948-1967) and Henry Lever (coached 1930-1938, 1940-1942). This photo may be the only existing photo -- or one of the few -- showing the three coaches together. It appeared in the May 22, 1968, McMinnville, Oregon, News-Register newspaper. The occasion was a May 18 farewell banquet -- in the college’s Dillin Hall -- for Durham. He was leaving Linfield to become University of Hawaii athletic director. Tim Marsh photo.
Henry Lever helped Linfield become athletic success
Henry Work Lever (pronounced "Lee-vur") was born in Loveland, Ohio, near Cincinnati, on October 4, 1883. His genealogical "roots" were English and German immigrants, who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1770s, later moving to Ohio.
He survived a near fatal burst appendix at age 15 with a life-saving operation on the kitchen table of his family's farm home. Surviving appendicitis typified his life. Small in stature -- standing about 5-foot-9 -- Lever was always a fighter, determined to succeed, and usually doing so, in everything he took on.
After graduating in 1901 from Loveland, Ohio, High School, one of his successes was college football. There are indications he may have played football at three Ohio colleges. His daughter, Margaret Lever Dement of Madras, Oregon, said her father studied “engineering, math and football. In those early days, football was extremely rough and tough with practically no uniform or headgear protection."
He studied at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and Ohio Northern University in Ada, before graduating from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, in 1908.
Engineering, math and football did not get all of Lever’s attention in college. For example, during his senior year The Athena, Ohio U’s student yearbook (he was its sports editor) says he was in the Philomathean Literary Society, Scientific Literature Club and YMCA. He was also track team captain and Phi Delta Theta fraternity president. In summary, Dement said, he was a "Big Man on Campus."
In September 1908, Lever started his first job at what is now Valley City State University in Valley City, North Dakota. He was athletic director and taught in the math and physics departments. He also coached football, men's and women's basketball, baseball and track. While it may have been his first job after college, Valley City State’s The Blizzard student yearbook says he was assistant athletic director at Ohio University, 1907-1908.
At Valley City State, he met Marguerite E. Sherburne, an education student who enjoyed music and art. She also was an outstanding basketball player, playing forward and guard, for the women's team he coached. She was part of the music conservatory and active in group vocal (Choral Society, Glee Club) presentations on campus. Involved in drama and an officer in the Clionian Literary Society for women, she started attending Valley City State at age 15 and graduated August 28, 1909, with a four-year elementary degree, preparing her to be an elementary school teacher.
Henry and Marguerite married in September 1909; they had nine children.
"After about three years in frigid North Dakota, the Levers moved to the warmer and beautiful Ozark Mountains of Missouri to farm," said Dement." Farming did not work out well,” so his family stayed in Missouri” and he coached football in 1911 and baseball in 1912 at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He coached football in the 1913 season and men's basketball in the 1912-1913 and 1913-1914 seasons at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
About 1916, the family moved to Alberta, Canada, with dreams of becoming rich when "irrigation was to come to the dry land prairies," she said. Wet weather helped produce bumper wheat crops and financial success. However, the good weather was followed by about five years of grasshopper plagues and severe drought. Farmers' resources were drained and most, including the Lever family, were broke. During these Canadian years, Lever used his engineering abilities while working on the Lethbridge Northern Alberta Irrigation project.
In about 1921, the Levers returned to the United States, settling in a Yakima, Washington, farming area. Later, they moved to the southern Oregon coast, where Henry managed a large ranch at Wedderburn. Soon thereafter, apparently, the Levers moved up the Oregon coast to Myrtle Point, where he taught algebra and geometry and coached football, basketball, baseball, and track at Myrtle Point Union High School.
An ability to coach "all sports" and his reputation as a hard-worker and leader at Myrtle Point convinced Linfield College President Leonard W. Riley to hire Lever in 1930. It was a wise decision. Serving the college until 1949 as athletic director, he coached football, basketball, baseball and track and field. He became know as the "Grand Old Man" of Linfield athletics and, to some, “The Fox.” An issue of Oak Leaves, Linfield's student yearbook, said his initials, H.W., stood for "Hard Work."
Photo of Henry Lever from 1956 book "Linfield's Hundred Years: A Centennial History...", edited by Kenneth L. Holmes. Paul Durham wrote the book's sports section. Cutline for this photo: "Coach Henry Lever, the 'Grand Old Man' of Linfield athletics since 1930.
During summers, he helped recruit Linfield students, including Irene Hartman, who later became wife of Linfield President Harry Dillin. She remembered Lever serving during World War II as Linfield's purchasing agent and college commons manager.
Lever was the Linfield Wildcats' football coach from 1930-1938 and 1940-1942. His career record is 30-54-7 (.368). His 1935 team was the first for Linfield to win a Northwest Conference football championship. Serving as men's basketball coach for 15 seasons, Lever compiled an overall record of 173-109 in 1930-1941 and 1942-1947. His winning percentage of .613 is the best in school history for basketball coaches with at least two seasons on the job. He coached men's track and field from 1931-1935 and 1941-1943. In addition to coaching Linfield baseball -- and leading the Wildcats to its first Northwest Conference title in that sport in 1947 -- he also served as a scout for the Cincinnati Reds major league professional baseball organization.
During the Lever Era, he was "mainly responsible for lifting the performance of Linfield athletic teams to a respected position in the Northwest Conference and on the Pacific Coast," said Paul Durham.
His ability to get consistently strong effort from players with abilities in many cases not comparable to that of opponents, gained him the utmost respect of his players, the people of McMinnville, and the opposing coaches, players, and fans, Durham said.
According to an article in the McMinnville News-Register, Harry Dillin said Lever had a "wide range of talents and abilities. He was an indefatigable worker. He was a great person, one of the most tremendous persons I have known. He was gracious and talented. He had a great sense of humor."
Durham added, even more important than Henry Lever's ability as coach was "his contribution to the character development of the students with whom he worked."
During his years at Linfield, Lever had an offer to "return to Wisconsin – where he coached previously – “at more than twice my Linfield salary" according to an account he wrote in the November 1975 Linfield College Bulletin alumni publication. However, Lever turned down the offer, saying, "My beloved wife voted with me to stay at Linfield, where there was much work yet to do."
Margaret Lever Dement said her father was blessed with able assistant coaches during his time at Linfield. They included Orile Robbins, Wayne Harn and Hal Smith. Robbins is best known as a successful head football coach at McMinnville High School, where the "most inspirational" award is named for him.
Harn,a former Oregon State University football player, was Linfield head football coach in the 1939,1946 and 1947 seasons. Smith, like Lever in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame, was an outstanding football player at Washington State University. In addition to coaching football at Linfield, Smith served as the college's head wresting, track and field and cross-country coach, as well as head of the Linfield Physical Education Department.
Margaret Lever Dement remembers her father put his engineering skills to work at Linfield when he laid the plans for the first grass football field in the Northwest Conference, Linfield's Maxwell Field. According to Harry Dillin, Lever also helped develop plans for old Riley Gymnasium and Memorial Hall, a residence hall built into Linfield football and track and field's Memorial Stadium.
As a job in the summer of 1942 -- in the early part of World War II -- Henry Lever's engineering background was helpful when he was involved in the construction of what is now McMinnville Municipal Airport. He and Luther Taylor, a Linfield chemistry professor, were runway grade inspectors. There were two runways. He inspected one runway and Taylor inspected the other. Construction was a wartime project funded by the U.S. Army.
Durham said Lever and his wife Marguerite "loved to do things for others." Wildcat athletes looked to him as a leader and to her as a mother figure, said Dement. "Many times she fed hungry athletes, especially during the Depression years."
Durham, who lived in Portland and graduated from Portland's Franklin High School in June 1932, started at the Linfield as a student in September of that year. He knew of the college because his older brother was a Linfield student. Lever came to Portland and promised Durham a “job in a restaurant for food, a bed at Macy's funeral parlor in downtown McMinnville, and half tuition for academics and athletics. In the heart of the Depression, I needed all the help I could get" he said.
Durham was one of Lever's Wildcat athletes and went on to become the college's football coach, men's co-basketball coach with Roy Helser and athletic director. Durham succeeded Lever as football coach. Lever stayed at the college during the 1948-1949 academic year, turning the reins as athletic director over to Durham in 1949 when Lever retired.
Durham said Lever "meant a lot to me." He was a "solid leader and example. His influence as a Christian gentleman still carries on in men like (former Linfield football coach) Ad Rutschman and the men Ad (coached)."
Henry and Marguerite had been interested in Oregon's High Desert area. She died of cancer at age 62 in 1952. In 1953, he moved to Madras, Oregon, in the High Desert. He farmed briefly there before earning his real estate license at age 80. Later, he earned his real estate broker's license. The motto for his real estate firm, The Henry Lever Agency, was "Service with Integrity."
Linfield has the Henry W. and Marguerite S. Lever Fund, through which students receive scholarships. When the college was affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the fund was named for Marguerite and scholarships were given to student-athletes. The scholarship recognized Marguerite as and an outstanding college basketball player and Lever’s service as a Linfield coach. When the college moved from the NAIA to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, the scholarship was changed because Division III does not allow athletic scholarships. The Lever family decided the scholarships should support Linfield students studying music, since Marguerite was a talented singer.
Henry Lever died July 1, 1980, after being hit by a truck as he was running across a busy state highway in Madras. He was 97 years and the oldest active real estate broker in Oregon.
Henry Lever's memorial service was held at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in McMinnville with speakers including Linfield representatives and his Linfield football players as his pall bearers. Both Henry and Marguerite are buried at the cemetery.
Photograph:
Henry Lever, age 94 in 1977, in his Madras, Ore., real estate office. Photo by Margaret Lever Dement, his daughter
Although he moved from McMinnville, Henry Lever came back to McMinnville and Linfield several times, including:
Lever was the Linfield Wildcats' football coach from 1930-1938 and 1940-1942. His career record is 30-54-7 (.368). His 1935 team was the first for Linfield to win a Northwest Conference football championship. Serving as men's basketball coach for 15 seasons, Lever compiled an overall record of 173-109 in 1930-1941 and 1942-1947. His winning percentage of .613 is the best in school history for basketball coaches with at least two seasons on the job. He coached men's track and field from 1931-1935 and 1941-1943. In addition to coaching Linfield baseball -- and leading the Wildcats to its first Northwest Conference title in that sport in 1947 -- he also served as a scout for the Cincinnati Reds major league professional baseball organization.
During the Lever Era, he was "mainly responsible for lifting the performance of Linfield athletic teams to a respected position in the Northwest Conference and on the Pacific Coast," said Paul Durham.
His ability to get consistently strong effort from players with abilities in many cases not comparable to that of opponents, gained him the utmost respect of his players, the people of McMinnville, and the opposing coaches, players, and fans, Durham said.
According to an article in the McMinnville News-Register, Harry Dillin said Lever had a "wide range of talents and abilities. He was an indefatigable worker. He was a great person, one of the most tremendous persons I have known. He was gracious and talented. He had a great sense of humor."
Durham added, even more important than Henry Lever's ability as coach was "his contribution to the character development of the students with whom he worked."
During his years at Linfield, Lever had an offer to "return to Wisconsin – where he coached previously – “at more than twice my Linfield salary" according to an account he wrote in the November 1975 Linfield College Bulletin alumni publication. However, Lever turned down the offer, saying, "My beloved wife voted with me to stay at Linfield, where there was much work yet to do."
Margaret Lever Dement said her father was blessed with able assistant coaches during his time at Linfield. They included Orile Robbins, Wayne Harn and Hal Smith. Robbins is best known as a successful head football coach at McMinnville High School, where the "most inspirational" award is named for him.
Harn,a former Oregon State University football player, was Linfield head football coach in the 1939,1946 and 1947 seasons. Smith, like Lever in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame, was an outstanding football player at Washington State University. In addition to coaching football at Linfield, Smith served as the college's head wresting, track and field and cross-country coach, as well as head of the Linfield Physical Education Department.
Margaret Lever Dement remembers her father put his engineering skills to work at Linfield when he laid the plans for the first grass football field in the Northwest Conference, Linfield's Maxwell Field. According to Harry Dillin, Lever also helped develop plans for old Riley Gymnasium and Memorial Hall, a residence hall built into Linfield football and track and field's Memorial Stadium.
As a job in the summer of 1942 -- in the early part of World War II -- Henry Lever's engineering background was helpful when he was involved in the construction of what is now McMinnville Municipal Airport. He and Luther Taylor, a Linfield chemistry professor, were runway grade inspectors. There were two runways. He inspected one runway and Taylor inspected the other. Construction was a wartime project funded by the U.S. Army.
Durham said Lever and his wife Marguerite "loved to do things for others." Wildcat athletes looked to him as a leader and to her as a mother figure, said Dement. "Many times she fed hungry athletes, especially during the Depression years."
Durham, who lived in Portland and graduated from Portland's Franklin High School in June 1932, started at the Linfield as a student in September of that year. He knew of the college because his older brother was a Linfield student. Lever came to Portland and promised Durham a “job in a restaurant for food, a bed at Macy's funeral parlor in downtown McMinnville, and half tuition for academics and athletics. In the heart of the Depression, I needed all the help I could get" he said.
Durham was one of Lever's Wildcat athletes and went on to become the college's football coach, men's co-basketball coach with Roy Helser and athletic director. Durham succeeded Lever as football coach. Lever stayed at the college during the 1948-1949 academic year, turning the reins as athletic director over to Durham in 1949 when Lever retired.
Durham said Lever "meant a lot to me." He was a "solid leader and example. His influence as a Christian gentleman still carries on in men like (former Linfield football coach) Ad Rutschman and the men Ad (coached)."
Henry and Marguerite had been interested in Oregon's High Desert area. She died of cancer at age 62 in 1952. In 1953, he moved to Madras, Oregon, in the High Desert. He farmed briefly there before earning his real estate license at age 80. Later, he earned his real estate broker's license. The motto for his real estate firm, The Henry Lever Agency, was "Service with Integrity."
Linfield has the Henry W. and Marguerite S. Lever Fund, through which students receive scholarships. When the college was affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the fund was named for Marguerite and scholarships were given to student-athletes. The scholarship recognized Marguerite as and an outstanding college basketball player and Lever’s service as a Linfield coach. When the college moved from the NAIA to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, the scholarship was changed because Division III does not allow athletic scholarships. The Lever family decided the scholarships should support Linfield students studying music, since Marguerite was a talented singer.
Henry Lever died July 1, 1980, after being hit by a truck as he was running across a busy state highway in Madras. He was 97 years and the oldest active real estate broker in Oregon.
Henry Lever's memorial service was held at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in McMinnville with speakers including Linfield representatives and his Linfield football players as his pall bearers. Both Henry and Marguerite are buried at the cemetery.
Photograph:
Henry Lever, age 94 in 1977, in his Madras, Ore., real estate office. Photo by Margaret Lever Dement, his daughter
Although he moved from McMinnville, Henry Lever came back to McMinnville and Linfield several times, including:
- during the spring of 1968, when he attended a banquet honoring Durham, whom he coached at Linfield. Also at the banquet was Ad Rutschman, who was coached by Durham at Linfield. In total, they were the Linfield Wildcat head football coaches, starting in 1938 and ending in 1991, with three seasons during that span being coached by Wayne Harn.
-
in 1977, when he was honored for his contributions at halftime of a Linfield football game. During that halftime photo shows Lever on the left and Charles U. Walker, Linfield president, on the right.
Lever was honored by Linfield when:
- the McMinnville City Council changed the name of Stadium Street to Lever Street in 1961, according to Joe Dancer, who served from 1960-1986 as McMinnville City manager. Lever Street borders the college's athletic complex, football field and baseball diamond. The name change came at the urging of Linfield President Harry Dillin. For more information, see
1961: Street named for Coach Henry Lever.
-
he was posthumously enshrined in the Linfield College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. The others included Paul Durham, Roy Helser, Henry Lever, Ad Rutschman and Ted Wilson. Daniel Lever represented his father at the enshrinement event.
POSTSCRIPT -- Henry Lever's coaching successes at Linfield included leading the Wildcats to their first Northwest Conference titles in football (1935) and baseball (1947). The 1935 football title was the first NWC championship in any sport for the Wildcats.
........................................................................
Of the nine Lever children, seven graduated from McMinnville High School, four going on to earn degrees from Linfield:
"Hank" Lever, Henry W. Lever Jr., born April 4, 1913 in Dixon, Missouri, was a firefighter in Portland, Oregon. A McMinnville High School grad, he died November 8, 1990.
Deborah R. Lever, born 1915 in Dixon, Missouri, graduated from McMinnville High School and Western Oregon University. She taught school in Oakridge and Coos Bay. She died in 2001 in Springfield, Oregon.
Robert W. Lever, born 1917 in Coalhurst, Alberta, Canada. He served in the U. S. Marine Corps. A McMinnville High School grad, he lived in Snohomish, Wash., and died in May 2005.
Clarence James Lever, born July 1922, in Wedderburn, Oregon. A graduate of McMinnville High School and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, James Lever served in the U.S. Army. During Word War II he served in Africa. After Italy he went to Italy. There he was among American Army troops to "fight all the way to Rome. The big guns that were used in that campaign are the reason he is deaf now. He (is) helpful, kind, and has a sense of humor!," said a family member. He lives in Newberg, Oregon.
Richard N. Lever, born November 1929 in Myrtle Point, Oregon. A grad of McMinnville High School and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He lives in Seattle.
Margaret D. Lever Dement, born August 12, 1911, in Dixon, Missouri, she lives in Madras, Oregon. She graduated from Myrtle Point High School and, in 1934, from Linfield with a B.A. in English and Music. At Linfield she played tennis for coach Harry Dillin, then an economics professor and later Linfield president. Her background includes teaching high school in Glendale, Oakridge, Vernonia and Myrtle Point, Oregon. Former manager of the Jefferson County Historical Society Museum in Madras, she is a former news correspondent for the Oregonian and Oregon Journal daily newspapers of Portland, Oregon.
Thomas S. Lever, born July 11, 1910 in Valley City, North Dakota, he died May 16, 2001, in Seattle. At Linfield, he played tennis for Coach Harry Dillin, then an economics professor and later Linfield president. A McMinnville High School grad, in 1934, he graduated from Linfield with a B.A. degree in political science. He owned an advertising business, Lever Appreciation Advertising, in Spokane, Washington.
Barbara L. Lever McLarty, Portland, Oregon, born 1919 in Alberta, Canada. She graduated from Linfield in 1941 with a B.A. degree in speech and English. She is a former teacher at Silverton, Oregon, High School and also taught in Ione, Oregon. She and her husband, Jack McLarty, are former owners/operators of The Image Gallery in Portland, Oregon. In Portland, they now own/operate McLartys' Choice, a gallery and art dealer.
Daniel Deforest Lever* He lives in Aurora, Ore. Born November 1934 in McMinnville, he is the youngest son of Henry and Marguerite Lever. After serving in the U.S. Army, he graduated from Linfield in 1960 with a B.S. degree in social studies and physical education. Lever played Wildcat football for Linfield coach Paul Durham, 1956-60. He was sometimes called “Danny.” In 1961, he earned a Master of Education degree. He started his teaching and coaching career at Madras, Ore., High School. Lever coached football and wrestling. Later, he moved to Newberg, Ore., High School where was head football coach in the mid-1970s. In addition to football, he was assistant wrestling coach to head coach Pete Russo when Newberg won a state wrestling title in 1970. He is married to JoAnna Dillon, who graduated from Linfield with a degree in music education.
Newberg, Ore., Graphic
Published:11/9/2009 12:45:56 PM
Daniel D. Lever
*Daniel DeForest Lever of Aurora, who has family in the Newberg area, diedNov. 2, 2009 . He was 74. He was born Nov. 17, 1934 , in McMinnville to Henry and Margeurite (Sherburne) Lever. He graduated from high school in 1953 in Prineville, then joined the U.S. Army. On Sept. 15, 1957 , he married Joanna Dillon. He was honorably discharged in 1961 and they made their home in Aurora Linfield College Madras High School Newberg High School U.S. Aurora Madras Portland First United Methodist Church Willamette National Cemetery Portland 207 Villa Road , Newberg , OR 97132
Published:
*Daniel DeForest Lever of Aurora, who has family in the Newberg area, died
Daniel Dean Lever He lives in Canby, Ore. A grandson of Henry and Marguerite Lever, he is the son of Daniel Deforest and JoAnna Lever. Daniel Dean Lever studied at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Ore. He graduated from EOU in 1987 with a B.S. in education social Studies and physical education. He teaches social studies at Canby, Ore., High School. Lever and started his teaching (social studies and P.E.) and coaching (football and wrestling) career at Monroe, Ore., High School in Monroe Oregon. His athletic director was Linfield grad Del Coursey, a Linfield grad and former Wildcat athlete. (Coursey was an assistant to Coach Roy Helser when the baseball Wildcats won the 1966 NAIA World Series.) Lever was head wrestling coach and football and baseball assistant coach at Monroe. In 1991 as an assistant to head baseball coach Steve Luby, Monroe won the 2A state baseball championship. Lever says, “I was head football at Monroe my last year at Monroe, but was asst. 4 years I was asst. 5 years in baseball and head wrestling coach also for 5 years. At Canby, where I teach now, I was an asst. in football from 1992 to 2005. Most of my football coach was spent as head freshman coach. Mike Doty was the head coach I worked for and he still is the head coach at Canby. I also was an asst. in wrestling for the same time as football and the head coach was Dan Nugent.” Married to Anne Barry, a grad of EOU and Oregon Health Sciences University (B.S. nursing), she is a Willamette University nurse practitioner. The Lever family includes Linfield student/football player Daniel William Lever, a great-grandson of Henry Lever; Cate Lever, a Carroll College (Helena, Mont.) student; Margaret Lever, a student in the Canby School District.
Marian Dement Granby She lives in Madras, Ore. Henry and Marguerite's granddaughter, Marian Dement Granby, is the daughter of Margaret D. Lever Dement. She attended Linfield for two years and graduated in 1971 from Southern Oregon University with a history B.A. degree. She also holds a master's in education degree from SOU. She substitute teaches at Madras, Oregon, High School.
Among Henry and Marguerite Lever’s great-grandchildren children are Rob Lever, Anne Lever Reed, Kristina Granby and Daniel William Lever.
Rob and Anne are respective 1992 and 1994 Linfield graduates. Rob Lever lives in White Bird, Idaho, and works for the U.S. Forest Service. Anne lives in Portland, Ore., and is an interior designer. Kristina lives in Nevada and teaches sixth grade in Las Vegas. She is 1999 University of Oregon graduate in English and earned a UO master's degree in education in 2000.
As this is written (Oct. 2008), Daniel William Lever is a Linfield student (health & physical education major) and a running back on the Linfield Wildcat football team. On the left is a photo of Dan William Lever wearing uniform, #27, on the sidelines of a Linfield football game at Maxwell field during the 2007 (Oct. 6, 2007) season.
Dan William Lever's Tualatin, Ore., High School head football coach bio as
of 8/24/2018 includes that he was hired (April 2017) to head the Tualatin HS Timberwolves
after serving as offensive coordinator at Moorpark College, a two-year school
in Moorpark, Calif. He played running back at Canby, where he graduated in
2005, and in college at Linfield. He was head coach at Class 3A Gervais in
2010. He was an assistant college football coach at Southeastern Oklahoma
State, Puget Sound, Santa Barbara City College and Moorpark. His Tualatin HS
coaching bio includes, "While down south (in California) Lever served as
both a Run Game Coordinator and Offensive Coordinator. Lever helped over 45
student athletes sign letters of intent to both Division I and Division II
schools in just 3 years. At Santa Barbara Lever helped guide the Vaqueros to
their first 2 bowl berths in 19 years. Lever has also positions as the
offensive line coach at Division III University of Puget Sound and tight ends
coach at Division II Southeastern Oklahoma. Levers first coaching job was as
the head coach at Gervais High School. He was a 3-year letter winner at
Linfield College and grew up in nearby Canby. Lever is extremely proud to be a
4th generation teacher and coach. Dan and his wife Corinne are happy to be a
part of the pack."
On the right is a photo taken during the Linfield's 2008 Homecoming football game (Oct. 11, 2008) of (left to right) JoAnna Lever, Daniel Dean Lever and Daniel Deforest Lever.
......................
.jpg)
Henry Work Lever (1883-1980) and Sophia D. Sherburne
(1849-1947), mother of Marguerite Lever) at Evergreen
Memorial Park, McMinnville, Ore. Photos by Wildcatville
taken 10/11/2012.
Linfielder Dan W. Lever: Continued success as a football coach
Written/posted by Wildcatville 6/15/2022
Linfiedler Dan W. Lever (Daniel William Lever, Class
of 2008), a great-grandson of Linfield legend Henry Lever, has had continued success as a football coach.
(Henry Lever was Linfield
athletic director 1930-1949 and "coach of everything” 1930-1945, He’s
honored on the Linfield campus in McMinnville with “Lever Street” which runs
next the Linfield athletics/p.e. building and behind Linfield football’s home, Memorial
Stadium/Maxwell Field/Catdome.)
Dan W. Lever was a running
back for the Wildcats, lettering in 2006, 2007 and 2008 With this story is a
Wildcatville photo of Dan W. Lever wearing uniform, #27, on the sidelines of a 2007
Linfield home football game.
He was a 3-year letter
winner at Linfield College. Dan was named “Physical Education major of the
year” in 2008 by the Linfield faculty. Lever is extremely proud to be a 4th
generation teacher and coach.
The newly appointed head coach of Silverton (Oregon) High School, Dan W. Lever previously was Tualatin (Oregon) high School head football coach, and He coached Tualatin to the state championship game in 2021.
Dan W. Lever is a fourth generation football coach.
Great-grandfather Henry
Lever was the head football coach at Oregon’s Myrtle Point High School (1925-29)
before moving to Linfield. Henry’s background included being head football
coach at Valley City State in North Dakota, Texas Christian University, and
Carrol in Wisconsin.
Dan W. Lever’s grandfather, Dan, was the head coach at Madras and Newberg in Oregon.
Dan, the father of Dan W. Lever was the head coach at Monroe and
an assistant at Canby. Both are in Oregon.
As a graduating student, Dan
W. Lever was named “Physical Education major of the year” in 2008 by the
Linfield faculty.
Dan W. Lever first head football coaching job was at Gervais (Oregon). He assisted in football programs at Southeastern Oklahoma State, Puget Sound in Tacoma and California’s Santa Barbara Community College before taking over at Tualatin.
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