Linfield football at LA84 Foundation Website
From page 14 of PEF posted at LA84 Foundation Website. The LA84 Foundation is endowed with surplus funds from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
http://www.la84foundation.org/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv11/CFHSNv11n2k.pdfhttp://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv11/CFHSNv11n2k.pdf
THE LINFIELD WILDCATS
There was an era when shoulder pads and helmets were not worn and when college football dominated Northwest competition by winning ball was more like a club sport. The year was 1896 and it was the dawn of Linfield football. When Linfield competed in its first two contests, many ofthe players were stepping onto the football field for the first time.Linfield (then McMinnville College) was outscored 110-0 in two games, results that weren't entirely unexpected given the newness of thesport.
By 1897, Linfield recorded its first victories, times and never experienced a losing season. beating Monmouth Normal (now Western Oregon), 12-0, and later Pacific, 12-4.
In the 101 years since its first football game, Linfield hasexperienced countless triumphs and disappointment. Among the accomplishments are three national championships, 26 conference titlesand 27 first team All-Americans.
--
Player/coach A.M. Brumback organized the first team in 1896. He coached for five seasons before being appointed college president in1903, a position he held for two years. Participating in football around the turn of the century was risky. Without the aid of face and head protection or shoulder pads, serious injuries were common. The death of 18 players nationwide, including
one at Linfield, led U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to call for a"national reform" of the sport. College President Leonard W. Riley banned football at Linfield following the 1905 season "until such time that the rules have changed sufficiently to warrant reinstatement."
Football remained absent for 16 years. On Jan. 10, 1922, the same dayPresident Riley announced the college's name would be changed from McMinnville College to Linfield, the suspension was lifted, allowing students to compete in football once again.
Maurice E. Pettit was appointed coach and in 1925, Linfield joinedLewis and Clark, Pacific, Willamette and Whitman to form the Northwest Conference.
Coach Henry Lever guided Linfield to a share of its first NWC championship in 1935 when the Wildcats, with a 5-2-2 record, split the title with Willamette. In 1943, Linfield football was halted as WorldWar II forced a three-year hiatus.
Wayne Harn became coach following the war, but left after 1947, the year 2,250-seat Memorial Stadium opened.
--
From 1948 until 1991, the Wildcats answered to only two coaches - Paul Durham and Ad Rutschman. The pair combined to win 305 games and 22 conference championships over 44 seasons. Durham, who coached for 20 years, held the school's longest reign as coach prior to Rutschman's24-year tenure.
In 1949, Durham's team faced an opportunity for its second NorthwestConference championship. Many players predicted the Wildcats wouldbeat Willamette for the championship. But because Linfield hadn'tdefeated the Bearcats since 1925, most fans thought such as statement was ludicrous.
The remarks prompted college President Harry Dillin to offer some inspiration to the team, which had either tied or been defeated byWillamette in 17 previous meetings.
Dillin pledged if the Wildcats could beat Willamette during his term, he would stand on his head at the 50-yard line of Maxwell Field.
In the aftermath of a surprising 20-0 upset of the Bearcats, Dillin kepthis word. A packed Memorial Stadium crowd witnessed the presidents tand on his head in the mud of Maxwell Field.
Linfield began its climb toward prosperity in 1956, recording thefirst 16-1 record during that decade.
In 1982, Linfield captured the first of three national championshipsin five years. The Wildcats capped a 12-0 season by beating Missouri'sWilliam Jewell College 33-15 at Wortman Field in McMinnville.
Two years later, in a stunning come-from-behind playoff victory, unbeatenLinfield rallied from 22 points down to defeat Northwestern ofIowa 33-22 in the 1984 national championship game.
In 1986, Linfield again finished undefeated and claimed the nationalchampionship by beating Baker University of Kansas 17-0 in the mud atWortman Field.
Longtime assistant coach Ed Langsdorf took over the program in 1992following Rutschman's retirement. In his first season, the Wildcats chalked up a 12-1 record, losing only to Findlay (Ohio) 36-13 in theNAIADivision II championship game. Langsdorf coached for four seasons, winning three Mt. Hood League titles. He turned the program over to defensive coordinator Jay Locey in 1996, beginning another chapter in the storied history of Linfield football.41
WINNING SEASONS
With 41 straight winning seasons already in hand, Linfield is closing in on one of the most enviable records in college football.
This fall,the Wildcats are in position to tie the collegiate record of 42consecutive winning seasons, shared by Harvard (1881-1923) and NotreDame (1889-1932).
The Wildcats' present 41-year streak of consecutive winning seasons isNo. 1 in all of college football. None of the 669 schools that field football teams in the United States currently can claim more than 36consecutive winning seasons.
Wittenberg University of Springfield, Ohio, relinquished the No. 1 spot to Linfield at the end of the 1989 season after the Tigersfinished 4-5 to snap a streak of 34 straight winning seasons.
THE STREAK
Most current consecutive winning seasons (over .500):
SCHOOL AFFILIATION SEASONS
1. LINFIELD NAIA II 41
2. Central, Iowa NCAA III 36
3. Nebraska NCAA I-A 35
4. Baldwin-Wallace, Ohio NCAA III 30
3. Pacific Lutheran, Wash. NAIA II 28
7. California-Davis NCAA II 27
(tie) Wisconsin-LaCrosse NCAA III 27
9. Ithaca, N.Y. NCAA III 26
(Wildcatville note: Yes, that's what it says. Nebraska and PLU both #3, huh?)
From page 14 of PEF posted at LA84 Foundation Website. The LA84 Foundation is endowed with surplus funds from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
http://www.la84foundation.org/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv11/CFHSNv11n2k.pdfhttp://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv11/CFHSNv11n2k.pdf
THE LINFIELD WILDCATS
There was an era when shoulder pads and helmets were not worn and when college football dominated Northwest competition by winning ball was more like a club sport. The year was 1896 and it was the dawn of Linfield football. When Linfield competed in its first two contests, many ofthe players were stepping onto the football field for the first time.Linfield (then McMinnville College) was outscored 110-0 in two games, results that weren't entirely unexpected given the newness of thesport.
By 1897, Linfield recorded its first victories, times and never experienced a losing season. beating Monmouth Normal (now Western Oregon), 12-0, and later Pacific, 12-4.
In the 101 years since its first football game, Linfield hasexperienced countless triumphs and disappointment. Among the accomplishments are three national championships, 26 conference titlesand 27 first team All-Americans.
--
Player/coach A.M. Brumback organized the first team in 1896. He coached for five seasons before being appointed college president in1903, a position he held for two years. Participating in football around the turn of the century was risky. Without the aid of face and head protection or shoulder pads, serious injuries were common. The death of 18 players nationwide, including
one at Linfield, led U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to call for a"national reform" of the sport. College President Leonard W. Riley banned football at Linfield following the 1905 season "until such time that the rules have changed sufficiently to warrant reinstatement."
Football remained absent for 16 years. On Jan. 10, 1922, the same dayPresident Riley announced the college's name would be changed from McMinnville College to Linfield, the suspension was lifted, allowing students to compete in football once again.
Maurice E. Pettit was appointed coach and in 1925, Linfield joinedLewis and Clark, Pacific, Willamette and Whitman to form the Northwest Conference.
Coach Henry Lever guided Linfield to a share of its first NWC championship in 1935 when the Wildcats, with a 5-2-2 record, split the title with Willamette. In 1943, Linfield football was halted as WorldWar II forced a three-year hiatus.
Wayne Harn became coach following the war, but left after 1947, the year 2,250-seat Memorial Stadium opened.
--
From 1948 until 1991, the Wildcats answered to only two coaches - Paul Durham and Ad Rutschman. The pair combined to win 305 games and 22 conference championships over 44 seasons. Durham, who coached for 20 years, held the school's longest reign as coach prior to Rutschman's24-year tenure.
In 1949, Durham's team faced an opportunity for its second NorthwestConference championship. Many players predicted the Wildcats wouldbeat Willamette for the championship. But because Linfield hadn'tdefeated the Bearcats since 1925, most fans thought such as statement was ludicrous.
The remarks prompted college President Harry Dillin to offer some inspiration to the team, which had either tied or been defeated byWillamette in 17 previous meetings.
Dillin pledged if the Wildcats could beat Willamette during his term, he would stand on his head at the 50-yard line of Maxwell Field.
In the aftermath of a surprising 20-0 upset of the Bearcats, Dillin kepthis word. A packed Memorial Stadium crowd witnessed the presidents tand on his head in the mud of Maxwell Field.
Linfield began its climb toward prosperity in 1956, recording thefirst 16-1 record during that decade.
In 1982, Linfield captured the first of three national championshipsin five years. The Wildcats capped a 12-0 season by beating Missouri'sWilliam Jewell College 33-15 at Wortman Field in McMinnville.
Two years later, in a stunning come-from-behind playoff victory, unbeatenLinfield rallied from 22 points down to defeat Northwestern ofIowa 33-22 in the 1984 national championship game.
In 1986, Linfield again finished undefeated and claimed the nationalchampionship by beating Baker University of Kansas 17-0 in the mud atWortman Field.
Longtime assistant coach Ed Langsdorf took over the program in 1992following Rutschman's retirement. In his first season, the Wildcats chalked up a 12-1 record, losing only to Findlay (Ohio) 36-13 in theNAIADivision II championship game. Langsdorf coached for four seasons, winning three Mt. Hood League titles. He turned the program over to defensive coordinator Jay Locey in 1996, beginning another chapter in the storied history of Linfield football.41
WINNING SEASONS
With 41 straight winning seasons already in hand, Linfield is closing in on one of the most enviable records in college football.
This fall,the Wildcats are in position to tie the collegiate record of 42consecutive winning seasons, shared by Harvard (1881-1923) and NotreDame (1889-1932).
The Wildcats' present 41-year streak of consecutive winning seasons isNo. 1 in all of college football. None of the 669 schools that field football teams in the United States currently can claim more than 36consecutive winning seasons.
Wittenberg University of Springfield, Ohio, relinquished the No. 1 spot to Linfield at the end of the 1989 season after the Tigersfinished 4-5 to snap a streak of 34 straight winning seasons.
THE STREAK
Most current consecutive winning seasons (over .500):
SCHOOL AFFILIATION SEASONS
1. LINFIELD NAIA II 41
2. Central, Iowa NCAA III 36
3. Nebraska NCAA I-A 35
4. Baldwin-Wallace, Ohio NCAA III 30
3. Pacific Lutheran, Wash. NAIA II 28
7. California-Davis NCAA II 27
(tie) Wisconsin-LaCrosse NCAA III 27
9. Ithaca, N.Y. NCAA III 26
(Wildcatville note: Yes, that's what it says. Nebraska and PLU both #3, huh?)
