Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Machida returns to Linfield College

Photo of Linfield 1984 football team added by Wildcatville in 2009

By RODNEY S. YAP, Staff Writer
Maui News, December 18, 2004

WAILUKU–Keith Machida took a trip down memory lane last month when he returned to McMinnville, Ore.

Machida was one of more than 40 players and coaches from the 1984 Linfield College national championship football team that returned to campus on Nov. 13 to be inducted into the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame.

For many of the team members, the reunion was a chance to see one another for the first time since the Wildcats’ season 20 years ago.

Linfield had to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to capture the NAIA Division II national crown that year, and Machida remembers it well.

“We were trailing 22-0 in the third quarter,’’ the 1980 Maui High School graduate said Friday. “We were playing Northwestern of Iowa for the title at McMinnville High School because the field we usually play on was torn up from the rain and mud. We scored 33 points and won 33-22.’’

It was memories of that game and other highlights from that season that got plenty of the former players fired up.

“We shared a lot of stories,’’ Machida said. “We actually drove down to the field and kicked a field goal. That was the first score we made and everybody thought we were crazy to kick a field goal. Then we got a turnover and scored again and went for two and got that.’’

Machida recalls the Wildcats’ first touchdown because it was a 1-yard pass to him from quarterback David Lindley.

“We ran the same play for the two-point conversion,’’ said Ma-chida, who hauled in that pass, too.

Hall of Fame week at Linfield coincided with the Wildcats’ regular-season finale. Linfield nailed down its fifth consecutive Northwest Conference championship with a 48-14 defeat of Willamette.

Currently ranked No. 2 and in the championship game of the NCAA Division III tournament, Linfield is led by quarterback Brett Elliott, who set the school single-season yardage record with 4,313 yards, surpassing the record of 3,084 set last season by All-American Tyler Matthews.
Elliott has also thrown more touchdown passes (59) in one season than any quarterback in the history of college football.

The Wildcats will take on Mary Hardin-Baylor today in Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl XXXII in Salem, Va.

Freshman Ryan Ishizu, a former Maui High running back, is on the team’s roster, but Machida said Ishizu will not be one of the 53 players who suits up for Linfield in today’s game.

The current Linfield team has 11 former Hawaii prep players on the roster, including four from Kamehameha Oahu and two each from Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Radford.

Machida said the 1984 team had its share of Hawaii players, including two offensive tackles and a guard. Machida was the tight end who garnered second team all-league honors.

“I always played tight end,’’ said Machida, who remembered a simpler game. “I remember when I was there, they just gave us a hook – to hang your stuff on. And if you were really special, they would give you a cardboard box to put your stuff in. Back then we didn’t play on FieldTurf, we played in the rain and the wind.’’

Machida keeps up with this team and sees some differences between this year’s squad and the teams from his day.
“I listen to the games on the Internet and this is a very good Linfield team,’’ Machida said. “We ran out of the slot formation back then and operated out of the spread formation and threw the ball much more.’’

Hawaii talent helps Linfield football

Article includes Wildcatville 2009 editing and photo addition

Fullback Puni Ellis of Kailua helped Linfield's offense outscore
opponents 650-256 this season. Photo by Kelly Bird, Linfield Sports Info


Thursday, December 23, 2004

Football players living the life at Linfield
Hawaii talent has helped the school
go 49 years without a losing season

By Dennis Anderson
Hawaii Grown Report

Football legend Bill Walsh was talking with a small group of disciples at halftime of a game in California three years ago when he offered his opinion that "Linfield has the football program that every small college should aspire to emulate."

Emulating the football program at the small Oregon college this year would include winning the NCAA Division III national championship, going 13-0 and extending college football's all-time, all-divisions record of consecutive winning seasons to 49 years.
It was the fourth national championship for a program that has extensive Hawaii threads woven through its unparalleled run of success, from the first player from Hawaii to play at Linfield -- Al Wills in 1949 -- through this season's 10 players and two coaches.

Fourteen players from Hawaii have earned All-America recognition at Linfield; 27 have been all-conference.

In the 1970s and '80s, a typical Linfield roster included more than 20 players from Hawaii.
Current offensive line coach Doug Hire (Pearl City '83) was an offensive guard on the 1984 and 1986 NAIA championship teams and was a first team NAIA All-American in 1986.

Coach Doug Hire. Wildcatville photo

Hire noted that former coach Ad Rutschman, who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame after 24 winning seasons and three national championships at Linfield, said that "evaluating position by position, the best players he coached were from Hawaii."

Hire's explanation is that, "It's part of the upbringing, the way we play in Hawaii, being very physical players."


The most physical of the Hawaii players at Linfield this season was junior defensive end Brandon Tom (Kamehameha '02 of Kailua).

Tom is a two-time All-Northwest Conference selection and got a lot of attention on ESPN2 last Saturday for his big plays in Linfield's 28-21 victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor of Texas for the NCAA III championship in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.

Tom made eight tackles, including sharing a quarterback sack that ended the Texas team's last bid for a game-turning score at the Linfield 19 late in the fourth quarter.

"He has it all," Hire says. "He's explosive, a dangerous pass rusher with power moves and quick moves. He's tall (6-2) and physical (225 pounds).

Tom led Linfield's defensive linemen in tackles for the season with 53 in 13 games, including 4 sacks and 5.5 others for losses.

The other Hawaii players who got into the national championship game were senior fullback Puni Ellis (Kamehameha '00 of Kailua), sophomore defensive end Nik Soo (Kamehameha '03 of Kamuela), and redshirt freshman special teams stalwart Keone Tawata (Radford '03)

In the coaching box with Hire was graduate assistant Daryl Agpalsa (Kamehameha '98 of Waikele), who made a small-college grand slam -- first-team offensive guard on four All-America teams -- in his senior season of 2002.

Ellis was the starting fullback in a passing offense that seldom used a fullback. He only carried the ball 14 times the last two years, but he scored five touchdowns and blocked for many others.
"He was our MVP Diamond-in-the-Rough utility player," Hire said. Ellis also played wide receiver, linebacker and special teams during his five-year Linfield career.

Soo often started as the opposite defensive end from Tom. "He's got a motor, he does not stop,"

Hire said. "Nik made huge gains from his freshman year and will be a phenomenal player."

Soo was in on 45 tackles, including 5.5 for losses.

Tawata blocked three kicks during the season. "He is fast, physical and crazy -- an impact player on all special teams," Hire said.

Also on the postseason roster was redshirt freshman wide receiver Josh Vierra (Kamehameha '03 of Kahalu'u).

The other players from Hawaii on Linfield's regular-season roster were:

Freshman cornerback Chris Thorpe (Radford '03); redshirt freshman, second-team linebacker Kevin Kauweloa (Waianae '03), redshirt freshman, scout-team wide receiver Brad Lau (Hawaii Prep '03 of Kamuela); physical freshman fullback Ryan Ishizu (Maui '04 of Pukalani), and redshirt freshman back-up punter/kicker Stan Fisher (Punahou '03 of Kailua).

"If you want to experience our winning tradition and get a great education, this is the place to come," pitched Hire, who is in Hawaii to visit his parents and recruit.

Ellis, the only senior among the current Hawaii ohana, said Linfield has been a perfect fit for him.
"I always wanted to go to a small college," he said. "You don't feel that ohana-ness at a big school.

"I grew to be a better person here."

Linfield's Hawaii connection blossomed under 13-year coach Paul Durham.

When Durham brought his Linfield team to Honolulu in 1967 and beat University of Hawaii 15-13, UH was so impressed that they hired him as athletic director. He served seven years. (Durham, 91, currently resides in Waikiki and still attends every UH football, volleyball and basketball game, and plays golf once a week.)

One of Durham's first Hawaii recruits and Linfield's first All-American from Hawaii (in 1961) was Hugh Yoshida, who served as athletic director at UH from 1993 to 2002.

Former UH football coach Fred vonAppen also was an all-star at Linfield ... but that is another story.

Linfield's Hawaii All-Americans

Football players from Hawaii who have been selected All-American while playing for Linfield College (with their high schools in parentheses):

1961: Hugh Yoshida (Iolani), linebacker
1964: Tony Ah Yat (Kamehameha), end
1972-73: Bernie Peterson (Kalani), tight end
1977: Pat Silva (McKinley), quarterback
1978: Paul Dombroski (Leilehua), defensive back
1980: Ed Kama (McKinley), offensive tackle
1984-85: Keith Machida (Maui), tight end
1986: Doug Hire (Pearl City), offensive guard
1986: Jody Tyrell (Moanalua), linebacker
1988: Chris Kelly (Moanalua), defensive end
1991: Shaun Aguano (Kapaa), running back
1992-93: Julian Tyrell (Moanalua), linebacker
1993: Kahale Huddleston (Baldwin), defensive end
2002: Daryl Agpalsa* (Kamehameha), offensive guard
* First team on four All-America teams

Players from Hawaii who have earned all-conference honors:

Al Wills (Saint Louis), tackle, 1950, '52
Rogers Ishizu (Maui), halfback, 1967
Marco Min (Waipahu), quarterback, 1974
Billy Yamamoto (Kalani), safety, 1977
Jose Guevara (Moanalua), offensive tackle, 1985
Aundre Pace (Radford), tailback, 1987
Tony Pang-Kee (Castle), defensive back, 1987-88
Peter Ranta (Kalaheo), safety, 1988
John Santiago (Damien), punt returner, 1991

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

When was the last tie in Linfield varsity football history?


The NCAA football rules committee, meeting February 1996 in Kansas City, Mo., voted to require a tiebreaker in all college football games. Instead of a game ending in a tie, an overtime tiebreaker system was adopted.

What was the last tie football game in Linfield varsity football history?

The score was 20-20 on Sept. 18, 1993, in Tacoma: Linfield vs. Pacific Lutheran.

It was Linfield’s first game of the season, not counting the Wildcats’ season-opening 34-14 win over its alumni. Both Linfield, coached by Ed Langsdorf, and PLU, coached by Frosty Westering, were in the NAIA.

A story in the Sept. 19, 1993, Seattle Times said, “A 1-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion with 1 second remaining lifted fifth-ranked Pacific Lutheran to a miraculous 20-20 tie with second-ranked Linfield at the Tacoma Dome last night.”

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Linfield will play 802nd game to start 2010 football season

Since Linfield College began playing football in 1896, the Linfield Wildcats have played 801 games.

When the Wildcats open the 2010 season on Sept. 11 at California Lutheran, it will be their 802nd game during what will be Linfield’s 96th season playing football. During those seasons -- the years 1896-2009 -- Linfield has won 524 games, lost 246 and tied 31 for a .674 winning percentage.

Linfield’s 2010 regular season football schedule:

September - 11 at Cal Luth, 25 at La Verne.

October -
2 vs. Willamette, 9 at UPS, 16 vs. Pacific (Homecoming), 23 at PLU, 30 vs. Menlo.

November - 6 vs. Whitworth (Hall of Fame Game), 13 at L&C.

Sources:
Linfield 1
Linfield 2

For your information:
Penn football makes NCAA history with 1,300th game

When the University of Pennsylvania football team beat the BrownUniversity Bears 14-7 in overtime on Oct. 31, 2009, in Providence,R.I., it marked the Penn Quakers' 1,300th game, the most in NCAA history at any level. Penn began playing football in 1876. The 2009 season was Penn's 133rd playing football. Penn is located in Philadelphia.

Source:

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Webcast: Linfield @ UW Whitewater 12/12/09







Posted on Sat, Dec. 12, 2009
Wis-Whitewater tops Linfield 27-17 in Div III semi

The Associated Press

Jeff Donovan completed 17 of 26 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown to lead Wisconsin-Whitewater to a 27-17 victory over Linfield in the Division III semifinals. The Warhawks (14-0) advanced to their fifth consecutive Stagg Bowl appearance, where they'll face undefeated Mount Union in the final next Saturday in Salem, Va. The Warhawks went up 20-17 on Jordan Wells' 68-yard reception and a one-yard run by Antwan Anderson. Levell Coppage added a 40-yard touchdown run for Wisconsin-Whitewater with 1:05 to play. Linfield fell to 12-1.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Wildcats thrive on a tradition of winning













12/10/2009

Little Oregon college thrives on winning tradition

McMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) --- There's a hand-painted sign above the entrance to the Linfield Wildcats' locker room at Maxwell Field that reads: "Are you a better football player today than you were yesterday?''

It's a reminder of a message players there have been taking to heart for decades, since the Division III team embarked on its streak of winning seasons in 1956.

That 54-season streak is the longest in the nation among NCAA schools of all divisions - far surpassing Florida State's current run of 33straight winning seasons. However, the Seminoles are cutting it close at 6-6 this season, facing West Virginia in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1.

Linfield is a private university of some 2,100 students in the heart of McMinnville, located about 35 miles southwest of Portland, in Oregon's Willamette Valley wine country. The town is known as the birthplace of children's author Beverly Cleary, and for a famous UFO sighting in the 1950s that spawned a yearly festival there.

In many ways Linfield looks like a small East Coast college plunked down in the West, complete with red-brick colonial dormitories and a bell tower that chimes on the hour.

Football Saturdays during the fall are all about the Wildcats.Purple-clad fans dot the town's main streets before games and cars proudly display their Wildcat flags. The atmosphere harkens back to a simpler time.

"Linfield is Linfield, I think, because of that winning tradition,''said former quarterback and current assistant coach Brett Elliott."Every year we continue that tradition, the streak that we're on, it fuels the fire, so to speak.''

The Wildcat mystique was born under Paul Durham, who coached the team from 1948-67, and then continued by coach Ad Rutschman, head coach from 1967-91.

Rutschman also served as the baseball coach for 13 seasons and the school's athletic director for 25 years, and currently works as an assistant to coach Joseph Smith. Rutschman is the only college coach at any level to have won national titles in both football and baseball.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

"Much of the success I think stems from Ad Rutschman. Ad was a great coach. I would liken him to a John Wooden-type of coach, he was such a great teacher,'' said Oregon State assistant coach Jay Locey, who coached the Wildcats from 1996 to 2006 and led the team to its last national championship in 2004.


"It is about the development of people first,'' Locey said. "The winning is the byproduct.''

This season the Wildcats are in the postseason for the 21st time in school history. They won three NAIA Div. II national championships, in1982, 1984 and 1986, before joining Div. III 12 years ago.


The current Wildcats were unranked going into the season, and for the first time in nearly a decade, they weren't even expected to finish atop the Northwest Conference.

But Linfield, 6-3 last season, has kept winning all the way through last weekend's Div. III quarterfinals against St. Thomas of Minnesota.

The Wildcats (12-0) visit Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-0) in the semifinals on Saturday. Wesley (13-0) is at Mount Union (13-0) in the other semifinal.

The winners will go to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the division's championship, in Salem, Va., the following weekend.


Elliott led the Wildcats to the championship in 2004. The Utah transfer was known for throwing an NCAA all-division record 61 TD passes his junior year.

"It sounds like a cliche, but this really is a family,'' Elliott said."Every time I come back here, from the NFL, from the Arena League, it feels like home. It feels comfortable. It feels right.''
Locey said the streak has taken on a life of its own at Linfield.

"The neat thing is that you do have a sense of duty,'' Locey said."You didn't want to be a player or coach on the team that was there when the streak ended.''


This season's quarterback, Aaron Boehme, said his team wanted to put an individual stamp on the Wildcats' legacy. So far they have,surpassing expectations and going undefeated.

"Because we had those really good runs before my freshman year ... we tried to get away from that,'' Boehme said. "Not get away from the tradition, but to focus on ourselves and not rest on those laurels.''




Associated Press story. Wildcatville photo.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Vote for Linfield Coach Joe Smith as Liberty Mutual ‘Coach of the Year’

Thanks to Debbie Harmon (dharmon@linfield.edu), Linfield alumni director, the following information as of 12/1/09

Liberty Mutual has a contest for football 'Coach of the Year' at each NCAA division level.

The top 15 coaches will be considered in the evaluation phase.

One football coach from each NCAA division will be honored with the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Trophy, $50,000 for the charity of his choice, and a $20,000 scholarship endowment for his school’s alumni association.

Joe Smith, Linfield head football coach, is currently ranked #15. Please help keep him in the top 15.

Contest ends Dec. 6, 2009. You can vote once per day at http://www.coachoftheyear.com

Wildcatville photo info: Coach Joe Smith (left) leaves Wildcat huddle during Nov. 28, 2009, UMHB game on Maxwell Field.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Oregon State University football team has some Linfield cardinal and purple


Mike Riley, former Linfield assistant


Jay Locey, former Linfield head and assistant coach

Danny Langsdorf, Linfield grad and former Linfield player
Ron Callan, Linfield grad


This story was posted Nov. 22, 2009. If you are interested in it, see this Dec. 23, 2009,
story in the McMinnville N-R: "The Man Behind the Numbers."


When you look at the Oregon State University 2009 football team you, of course, see the OSU orange and black-clad Beavers. But, look closer and you can see some Linfield cardinal and purple, too.

OSU head coach Mike Riley and assistant head coach Jay Locey are former Linfield assistant football coaches. In addition, Locey is a former Linfield head football coach.

Oregon State assistant football coach Danny Langsdorf is a Linfield grad and former Linfield football player. His father, Ed Langsdorf, is a former Linfield head and assistant football coach.

On the OSU sidelines during Beaver football games is Linfield grad Ron Callan, sideline reporter for the Oregon State football radio network. He's sports director of Portland's KPAM Radio.

All photos taken by Wildcatville during the OSU at Washington State University football game on Nov. 21, 2009, except Langsdorf, from an Oregonian blog posted June 27, 2008.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Speaking of the pay telephone in Hay, Washington, etc.


My two cents – Where does the Man of Steel go now?
October 28, 2010by Joe SmillieWhitman County Gazette
Colfax, Wash.

Poor Superman, he would never have a chance today.

A world in which every man, woman and child has a cell phone attached to their hip or slung in their pocket leaves no place for the man of steel.

The pervasiveness of cell phones has rendered coin phone booths relics. That leaves Krypton’s favorite son stuck when latter-day Lex Luthors take their toll on poor civilians.

The privacy of four green glass walls once provided the Man of Steel the perfect forum for discreetly metamorphosing from Clark Kent’s suit and tie to Superman’s tights and cape.

Envision his troubles now.

A grown man, tucked behind a back alley dumpster, pulling off his pants with one hand while covering the private regions of Krypton with a smart phone in the other hand is hardly the persona a superhero wants to put out.

“Now with cell phones, people don’t use them as much,” said Dallas Filan, general manager of Pioneer Telephone at LaCrosse.

Pioneer has five pay phones placed throughout west Whitman County, but Filan said use of those phones has steadily dropped over the past decade.

Whitman County’s government last week approved a budget amendment that accounted for a drastic drop in revenue from the pay phone in the Public Service Building. Maribeth Becker, clerk for the county commissioners, said the county as recently as last year received more than $2,000 from the pay phone.

Through September of this year, however, the pay phone had earned the county just over $10, bumping the estimate of this year’s proceeds down to $15.

“It just stopped,” said Becker. “It costs us $55 a month to keep that phone there. If we’re only making 10, 15, dollars, what’s the point of having it there?”

Revenue from the county’s classic style pay phone at the front entrance to the courthouse seems to be holding its own.

Because of that drop, many phone companies, both global and local, have begun to shed their stock of pay phones, either abandoning them or taking them out altogether.

Statistics from the Federal Communications Commission show the number of pay phones in the U.S. dropped from two million in 1997 to one million ten years later.

Meanwhile, cell phone ownership jumped from 90.6 million in 2000 to 217.4 million in 2007.

Shrinking usage no longer can support the costs of keeping up Mr. Clark Kent’s wardrobes.

“It just got to be more trouble than it was worth,” said Donna Loomis of St. John Telephone.

St. John Telephone had four pay phones located around its area until about a decade ago.

Phone booths are quite the attractive target for ne’er-do-wells.

Temptation to break glass panes with rocks, to wedge gum into coinslots or to use the booths as a makeshift rest stop made maintenance a hassle.

That was the reason St. John Telephone pulled its pay phone from the school.

Even the coin-op phone in front of St. John Telephone’s Front Street office was beset by savages before its removal late last century.

Loomis said phone company repairmen were constantly fighting a battle to keep the heavy, armored cords in the phone. Regularly they would show up for work only to find the receiver completely disconnected from the base.

So, the company replaced it with a normal chord, and never had to maintain it again.

And if maintaining five telephone pitstops is a hassle, imagine the problem of keeping up thousands throughout the country.

Verizon no longer installs traditional phone booths, preferring pedestal-style, pay phone kiosks that take up less space and are easier to maintain.

The kiosks also meet national standards for accessibility by the disabled, said Verizon spokeswoman Sharon Shaffer.

Designing larger phone booths wasn’t a reasonable alternative because of the space they would take up – whether on sidewalks or in retail locations, she said.

Fortunately, enough relics of a wired past remain posted that a quick drive could afford the Man of Tomorrow the privacy to swap garb.

Pioneer Telephones are spotted at Central Ferry, Dusty, Endicott and LaCrosse.

Perhaps the most aesthetically appropriate phone booth for the Metropolis Marvel would be the antique red rotary dial phone booth posted outside the old Hay Hardware Store.

Filan said Pioneer receives regular calls from antique afficionados about the Hay pay phone. (See photo.)
“That Hay phone’s in high demand,” he said.

Another nod to historical design standards would be Inland Telephone Company’s green receiver-shaped public phone posted along the highway near the city park at Colton.

While it establishes the phone booth motif, the half shell would still leave the last Kryptonian without full privacy on the busy thoroughfare.

Unfortunately, all those options mean a long flight from Metropolis for the man of steel – and a longer wait for us poor humans in need.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

An important part of Wildcat football is the Linfield Water Crew


Linfield Water Crew 2009 (l-r): Bill Harlan, John O'Connor, Eric Lundeen, John Schindelar and Jason Schindelar. This photo and accompanying video from Oct 11, 2009, at the Pine Bowl on the campus of Whitworth University in Spokane/Mead/Country Homes, Wash., prior to Linfield-Whitworth football game.



Water Crew members John Schindelar, Eric Lundeen before a 2005 home football game at the Catdome (Linfield College's Maxwell Field).


First came the Ice Age.

In the case of Linfield College football's Water Crew, first came Fred "Iceman" Baugh.

Through hot practices in McMinnville and home and away games during part of Ad Rutschman's tenure, all of Ed Langsdorf's and, now, Jay Locey's Wildcat head football coaching career, Baugh or the Crew has served the needs of Wildcat football players.

After retiring from a 27-year career with the McMinnville School District, Baugh noticed a need while attending a Linfield Wildcat football practice on a sunny day in August 1986.

At the practice, he saw hot and thirsty Wildcat football players drinking water from a hose, he told Linfield Review reporter Jeni Aaby in an April 2, 2004, article, “Nourishing the thirst to win.”


Baugh came up with a better way to keep the Wildcats cool. Starting in the 1986 season, he provided water and ice to Linfield players during hot practices and on the sidelines at home and on the road football games.

After working solo for a couple of seasons, Baugh invited his best friend, Brad Mills, then a McMinnville elementary teacher, to “help me water the boys.” For a time, Baugh and Mills were the Linfield Water Crew. In addition to providing water, they purchased towels and water bottles, kept ice water and towels for overheated players during the games, cleaned mud from cleats, and repaired some equipment and helmets.” They also affixed the famous Wildcat logo decal on player helmets.

Water Crew members John O'Connor and John Schindelar at University of Wisconsin Whitewater Perkins Stadium prior to Dec. 12, 2009, Linfield NCAA semi-final playoff game, Linfield Wildcats vs. UWW Warhawks.






In 1989, John Schindelar, also a Mac elementary teacher, accepted their invitation to join the Crew. In 2002, Baugh retired from his Crew work. So, did Mills. But, alas, Baugh missed the work too much and could not stay away. He returned to practices and the sidelines. Baugh claims the 2005 season was his last on the Crew. “It's been a wonderful time being associated with such quality coaches and players,” Baugh says. Schindelar now leads the Crew.

"Lots of people don't know how much time we spend providing water during the during the hot fall practice pre-season sessions. Often there are three to five of us on the practice field for more than three at least four days per week. That's about 48 hours weekly," Schindelar says.

When practices take place later in the season, when it's cold and rainy, the Crew does not work. "But, rain or shine, on home game days, all Crew members are busy," says Schindelar. Water Crew members are volunteers, but each make a financial commitment. Crew members buy their vehicle gas, and pay for their food and lodging on the road. They also buy some towels, water faucet hoses and coolers.

The Crew is credited with organizing the Linfield football icebreaker, which continues to this day. Held on campus immediately before fall drills, the events provide players, coaches and player parents with a good meal and a chance to get to know each other.

"We love what we do," says Schindelar. "The student-athletes at Linfield are great. Our coaches are the best. They teach our players to always do the right thing."

Crew team members (listed in sonority order):

John Schindelar…
…joined the Crew in 1989. A Solon, Ohio, native and Solon High School and Bowling Green State University grad, he played football at Solon High and, as a freshman, at Bowling Green. He has a master of education degree from Ohio's Kent State University and he has studied at Ohio State University. His background includes teaching in Ohio and also in U.S. Department of Defense Dependants’ Schools in Japan, Germany, and Spain. He taught 25 years in the McMinnville School District. This includes 20 years teaching fifth grade at Cook Elementary School and five years of fourth grade at Memorial Elementary School. In Augsburg, Germany, at an American high school, he was an assistant varsity football coach and head varsity track coach, both for four years. At Ohio’s Beachwood High School, he was an assistant varsity football coach. He also coached football, soccer, and track for 20 years at Cook Elementary.

John O'Connor…
…after being a substitute, he became a full time Crew member in 1995 and says, “I absolutely love it.” Born and raised in New Jersey, he is a 1973 economics graduate of Southern Oregon University. Prior to retiring in 2003, he served 27 years with the state of Oregon as an Adult & Family Services case manager. He says baseball is his favorite sport. He coached Little League baseball, 10 years in Mac and two in Klamath Falls. Now retired from swim officiating, for 15 years, he was head timer for McMinnville Swim Club and McMinnville High School meets swim meets.

Bill Harlan……joined the Crew in 1996, the year he moved to McMinnville. Born and raised in central Illinois, he is a graduate of Monmouth College in that state. His 30-year teaching career included working in Los Angeles public schools and in U.S. Department of Defense Dependants' Schools in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Greece. A snow skier who has skied in the Alps of Switzerland, he and John Schindelar taught at the same Department of Defense school in Germany.

Eric Lundeen……became a Crew member in 1997. He’s a McMinnville School District child development specialist. Originally from California, Lundeen graduated from Nebraska's Concordia College and earned a master of science in social work degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He says a benefit of crew work is "being involved in a program that uses positive thinking to achieve monumental goals." There's great joy, Lundeen says, in "watching a group of Linfield students come together as a team, see leaders develop, see goals being met and surpassed. I see our coaches skillfully guide their team without raising a voice, lowering themselves to denigrating their players and overcoming obstacles that get in the way." His sports background includes bicycle touring – he’s cycled Europe. Lundeen is learning and practicing tai chi, a traditional Chinese mind-body relaxation exercise. He has coached football and track at McMinnville's Adams Elementary School. As a swim meet official for the Oregon Swim Association, affiliated with USA Swim Association, he has officiated for McMinnville Swim Club and McMinnville High School meets

Jason Schindelar…
…signed on with the Crew in 2002. The son of John Schindelar, he is a McMinnville High School graduate and former Mac High football player and track athlete (shot put and discus). He was elected Mac-Hi track & field team captain as a senior. He lives Estacada. During the 2005 season, his father says, "Jason took care of (All-American quarterback) Brett Elliot and other players every time they came off the field with a dry towel and water. He also watered the referees."

Honorary Water Crew member

Al Sekerak…
…an Ohio State Buckeye fan/friend of Joan and Joan Schindelar, from Canyon Lake, Calif., he serves as an honorary Water Crew member. Says John Schindelar, “We allow him to come to Oregon once or twice a year to be an honorary Linfield Water Crew member.” In the 2005 season, he worked as a Crew member for the PLU game on Maxwell Field and traveled to Spokane to work the Whitworth game. “He has been doing this for five of six years,” says Schindelar.

Honorary Water Crew Groupies
Joan Schindelar, Marcia Harlan, and Phyllis Mills have Linfield football season passes, and travel to away games with their Water Crew husbands. ”Sometimes Kay O Connor joins us, especially when we travel to California,” says John Schindelar.

Crew team alumni (listed in senority order):

Fred Baugh…
…the founding father of the Linfield Water Crew, he was nicknamed the “Iceman” when he started providing water and ice for Linfield football players. In his more than a quarter of a century of work for the McMinnville School District, he was principal of Columbus and Newby elementary schools and support services director for the district. Born and raised in Wenatchee, Wash., he came to Linfield as a student in 1947, transferring from Spokane’s Whitworth College, where he played football for one season. He graduated from Linfield in education in 1950 and earned a master’s of education degree from the college in 1955. A Navy veteran, his sports background includes coaching elementary school sports and high school freshman football. Iceman died Sept. 21, 2015.

Brad Mills...
…made the Crew possible, when he joined Fred Baugh at practices and on the sidelines that made two, a Crew! Although Mills “retired” from the Crew in 2002, he still helps at practices and on the sideline when needed, until he drives his recreational vehicle for winter in sunny southern California. There, he’s activities director at an RV resort. A Navy veteran, Mills taught 30 years in the McMinnville School District, at Columbus and Adams Elementary Schools. Ten of those years were as a K-6 P.E. instructor. He is a graduate of Newberg High School and earned bachelor (minor in physical education) and master’s degrees from Western Oregon University. He coached fourth-sixth graders in all sports and helped in the early stages of the district’s successful outdoor school for sixth graders. Mills is an avid golfer and enjoys fishing.

Bob Payne…
…served on the Crew from about 19XX until his death in 2004 -- a cancer victim -- in 2004. He was a McMinnville attorney, city councilor and civic leader. A California native, he graduated from the University of California-Davis and earned a law degree from the University of Georgia. He was a Vista volunteer. Also, he was a legal aid attorney in Georgia, Coos Bay and for Yamhill County. From 1983-1985, he lived in Germany, where he taught business law to the U.S. military. He returned to McMinnville in 1985 and opened a private law practice. He taught business law at Linfield. His sports interests included watching soccer and playing golf. See below for his obituary as it appeared on March 3, 2004, in The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise newspaper.

Jerry Nutt…Jerry Nutt was a member of the Water Crew from XXXX until his death in 2011. Said the Crew’s John Schindelar, “The Wildcat football team never really got to know … Jerry … because he was always too ill (Myelodysplastic Syndromes) to really help much," he said. "(But team members) would surely recognize him with his oxygen tank and cane limping along on the track or field. … One thing is for sure, he loved the Wildcat football program and he came to every practice or game he could manage!"

Jerry L. Nutt
1940 - 2011
McMinnville News-Register
February 2011

Jerry Lynn Nutt, 70, a resident of McMinnville, died on January 29, 2011, following his long-fought and valiant battle with Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

He was born in Cashmere, Washington to Claude and Lulu Nutt on February 1, 1940. Jerry attended primary and secondary school in Coulee City, Washington and graduated from Coulee City High School in 1958. He received a Bachelor’s degree in education from Whitworth College and a Masters Degree in library sciences from Central Washington University.

He began his career in education in Cashmere, Washington in 1963; however, worked the majority of his 35 year career as a teacher, librarian, administrator and media specialist in the Beaverton School District where he retired from in 1997.
Jerry, or “Grandpa Griz” as he was known to many, continued to work with children by volunteering as a counselor at the Tillamook County Outdoor School. He also loved spending time as a docent at the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville and was proud to be part of the Linfield College Football Team Waterboys.

He provided guidance and passion to his family, friends, coworkers and kids through his enduring love of life and spiritual passion. He exuded a joyful spirit with a zest for life and made everyone feel comfortable through his fun, giving and outgoing personality. He devoted his life to Phyllis, his beloved wife of 33 years. Together they traveled throughout the western United States expanding their horizons and visiting their children in Portland, California, Wyoming and South Dakota; however, they always reveled in the tranquility and solace of their companionship spent on their porch watching the birds and sunsets.

Jerry is survived by his beloved wife, Phyllis; son, Jason, his wife, Michele and grandchildren, Justin and Ryan; son, Dan and grandchildren, Samuel and Logan; son, Eric and his wife, Patty; and a large community of loving and caring friends who will miss him very much.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, February 10, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. at the Church on the Hill located at 700 North Hill Road in McMinnville, Oregon 97128 (503) 472-8476. Viewing will be held Thursday and Friday from 12:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Macy & Son.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Tillamook County Outdoor School, P.O. Box 4, Cloverdale, OR 97112. To leave private online condolences, please visit www.macyandson.com.


Robert A. Payne

The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise
March 3, 2004

Robert A. "Bob" Payne, a 1963 Davis High School graduate, died Feb. 20, 2004, of pancreatic cancer in his McMinnville, Ore., home. He was 58. He was born Dec. 19, 1945, in Sacramento, to Leonard and Thelma Bailey Payne. He grew up in Woodland and Davis, graduating from UC Davis in 1970. He graduated from the law school at the University of Georgia in 1975.

In 1971-72, he served as a Vista volunteer in northern Georgia, where he later worked as a legal aid attorney.

In 1976 he moved to Coos Bay, Ore., to practice as a legal aid attorney. He moved to McMinnville two years later. He served as director of Yamhill County Legal Aid until 1983.

From 1983 to 1985, he lived in Germany, where he taught business law for the U.S. military.

He then returned to McMinnville, opening a private practice. He was a member of that city's planning commission for four years, then served 12 on the City Council before declining health forced his resignation last October.

He also served on the McMinnville Cable Commission, Yamhill County Community Action Organization board, Oregon Legal Aid board and local Habitat for Humanity board. He was a founding member of the Henderson House family crisis shelter, and was active in the North Willamette Valley Investment Club.

He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1966-75. He worked with the Cheyenne River Sioux on the Eagle-Butte Indian Reservation in South Dakota. And he taught business law at Linfield College in McMinnville.

His hobbies included reading, playing golf, traveling, camping, playing computer games and politics. He was an avid sports fan, supporting McMinnville-area soccer teams and serving as a "water boy" for the Linfield football team.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Payne of McMinnville, daughter, Katy Payne of Seattle, sons, Jim Payne of Anacortes, Wash., and Bailey Payne of Corvallis, Ore., mother, Thelma Cooper of Woodland, sisters, Katie Cooper of Dayton, Ore., Lynn Wilen of Shingletown and Elizabeth Sherin of Pollock Dunes, and one grandchild.

A memorial service was held Feb. 26 at McMinnville First Baptist Church. A private burial was planned.

Memorial contributions may be made to Habitat for Humanity, care of Macy & Son Funeral Directors, 135 N.E. Evans St., McMinnville, OR 97128.


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Good Hydrations 

By Andrew Kilstrom of the N-R/McMinnville News-Register 9/13/2013 

Every Linfield home football game, John Schindelar and his five-man water crew arrive at Maxwell field two and a half hours before game time.

The men help prepare the locker room, mix Gatorade, prepare the various water jugs and bottles and collect towels. They then move to the field, where they set up everything up for both the offense and defense, making sure everything is perfect before kickoff is underway.

 During the game, Schindelar follows the defense with a “six-pack” of water bottles, ready for anyone who needs a drink. John O’Connor does the same for the offense. Eric Lundeen is in charge of mixing all the Gatorade and helps Schindelar with the defense. Schindelar’s son, Jason, is in charge of providing the coaches and referees with water at a moment’s notice, and Bill Harlan roams the sideline doing whatever else is needed.

 Together, the five men help Linfield run as smoothly and efficiently as possible on game days, unnoticed by most, but vital nonetheless. “That’s our only goal, really,” John Schindelar said. “To do whatever is needed of us and help out in whatever way we can. Our main job is taking care of the water, but there’s a lot more we do too.”

The group does more than work home games. They work summer practices, making sure the players get the water they need. Schindelar said their rule is to always be at practice when it’s 80 degrees or warmer.

They don’t always work practices in the morning or later in the season when it’s cooler, but when they are at practice — around 48 hours a week combined — they’re helping with more than just the water. In addition to handling the water, Schindelar and company help equipment manager Mack Farag with cleaning helmets and applying decals. They’ll stay as late as 10 p.m. some Fridays making sure everyone’s helmet looks brand new for game day.

 “They do a lot more than what you see on game day,” said Tim Marsh, creator of the Wildcatville blog. “There’s so much behind the scenes stuff that no one gets to see.”

The five members of the water crew are all volunteers, donating their own time and money on road trips to serve the Linfield football team. The entire group rarely travels to away games, especially ones across the country like Saturday’s game against Hardin-Simmons, but there’s always someone with the team to take care of the water. This week it’s Schindelar traveling with the team to Abeline, Texas. While it’s expensive at times, he said making the trips with the team is always worth it. He’s experienced many great memories during his 25 plus years of working on the Linfield water crew.

“I’d say the best memory is the year we won the national championship,” he said. “There’s so many great memories and great people you meet, but that was special. I still remember it, a beautiful day, even though it was 15 degrees below zero. It was special.”

The members of the water crew aren't the only ones that enjoy what they do for the Wildcats on a daily basis. Their efforts don’t go unnoticed by the coaching staff and players. Coach Joseph Smith and his team realize the sacrifice and hard work the five men put in, and are always appreciative. “I can’t say enough about our water crew and the things they do for us every single day,” Smith said.

“They’re out there in the heat running around with water bottles, helping out with anything and everything. It’s people like them that allow our team be successful every single year.”

Schindelar said he sees the appreciation on an everyday basis. Interacting with the players has always been one of the most appealing aspects to the position. Nothing the crew does goes unappreciated by the Wildcat players.

“The draw is that at division three you have a really nice program,” Shindelar said. “You have really, really nice kids. When we take water to them, every kid says, ‘thank you, appreciate you being here today, this is the best water we’ve ever had.’ It just goes on and on and on.”

 Chances are Linfield will experience its 57th consecutive winning season this year, the all-time record for all divisions of college football.

While the five men running around the sidelines will often do so without recognition, their impact will be major. Win or lose, Schindelar and his team are happy to do what they do. “It’s just so much fun he said,” he said. “Some of my best memories have come from Linfield football.”

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Below from Oct. 11, 2014, edition of (football) Game Time, the official publication of the Linfield College Wildcats. Click on image to read story.


In memory of Fred “Iceman” Baugh, a 1950 Linfield grad, who died 9/21/2015.   Photo of Iceman provided by his son, S. M. “Steve” Baugh, smbaugh(at)yahoo.com


Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh
1926 - 2015
McMinnville N-R/News-Register 9/25/2015





FRED BAUGH


Story below based on obituary from Baugh family on 9/28/2015 


Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh, age 89, formerly of McMinnville died Sept. 21, 2015, in a private care home in Portland. Private family services were held.


Fred Baugh was born Jan. 23, 1926 in Wenatchee, Wash., to Fred E. and Luella Thurston Baugh. 


Their son, Fred, served in the U.S. Navy from 1943–1946, including during World War II.  Fred's mother wore a pin with five blue stars indicating Fred and his four brothers were on active service in the war. 


After his military discharge -- but serving as a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve -- he attended (and played football for) Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash. It was there that he met a fellow student, Patricia Ann “Pat” Henefer. 

They married Sept. 7, 1947, in Seattle and moved to McMinnville, Ore., as Fred had transferred from Whitworth to Linfield College. 


He graduated from Linfield in 1950.  Upon graduation he was hired to teach at McMinnville Junior High School.  But, in August 1950 -- before the school year began – he was called back into military service with the Navy because of the Korean War. 

During this Navy tenure which ended with his discharge in 1952, he had additional schooling and served in the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Wash.


In 1952, after military discharge, Fred and Pat moved back to McMinnville where Fred taught at the junior high and Cook Elementary School. Later he was principal of Columbus and Newby Elementary Schools. 


In 1975, he began work in the McMinnville School District #40 Office as Director of Support. 


In 1977 Fred and Pat moved to Kauai, Hawaii, where he was Supervisor in the Rehabilitation Center for mentally and physically handicapped.


In 1979, they moved to St. Helens, Ore., where he was Principal of the elementary school there until retiring in 1983. Then, they moved back to Kauai when he worked again at the rehab center.


In 1985, Fred and Pat moved back to McMinnville. 

Fred worked at the McMinnville Elks Lodge part-time janitor. He founded the Linfield "Water Crew" for the football team and was known as "Ice Man" by the teams’ players.


Fred was a member of the McMinnville Elks Lodge and the First Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed fishing, reading, Linfield and other football teams. He spent time working in his wood shop at home in which he enjoyed making handicrafts for the Linfield Athletic Department,  Linfield Hawaiian Club and other clubs.


Fred was preceded in death by Pat in 2011 and his brothers. He is survived by his older sister Irma Wise, 95, Tualatin; sons David of Oklahoma City and Steven of Valley Center, CA; daughter Melinda Olson of Tualatin; and 8 grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren.


In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Housecall Providers at www.housecallproviders.com, 5100 SW Macadam Ave., Portland, OR 97239

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Obituary (below) for Fred’s wife, Pat Baugh. 

Patricia Ann Baugh
May 21, 1927 -March 18, 2009

Daughter of Ben C. and Ina Davis Henefer, she attended school in California and graduated from North Central High School in Spokane, Washington. 

She attended Whitworth College in Spokane from 1946-1947 where she met her husband Fred Baugh. They were married on September 7, 1947 in Seattle, WA. Following their marriage they moved to McMinnville, OR where Fred attended Linfield College in 1947. 

They resided in McMinnville from 1947 - 1977 then moved to Hawaii for 2 years; then to St Helens, OR in 1979 for 4 years until moving back to Hawaii in 1983.  In 1985 they returned to McMinnville. 

She was President of Junior Matrons; charter member and President of PEO, Chapter DO; elder and Deacon of McMinnville First Presbyterian Church; President of Chapter BO of PEO in St. Helens; and was also involved in community activities at Hillside Manor. She also designed and founded Hawaiian appliques in Kauai, Hawaii. 

The family said she will be remembered as a devoted and loving wife of 61 years. She enjoyed traveling, gardening, crafts, sewing, and reading and loved to play bridge.

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Below is photo of Fred Baugh as a Linfield student. Fred, Pat and their son David, as a baby, lived in this trailer (which leaked when it rained) in McMinnville while Fred attended Linfield. Photo provided by their son S. M. "Steve" Baugh.


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In October 2015, Coach Ad Rutschman told Wildcatville, "Both Fred and his wife, Pat, were close and very loyal friends. I stayed with Fred and Pat while recruiting on Kauai. Pat sewed appoximately 20 aprons for our ticket crew and game ushers. I believe some are still in use." These two photos, taken 10/10/2015 at a Linfield home football game, show Linfield ticket crew members wearing aprons.

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IN THE N-R:
==Story in Nov 30, 2000, N-R about Fred Baugh includes, "Baugh's friends more likely associate him with the Linfield College football team ... He is a member of the program's support staff, and he has worked on the water crew for about 15 years."
==Story in Aug 21, 2001, McMinnville N-R includes” While there are plenty of questions to be answered (about Linfield football) before the Sept. 8 (2001) season opener, players and coaches seemed relaxed during Saturday night's icebreaker, commonly known as the "Beanie-Weinie." As players arrived Saturday to prepare for the season, they were treated to a meal of hot dogs and chili in Memorial Stadium. The event, organized by longtime volunteer water crew members Fred Baugh, Bill Harlan and Brad Mills, serves as a welcoming party for Linfield players and parents. A silent auction also serves as a fund-raiser for the football program. About 150 players are out this year. After dinner, they met with position coaches and received playbooks.”
==Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh obit in the Sept 25, 2015 N-R includes, "He was known as the “ice man” for Linfield College Football Team since 1989, for which he was very proud."