Linfield mentions in story about George Fox College football from the April 2003 issue of George Fox Life:
Ghosts of the Gridiron: George Fox University football made its last tackle in 1968, but the memories are still fresh for football alumni
“This Good Quaker Boy”
Steven Wilhite (’61), a fullback and cornerback during his playing days and now a surgeon in Eugene, Ore., told how he hit a much-bigger Linfield College player so hard that his opponent had to be taken to the Newberg hospital.
“Now here I am, this good Quaker boy, and I know I’m supposed to be worried about hitting a guy like that — but I was so happy inside.”
Several years later, that same Linfield player came to Wilhite for a hernia operation. “I wasn’t sure if he remembered me,” says Wilhite, “but we got to talking about our college football days and this fellow says, ‘Man, the hardest I ever got hit was against George Fox. It put me in the hospital.’ I sure didn’t tell him who I was then, but it was nice to hear that. Then I fixed his hernia — and charged him my regular rate.”
The Kicking Game
George Fox football was competitive in the 1940s and 1950s. One of the college’s top players was Dick Zeller (’55), who led the team in passing, rushing, and punting.
“(Zeller) punted one at Linfield that got caught in a strong tailwind and sailed 76 yards,” recalls John Adams (’56). “That ball hung up so long, we beat it downfield. Someone popped the guy that caught the ball, it came loose, and I picked it up and raced for the end zone, but they tackled me just before I got in. That was the only time I ever carried the ball at George Fox.”
Art work above appeared in the April 2003 issue of George Fox Life along with this cutline: “With its ironic boast, the above T-shirt design has become a popular purchase in the University Store.”
