Linfield football history: In 1948, Paul Durham named Wildcats' head football coach

'Kentucky, Bears NCAA Victors; Durham Gets Linfield Grid Post' is headline over two unrelated sports stories in the Sunday Oregonian, March 21, 1948. 

--One is an Associated Press story with a Kansas City dateline about Baylor winning a Western NCAA men's college basketball game to win the right to play Kentucky for the national championship in New York City. 

--Other story, without byline,  is about Linfield

Paul Durham being hired from Portland's Franklin High School to become Linfield College head football coach, succeeding Wayne Harn.

Kentucky Bears NCAA Victors; Durham Gets Linfield Grid Post

Franklin Boss To Make Move

Paul Durham, athletic director in the Portland school system for the past six years, Saturday was named football mentor of Linfield college, his alma mater, to succeed Wayne Harn, resigned. The appointment was made by Dr. Harry L. Dillin, president of the school.

 



























The new Wildcat athletic boss will take over his new duties officially September 1, but will conduct spring practice under the lights at Linfield's new 3000-seat stadium while finishing out the school year at Franklin, where he is the head football and baseball mentor. During will meet Monday night with a dozen returning 1947 Wildcat lettermen and map plans for next season's ten-game schedule, six of them being Northwest conference tilts. He will select two assistants in the near future.

Durham is a 1938 graduate of Linfield, where he played basketball and tackle on the football team. He began his coaching career at Yamhill high, and then served as an assistant mentor at Franklin for two years. He was shifted to Commerce, where he was the head man in basketball and baseball, and assistant to Football Coach Joe Enzler for two years. In 1946 he was transferred back to Franklin, and that first year he was the head coach in football, basketball and baseball. He is a graduate of Franklin.

The appointment of Durham, who is married and has three children, came after an exhaustive search for a man to head the Wildcat gridiron staff. He was very highly recommended and was almost a unanimous choice of persons with whom Dr. Dillin conferred in his survey of the field.

Durham, president of the Linfield Lettermens' society, will be an assistant profession of physical education in his new position.