On Jan.
10, 1922, the college in McMinnville, Oregon, announced it would change its name from McMinnville
College to Linfield College.
The donation of property in Spokane, Wash., by Mrs. Linfield aided the college financially. As a result, the college was named for her late husband. It was momentous and front page news in at least four newspapers:
- Portland Oregonian, Jan 11, 1922
- Oregon Statesman, Salem, Ore., Jan 11, 1922
- Linfield Review (student newspaper), Jan. 11, 1922
- McMinnville Telephone Register, Jan. 13, 1922
The future
of McMinnville College was “assured in 1922 when Frances Ross Linfield gave her
properties in Spokane, Wash., to the school. In honor of the gift and to show
thanks for the more than $250,000 the college realized from the sale of the
land, trustees renamed the college in honor of Mrs. Linfield's late husband,
the Rev. George Fisher Linfield,” says historical info at the Linfield website.
But, McMinnville
becoming Linfield College was one of two Jan. 10, 1922, momentous announcements
by the college. The other was that football – dropped by the college in summer
1906 – would resume in fall 1922.
McMinnville
College first played football in 1896. Linfield did not play football 1906-1921
because the college board of trustees deemed football too violent. The first 10
seasons (1896-1905) of football were as McMinnville College. All football since
1922, the year the college changed its name, has been as Linfield.
According
to Linfield Athletics records, the last football game played by McMinnville
College in 1905 was a 6-6 tie with what was then Pacific College of Newberg.
Not to be confused with Pacific University of Forest Grove. Pacific College is now George Fox University.
It was a
two game season for Linfield in 1922. The first was Oct. 21, 1922, in Salem. Linfield
lost 20-0 to Willamette. On Nov. 4, 1922, in McMinnville, Linfield beat Pacific
University (Forest Grove), 36-0.
Sources for
this posting include, but not limited to:
- Linfield College website and books about the college.
- Linfield Review thanks to Linfield Archives & Special Collections.
- Oregonian, Portland.
- Oregon Statesman, Salem, now publishing as the Statesman Journal.
- McMinnville Telephone Register, now publishing as the News-Register.
