ABOUT TWO AD RUTSCHMAN HALL OF FAME HONORS

Ad Rutschman is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1998) and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame (1993) because of who he is, his accomplishments and the hard work of Dr. Bob Gill, esteemed sports historian.

About Ad and the Oregon Sports HOF, Bob said, “I was the selection committee chairman of the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame 

when I finally convinced the ‘Good Ol Boys’ to start considering small college coaches. Before that, it was always nominate your One Duck, and then your One Beaver, maybe a Blazer, etc, back and forth...”

Bob provided these photos:

—Joan and Ad Rutschman at his Oregon Sports HOF induction in July of 1993.

—-Ad and Mike Riley (who served five seasons as a Linfield assistant football coach) years later at a National Football Foundation function. Mike was also head football coach at Oregon State University and the University of Nebraska.

Ann Molek Wilson died Feb 6, 2018

ANN MARIE (MOLEK) WILSON died Feb 6, 2018, at age 86 in McMinnville.

She was widow of Ted Wilson, a long-time Linfield men’s basketball coach. They married in 1986. He died in 1996.

She was sister of Frank Molek, a Linfield grad/Linfield standout baseball player/ASLC  president and administrator.

Ann was a 1949 Hillsboro High School grad and studied at Oregon State University.

Obituary from Macy & Son of McMinnville:

Ann Marie (Molek) Wilson

Born Jan 24, 1932 

Died Feb 6, 2018

ANN MARIE (MOLEK) WILSON passed away peacefully after a lengthy illness in McMinnville, OR on Tuesday February 6, 2018.  

She was born in Butte, Montana on January 24, 1932, but she made Oregon her home for most of her life, living in Aloha, Beaverton, and then McMinnville for the last 32 years. She attended Oregon State University in Corvallis.   

She was preceded in death by her spouse, Ted Wilson, her parents, Anton and Marie Molek, and her aunt, Theresa Rudin.  

She is survived by her brother Frank Molek (Juliana) and by niece Kristina Molek, and nephew Anthony Molek, all of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Ann had an accomplished career with the Tektronix Corporation in Beaverton.  

At the time of her retirement, she served as Manager of Government Security.   She also served two years as a civilian employee of the US Air Force in France, and one year in Germany.

Ann was an adventurer and appreciated new experiences.  She especially loved to travel.  

She lived in Chateauroux, France and in Wiesbaden, Germany, as well as in Alaska as a young adult, and made her second home wherever her brother and family moved. 

She cruised with friends, took road trips with her husband, and never missed a chance to visit any place she’d never been—anywhere in the world! 

She was proud of her Slovenian heritage and traveled on several occasions to her homeland.  

Ann was also a skilled collector of antiques, fine jewelry, and dolls. This pastime took her on research trips and explorations throughout the US. 

She will be remembered for her passionate support of the Linfield Wildcats (all of them!) her love of basketball, football and baseball, and her devotion to her family.  

Services in honor of Ann’s life will be held at Macy & Son Chapel in McMinnville, Or on  March 1 at 1 pm followed by a reception.  Private burial will take place at a later date at Mt Calvary Cemetery, Portland, Or.  

Memorials may be directed to the Molek Family Scholarship Fund at Linfield College, McMinnville, Or, or the charity of your choice.

More info:

http://m.macyandson.com/obituaries/events?obituaryId=2974978

....

Photos:

—Ted & Ann Wilson, Roy & Dorothy Helser and Paul & Kitty Durham. Photo supplied to Wildcatville by Dorothy Helser.

—Dr. Bob Gill, esteemed Oregon sports historian, provided Wildcatville with this great photo he took about 1992-1994 of Ann and Ted. Bob said, “I just happen to have a picture of these two lovebirds while Ted and I shared as directors on the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. When we inducted Ted in as a coach, we couldn't get him off the podium. He had to thank every person he knew before they finally yanked him off. He hadn't even got to his assistants and players. What a shot of adrenalin he had, he was so excited.”

=LINFIELD COLLEGE ATHLETICS TO BENEFIT FROM NEWLY ESTABLISHED ENDOWED FUND HONORING OONEY GAGEN

February 21, 2018

=LINFIELD COLLEGE ATHLETICS TO BENEFIT FROM NEWLY ESTABLISHED ENDOWED FUND HONORING OONEY GAGEN 

=Fund is great news for Linfield Athletics, its student athletes, coaches and supporters.

From: Wildcatville blog/Tim Marsh on behalf of the Linfield College Board of Trustees 

Contact: Debbie Harmon Ferry, Linfield alumni and parent relations director, 

(503) 883-2607,

dharmon@linfield.edu

McMinnville, Oregon —

The “Ooney Gagen Endowed Fund for Linfield Athletics” to provide financial support for Linfield College intercollegiate athletics was established by the college’s Board of Trustees during its Feb. 16, 2018, meeting on the college’s McMinnville campus. A donation of $30,500 by Gagen created the fund. 

Ooney Gagen, Linfield grad and former Wildcat athlete,  said he endowed the fund at his alma mater to honor the late Paul Durham. “He was my mentor, coach, father figure and moral compass during my time at Linfield, laying the foundation for my success in life,” Gagen said.

 

“This fund has the blessing of my friend Ray Olson, a Linfield 1954 grad and a Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame member (football, basketball and baseball player). Ray was the driving force behind the establishment of the Paul Durham Endowed Fund for Linfield Athletics,” said Gagen.

The Durham endowment started with a donation by Olson. Subsequent donations by Olson and others has seen the Durham endowment 

rise to more than $200,000 in valuation.  

“I hope the Ooney Gagen Fund is seen as complimentary to the Paul Durham Fund, not a competitor.  I plan to make subsequent donations to the Ooney Gagen Fund and hope others will donate too,”  said Gagen.

 

Paul Durham wrote about Ooney Gagen in his "Dodging with Durham" sports column in the McMinnville News-Register newspaper and had photos of Gagen published in the newspaper. However in all those photos Gagen’s recognizable facial features were blocked out.

(Durham died at age 93 in 2007. A 1936, Linfield grad, he was the college’s football coach 1948-1967 and its athletic director 1949-1967.) 

(Concurrently with his time at Linfield, Durham was the McMinnville News-Register sports editor and sports columnist.)

No one ever met Ooney personally and the only stories about him were written by Durham.

Some claimed Ooney was a fictitious character invented by Durham. Others believed Ooney was a real person.  “This donation proves Ooney is as real as Santa Claus,” said Olson.

Gagen said, “I would love to be present to tell the ‘Durham Faithful’ about this fund. But my lady friend, Molly Putz, and I are getting a little long in the tooth. It is hard for us to travel. While I still maintain a second home at One Ooney Gagen Way in McMinnville, my primary residence continues to be at Third and Shirbete, down where the streetcar bends.”

 

For more information about the Ooney Gagen Endowed Fund for Linfield Athletics, contact Debbie Harmon Ferry, Linfield alumni and parent relations director, 

(503) 883-2607,

dharmon@linfield.edu

RAY OLSON INFO

Ray Olson, lives in Naperville, Illinois, with his wife, Bonnie. They are former residents of Vancouver, Washington.

He was raised in Dallas, Oregon, and is a Dallas High School graduate. After his Linfield 1954 graduation and U.S. Army service, he taught and coached at high schools in Oregon (Rainier and Dallas) and California (Sunnyvale). Later, he taught and was an administrator at for 25 years at the College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Read Ray Olson’s hall of fame bio here:

http://golinfieldwildcats.com/hof.aspx?hof=41

#

Eugene Register-Guard story Sat. Feb. 17, 1968

Story in Sat., Feb. 17, 1968, Eugene Register-Guard

Linfield JV men's basketball 1967-1968 team in Riley Gym vs. UO Frosh

This photo and cutline appears on page B7 on the “Vintage News-Register Photographs” page of the Feb. 16, 2018, edition of the McMinnville N-R/News-Register.

=February 21, 1968. An indication of the trouble the Linfield Jayvee squad had Friday night against the Univ. of Oregon frosh is showed in the game at Riley Gym. The Ducklings were bigger, faster and more accurate than the Wildcats as they rolled to a 138-93 victory. Larry Sims (52) paced Linfield with 24 points Saturday evening. The Jayvees traveled to Oregon College of Education, where they were beaten 89-71 by the OCE JV squad. Sims again led the scoring with 18.=

Comments:

1--“Larry Sims” is Jim Sims.

2--The game was on “Friday night.” That apparently was Fri., Feb. 17, 1968. (Wed., Feb. 21 1968, was apparently date the issue of the McMinnville N-R in which the photo originally appeared.)

3--Linfield JVs men’s basketball lost Friday night, Feb. 17, 1968, by 138-93 to the UO Frosh in Riley Gym. Linfield JVs got sweet revenge against the UO Frosh in Riley Gym the next season. On Monday, Feb. 10, 1969, Linfield, coached by Tom Leatherwood, beat the Frosh, 109-97. At Wildcatville read about that game (link below):
http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-was-greatest-linfield-mens.html

........................ 

Story in Sat., Feb. 17, 1968, Eugene Register-Guard