Linfield E-Cat March 2018
One of them is Roy Helser, Class of 1936
"Roy Helser ‘36 served
as athletic director, head baseball and basketball coach and P.E. instructor at
Linfield College. He has been honored by a number of athletic organizations over
the years – he is a member of the National Hall of Fame for coaches and was
inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Linfield College
Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. Helser was baseball coach at Linfield from 1949
to 1973. His baseball teams won 14 conference championships and in 1966 earned
the college’s first national championship in any sport. Helser also coached the
men’s basketball team to four conference championships. Helser passed away Oct.
25, 1994."
Others are Charles
Walker, Lloydena Grimes, Tom Meicho '51, Phil Renshaw '31 and Horace Terrell.
Linfield E-Cat February 2018
One of them is Leonard W. Riley, McMinnville College/Linfield College president,
1906-1931. He was president in 1906 when McMinnville College quit playing
football and president in 1922 when he resumed playing football. In the summer
of 1906 Linfield Board of Trustees discontinued football because it was deemed
too dangerous. On a day in 1921 there were two announcements by the college: 1)
McMinnville College would become Linfield College because of Mrs. Linfield's
gift. 2) Football would resume starting fall 1922. Linfield's Riley Hall -- in
a previous iteration it included Riley Gym where Wildcat basketball was played
and the South Forty cheered -- is named for him.
Another is Ad
Rutschman, Class of 1954
"As a student, Ad Rutschman ’54 lettered for
four years in football, basketball and baseball. After graduating from
Linfield, he coached at Hillsboro High School before succeeding his mentor,
Paul Durham, as Linfield’s head football coach in 1968. When Roy Helser retired
in 1971, Rutschman also assumed the duties of head baseball coach. Under his
guidance, Linfield won a national championship in baseball in 1971 and three in
football in 1982, 1984 and 1986. Rutschman led teams to an astonishing 15
conference championships in his 24 years as head coach, accruing a record of
183-48-3. He remains the only coach at any level to win national titles in both
football and baseball, and in 1998 he was inducted into the National
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. He also served as
athletic director from 1973 to 1996. In 1995, the fieldhouse was named and
dedicated in honor of Ad and his wife, Joan."
Others are Jereld Nicholson ’39, Julia
(Blanchard) Smith '39, Harold Elkinton and Samuel and Mahala Cozine.
Linfield E-Cat January 2018
One of them is Paul Durham, Class of 1936
"Paul H. Durham ‘36 was one of the founders
of the modern Linfield College athletic program. Durham served as professor
from 1948-1968, co-basketball coach from 1949-1952, head football coach from
1948-1969, director of athletics from 1949-1968 and always a friend to all. The
Health, Human Performance and Athletics Building lobby and foyer were named in
his honor. Durham was inducted to the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. Former teammates and players
established the Paul Durham Endowed Fund for the Support of Athletics in his
honor. Paul Durham passed away in June 2007."
Others are T.J. Day '71, Frances Ross Linfield, Roy “Hap”
Mahaffey '28, Harry Dillin and William Newby.
