Linfield Wildcat logos we know and love: The Cat is looking at you!

as of 5/24/2010

He leads the Wildcat baseball team

Former Yankee Brosius carves out niche back home

5/17/2010

McMINNVILLE, Ore. — His World Series rings are locked away in a safe at his home, about 3,000 miles from the bright lights of the Big Apple.

Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now Coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College.

While time and distance separate him from the big leagues, Brosius is still enjoying success just on a different level. Way different.

"My first road trip it was like, 'Oh yeah, I gotta take my own bag on and off the bus. Welcome to real life,'" he said.
The Division III Wildcats went 30-10 in the regular season to claim the Northwest Conference. Brosius, in his third year at the

helm, was named the league's coach of the year.

Linfield, ranked No. 14 by the American Baseball Coaches Association, plays host to a six-team NCAA regional this week.

Second-seeded Linfield will open against fifth-seeded Mississippi College (36-9) on Wednesday. The winner advances to the double-elimination D-III championship in Appleton, Wis.

The job at Linfield is just part time and pays "probably less than minimum wage," Brosius jokes. But this is more of a labor of love: He himself bought the field lights and the infield turf at the school's Roy Hesler Field.

Brosius has a tiny office in the back of the third base dugout. The walls hold photos from his playing days, one of the Yankees visiting the White House, another of the ticker-tape parade through Manhattan after the 1998 World Series championship.

Brosius was named MVP of that World Series. The Yankees went on to win the title again in 1999 and 2000.

Originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 20th round of the 1987 amateur draft, Brosius made his big league debut in 1991. He was traded after the 1997 season to the Yankees.

His best year in the majors came that first season in New York, when he hit .300 with 19 homers and 98 RBIs.

Brosius called 'Brosius the Ferocious' by Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling left the game after the 2001 season with no regrets. He'd collected his three rings, a Gold Glove and an All-Star nod.

It was a family decision, not a baseball decision, he said.

"I never wanted baseball to feel like work, I never wanted to resent it. I felt like if I kept playing it would almost do more harm than good. I was so fortunate the things I got to experience, going to four straight World Series, winning three of them. I got to play in an All-Star game," he said.

"I knew I wasn't going to the Hall of Fame. There was nothing to chase, so I was done chasing. The time was right."

An Oregon native, Brosius returned to McMinnville, where he made his offseason home. He had friends there and his father had even taken a job there.

The town of some 33,000 residents is located about 35 miles southwest of Portland in the heart of Oregon's wine country.

McMinnville is the birthplace of children's author Beverly Cleary and home to an annual UFO festival the legacy of a famous series of photographs of a mysterious craft hovering above the town that were published by Life magazine in the 1950s.

In many ways Linfield looks like a small East Coast college plunked down in the West, complete with red-brick colonial dormitories and a bell tower that chimes on the hour.

Brosius lives just a short drive away.

"He loves coaching and he has a passion for it," athletic director Scott Carnahan said. "He's great with the kids."

After his retirement from professional baseball, Brosius served as an assistant at Linfield under then-coach Carnahan. Brosius took over in 2008.

In three seasons, Brosius is 96-35 as coach of the Wildcats. This season's team, largely the product of his recruiting, is led by senior shortstop Kelson Brown, the conference player of the year, and sophomore Ryan Larson, the league's pitcher of the year.

Brosius said that while name recognition probably draws some interested players to Linfield, at the D-III level there are no scholarships.

"I guess there's probably some credibility in a student's mind if they're looking for a coach that has some experience and maybe knows what he's talking about," Brosius said. "But I think as you move further along into the recruiting process, the decisions they make become a bit more above that. There's certainly a comfort level with the coaching staff that's important, but then because they are paying for this because we can't scholarship them they have to feel real good about the school and what it has to offer."

Once they get there, Brosius doesn't regale his players with endless stories about his glory days with the Yankees.

This, after all, is real life.

"All in all, we don't talk a ton about that stuff. Everybody knows that I played and stuff like that," he said. "My goal, and I think I can draw some from that experience, is to show what I've learned along the way."

Cutlines for AP photos

•Linfield baseball coach Scott Brosius walks across the baseball diamond Thursday, May 13, 2010, in McMinnville, Ore. Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College. Brosius, was the most valuable player of the 1998 World Series while playing with the Yankees.

•Linfield baseball coach Scott Brosius throws during batting practice with his team Friday, May 14, 2010, in McMinnville, Ore. Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now Coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College. Brosius, was the most valuable player of the 1998 World Series while playing with the Yankees.

•Linfield baseball coach Scott Brosius is shown during practice with his team Friday, May 14, 2010, in McMinnville, Ore. Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now Coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College. Brosius, was the most valuable player of the 1998 World Series while playing with the Yankees.

•Linfield baseball coach Scott Brosius is shown during practice with his team Friday, May 14, 2010, in McMinnville, Ore. Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now Coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College. Brosius, was the most valuable player of the 1998 World Series while playing with the Yankees.

•Linfield baseball coach Scott Brosius is shown during practice with his team Friday, May 14, 2010, in McMinnville, Ore. Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now Coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College. Brosius, was the most valuable player of the 1998 World Series while playing with the Yankees.

•Linfield baseball coach Scott Brosius makes remarks during a interview Thursday, May 13, 2010, in McMinnville, Ore. Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College. Brosius, was the most valuable player of the 1998 World Series while playing with the Yankees.

•Linfield baseball coach Scott Brosius is shown during practice with his team Friday, May 14, 2010, in McMinnville, Ore. Former Yankee Scott Brosius is now Coach Brosius, guiding the baseball team of his alma mater, Linfield College. Brosius, was the most valuable player of the 1998 World Series while playing with the Yankees.

'The Eyes of the Cat are upon you'

In the University of Texas fight song are the words

'The Eyes of Texas are upon you...'

In Wildcatville, we say 'Don't Mess with the Wildcats' because

'The Eyes of the Cat are upon you...'

Proposed new Wildcat logo NOT used (March or April 2010)

“Go Get ‘em, Wildcats” should be Linfield fight song

Linfield Pep Band (not playing Linfield Fight Song)
before start of the Oct. 10, 2008, Homecoming
football game at Maxwell Field against Whitworth.

::::::::::::::::::::::

Offered through the March 2010 edition of Linfield E-Cat,
links to the Linfield Pep Band (in December 2009) playing:

• Linfield Fight Song
• Linfield Alma Mater
:::::::::::::::::::::

When the Linfield Pep Band at Wildcat football games plays the Linfield Fight Song, what do you think? Well (if you even know it is the Linfield Fight Song), you will think the band is playing On Wisconsin.

That’s understandable. The tune is On Wisconsin, official state of Wisconsin song and fight song of the University of Wisconsin Badgers.

See below for lyrics to Linfield Fight Song and On Wisconsin.

OK, if you agree Linfield Fight Song/On with Linfield/Really On Wisconsin is not appropriate as the college’s fight song, what should replace it? Here are three suggestions:

Go Get ‘em, Wildcats Listen to Linfield Choir Medley which includes Go Get ‘em, Wildcats.

Wildcat VictoryListen to the fight song of Kansas State University, home of the Wildcats.
Tsunami SirenListen to part of blast as heard from a Maui Civil Defense siren.

Wildcat Fight Song

On with Linfield, On with Linfield
Fight right through that line

Take the ball right down the field
A touchdown’s sure this time
RAH, RAH, RAH!

On with Linfield, On with Linfield
Fight on for your fame
Fight Wildcats, fight, fight, fight!
To win this game!


On Wisconsin
Listen

On Wisconsin, On Wisconsin
Plunge right through that line

Run the ball clear down the field, boys
Touchdown sure this time

On Wisconsin, On Wisconsin
Fight on for her fame
Fight Fellows, Fight, Fight, Fight
We'll win this game!

Toyopet was part of Linfield student life for Brothers Kincaid, Mike and Terry

Mike and Terry Kincaid (above). The Toyopet Corona (photo) which they had as Linfield students looked like this, Mike said, except it was white. 

When brothers Mike (1969 B.S. Business) and Terry Kincaid were Linfield students they had “wheels” like no one else. They were driving a Toyopet with right hand steering. 

Before getting continuing this story, some background. Brothers Kincaid hail from Kailua (Oahu), Hawaii. Both are Kailua graduates – Mike in 1965 and Terry in 1966 -- from The Kamehameha Schools of Honolulu. They were outstanding student-athletes for the “Kam” Warriors. Mike was an all-Northwest Conference first team linebacker, lettering playing for both Coaches Paul Durham (1966 and 1967) Ad Rutschman (1968 season). He was a “Wildcat top defender” award winner, too. Mike lead the Linfield team in tackles in two seasons. 

Back to the story…. A Toyopet? It was one of Toyota’s earliest passenger cars. When the brothers needed transportation while studying at Linfield, their father came to the rescue. 

In 1966, via an associate of their father – Donald Kincaid, president of D.R. Kincaid, Ltd. -- bought a white Toyopet Corona 4-door sedan in Osaka, Japan. It was loaded on one of the company’s freight ships there. After the ship docked in Portland, it was off-loaded there. 

Mike and Terry picked it up. “I wasn’t expecting a right hand drive car,” said Mike. “So, I was a bit anxious (driving on the way) back to Linfield, had to adjust to look left (in) the rearview mirror and clearing the vehicle was a major adjustment. 

We got a lot of curious looks from other motorists all the time. It didn’t take long to become accustomed to driving it.” In 1966 the best known, best selling foreign car in the U.S. was the German-made Volkswagen Beetle. 

According to one history of Toyota, “By 1967, Toyota had become well established in the United States, albeit as a niche player.” The history includes the fact sales of the Toyota in the U.S. “hit 6,400 in 1965, and reached 71,000 by 1968….” 

The (3-speed manual transmission) Toyopet “we drove was unique by U.S. standards,” said Mike. It may have been one of the few new cars in McMinnville or Oregon with the steering wheel on the right hand side. Their car was manufactured for driving in Japan, where vehicles travel on right. “I believe it was the only Toyota I saw in Oregon and traveling “all over the Northwest,” said Mike. 

The brothers drove it for two or three years. He said the car “had a lot of guts.” Apparently their Toyopet was similar to the Toyota Corona being sold in the 1966 in the U.S. with a 90-hp engine and a 3-speed. By comparison, the 1966 Beetle had a meager 50-hp engine. The brothers had the Toyopet a couple of years when, alas, it was wrecked in an accident. While the Toyopet is long gone. Memories of the car live on for Mike and James. Background information:

• In addition to his Linfield business bachelor’s degree earned in 1969, Mike earned a MBA/master’s of business administration in 1975 from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. 

• When Mike was a 1967 season first team All-Northwest Conference linebacker, there were two other players in the conference selected for the same honor. One of them was Willamette’s Cal Lee, a grad of Honolulu’s Kalani High School. 
  
  
• Mike’s Linfield football playing career included playing in two historic games, both season openers. In 1968, it was the Wildcats’ 15-13 win over the University of Hawaii in Honolulu during Paul Durham’s last season as Linfield coach. In 1968, in Ad Rutschman’s first game as Linfield coach, the ‘Cats beat Boise State 17-7 in Boise. A story about the Boise win says Mike “contained many a (Boise State football team) sweep” vs. Linfield.
   
• In high school, Mike was an outstanding athlete. In addition to playing football, he also competed in high school for Kamehameha in basketball. These days his athletic pursuits include handball and canoe sailing. For more information about Mike and canoe sailing, see these two stories:

HSCA title chase gets extreme

Kailua on the Water

Mike Kincaid, former 'Cat football player mentioned: Kailua on the Water

Part of an article from
April 2006
Honolulu Magazine

Kailua on the Water

The heart of Kailua may not be on land at all, but in the ocean, where generations of Kailuans have found adventure, recreation, even comfort.

There’s no shortage of people in Kailua who were born, raised and never left because of the water. I was fortunate enough to find more than a handful who were willing to share their thoughts on why.

"As soon as I could walk I was making little canoes out of corrugated tin roofing and tar," says Mike Kincaid, who was born on what was called the "Bishop Track" of Kailua in 1946--dairy farm land, which ran all the way to where Enchanted Lake now sits. "We would see who could make a canoe that could get all the way to the mouth of the river. When we got too old for that, we began paddling out to Flat Island for surf sessions."

Kincaid still recalls the handful of summer cottages on Lanikai Beach, hanging with the cowboys who tended to the dairy farms at Campos Dairy (where Daiei now is), and surfing the shore-breaks at Kalama.

In 1986, Kincaid helped launch the Naholokai Sailing Canoe Race series, to revive and teach Hawaiian sailing techniques. That same year, nine sailing canoes lined the bay in Kailua, and the sight alone hooked Kincaid--who had recently returned from a decade on the Mainland--on spending the majority of his time sailing her waters. Since then, he has participated every year in the event, which occurs in 72-hour stints between April and October, and sails between all the major Islands before returning to Kailua.

"It teaches you a lot about the ocean. It teaches you more about yourself. The experience is a cleansing, of sorts," shares Kincaid, who was president of the Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association for 18 years. "It’s a spiritual journey that can be fluid and graceful at 10 or 12 knots, or exciting at over 20 knots. Either way, Kailua is the greatest training ground for a sailor. It’s full of unadulterated, head-on trade winds. Anyone can paddle or sail downwind. But you have to learn to do both into the wind before you consider yourself any type of waterman."

"HSCA title chase gets extreme" story mentions Mike Kincaid, former Linfield football player

HSCA title chase gets extreme
By Cindy Luis
Honolulu Star - Bulletin
Sep 20, 2002.

Before the X Games, before ESPN, there were sailing canoes. The original Polynesian extreme sport has been around for more than a thousand years.

The modern version -- the -- has been around only since 1986. It's a cultural revival of ancient Hawaiian skills being put to the test at up to 14 knots on the open ocean.

Tomorrow, it's a test to see which crew will win the Kendall Pacific Challenge as well as the overall racing series title. Just five points separate first from third place and, for the first time in the history of the HSCA, an Oahu crew could win the championship.

Kauai's Marvin Otsuji, captain of the Kamakakoa, has 152 points after eight races this season. Chasing him are Mike Kincaid of Oahu (152 points) and Kauai's Sharky Aguilar (147).

"It's such an on-the-edge sport," said Kincaid, HSCA president. "We average 10-11 knots and, at 14 knots, we're really smoking. Looking back on some races, there's been times when we ask, 'What are we doing out here?'

"It's more than a hobby. We get to practice what our Hawaiian ancestors did, learn those skills and use them. It's more than just getting out and sailing. We pick up that cultural aspect as well. The thrill is in connecting all the dots."
The nine-race schedule includes five interisland races and four coastal competitions. Tomorrow's finale begins at noon and runs from Nawiliwili Harbor to Waimea, about 28 miles around the south shore of Kauai.

It's a relatively short course for the 15 six-person canoes entered, with the first finisher expected around 2:30 p.m. It's also a relatively easy run, compared to Na Holo Kai, the 8-hour-plus race across the Kauai Channel from Haleiwa to Nawiliwili.

"Saturday, it's anybody's race," said Kincaid. It doesn't favor the Kauai guys. The guy who steers the best will win. It will be a horse race."

Tui Tonga, captained by Jason Dameron of Kauai, won this event last year and also the July Na Holo Kai. With 37 points, he is not in contention for the overall title.
Neither is Terry Galpin, captain of the all-women's Moa E Ku, who has 75 points. In its distinctive shocking pink and blue canoe, it's the only women's crew to have done all five of the interisland channel races this season.

"I have had wahine mentors over the years, Laola Lake and Emily Godient, who were the first wahine captains in HSCA," said Galpin. "Their skills and knowledge have always pushed me to become better. The men have been very supportive, too. In the early years, it was Uncle Mike (Kincaid) and his nephew, Nakoa Prejean, who taught me the skills needed to be able to captain the canoe safely.

"As the steersman, my crew's lives are literally in my hands. This isn't a sport for the timid."

Who's the Linfield grad, famous for folding chair ritual at Wildcat men basketball games?

Olympia Beer commercial, May 5, 1981. Location shoot at a tavern in a Puget Sound mountanious area.

Who's the Linfield grad, famous for folding chair ritual at Wildcat men basketball games?

In this TV commercial his line is, "Can't do that."

When Ted Wilson was Linfield head men's basketball coach, the fame of this student (now grad) was at Wildcat hoops games in Riley Gym. Watching the game floor level, he sat in a metal folding chair in the corner near the South Forty. When he knew the game was in hand -- the 'Cats were going to win -- he'd fold the chair. It was -- thank you George Pasero -- akin to Coach Red Auerbach lighting up his famous cigar when the Boston Celtics had a game in hand.

Give up? He is Dennis "Den" Surles.

Trivia:

In the early 1950s, Den Surles' father, Leonard Allen "Len" Surles, and Theodore R. "Ted" Wilson were students at the University of Oregon and friends. Their initial friendship was when Len was a teacher and coach at Baker, Ore., High School and Ted had the same duties at La Grande, Ore. High School. Baker (now called Baker City) and La Grande are in eastern Oregon, about 45 miles apart. Back at the UO, Len and Ted each earned physcical education master of science degrees in 1952.

Len's thesis: "The contributions of a fundamental physical education course toward physical fitness."

Ted's thesis: "A study of the development of balance through certain controlled methods."

"The Streak" special section, Oct. 18, 2005, McMinnville N-R

In October* 2005, the McMinnville News-Register produced a special "The Streak" section about the Linfieldfootball team assuring its 50th consecutive winning season.

.............

Info at the N-R Website varies about the specific date of publication, Oct. 17 or Oct. 18, 2005.

............

Below are different parts of "The Streak" section. Each part is linked.

1956-1975
1976-1985
1986-1996
1997-2005
Coach Ad Rutschman
Coach Ed Langsdorf
Coach Jay Locey
Coach Paul Durham
The Streak scores 1956-2004
The Streak stands the test of time

......

Postscript -- Also see, The Streak hits 50!

Positively influenced by Ad Rutschman

This story posted in January 2010. Updated March 2010.

There’s not enough room or time to list every former Linfield football player or former Linfield assistant football coach who served and was positively influenced by Ad Rutschman for the 24 years (1968-1991) head was the Wildcats’ head football coach. But, nonetheless, here are a few of them:





Mike Riley and Randy Mueller. In January 2010, bkfootball.com selected the first all-time All-Idaho Football All-Star team. Former Linfield assistant football coach Riley (born in Wallace, Idaho) was named the team’s head coach. Mueller, Linfield grad and former Wildcat quarterback (born in St. Maries, Idaho) is the team’s general manager. Riley is Oregon State University head football coach. Mueller is senior executive for the NFL San Diego Chargers.

Jay Locey. He was an assistant football coach (starting in 1983) at Linfield before becoming head football coach (1996-2006). He is now an assistant football coach at Oregon State University.

Todd Spencer. He’s an assistant football coach at Georgia Tech and used to be at Navy. He was a Rutschman assistant working the offensive line while Spencer earned a M.A. degree in physical education from Linfield in 1981.

Matt Cate. He was appointed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on May 16, 2008, as Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A Linfield business administration grad, he was a National Scholar Athlete. He lettered in football for the Wildcats during the 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 seasons.

Ed Langsdorf and his son Danny Langsdorf. Ed, now college scout for the NFL San Diego Chargers, was an assistant football coach before he succeeded Rutschman as head coach, serving the 1992-1995 seasons. Danny, now an Oregon State University assistant football coach, is a Linfield grad and played quarterback for the Wildcats, lettering in 1994 and 1995.

The brothers Lopes, Lance and Steve. Lance is NFL Seattle Seahawks’ VP/General Counsel and business development. Steve is University of Southern California senior associate athletic director. Both lettered in football for Linfield, Lance is 1981-1982-1983 and 1984 and Steve in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.


Wes Suan. He is a Southern Methodist University assistant football coach. His football coaching background includes serving at the University of Hawaii and Linfield, where he lettered 1971, 1972,1973 and 1974. In addition to coaching football at Linfield, he also served as assistant athletic director.

Reflecting, Ad Rutschman says, "Wonderful memories and wonderful people. At last count, about 120 or more became head coaches. I have no idea how many became assistatn coaches."

Water Crew: 2009 Wisconsin Whitewater football trip

When Linfield’s Wildcat football team traveled to Wisconsin to play the University of Wisconsin Whitewater in semifinals of the 2009 NCAA Division III football championship playoffs, Water Crew members John Schindelar and John O'Connor were part of the team’s traveling party.

Schindelar told Scott Carnahan, Linfield athletic director, that traveling with the team to Whitewater “was the experience of a lifetime for us. It gave us an opportunity to get to know all the people associated with Linfield athletics.”

Immediately prior to the trip, Schindelar said he and O’Connor had not missed a Linfield football game in the 2009 season and “there was no reason to miss” it. As with all road games during the season, Water Crew members pay their own way for airfare and lodging.

UWW won the game, 27-17, played Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, on artificial turf on a sunny and chilly day – with snow on the sidelines -- at its Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wisc. The following week, UWW won the 2009 NCAA DIII national football championship, beating Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl played in Salem, Va.

In preparation for traveling, Schindelar and O’Connor consulted with Water Crew member Eric Lundeen, who has lived and gone to school in Wisconsin. The two Johns followed several of Lundeen’s recommendation including wearing long underwear.

The team flew/from on a chartered flight from Portland International Airport to Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisc. It was transported in Wisconsin via chartered buses from Van Galder Bus Co. of Janesville, Wisc. The team stayed at a motel in Janesville, which is located about 20 miles from Whitewater and about 40 miles from Madison. The team left Portland on Dec. 10 and returned to Portland on Dec. 12.

Itinerary for the team included practicing in the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Dave McClain (indoor) Athletic Facility on the UW Madison’s campus in Madison, Wisc.

All photos here, except for exterior to the Dave McCain facility were provided by Schindelar. Photo ID (from top to bottom):

• Linfield Water Crew’s John O’Connor (left) and John Schindelar posing at Perkins Stadium on Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, while Linfield football team did a “walk through” on the field.
  
  
• Linfield football team on the field, before kickoff, on game day, Saturday, Dec.12, 2009.
  
  
• UW Whitewater Perkins Stadium on game day.
  
  
• Linfield head athletic trainer Tara Lepp, Brandy Mailer, athletic trainer and John O’Connor of the Linfield Water Crew pose at Perkins Stadium prior to start of the game on game day.
  
  
• Ryan Carlson, Linfield football video guru, former Linfield football player, creator and coordinator of catdomealumni.com outside one of the Linfield team’s chartered buses taken after the game.
  
  
• Linfield head athletic trainer Tara Lepp, and Brandy Mailer, athletic trainer, in the team’s Perkins Stadium locker room on Friday, Dec. 11.
  
  
• University of Wisconsin Madison's Dave McCain facility.

Purple not standing alone as a Linfield color

While purple is a dominant color these days for Linfield College athletics, the college and athletic team colors are cardinal and purple.

A “few” years ago, Linfield’s football teams home purple jerseys were the one or one of the few Wildcat teams displaying the color. Other teams showed more cardinal than (if any) purple. For that matter, the Linfield baseball hat was cardinal and blue.

• “Cardinal L” is (was?) the name of the Linfield club for athletic letter winners in all sports.
• "Cardinal Circle" is (was?) a senior men’s honorary comprised of varsity letter winners of all sports.

Why? Because Linfield athletic letters are (were?) cardinal in color.

Shown here are examples of cardinal (and some purple, too) in relation to Linfield athletics. From a Linfield 1970 grad, who completed in athletics while a student between 1966-1970 is a first-year letter winner jacket; a second-year (and subsequent) letter winner jacket (note cardinal letter on blue); part of a senior letter winner blanket; a current vintage coat designed/owned by Linfield football fans, a decal and pennant from the Linfield bookstore; a Linfield diploma (purple cover with cardinal and purple inside); a current “vintage” purple Linfield water bottle


See Linfield Athletics Website’s Traditions section and read about
“Cardinal and Purple” and “Why the Wildcats?”

“Purple is the Color”

Purple is the Color
Football is the game
Were the Linfield Wildcats
and winning is our aim
So let’ give all of the ‘Cats a cheer
For the Linfield Wildcats will be here
So let’ give all of the ‘Cats a cheer
For the Linfield Wildcats will be here

*With apologies to the Portland Timbers’ “Green is the Color,” a version of “Blue Is the Colour,”a song associated with professional soccer’s Chelsea Football Club in England.

Machida returns to Linfield College

Photo of Linfield 1984 football team added by Wildcatville in 2009

By RODNEY S. YAP, Staff Writer

Maui News, December 18, 2004

WAILUKU–Keith Machida took a trip down memory lane last month when he returned to McMinnville, Ore.

Machida was one of more than 40 players and coaches from the 1984 Linfield College national championship football team that returned to campus on Nov. 13 to be inducted into the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame.

For many of the team members, the reunion was a chance to see one another for the first time since the Wildcats’ season 20 years ago.

Linfield had to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to capture the NAIA Division II national crown that year, and Machida remembers it well.

“We were trailing 22-0 in the third quarter,’’ the 1980 Maui High School graduate said Friday. “We were playing Northwestern of Iowa for the title at McMinnville High School because the field we usually play on was torn up from the rain and mud. We scored 33 points and won 33-22.’’

It was memories of that game and other highlights from that season that got plenty of the former players fired up.

“We shared a lot of stories,’’ Machida said. “We actually drove down to the field and kicked a field goal. That was the first score we made and everybody thought we were crazy to kick a field goal. Then we got a turnover and scored again and went for two and got that.’’

Machida recalls the Wildcats’ first touchdown because it was a 1-yard pass to him from quarterback David Lindley.

“We ran the same play for the two-point conversion,’’ said Ma-chida, who hauled in that pass, too.

Hall of Fame week at Linfield coincided with the Wildcats’ regular-season finale. Linfield nailed down its fifth consecutive Northwest Conference championship with a 48-14 defeat of Willamette.

Currently ranked No. 2 and in the championship game of the NCAA Division III tournament, Linfield is led by quarterback Brett Elliott, who set the school single-season yardage record with 4,313 yards, surpassing the record of 3,084 set last season by All-American Tyler Matthews.
Elliott has also thrown more touchdown passes (59) in one season than any quarterback in the history of college football.

The Wildcats will take on Mary Hardin-Baylor today in Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl XXXII in Salem, Va.

Freshman Ryan Ishizu, a former Maui High running back, is on the team’s roster, but Machida said Ishizu will not be one of the 53 players who suits up for Linfield in today’s game.

The current Linfield team has 11 former Hawaii prep players on the roster, including four from Kamehameha Oahu and two each from Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Radford.

Machida said the 1984 team had its share of Hawaii players, including two offensive tackles and a guard. Machida was the tight end who garnered second team all-league honors.

“I always played tight end,’’ said Machida, who remembered a simpler game. “I remember when I was there, they just gave us a hook – to hang your stuff on. And if you were really special, they would give you a cardboard box to put your stuff in. Back then we didn’t play on FieldTurf, we played in the rain and the wind.’’

Machida keeps up with this team and sees some differences between this year’s squad and the teams from his day.

“I listen to the games on the Internet and this is a very good Linfield team,’’ Machida said. “We ran out of the slot formation back then and operated out of the spread formation and threw the ball much more.’’

Hawaii talent helps Linfield football

Article includes Wildcatville 2009 editing and photo addition

Fullback Puni Ellis of Kailua helped Linfield's offense outscore

opponents 650-256 this season. Photo by Kelly Bird, Linfield Sports Info

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Football players living the life at Linfield

Hawaii talent has helped the school

go 49 years without a losing season

By Dennis Anderson

Hawaii Grown Report

Football legend Bill Walsh was talking with a small group of disciples at halftime of a game in California three years ago when he offered his opinion that "Linfield has the football program that every small college should aspire to emulate."

Emulating the football program at the small Oregon college this year would include winning the NCAA Division III national championship, going 13-0 and extending college football's all-time, all-divisions record of consecutive winning seasons to 49 years.

It was the fourth national championship for a program that has extensive Hawaii threads woven through its unparalleled run of success, from the first player from Hawaii to play at Linfield -- Al Wills in 1949 -- through this season's 10 players and two coaches.

Fourteen players from Hawaii have earned All-America recognition at Linfield; 27 have been all-conference.

In the 1970s and '80s, a typical Linfield roster included more than 20 players from Hawaii.
Current offensive line coach Doug Hire (Pearl City '83) was an offensive guard on the 1984 and 1986 NAIA championship teams and was a first team NAIA All-American in 1986.

Coach Doug Hire. Wildcatville photo

Hire noted that former coach Ad Rutschman, who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame after 24 winning seasons and three national championships at Linfield, said that "evaluating position by position, the best players he coached were from Hawaii."

Hire's explanation is that, "It's part of the upbringing, the way we play in Hawaii, being very physical players."

The most physical of the Hawaii players at Linfield this season was junior defensive end Brandon Tom (Kamehameha '02 of Kailua).

Tom is a two-time All-Northwest Conference selection and got a lot of attention on ESPN2 last Saturday for his big plays in Linfield's 28-21 victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor of Texas for the NCAA III championship in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.

Tom made eight tackles, including sharing a quarterback sack that ended the Texas team's last bid for a game-turning score at the Linfield 19 late in the fourth quarter.

"He has it all," Hire says. "He's explosive, a dangerous pass rusher with power moves and quick moves. He's tall (6-2) and physical (225 pounds).

Tom led Linfield's defensive linemen in tackles for the season with 53 in 13 games, including 4 sacks and 5.5 others for losses.

The other Hawaii players who got into the national championship game were senior fullback Puni Ellis (Kamehameha '00 of Kailua), sophomore defensive end Nik Soo (Kamehameha '03 of Kamuela), and redshirt freshman special teams stalwart Keone Tawata (Radford '03)

In the coaching box with Hire was graduate assistant Daryl Agpalsa (Kamehameha '98 of Waikele), who made a small-college grand slam -- first-team offensive guard on four All-America teams -- in his senior season of 2002.

Ellis was the starting fullback in a passing offense that seldom used a fullback. He only carried the ball 14 times the last two years, but he scored five touchdowns and blocked for many others.
"He was our MVP Diamond-in-the-Rough utility player," Hire said. Ellis also played wide receiver, linebacker and special teams during his five-year Linfield career.

Soo often started as the opposite defensive end from Tom. "He's got a motor, he does not stop,"

Hire said. "Nik made huge gains from his freshman year and will be a phenomenal player."

Soo was in on 45 tackles, including 5.5 for losses.

Tawata blocked three kicks during the season. "He is fast, physical and crazy -- an impact player on all special teams," Hire said.

Also on the postseason roster was redshirt freshman wide receiver Josh Vierra (Kamehameha '03 of Kahalu'u).

The other players from Hawaii on Linfield's regular-season roster were:

Freshman cornerback Chris Thorpe (Radford '03); redshirt freshman, second-team linebacker Kevin Kauweloa (Waianae '03), redshirt freshman, scout-team wide receiver Brad Lau (Hawaii Prep '03 of Kamuela); physical freshman fullback Ryan Ishizu (Maui '04 of Pukalani), and redshirt freshman back-up punter/kicker Stan Fisher (Punahou '03 of Kailua).

"If you want to experience our winning tradition and get a great education, this is the place to come," pitched Hire, who is in Hawaii to visit his parents and recruit.

Ellis, the only senior among the current Hawaii ohana, said Linfield has been a perfect fit for him.
"I always wanted to go to a small college," he said. "You don't feel that ohana-ness at a big school.

"I grew to be a better person here."

Linfield's Hawaii connection blossomed under 13-year coach Paul Durham.

When Durham brought his Linfield team to Honolulu in 1967 and beat University of Hawaii 15-13, UH was so impressed that they hired him as athletic director. He served seven years. (Durham, 91, currently resides in Waikiki and still attends every UH football, volleyball and basketball game, and plays golf once a week.)

One of Durham's first Hawaii recruits and Linfield's first All-American from Hawaii (in 1961) was Hugh Yoshida, who served as athletic director at UH from 1993 to 2002.

Former UH football coach Fred vonAppen also was an all-star at Linfield ... but that is another story.

Linfield's Hawaii All-Americans

Football players from Hawaii who have been selected All-American while playing for Linfield College (with their high schools in parentheses):

1961: Hugh Yoshida (Iolani), linebacker
1964: Tony Ah Yat (Kamehameha), end
1972-73: Bernie Peterson (Kalani), tight end
1977: Pat Silva (McKinley), quarterback
1978: Paul Dombroski (Leilehua), defensive back
1980: Ed Kama (McKinley), offensive tackle
1984-85: Keith Machida (Maui), tight end
1986: Doug Hire (Pearl City), offensive guard
1986: Jody Tyrell (Moanalua), linebacker
1988: Chris Kelly (Moanalua), defensive end
1991: Shaun Aguano (Kapaa), running back
1992-93: Julian Tyrell (Moanalua), linebacker
1993: Kahale Huddleston (Baldwin), defensive end
2002: Daryl Agpalsa* (Kamehameha), offensive guard
* First team on four All-America teams

Players from Hawaii who have earned all-conference honors:

Al Wills (Saint Louis), tackle, 1950, '52
Rogers Ishizu (Maui), halfback, 1967
Marco Min (Waipahu), quarterback, 1974
Billy Yamamoto (Kalani), safety, 1977
Jose Guevara (Moanalua), offensive tackle, 1985
Aundre Pace (Radford), tailback, 1987
Tony Pang-Kee (Castle), defensive back, 1987-88
Peter Ranta (Kalaheo), safety, 1988
John Santiago (Damien), punt returner, 1991

When was the last tie in Linfield varsity football history?

The NCAA football rules committee, meeting February 1996 in Kansas City, Mo., voted to require a tiebreaker in all college football games. Instead of a game ending in a tie, an overtime tiebreaker system was adopted.

What was the last tie football game in Linfield varsity football history?

The score was 20-20 on Sept. 18, 1993, in Tacoma: Linfield vs. Pacific Lutheran.

It was Linfield’s first game of the season, not counting the Wildcats’ season-opening 34-14 win over its alumni. Both Linfield, coached by Ed Langsdorf, and PLU, coached by Frosty Westering, were in the NAIA.

A story in the Sept. 19, 1993, Seattle Times said, “A 1-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion with 1 second remaining lifted fifth-ranked Pacific Lutheran to a miraculous 20-20 tie with second-ranked Linfield at the Tacoma Dome last night.”

Linfield will play 802nd game to start 2010 football season

Since Linfield College began playing football in 1896, the Linfield Wildcats have played 801 games.

When the Wildcats open the 2010 season on Sept. 11 at California Lutheran, it will be their 802nd game during what will be Linfield’s 96th season playing football. During those seasons -- the years 1896-2009 -- Linfield has won 524 games, lost 246 and tied 31 for a .674 winning percentage.

Linfield’s 2010 regular season football schedule:

September - 11 at Cal Luth, 25 at La Verne.

October - 2 vs. Willamette, 9 at UPS, 16 vs. Pacific (Homecoming), 23 at PLU, 30 vs. Menlo.

November - 6 vs. Whitworth (Hall of Fame Game), 13 at L&C.

Sources:
Linfield 1
Linfield 2

For your information:
Penn football makes NCAA history with 1,300th game

When the University of Pennsylvania football team beat the BrownUniversity Bears 14-7 in overtime on Oct. 31, 2009, in Providence,R.I., it marked the Penn Quakers' 1,300th game, the most in NCAA history at any level. Penn began playing football in 1876. The 2009 season was Penn's 133rd playing football. Penn is located in Philadelphia.

Source:

Penn 1

Webcast: Linfield @ UW Whitewater 12/12/09

Posted on Sat, Dec. 12, 2009

Wis-Whitewater tops Linfield 27-17 in Div III semi

The Associated Press

Jeff Donovan completed 17 of 26 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown to lead Wisconsin-Whitewater to a 27-17 victory over Linfield in the Division III semifinals. The Warhawks (14-0) advanced to their fifth consecutive Stagg Bowl appearance, where they'll face undefeated Mount Union in the final next Saturday in Salem, Va. The Warhawks went up 20-17 on Jordan Wells' 68-yard reception and a one-yard run by Antwan Anderson. Levell Coppage added a 40-yard touchdown run for Wisconsin-Whitewater with 1:05 to play. Linfield fell to 12-1.

Wildcats thrive on a tradition of winning

12/10/2009

Little Oregon college thrives on winning tradition

McMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) --- There's a hand-painted sign above the entrance to the Linfield Wildcats' locker room at Maxwell Field that reads: "Are you a better football player today than you were yesterday?''

It's a reminder of a message players there have been taking to heart for decades, since the Division III team embarked on its streak of winning seasons in 1956.

That 54-season streak is the longest in the nation among NCAA schools of all divisions - far surpassing Florida State's current run of 33straight winning seasons. However, the Seminoles are cutting it close at 6-6 this season, facing West Virginia in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1.

Linfield is a private university of some 2,100 students in the heart of McMinnville, located about 35 miles southwest of Portland, in Oregon's Willamette Valley wine country. The town is known as the birthplace of children's author Beverly Cleary, and for a famous UFO sighting in the 1950s that spawned a yearly festival there.

In many ways Linfield looks like a small East Coast college plunked down in the West, complete with red-brick colonial dormitories and a bell tower that chimes on the hour.

Football Saturdays during the fall are all about the Wildcats.Purple-clad fans dot the town's main streets before games and cars proudly display their Wildcat flags. The atmosphere harkens back to a simpler time.

"Linfield is Linfield, I think, because of that winning tradition,''said former quarterback and current assistant coach Brett Elliott."Every year we continue that tradition, the streak that we're on, it fuels the fire, so to speak.''

The Wildcat mystique was born under Paul Durham, who coached the team from 1948-67, and then continued by coach Ad Rutschman, head coach from 1967-91.

Rutschman also served as the baseball coach for 13 seasons and the school's athletic director for 25 years, and currently works as an assistant to coach Joseph Smith. Rutschman is the only college coach at any level to have won national titles in both football and baseball.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

"Much of the success I think stems from Ad Rutschman. Ad was a great coach. I would liken him to a John Wooden-type of coach, he was such a great teacher,'' said Oregon State assistant coach Jay Locey, who coached the Wildcats from 1996 to 2006 and led the team to its last national championship in 2004.


"It is about the development of people first,'' Locey said. "The winning is the byproduct.''

This season the Wildcats are in the postseason for the 21st time in school history. They won three NAIA Div. II national championships, in1982, 1984 and 1986, before joining Div. III 12 years ago.


The current Wildcats were unranked going into the season, and for the first time in nearly a decade, they weren't even expected to finish atop the Northwest Conference.

But Linfield, 6-3 last season, has kept winning all the way through last weekend's Div. III quarterfinals against St. Thomas of Minnesota.

The Wildcats (12-0) visit Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-0) in the semifinals on Saturday. Wesley (13-0) is at Mount Union (13-0) in the other semifinal.

The winners will go to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the division's championship, in Salem, Va., the following weekend.


Elliott led the Wildcats to the championship in 2004. The Utah transfer was known for throwing an NCAA all-division record 61 TD passes his junior year.

"It sounds like a cliche, but this really is a family,'' Elliott said."Every time I come back here, from the NFL, from the Arena League, it feels like home. It feels comfortable. It feels right.''
Locey said the streak has taken on a life of its own at Linfield.

"The neat thing is that you do have a sense of duty,'' Locey said."You didn't want to be a player or coach on the team that was there when the streak ended.''


This season's quarterback, Aaron Boehme, said his team wanted to put an individual stamp on the Wildcats' legacy. So far they have,surpassing expectations and going undefeated.

"Because we had those really good runs before my freshman year ... we tried to get away from that,'' Boehme said. "Not get away from the tradition, but to focus on ourselves and not rest on those laurels.''




Associated Press story. Wildcatville photo.

Vote for Linfield Coach Joe Smith as Liberty Mutual ‘Coach of the Year’

Thanks to Debbie Harmon (dharmon@linfield.edu), Linfield alumni director, the following information as of 12/1/09

Liberty Mutual has a contest for football 'Coach of the Year' at each NCAA division level.

The top 15 coaches will be considered in the evaluation phase.

One football coach from each NCAA division will be honored with the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Trophy, $50,000 for the charity of his choice, and a $20,000 scholarship endowment for his school’s alumni association.

Joe Smith, Linfield head football coach, is currently ranked #15. Please help keep him in the top 15.

Contest ends Dec. 6, 2009. You can vote once per day at http://www.coachoftheyear.com

Wildcatville photo info: Coach Joe Smith (left) leaves Wildcat huddle during Nov. 28, 2009, UMHB game on Maxwell Field.