How Bob Haack came to Linfield for baseball and ended up playing football

Bob Haack made his athletic mark at Linfield as a football player, but has a connection to Wildcat baseball and men’s basketball, too

Bob arrived on the Linfield campus for Freshmen Orientation Week in fall 1965.

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Football had already started the week before and I decide to turn out, Bob said.

Equipment manager Joe Groves checked out football gear to me during the morning football practice session.

My helmet does not fit well, so Joe put many spacers on the inside support system, just above my ears.

I go to lunch and return for practice. My gear, which I hung on a hook under a support beam in the football locker room is missing.

I find Joe and ask him about my gear. He tells me, I would have to see Coach Ted Wilson. The coach is an assistant football coach and men’s head basketball coach.

I walk out to Maxwell Field. Coach Wilson is there working with kickers, I ask him about my football gear.

Coach Wilson tells me, "Bob, football is not your sport. You will not have time for three sports (football, basketball and baseball) in college. Nice to see you on campus. Did you pick up your course schedule? How is your room? Did you meet your roommate yet?"

I tried to let Coach Wilson know, I really wanted to try football. I am big (220 pounds) and strong and my grandfather really wants to see me play football. He played college football at Le Mars College in Iowa, as a tight end, 1913-1917 and believes football maybe a good fit for me.

My only football playing time in high school was very limited, I had one play in a North Eugene game and two years as a starter in Dallas, as the weak side tackle. And, I was weak. So, Coach Wilson said, "OK, give it try, but basketball is your sport. Trust me, Bob."

I get my football gear check out again, with the same size 8 helmet, which fits me like a bowl with multiple spacers to take up the side space.

Next morning, I'm ready to go and make in through the football warm ups and then we divide into groups.

I go with the lineman and get into a live drill, 2 on 1 and I'm the “one.” Player Bob Stewart gives a forearm shiver and my facemask comes crashing down and splits the top of my nose, wide open! Blood is flowing every where and I'm told to put ice on it.

Coach Wilson walks over to me and tells me, "I told you Bob, football is not your sport. You need to see the doctor for some stitches.”

I go to the McMinnville hospital (it was across from campus, near where Walgreen’s drug store is located) and team doctor tells me I broke my nose with a septum separation, plus the laceration on the bridge of my nose. So, I have my right nostril stuffed with a lot of cotton and my bridge stitched shut. My eye is almost swollen shut and I look like I've been in a fight/brawl. The experience earned the nickname Bob Stewart gave to me, “Igor.”

Next morning, I go to football practice. Joe has found me a better fitting helmet, but tells me he has to talk to Coach Wilson. But, Coach Wilson is not at the morning practice. So, I go through the drills and this is the day for the “Meat Grinder” drill. Later I learned this drill is only conducted once a football season, at the end of the second week of practice.

I get into line and find myself ending up, standing in between the two parallel lines of blocking dummies, about two yards wide and 10-yards deep and the rest of the team, in line, coming at me, one at a time. Somehow, I'm still somewhat standing after 10 or 12 teammates, bodies everywhere and a hand comes out to me.  It's assistant coach Tony Ah Yat and he says with his Hawaiian accent,"You stay with me".

Coach Ah Yat personally works with me, by demonstration only.  By game time, I was ready to play quick side (left) defensive end, with the help of linebacker Mike Consbruck, down tackle Chuck Kearney and nose guard Bob Ferguson. What an experience that was playing for Linfield in the 1965 NAIA Championship Bowl football game in August, Ga.

I did turn out for Linfield 1965-1966 basketball as did many other football players after the post-season football playoffs.

There were 25 others, including freshmen trying to make the varsity basketball roster. With the exception of Dan Beeson, the rest of us played JV basketball.

However there was a uniform problem. There were not enough basketball uniforms for everyone. So, we played quarters - five players per quarter and shared uniforms/exchanging at half or leaving the floor to the locker room.

It was an ugly situation sharing uniforms. For example, I sweat profusely. So, I always played the last quarter of the game.

This JV basketball experience was short lived for me and others when the first semester grades came out. I had two incomplete grades, Life of Jesus and English Composition and a grade point average of less than 2.0 (1.94).

The incompletes were to be made up prior to returning to practice.

By the way, it was determined, due to me wearing the wrong helmet size for several weeks into football season that I had numerous, but minor, head concussions.

So for medical reasons and failings grades I left the JV basketball team and allowed to make up the two writing assignments.

My eventual fraternity “big brother” and Larsell Hall 3rd floor member, Ken Jacroux, guided and assisted in my completion of the those two assignments. I got my grade point average above 2.25 so I was eligible for baseball in the spring.

Baseball was my favorite sport. And, I looked forward to pitching for the Wildcats. But, the throwing elbow injury which sidelined me during my senior baseball season at Dallas High was still a problem.  The team doctor gave me cortisone injections.  It helped, but the problem returned. More injections. But, I had the same pain returns delayed reaction.

So, I move to catching. Although I liked pitching, I loved catching. But, I’m too big and too tall playing catcher for the umpire to make the calls.

So, my final baseball experience at Linfield is playing catcher on the JV team while the varsity is in the NAIA playoffs and goes to Missouri and wins the 1966 NAIA national championship. I was envious and very frustrated.

POSTSCRIPT --- Bob had a one-match experience as a heavyweight wrestler on the Linfield wrestling team. In that sport, “one match was all the career I ever wanted,” he said.