Grid Coach Gives Alter Ego Something to Crow About
Story
and photos by John Buchner in The National Observer, Sept. 3, 1962
When Paul Durham site down behind the sports editor’s desk
of the McMinnville (Ore.) News-Register and taps away at this typewriter, his
writing carries a ring of authority. Before the start of the 1961 football season, Durham’s sports column called the local Linfield College Wildcats “a hard-nosed football squad” with some weaknesses. Linfield was hard-nosed, all right; it romped through the regular season undefeated. But it also had the weakness Durham spotted in a post-season game for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (small college) championship. Linfield lost to Pittsburg State of Kansas, 12-7.
He was
a Linfield athlete
Sports editor Paul Durham was able to call his shots
accurately because of his unique position – he’s both a sports editor and fulltime
football coach at athletic director at Linfield.Durham, now 48, was a star athlete in the 1930s at Linfield, a four-year liberal arts college of 1,000 students in the plush, fertile Willamette Valley 40 miles from Portland. In 1948, he was coaching high school sports when he was persuaded to return to his alma mater.
Along with his numerous athletic duties, Durham ran McMinnville’s summer recreation program. To publicize the summertime sports activities, he began writing a column about them for the News-Register. The newspaper’s managing editor became so impressed with Durham’s writing ability that he was asked to become sports editor. Durham accepted the offer in 1953 and has held the job since.
In recent years, sports editor Durham has been fully
justified in writing in glowing terms of Linfield’s improving athletic program
and the success of coach Durham. In 1956, Linfield became to emerge as a small
college power. That year the Wildcats won the Northwest Conference title with
six victories, one loss, and two ties. The following year they repeated as
league champions, winning eight and losing one. After piloting Linfield in two
second place finishes in the next three years, Durham turned out his finest
team in 1961.
At pre-season practices last year, 80 candidates showed up,
the largest turnout since Linfield began playing football 65 years ago. The
backbone of the club was an array of 29 veterans from the 1960 club, which
posted a 7-2 record. Among the newcomers were eight freshmen who had played in
the annual Shrine all-star football game in Portland, which features the best
high school players in the state. With such a college of fine-looking prospects
at Linfield, sports editor Durham was hardly lacking in story material.
An
Impressive List
The Wildcats beat such good small college Pacific Coast
elevens as Lewis & Clark, Chico State, and Willamette during the regular
season. Then they down Whittier 18-7 for the Western NAIA title and a chance to
play in the Camellia Bowl. The Linfield football team was the toast of the
town. But director of athletics Durham also could be proud of the fine records
of the school’s baseball, basketball, track, swimming, golf, tennis, and
wrestling teams.
Returning to Durham’s football squad this year are 10 of the
22 offensive and defensive starters who sparked the 1961 club. Veteran
mainstays include Val Barnes, who was twenty-third in the nation in pass
receiving last season, and Fred von Appen, a 205-pound guard.
With such a strong nucleus, Durham’s 1962 club is favored to
capture the league title again this year. As sports editor Durham might assess
football coach Durham’s prospects, “Linfield has a hard-nosed football squad
this year but there will be several weaknesses.”
Cutline for photos: The two faces of Paul Durham. As
football coach… and as sports editor of an Oregon newspaper.
………Dow Jones & Co. is best known for publishing The Wall Street Journal. It published The National Observer, a weekly American general-interest national newspaper Feb. 4, 1962 through July 11, 1977. The Sept. 3, 1962, issue included an article about Linfielder Paul Durham (Class of 1936), "Grid Coach Gives Alter Ego Something to Crow About," and photos by Linfielder John Buchner (Class of 1963).
== Sept. 7, 1962 - Albany, Ore., Democrat-Herald
Albany Student Authors Article
John Buchner, son of Mr. and Mrs. V. A. Buchner of Route 3, Albany, is
the author of an article about Linfield College football coach, Paul Durham,
appearing in the Labor Day Issue of The National Observer, a new weekly newspaper.
The article, entitled "Grid Coach Gives Alter Ego Something To
Crow About," tells of Durham's dual positions as Linfield football coach
and editor of the sports section of the McMinnville News Register. The National Observer is published in Washington, D.C., by Dow Jones & Co. and has a national circulation.
Buchner has completed his junior year in journalism at Linfield.
== Sept. 12, 1962, McMinnville
N-R/News-Register
"Dodging with Durham" column written by Gordon
Gillmouth, subbing for Paul Durham, "who is taking a short vacation from
his sports writing duties" includes:
"Nationwide publicity has come to News-Register sports
writer John Buchner. Buck submitted a feature article to the National Observer,
a new weekly newspaper out of Washington, D.C., published by the Wall Street
Journal, on Linfield grad chief Paul Durham and the story was run in the Sept.
3 edition of the paper. The article, entitled “The Straight Scoop,” was played
around the two unique jobs Durham holds, that of head football coach and
athletic director of Linfield and that of sports editor of The News-Register.
Two pictures of Durham, one on the sidelines during a game last fall and
another showing him at work at the N-R, were carried with the article.”
