Saturday, November 24, 2018

Stadiums, fields, street, statue and more honor Linfielders


Ad and Joan Rutschman Fieldhouse -- Linfield College.

Ad Rutschman (baseball) Stadium -- at Hare Field, Hillsboro School District, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Dennis Ludwig Stadium -- Sheldon High School, Eugene, Oregon.

(Don) Hicks (softball) Field -- St. Francis Episcopal School, Houston, Texas.

Dale Newhouse Gymnasium -- Riverview Middle School, Bay Point, California.

Don Nicholson (football) Stadium -- Tracy High School, Tracy, California.

(Don) Schaefer (baseball) Stadium - North Salem High School, Salem, Oregon.

(Frank) Smith & (Bob) Laycoe Varsity Weight Room -- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.

Hal Smith Fitness Center -- Linfield College.

(Henry) Lever Street -- Linfield College campus. 

Hugh Yoshida (football) Stadium -- Leilehua High School, Wahiawa, Hawaii. 

Jack Riley Concourse at Goss (baseball) Stadium at Coleman Field -- Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore.

Jeff Basinski Athletic Center -- Forest Grove High School, Forest Grove, Oregon. 

Jeff Durham (football) Field -- Forest Grove High School, Forest Grove, Oregon.

Joe Brock (baseball) Field -- Stayton High School, Stayton, Oregon.

Lou Littlejohn (football) Field -- North Salem High School, Salem, Oregon.

Michael Okura Memorial (baseball) Field -- West Covina High School, West Covina, California.

Neal Abrahamson  (track and football field) Field, Neah-Kah-Nie High School, Rockaway, Oregon.

Pat Smith Athletic Complex -- Clackamas High School, Clackamas, Oregon.

Paul Durham statue -- Linfield College. 

Paul Durham lobby and foyer inside Linfield College’s HHPA/Health, Human Performance and Athletics building.
 
Paul and Judee Ward track -- Dallas High School, Dallas, Oregon.

Ron August (football) Field -- Dallas High School, Dallas, Oregon.

Roy Helser (baseball) Field -- Linfield College.

Ted Hippi (football) Field -- Toledo High School, Toledo, Washington.

Ted Wilson Gymnasium -- Linfield College.

Additions, correction? Contact Wildcatville@gmail.com

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  •  Paul and Judee Ward Track
  •  Hugh Yoshida Stadium  Inset photo of Hugh Yoshida.
  • Photo of Ted Hippi Field
  • Neal Abrahamson Track and Field 






Thursday, November 22, 2018

Ad Rutschman #32 Linfield football number retired in 1953





On Nov. 22 in 1953, this story and photo (click on photo above for a larger version) appeared in the Sunday Oregonian sports section:

Club Retires
Grid Jersey

Rutschman Gets
Linfield Honors

LINFIELD COLLEGE, McMinnville (Special) – There will never be another 32 on a Linfield college football uniform.

Action taken today by the college student body and letterman’s club has decreed that all jerseys bearing the number used by Linfield’s star fullback, Ad Rutschman, for the last four seasons be placed on display in trophy cases and the number be permanently retired from the Linfield football jersey list.

Rutschman has just completed a four-year career that will go down as probably the greatest in Linfield history. Sporting many nicknames, such as “Air Foam Ad” and “The Slippery Swiss,” the ex-Hillsboro high athlete has led the Linfield ground gainers for four years. The 5-foot-9, 182-pounder gained a total of 3390 yards from rushing plays, an average of 5.1 yards per carry. His total of 1127 last season was eight best in the nation.

Rutschman can add another 371 yards gained on passes thrown and 404 on the receiving end. He has also done most of the club’s punting, averaging 34.5 yards on 155 punts. In his first three years at Linfield he was an all-Northwest conference selection twice. He plans to become a high school teacher after graduation.

Paul Durham, Linfield coach, while fully appreciating Ad’s running, passing and kicking talents, said: “Greater than any of his accomplishments was his eternal desire to win and his inspirational leadership of the team.”

Photo cutline:

Coach Paul Durham (right) and Linfield’s star fullback, Ad Rutschman, talk over some of the big moments of Rutschman’s four-year football career at Linfield. Durham holds up one of Rutschman’s jerseys which will be put on display in the Linfield trophy case. The number will be permanently retired.


POSTSCRIPT from 2018:

Note the story says, “In his first three years at Linfield he was an all-Northwest conference selection twice.”

Research shows in Ad Rutschman’s four seasons as a Linfield football player, he was all-Northwest Conference four times, honorable mention as a freshman (1950) and first team as a sophomore, junior and senior (1951, 1952 and 1953).

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

BRIAN PETERSEN’S LINFIELD RING HELPS NEVER FORGET, ALWAYS ‘REMEMBER MIKE' BARROW

Brian Petersen and Mike Barrow, both Linfield Class of 1968, were teammates on Wildcat 1964 and 1965 (Championship Bowl) football teams.


Brian from Medford, Ore., via Port Orchard, Wash., was a center. Mike, from Prineville, Ore., was a quarterback on teams coached by Paul Durham.

During the Vietnam War, Brian was a hospital Corpsman, first with the U.S. Navy and then with the U.S. Marine Corps. Mike, serving in the infantry with the U.S. Army, died in combat in Vietnam in 1969.


The bond developed between football teammates and among those who have served in the military is strong. Thus, it’s understandable that Brian and Mike had such a bond. 


Although Mike is gone, the bond remains, says Brian.

Because of it, Brian’s Linfield Football “Streak” ring has a special inscription remembering Mike.


Photos include:


--Close-ups of Brian’s ring and “Remember Mike” inscription inside it.

--Brian and Mike as Linfield center and quarterback.

--Still from video interview 11/10/2018, day before Veterans Day 11/11/2018, with Brian about Mike and the ring.


Saturday, November 10, 2018

Famous Linfield College Football Water Crew retires after 2018 Wildcat season



Famous Linfield College Football Water Crew retires after 2018 Wildcat season

Some good things come to an end. That's the case with the famous Linfield College Football Water Crew. The 2018 season was the all-volunteer crew’s last.

Why? Their ages notwithstanding, they were tired. Loved every minute of it. But, it was time.

The Linfield football Nov. 3, 2018, game in Tacoma at University of Puget Sound – was the last "road" game for the crew. Linfield won, 47-41.

The Nov. 10, 2018, Pacific University at Linfield home football game in McMinnville on the college’s Maxwell Field was the last home game and last game ever for the crew. That game won by Linfield, 50-7. See video and photos posted here from that day.

Dedicated to Linfield and specifically Linfield Football, the Water Crew’s members – John Schindelar, Jason Schindelar, John O’Connor, Eric Lundeen and Bill Harlan -- were not Linfield grads or had ever attended the college.

Nonetheless, crew members loved the college, its football program – players, coaches and staff – and worked tirelessly for the Wildcats.

And, although now retired from crew duties, Linfield College Water Crew members continue to be ardent Linfield and Wildcat fans.


=McMINNVILLE N-R STORY FROM 2014 ABOUT LINFIELD COLLEGE FOOTBALL WATER CREW

Good Hydrations: Linfield football's five-man water crew gives the program a lift

By ANDREW KILSTROM of The News-Register

Every Linfield home football game, John Schindelar and his five-man water crew arrive at Maxwell field two and a half hours before game time.

The men help prepare the locker room, mix Gatorade, prepare the various water jugs and bottles and collect towels.

They then move to the field, where they set up everything up for both the offense and defense, making sure everything is perfect before kickoff is underway.

During the game, Schindelar follows the defense with a “six-pack” of water bottles, ready for anyone who needs a drink.

John O’Connor does the same for the offense.

Eric Lundeen is in charge of mixing all the Gatorade and helps Schindelar with the defense.

Schindelar’s son, Jason, is in charge of providing the coaches and referees with water at a moment’s notice, and Bill Harlan roams the sideline doing whatever else is needed.

Together, the five men help Linfield run as smoothly and efficiently as possible on game days, unnoticed by most, but vital nonetheless.

“That’s our only goal, really,” John Schindelar said. “To do whatever is needed of us and help out in whatever way we can. Our main job is taking care of the water, but there’s a lot more we do too.”

The group does more than work home games. They work summer practices, making sure the players get the water they need.

Schindelar said their rule is to always be at practice when it’s 80 degrees or warmer. They don’t always work practices in the morning or later in the season when it’s cooler, but when they are at practice — around 48 hours a week combined — they’re helping with more than just the water.

In addition to handling the water, Schindelar and company help equipment manager Mack Farag with cleaning helmets and applying decals. They’ll stay as late as 10 p.m. some Fridays making sure everyone’s helmet looks brand new for game day.

“They do a lot more than what you see on game day,” said Tim Marsh, creator of the Wildcatville blog. “There’s so much behind the scenes stuff that no one gets to see.”

The five members of the water crew are all volunteers, donating their own time and money on road trips to serve the Linfield football team. The entire group rarely travels to away games, especially ones across the country like Saturday’s game against Hardin-Simmons, but there’s always someone with the team to take care of the water.

This week it’s Schindelar traveling with the team to Abeline, Texas. While it’s expensive at times, he said making the trips with the team is always worth it. He’s experienced many great memories during his 25 plus years of working on the Linfield water crew.

“I’d say the best memory is the year we won the national championship,” he said. “There’s so many great memories and great people you meet, but that was special. I still remember it, a beautiful day, even though it was 15 degrees below zero. It was special.”

The members of the water crew aren't the only ones that enjoy what they do for the Wildcats on a daily basis. Their efforts don’t go unnoticed by the coaching staff and players.

Coach Joseph Smith and his team realize the sacrifice and hard work the five men put in, and are always appreciative.

“I can’t say enough about our water crew and the things they do for us every single day,” Smith said. “They’re out there in the heat running around with water bottles, helping out with anything and everything. Its people like them that allow our team be successful every single year.”

Schindelar said he sees the appreciation on an everyday basis. Interacting with the players has always been one of the most appealing aspects to the position.

Nothing the crew does goes unappreciated by the Wildcat players.

“The draw is that at division three you have a really nice program,” Schindelar said. “You have really, really nice kids. When we take water to them, every kid says, ‘thank you, appreciate you being here today, this is the best water we’ve ever had.’ It just goes on and on and on.”

Chances are Linfield will experience its 57th consecutive winning season this year, the all-time record for all divisions of college football.

While the five men running around the sidelines will often do so without recognition, their impact will be major. Win or lose, Schindelar and his team are happy to do what they do.

“It’s just so much fun he said,” he said. “Some of my best memories have come from Linfield football.”


=WILDCATVILLE STORY FROM 2006 ABOUT LINFIELD COLLEGE FOOTBALL WATER CREW





Photos below:
Jason Schindelar
John O'Connor
Bill Harlan
John Schindelar
Eric Lundeen








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Click on links to see slideshows:

=Hail to Linfield College Football Water Crew
12/4/2018
https://youtu.be/A11X99uvgxU


=Linfield College Football Water Crew vital to Wildcats
8/23/2013
https://youtu.be/9Ac90d-jY9o


=Linfield College Football Water Crew at Cal Lutheran
9/15/2012
https://youtu.be/k11liinnm3c


Monday, November 05, 2018

ON SATURDAY, NOV. 10, 2018, DAY BEFORE VETERANS DAY: FORMER LINFIELD QB MIKE BARROW -- WHO DIED IN VIETNAM WITH THE US ARMY -- WILL BE REMEMBERED BEFORE LINFIELD FOOTBALL GAME AT MAXWELL FIELD



Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, is Veterans Day. According to a Linfield grad/Delta Psi Delta fraternity member, before the Saturday, Nov. 10 (1 pm PST kickoff) Pacific at Linfield football game on Maxwell Field there will be a Veterans Day observance.

Email the grad and others Deltas received includes that “Mike Barrow will be mentioned prior to the November 10thfootball game against Pacific. It is the 50th reunion of his graduation class (1968). Because the game is just before Veterans Day, we thought it would be timely both with the reunion and the sacrifice he made with his life in Vietnam the next year. So come to Linfield's final game of the season and remember our brother Mike for his sacrifice for his country during the Vietnam War. Come early and view his memorial in the Linfield Library.”

Mike Barrow, a Delta, was a Linfield quarterback. He died in Vietnam while serving with the U. S. Army. Mike grew up in Prineville, Ore., and graduated from Crook County High School there. He’s buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. There’s a study room in Linfield’s Nicholson Library named for Mike. In the room are framed items memorializing him. 


Mike graduated from Linfield in spring 1968. In October of that year he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Soon thereafter, he began basic training at the Army’s Fort Lewis, Wash.

Mike’s Army tour of duty began April 3, 1969, in Vietnam. A private first class in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, he died during combat less than three months later. His death on June 23, 1969, in Long Khanh was a "hostile ground casualty" as a result of "multiple fragmentation wounds." He was 23 years-old and would have been 24 on July 3.

Learn more about Mike:

Posted Nov. 12, 2010:

Cheering over, but Mike Barrow still remembered

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2011/10/cheering-over-but-mike-barrow-still.html
...............
Posted May 4, 2011:


Nov. 12, 2011, on campus: Linfield quarterback Mike Barrow to be honored
....
Posted Oct 26, 2011:


1960s art by QB Bruce Priem depicts Wildcat players, coach
.....
Posted Nov. 14, 2011:


Mary Gail Barrow speaks at Mike Barrow Study Room dedication, Nov. 12, 2011.
............
Posted Nov. 16, 2011:

Linfield Review story about Nov. 12, 2011, Mike Barrow Study Room dedication

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2011/11/linfield-review-story-about-nov-12-2011.html
....
Posted Nov. 18, 2011:

Mike Barrow: A Wildcat remembered

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2011/11/mike-barrow-wildcat-remembered.html
........
Posted Feb. 11, 2015:

Links to four Mike Barrow stories

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2011/11/links-to-three-mike-barrow-stories.html
...
Posted July 5, 2015:


Football time machine: Linfield beats PLU, 17-0, in 1965
....
Posted Sept 17, 2017


Death of Linfielder Mike Barrow in Vietnam War shocked his former classmates

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