Linfield teams begin practicing, aim for February competitions (N-R 1/15/2021)

 Linfield teams begin practicing, aim for February competitions

By Logan Brandon, McMinnville N-R/News-Register 1/15/2021

If the images below are hard to see, 

click on each one for a larger version. 

E. Avard Whitman should be enshrined in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame

E. Avard Whitman should be enshrined in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame.

Born 1899 in China where his parents were Baptist missionaries, Ernest Avard Whitman died at age 64 on Oct. 13, 1964, in McMinnville.

He graduated from Linfield College (then McMinnville College) in 1921. He was president of the student body as a senior and class orator at commencement.

Whitman Hall, a student residence hall at Linfield, is named in his memory. It opened in 1965.

He was Linfield registrar and professor of English for 26 years, from 1938-1964. He was serving as chair of the English Department when he died.

During all or most of those 26 years he was Linfield Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) to the Northwest Conference (NWC). And, he also served as a NWC president.

Linfield Hall of Famer Ken Williams called Whitman "great" and "brilliant."

Impressed with Whitman's ability as registrar at Linfield, Ken  decided as a Linfield student to become a registrar. And, eventually, he became Linfield register and FAR, too.

Avard Whitman was held in high regard by everyone at Linfield, including Linfield Athletics director, coaches and athletes.

Linfield’s 1961 Camellia Bowl football team gave him a Linfield varsity cardinal “L” in appreciation of his FAR work.

Ken Williams walked in Avard Whitman's footsteps. Ken is in the Hall of Fame. Avard should be, too.

Please endorse this nomination! Billy Maxwell should be enshrined in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame

Please endorse this nomination! Billy Maxwell should be enshrined in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame 

It’s said absence makes the heart grow fonder.

But, absence makes people forget, too.

Let’s not let Linfielder Billy Maxwell (Class of 1924), who died in 1976, be forgotten

There are people who should be in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame. Billy Maxwell is one of them. Let this serve as the “Hall” nomination for him.

The name Maxwell rings a bell for Linfielders. Maxwell Field is where, since 1928, Linfield has played its home football games on campus in McMinnville. The field is on land Billy’s father, J. O. Maxwell, donated to the college.

The 1938 book about Linfield history, "Bricks without Straw" by Jonas "Stein" Jonasson, says for about a third of a century, J.O. Maxwell "has had children or grandchildren" attending the college.

When Billy started classes as a freshman it was McMinnville College. It was Linfield College when he graduated. According to his obituary, he started on the Linfield Board of Trustees in 1929 and was an emeritus board member when he died.

Billy was proud of serving as scoreboard/score clock operator at Linfield home games over innumerable number of years.

Billy said, “I started timing McMinnville — now Linfield College — (men’s basketball) games in 1920. I have timed every home game that (Ted) Wilson-coached teams have played. (To this point I have recorded) “50 seasons of basketball timing.” That’s from a letter quoted in George Pasero’s May 8, 1970, “Pasero Says” Oregon Journal column.

And, he was an important financial donor to and financial fund-raiser for Linfield athletics. For starters, Billy and another donor funded the “necessary financial guarantee” to bring the men’s basketball team of Whitman College (Walla Walla) for two games in McMinnville in the 1925-1926 season, said the 1956 book, “Linfield's Hundred Years: A Centennial History…”

The Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame bio (2000) for Norm Goss says Norm “has been keeping track of the score for football and basketball almost ever since, first as an understudy to the immortal Billy Maxwell and as the first-team scorer since Mr. Maxwell retired.”

Norm followed in Billy’s footsteps. He’s in the “Hall.” Billy is not.

A former McMinnville High School principal, Billy was a consummate Linfield sports fan. In his fandom heyday, you could depend on seeing Billy sitting in his car watching Wildcat football games on the road and in at Maxwell Field. He attended Linfield baseball games on campus and drove to many Linfield road basketball and baseball games, too.

In 1973 Billy was a speaker at a banquet during which Linfield’s then new baseball field was named for Roy Helser. “Helser paid tribute to his athletes, the McMinnville community;” Billy Maxwell; Henry Lever, his Linfield baseball coach; Paul Durham, his Linfield coaching colleague; his wife, Dorothy Helser; and Harry Dillin, Linfield president emeritus, said a May 5, 1973, Oregon Journal story.

James Wright, Linfield athletics donor was enshrined in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. A story about the enshrinement ceremony said, “Raised in McMinnville, Wright described the many ways Linfield touched his life, citing an early influence by Hall of Fame coaches Roy Helser, Durham, and Wilson, as well as loyal follower Billy Maxwell.”

The Rev. Bernard Turner presided at Billy’s 1976 memorial service in McMinnville. In the service, the pastor said in 2021, “I referenced many thing about his life, but especially referenced the fact that Billy (due to having polio as a child) had physical limitations, but that did not keep him from living an active life.” 

William Jewell “Billy” Maxwell was an active student at McMinnville College/Linfield College. After graduating from the college he was an important “player” in Linfield athletics as home game scoreboard/score clock operator, consummate fan on the road and at home, athletics donor and fund-raiser. He deserves to be a member of the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame for meritorious service.

::: Following from Find-A-Grave:

William Jewell “Billy” Maxwell

Born: July 22, 1902 Haines, Baker County, Ore.

Died; Feb. 9, 1976 (aged 73) McMinnville,  Ore.

Buried: Evergreen Memorial Park, McMinnville, Ore.

"Billy" had polio when he was a young child, but refused to recognize the crippling effect as a real handicap and was able to walk most of his life with the aid of a cane. He spent his early years on the farm outside of Haines, Oregon, attending Muddy Creek School. He then attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon and graduated as a teacher.

Billy started teaching at McMinnville High School in 1924 and became its principal in 1929. He administered the school and taught math to thousands of local youngsters, operating most of the time without staff other than student aid. In 1941 he served as a farm labor assistant for the federal government. He was one of the first to organize work platoons for farm harvest and at one time had 2,900 workers organized and working under this system.

When he left the school district in 1946, he became office manager and personnel director for Alderman Farms. He was a familiar sight in Portland's skid road district during early morning hours of harvest, recruiting every able body available to fill his fleet of picker buses. Those were the days when Yamhill county's seasonal crops required thousands of hand pickers and Alderman Farms was setting national records for row crop production. Billy was mighty proud when his crews picked 52 tons of pole beans in a single day. He held this position until 1964. In 1968, he was elected Yamhill County assessor, a position he held for four years.

Bill served continuously on the Linfield College board of trustees since 1929 and was an emeritus member at time of his death. He was an active fund raiser for all Linfield athletic events and for many years up to his death was president of the McMinnville Quarterback's Club. There were almost no Linfield athletic contests at home and few away that Bill missed. He served as timekeeper for hundreds of events--and he maintained continual relationships with high school and college students and the organizations which supported their programs. His selection for the Silver Beaver award, after 25 years of service to Scouting marked only another facet of his devotion to young people's welfare. He was also a member of the Kiwanis Club for 41 years.

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Following from Access Genealogy based on information from the Record Courier, Baker City, Ore., Feb., 1976. contributed by Belva Ticknor via Baker County, Oregon Obituaries.

Maxwell, William J. (Billy) – Obituary

Services will be Friday, February 13, 10:30 a.m. at Macy and Son in McMinnville for William J. (Billy) Maxwell, 73, who died of a heart attack Monday, Feb. 9. The Rev. Bernard Turner will preside at service, which will be followed by private interment at Evergreen Memorial Park.

Maxwell was born July 22, 1902 at Haines, Oregon the son of J.O. and Nancy Ann Maxwell. He grew up on a farm in the Muddy Creek area and graduated from Muddy Creek high school.

He entered Linfield College in McMinnville, and after his graduation in 1924, he started a long teaching-administrative career at McMinnville high school. Maxwell started teaching math and in 1939 became principal, a position he held 17 years until 1946.

In 1941 Maxwell served as a farm labor assistant for the federal government. He was one of the first to organize work platoons for farm harvest and at one time had 2,900 workers organized and working under this system.

He left the school district in 1946 to become office manager and personnel director for Alderman Farms outside Dayton, and held that position until 1964. Four years later, Maxwell was elected Yamhill County assessor, a position he held for four years.

Maxwell served continuously on the Linfield College board of trustees since 1929, and was an emeritus member at time of his death. He was an active fund raiser for all Linfield athletic events and for many years up to his death was president of the McMinnville Quarterback’s Club.

Member of the Kiwanis Club for 41 years, Maxwell also served in the area Scouting movement and was honored with the Silver Beaver award recognizing 25 years of service.

Survivors are son, Harold of Petersburg, VA.; daughter, Donna Marie Watkins of Port Orchard, Washington; brothers Glenn and Omer, both of Haines; sisters Myrtle Potter of Baker, Olga Ward of Haines, and Rose Bishop of Las Vegas, Nevada; and six grandchildren.

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Linfield 2020 reviewed in McMinnville N-R 12/29/2020 edition

Linfield in 2020 reviewed by McMinnville N-R

McMinnville N-R/News-Register Dec. 29, 2020, edition carried a story reviewing 2020. Review included the following:

Linfield University, still called “college” until July 1, postponed its graduation until late summer. Then, as COVID cases continued, it removed the ceremony from the schedule entirely, although President Miles Davis did greet a few new grads in person when they visited campus to pick up their diplomas.

Both the university and Yamhill County’s public school districts hoped to return to in-person classes in the fall.

And Linfield carried that out, starting early and setting up tented classrooms so students could be in smaller groups and larger spaces.

Everyone on campus was tested for the virus, and they stayed together, for the most part, throughout the fall. Only 17 cases were reported among the McMinnville campus cohort before the Thanksgiving holiday, when students went home to take finals online; one more case has been added since then.

Linfield students will return for spring semester, Jan. 18 to April 30, and the traditional “Jan Term” will be held in May.

Cutline for one of the News-Register file photos with the 2020 Review: “Linfield arranged large tents on campus to use as makeshift classrooms, allowing more space between students.”

In 1965: Linfield athletic director Paul Durham, former athletic director Henry Lever praised

‘Pasero Says’ sports column, Oregon Journal, Portland daily newspaper

March 12, 1965, by George Pasero, sports editor, Oregon Journal

(To GEORGE PASERO) -- “…  Would like to express our appreciation and enjoyment for fine column .. in which you mentioned former Linfield stars Roy Helser, Morris Helser and Riney Cook. I am sure the person who got the greatest kick out of reading it ... was Coach Henry Lever, who had his own real estate business in Madras ... He, more than any other person, was responsible for the development of the Linfield College physical education, intramural and athletic programs, which now, we believe, stack up well with the best in the small colleges of the Coast. —Paul Durham, (Linfield College) Athletic Director

COMMENT (by George Pasero) -- Mr. Lever did a fine job under difficult conditions. But writer Durham is much too modest ... It’s a great program at Linfield ... and friend Paul deserves much credit, too.

Oregon is fortunate in having solid programs at a number of private schools ... not only Linfield but Lewis and Clark, Pacific, Willamette and, except for football, U-Portland ... Publicly, Portland State is on the move — at long last ...We’re still not too sold on a Big Sky tie up for the Vik’s, though.

Good write-ups assured? -- Grid coach (Paul Durham) moonlights (Dec. 6, 1965)

(At the time this article was written P. Lee Irwin (1919-1995) was publisher and owner of the Gresham, Ore., Outlook newspaper. His son, John Irwin, is a 1968 Linfield graduate.

Good write-ups assured? -- Grid coach moonlights

By Lee Irwin, Sports correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Mon., Dec. 6, 1965

Portland, Ore. –

Even if the Linfield Wildcats should lose in the NAIA (small-college) football finals Dec. 11, they won’t have to take any guff from the sports columnist in their hometown newspaper.

Coach Paul Durham, you see, if that columnist.

Durham, Linfield’s eminently successful grid coach and athletic director, also doubles as a sports writer and contributes a twic-weekly column to the McMinnville, Ore., News-Register.

His Wildcats qualified for the NAIOA finals againist St. John’s of Collegeville, Minn., with a 30-27 victory over Sul Ross in the semifinals Nov. 27 at Midland, Texas. Freshman Tim Kubli kicked a 36-yard field goal (longest in the 10-years NAIA playoff history) with just 49 sefconds left to assure the win.

Durham has been at Linfield a long time. He’s now in its 18^th year. And his Wildcats are a frequent entry in NAIA playoffs.

In 1961, they went all the way to the fianls efore losing, 12-7, to Pittsburg State of Kansas. Left year they palyed Concordia of Moorhead, Minn., in the semifinals and lost, 28-6, at Fargo.

The thermometer read six degrees at time time. And Durham is hoping the weatherman surved up something a bit more equitable in Augusta, Ga., Dec. 11 for the game with St. John’s.

Linfield is a big team – its front five defensively averages 237 pounds – but scouting reports indicate St. John’s is even bigger. “We’ll trade three game films with them and thus can see for ourselves,” Durham said.

“We understand St. John’s has given up only 20 points all season and that their two starting tackles come in at about 270 pounds each.

“But our team is an explosive one and we can move the ball a lot of ways. It’s just a question of which team can do the best job consistently.”

Draw pro scouts

Standouts for Linfield on offense are left end Brian Carter, a senior from Albany, Ore; tackle Gene Forman, a 245-poinds junior from Toledo, Wash.; quarterback Terry Durham, the coach’s son, a 206-pound junior from McMinnville; and halfback Leroy Fails, a senior from Seattle.

Defensive stars are end Denny Schweitzer, 220-pound senior from Reedsport, Ore.; middle guard Bob Ferguson, senior from Eugene; tackle Jack Ostlund, 255-pound junior from Hillsboro, Ore.; linebacker Mike Consbruck, a junior from Phoenix, Ore.; and safetyman Bob Webber, senior from Tigard, Ore.

Ostlund and Forman, though only juniors, have already drawn attention from professional scouts, particularly Forman, who is 6ft 5in and still growing.

The two starting backs are Rogers Ishizu, a Japanese-American from Maui, Hawaii, and Odis Avritt, the fullback from Cleveland high in Portland.

Two other names should ring a bell. The starting left guard is Bob Laycoe, son of Hal Laycoe, Portland Buckaroo hockey coach and a former Boston Bruin. The starting left tackle is Jeff Basinski, son of Eddie Basinski, former major-league second baseman.

Laycoe started college when he was 16 and now, as a 6-2 by 205-pound sophomore, has just turned 18. “He’s probably the youngest sophomore regular in the country,” Durham points out.

The Wildcats have lost once this year, a 20-14 decision to Humboldt State of California in the fourth game of the season. “We had a 14-0 lead, “Durham said, “but couldn’t hold it. We’ve improved a lot since then, however.”

Team matured quickly

The Wildcats weren’t considered a particular title threat this fall since Durham had left 15 of his 22 offensive and defensive starters from last year. But the team matured quickly and was unstoppable once Northwest Conference play began. Its selection for the NAIA playoffs came as a great surprise.

Durham concedes that Sul Ross ‘scared us” in the semifinals. “They are without a doubt the greatest offensive team we’ve ever played. Their quarterback, Luz Pedraza, is as good as any I’ve ever seen,” Durham said.

Six recovered fumbles were the difference in that game.

Durham is a 1936 graduate of Linfield and, of course, played football as an undergraduate. He was a high-school coach for 12 years before coming to Linfield in 1948. He has doubled as athletic director since 1949.

A tireless recruiter, Durham and Linfield have done extremely well with small-town boys, youngsters who didn’t get a lot of high-school publicity but who, nevertheless, were coachable college material. Linfield has also turned out a great number of prep coaches – perhaps more than any other college in the state – and these are a fine source of material for the school.

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JOHN COOK, HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL NEBRASKA HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH, ATTENDED LINFIELD

 JOHN COOK, HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL NEBRASKA HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH, ATTENDED LINFIELD

Nebraska, led by Linfielder John Cook, will play for another women’s NCAA DI Volleyball National Championship. On 12/14/2017 evening, Huskers knock off Penn State 3-2 (win 5th set 15-11). The match was played in Kansas City, Mo. Nebraska faces Stanford or Florida for its shot at 2 titles in 3 years Saturday. Cook, Nebraska head coach, attended, but did not graduate from Linfield. - Posted at BWC-Linfield Facebook Dec 14, 2017

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Motivation for John Cook's book goes back to high school, and is also a salute to the fans

Column by Brent Wagner, Husker volleyball/women's basketball reporter,   Aug 27, 2017 Updated Sept 29, 2018 , Lincoln, Nebraska, Journal Star

Coaches and athletes sometimes use the littlest things, real or perceived, to motivate them. They try to prove that other people can’t put limitations on them.

Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook is one of those people who is motivated by things others say can’t be done. Years ago a booster said the volleyball team wouldn’t be able to go on foreign trips if not for all of the money the football program brings in for the Nebraska athletic department. Now, because of a larger arena and the success of the four-time national champion Huskers, the volleyball program covers its own expenses.

Now Cook has written a book, “Dream Like a Champion,” that will soon be in bookstores in Lincoln. The book’s cover says the book is about wins, losses and leadership the Nebraska volleyball way. Cook and Hail Varsity magazine managing editor Brandon Vogel wrote the book together.

Cook says one of his motivations for writing a book goes all the way back to when he was in high school in San Diego.

Cook's mom was in high school when he was born. Nobody in his family had ever gone to college, and it wasn’t on his radar, either. He was a pretty good football and basketball player, and some of his coaches said he should think about playing in college.

He took the SAT, a college admission exam, but didn’t have a good enough score on the English section. So Cook thought he couldn’t go to college.

But a teacher tracked him down, he got enrolled in two English courses that semester, and he worked at it. He took the test again and got the score he needed and received a scholarship to play basketball at Linfield College in Oregon.

“That kind of always stuck with me,” Cook said during a recent interview. “Well, it’s one of the reasons why I wanted to coach, but it also stuck with me like, ‘OK, some test determined I wasn’t smart enough.’ The English teacher -- her name was Judy Corbin -- I always felt like someday I wanted to prove that all that was worth it, and one way I could do that would be writing a book. So that’s just something that planted a seed a long time ago.”

Cook said another motivation for the book is for the fans of the program. We met in his office, where he can sit at his desk and look out on the arena at the Devaney Sports Center. When he talks about the fans, Cook sometimes looks out on the arena, where those fans sit during the matches.

“This book to me is also a payback to our fans, and the support that we’ve had,” he said.

After Nebraska won the national championship in 2015, Cook decided it might be time to write that book. He got hooked up with Vogel, and they began writing in the summer of 2016.

During the writing process Cook and Vogel had long interviews, and then Vogel would write. But Cook also sat at a computer and wrote a few of the chapters himself. He said ideas for the book would come to him while he was riding his bike on the MoPac trail in Lincoln, near his home.

One of the neat moments since the book was finished was when Cook got a copy of the University of Nebraska Press catalog, listing books that were about to be published.

“I opened it up and the book is in there, along with other professors' books, and everything,” Cook said. “I felt like, ‘That’s pretty big-time right there.’”

Cook tried to write about what has worked for the volleyball program and what he believes in, and share stories that back that up.

I enjoyed the book. I’ve written about the volleyball program for several years, but there were still some stories I hadn’t heard before.

The bombshell was Chapter 7, where Cook writes about the day he almost died on a mountain near Lake Tahoe. Cook, admitting he was young and a little obnoxious, fell about 100 feet off a cliff while he was rolling boulders off the cliff, and he landed on some rocks. He writes about his long rehab, and what he learned from it.

You also get insight into how no detail is too small for Cook, including going to Dallas to help find a vitamin for the players to take to strengthen their bones.

Another great story is about Kelsey Fien, once considered by the coaches to be a RM — recruiting miss. But she improved a lot, and ended up having the kill to clinch the Huskers’ national championship in 2015 in front of 17,000 fans in Omaha.

Cook writes about his regrets, one of which details why he says that ever since a high school match he coached in 1983, his approach is that the best players always play, regardless of their age, or the situation.

One thing you’ll notice is that the names of the players still on the team aren't listed in the book. Cook said there was a concern from the athletic department that players could later take legal action. Most fans will know whom Cook is writing about, though. Some of the answers to those missing names are Mikaela Foecke, Kelly Hunter and Olivia Boender.

Cook also said he made an agreement that he won’t be paid for writing the book.

As we talked, I was curious about Judy Corbin, the teacher who helped Cook get into to college. Cook doesn’t know if she’s alive, but he’s sent a copy of the book and a note to a leader at the school, in hopes they can find her.

“Writing the book was more of a motivation to prove to myself I could do it, and for that English teacher and coaches that believed in me, and got me to college,” Cook said. “Because I’d hate to think what my path would have taken if I didn’t go to college.”

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Linfield longevity Shane Kimura ’78 celebrates 40th and final season as volleyball head coach

Part of article by Laura Davis from Fall 2017 issue of Linfield Magazine

Soft-spoken with a quiet confidence, (Shane) Kimura has literally grown up on the Linfield court.     He was18 and younger  than most of his players when he took the position. He knew volleyball, but admits he had much to learn about coaching.

What does it take to sustain a decades-long coaching career? “It takes a person like Shane,” says Garry Killgore, Linfield athletic director, who has known Kimura for 28 years. “A person who has a high degree of  integrity and commitment to students. Shane encourages traits that make his players better individuals, on and off the court. He understands that the  real championships are the championships of  life.”

John Cook, volleyball coach at the University of Nebraska, attended Linfield in 1975 and calls Kimura’s 40-year run “historic.”

“That means Linfield is a pioneer in women’s volleyball,” says Cook, who   has led the Huskers to three Division     I national championships and is the sixth-winningest  coach in NCAA history. “There is a lot to celebrate there.”

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Mike Riley’s mentor’s grandson starring in two sports for Oregon State 

Column by Dirk Chatelain/ Omaha World-Herald staff writer June 23, 2017 Updated June 24, 2017, includes:

Nebraska’s connections with Linfield don’t stop with (Nebraska head football coach Mike) Riley. John Cook (Nebraska head volleyball coach) spent his first year of college in McMinnville before transferring home to San Diego; he remembers (Ad) Rutschman. Same goes for (Nebraska assistant football coach) Danny Langsdorf, who played quarterback for Linfield in 1994-95.