WILDCAT SPLIT END BOB MURPHY (Class of 1972) TALKS ABOUT HIS LINFIELD EXPERIENCE
It started with the idea of doing a Q&A/Question &
Answer story with that great Linfield football “battery” – in baseball, a catcher
and a pitcher —split end (catcher) Bob Murphy (Class of 1972) and quarterback (pitcher)
Dave White (Class of 1971).
Bob, who lives in Happy Valley in Clackamas County, Oregon –
and Dave, who lives on Lacamas Lake in Clark County, Washington, said they’d do
it.
Questions asked. Their answers were thorough. No reason to
edit. Each gets their own Q&A. Here is it for Bob, followed by Dave’s.
Photos
by Reid Blackburn (Class of 1974), Rusty Rae (Class of 1968), and Wildcatville.
WILDCATVILLE – BOB, WHEN DID YOU
START PLAYING FOOTBALL:
I grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon. and started playing
football in the 8th grade (Pop Warner) in Milwaukie. Greatly influencing me was
my brother, Mike. He was an all-league football and basketball player at
Milwaukie High School. He was a constant inspiration. But he also liked to
taunt me. Mike would say “a brother who did not play football was not my
brother.” I assumed that he was talking about me since I am his only sibling.
WILDCATVILLE – YOU ATTENDED MILWAUKIE
HIGH SCHOOL, TOO?
In 1963 Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie opened. I was
fortunate to be part of the first freshman class at this new school. I
graduated from Putnam in 1967.
WILDCATVILLE – WHY LINFIELD?
After high school I set my goals high. I was all-league in
football and basketball in the tough Metro League. The possibility arose that I
might have an opportunity to play at a large school. However, no large schools
came knocking at my door. I did visit Oregon State. During my visit to campus in
Corvallis, OSU provided good sandwiches and I got a nod from the “Pumpkin,”
head football Coach Dee Andros. But, nothing materialized. In addition, I was
invited to visit Willamette. After reviewing all the information, I decided to
go to Lower Colombia College, a two-year college, in Longview, Washington. I
was going to play basketball; for Coach Don Porter, an all-American basketball player at Linfield
and a McMinnville High School graduate.
Ted Zetterberg (Linfield graduate, English teacher at Rex
Putnam) and Ben Gehlen (Linfield graduate and teacher at Clackamas) contacted
me about visiting Linfield to talk with football Coach Paul Durham. I
accompanied them when they drove to McMinnville to attend their summer classes
on campus. They introduced me to Coach Durham. For two-and-a-half hours, Coach
and I went around campus and the city of McMinnville. If we weren’t walking and
talking, he was driving and talking. He introduced me to town people, coaches
and school officials. This experience sealed the deal for me, and I made my
decision to attend Linfield. I was going to be a “Wildcat.” In addition,
Linfield let me play both football and basketball.
WILDCATVILLE – TALK ABOUT YOUR
EXPERIENCE AS A LINFIELD FOOTBALL PLAYER
In 1967 I began my freshman year at Linfield. I and we
(other players on the team), didn’t know the 1967 season would Coach Durham’s
last leading Linfield football. (He coached 1948-1967, 20 seasons. After the
1967 season, Ad Rutschman was named football coach and then Coach Durham left
Linfield to become University of Hawaii athletic director. I was fortunate to
have made the Linfield football varsity travel squad as a freshman. I’d run in
plays during games on Saturdays and play in the JV games on Mondays. As a
freshman, I played behind John Sadowski. I’d get in about 15 to 20 plays a
game, depending on the score, certain situations, and injuries/dings. Linfield
had a very strong team, losing only to Lewis & Clark at the end of season.
(The 1967 Linfield team is best known for upsetting the University of Hawaii by
15-13 in the first game of the 1967 season.) There was a large group of
graduating seniors, especially offensively on that 1967 season. In 1968, my
sophomore year and Coach Rutschman’s first season, I recall we had three or
four starters returning on offense. Our defense was going to be
solid/outstanding, but offensively we had a mess of shoes to fill. We were
going to have to do that with a few starters, backup players, JC transfers, or
first year players. Add to that the fact that we had Coach Rutschman’s new
system and new expectations.
WILDCATVILLE – HOW MANY SEASONS DID
YOU AND QUARTERBACK DAVE WHITE PLAY LINFIELD FOOTBALL TOGETHER?
One. The 1971 season. Dave and I got on the ‘same page’
quickly. But, we also had to do well in practice and games for Coach Rutschman.
I didn’t want to make mistakes, including dropping passes. That would mean
running extra 240-yard dashes on Maxwell Field.
WILDCATVILLE — DAVE WHITE SAYS YOU
CAUGHT VIRTUALLY EVERTHING BALL HE THREW YOU
That’s nice compliment. Dave threw catchable balls. I’m fond
of the statement, "You touch it, you catch it" This was not unique,
but a comment by the great Raymond Berry, NFL Hall of Fame split end for the Baltimore
Colts, made in a book. He wrote, knowing that because he wasn't blessed with
great speed, it was imperative to run good routes and if he touched the
football he had to catch it. I tried to do the same thing when I player.
WILDCATVILLE – WHY DID BOB MURPHY
CATCHING THE FOOTBALL FROM DAVE QUITE WORK
Dave and I bought into Coach Rutschman’s system—footsteps,
routes, timing, and the demand for excellence through repetition. The other key
to our success was that we practiced every day against defensive personnel that
inspired us to be excellent: Tim Arthur, Carl Lavier, Bob Hill, Don Ng, Steve
Johnson, Jim Bailey, Virgil Ripley, Roy Umeno, Mike Cahill, and countless
others.
The most fierce battles we had all season were running
routes against our own defensive backs and linebackers in each practice. I say
here that the OFFENSE won most of those battles. But, I’m only kidding. Offense
and defense did equally well. Dave had a strong arm and his timing was amazing.
We had an excellent run game with Jim Massey, Mike Achong, Sonny Jepson, and
crew. The thoughts that continually ran through our minds were: Keep moving the
chains. First downs. Control the game. Keep our outstanding defense off the
field. Move the ball, don’t turn it over. Dave and I contributed to that
philosophy. Execution, don’t deviate, “you touch it, you catch it.” Most
importantly, it was always fun.
WILDCATVILLE – YOUR LINFIELD FOOTBALL
NUMBER AND WHY/
I was number 35. I was assigned a duplicate number, 83, as
a freshman for our first game of the year at Hawaii, but didn’t make the trip
due to a sprained ankle. A couple of players did not make the return trip, and
I was assigned a new number, 35. NO more “asterisk” by my name.
WILDCATVILLE –BOB, MEMORIES OF LINFIELD FOOTBALL GAMES?
*Getting off the Linfield bus before our first game my
sophomore year 1968 at Boise State. Boise. We flew from Portland to Boise on
that Friday before the game and rode in our bus on that Saturday from the hotel
to the stadium. Boise had just moved up from being a two-year program to a four-year
program. As we unloaded the bus, their players came out of their
commons/cafeteria on the Boise campus. All of them were wearing short-sleeve
white shirts buttoned up to the neck. My thighs were not as thick as any of
their necks. We won 14-7.It was Coach Rutschman's first game as Linfield
football coach.
*Tim Arthur’s game-saving tackle of the Lewis & Clark
quarterback on the 3rd or 4th yard line to seal our win and the Northwest Conference
championship my senior season. What a great way to conclude my Linfield
football playing career.
*Going to the sideline, during our last game my senior
year in 1971 in Honolulu against Hawaii. I told Coach, “I can beat their
cornerback deep. After uncontrolled laughter for a couple minutes, on the next
series we called the play. “Touchdown” 6-foot-3 me versus the 5-foot-9
defender. I knew my own abilities.
WIDCATVILLE – HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK
ABOUT YOUR LINFIELD EXPERIENCE?
Every second! I know it’s easy to say now. Being part of something
that epitomizes excellence and has continued to do so for many decades is truly
a blessing and a legacy. From the athletics, to the education that I received,
to the friends that I met, and, most
importantly, to my wife of 49 years, Chris (Meyers) Murphy, Linfield class of
1972, I owe it all to Linfield!
WILDCATVILLE – WHAT WAS IT LIKE
PLAYING FOR COACH DURHAM AND COACH RUTSCHMAN?
Playing for Coach Rutschman was an amazing,
once-in-a-lifetime experience. No question, there was a huge philosophical
difference between Coach Durham and Coach Rutschman. On one hand you had Coach
Durham who would come into our freshmen health class, held in the old Frerichs
Hall (not to be confused with the dorm of the same name), and sit down at the
piano and play a sing-along-song to begin class.
Coach Rutschman, on the other hand, was the first person
to play the famous “Dueling Banjos” song on a coaching whistle. That song was
made famous by the 1972 movie “Deliverance,” but the song existed before the
movie.
All kidding aside, Coach Rutschman was and still has a
phenomenal coaching mind and command for the game. Football was about perfect
execution. Exactness and effort would get you to the winning side. It wasn’t
always fun or easy. No. It required strong discipline and commitment. If our
attention waned, he would find meaningful ways for us to refocus. He also
believed in the “next man up.” It not that he lacked compassion or that he
didn’t show compassion, he believed that you must always be prepared so when it’s
your time to enter the game, you’re ready to perform.
WILDCATVILLE – OTHER SPORTS FOR YOU
IN ADDITION TO FOOTBALL?
I played football, basketball, and baseball growing up. I
loved baseball, but as soon as the baseball started spinning and curving I
started spending more time in the other sports. They didn’t have all defensive
first baseman. You had to hit the ball. I played basketball for three years at
Linfield. Redshirted my junior year. Coach Ted Wilson was the head basketball coach.
I played JV my first two years. Redshirted. Played varsity my senior year, the
1971-1972 season.
WILDCATVILLE – BOB, TALK ABOUT YOUR FOLKS AND BROTHER.
My parents: Gordon and Dolly. Brother: Mike, five years older than
me. My parents both worked. Their greatest enjoyment in their spare time was
watching their sons play sports. They never missed a Linfield football game,
except Hawaii. So, that included trips to Spokane to play Whitworth, Walla
Walla to play Whitman and Caldwell to play the College of Idaho. They attended
all of my youth and Rex Putnam High School of Milwaukie games. Mike played
football, basketball and baseball at Milwaukie High School and was an
outstanding football and baseball
player. At Milwaukie High, he played basketball with Rick Whelan, who went on
to fame playing basketball for Oregon State. After graduating from high school,
Mike attended PLU for two years and played football and baseball. He left after
his sophomore year, got married and served in the National Guard. In 1968, Mike
returned to PLU and played football and baseball again. Before you ask, yes we
played against each other in the 1968 in Tacoma. The score was 7 to 7. Yes! It
was a variation of the saying that ties are “just like kissing your sister.” In this case it was
my brother. The 1968 game was pretty exciting for the family.
WILDCATVILLE – AFTER YOU GRADUATED
FROM LINFIELD IN 1972 WITH AN EDCUATION DEGREE, THEN WHAT?
I was hired as a teacher and coach at Rex Putnam High
School (North Clackamas School District). I taught a variety of subjects:
Geography, Personal Finance, PE and Health. I coached several sports: Football,
boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball, and golf. I became the Athletic Director
at Rex Putnam in 1986 and moved to the Athletic Director’s job at Milwaukie
High School in 1996. I accepted an offer to move to Clackamas High School in
2000 where I spent my last five years in education as a Student Government
Teacher and Attendance Advisor. That
tenure concluded my 32 years in education.
# End of Bob Murphy
Q&A. What follows is Dave White Q&A
BRIEF REVIEW OF
SOME OF DAVE WHITE’S TIME AT LINIFELD WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FOOTBALL
Freshman year = 1967-1968
Sophomore year = 1968-1969 (1968 football season)
Junior year = 1968-1970 (1969 football season)
Senior year = 1970-1971 (1970 football season) (Graduated 1971)
1967 academic year = JV football
1968 academic year = Injured ribs, Red shirt
1969 academic year = Back up QB to Tony Mauze
1970 academic year = Varsity football letter
1971 academic year = Varsity football letter
1971 = Graduated from Linfield with B.S. degree in P.E./Health
major and Social Studies minor
1972 = Bobbie Scharf graduated with B.A. degree, Political
Science/German majors
1972 = Dave White and Bobbie Scharf marry on May 27th.
1972-73 academic year = Linfield student assistant football coach
1973 season. Dave and Bobbie White were head residents of Whitman Hall at
Linfield College
WILDCATVILLE – DAVE WHITE, SUMMARIZE YOUR TIME AT LINFIELD?
I really enjoyed all my years at Linfield College, meeting my
wife, making lifelong friends, taking interesting classes, playing sports,
being a head resident , working on becoming a responsible adult and to help me
prepare for the future. I am very proud
of the fact that my football teammates voted me 1970 Most Improved
Player and 1971 Offensive Team Captain. To this day those trophies are on my
dresser. Great memories.
WILDCATVILLE – WHY
DID YOU REDSHIRT YOUR SOPHOMORE YEAR?
During 1968 season practice, Dan Jones, a Linfield All-Northwest
Conference end, by accident, put his right knee into my right ribs during
punting practice. After that I was unable to lift my right arm up. As a
right-handed quarterback, passing the ball was impossible. That put me out of
commission and practice for about six weeks. By the time I could play, the
season was mostly over. I consulted with Coach Rutschman and I decided to
redshirt. Thirty or so years later I had x-rays taken in that area for another
reason. My doctor told me that he could see where I had cracked some of my ribs
in the past.
WILDCATVILLE – YOUR
LINIFELD FOOTBALL EXPERIENCE INCLUDED A DENTAL PROBLEM?
Our last home game in 1970 was versus Lewis & Clark. I was
throwing a pass to our left side . Their left end somehow got his right fist
under my face guard and shattered my right front tooth. In the Linfield huddle
for the next play, Jim Massey, one of our star running backs, said “we can't
understand you, speak up." All the blood in my mouth caused a
communication problem. Linfield lineman Chuck Windal just laughed. Before our
next game, in Honolulu against the University of Hawaii, my dentist filed my
tooth down to a peg and put on a temporary front tooth cap. It became infected
while in Hawaii. Upon returning to Portland he removed the temporary cap.
Eventually I needed a root canal before he put in a permanent replacement
tooth.
WILDACTVILLE – YOUR
LAST GAME AS A FOOTBALL PLAYER WAS ON THE NIGHT OF SATURDAY, NOV. 14, 1970, IN
HONOLULU VERSUS THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
We were undefeated. If we
win the game we'd likely be in the NAIA post-season playoffs. Linfield was NAIA
and Hawaii, a larger school, was NCAA. We lost 19-17. Near the end of that game, we were
close to the end zone with a chance to take the lead. 19 to 17 was the score. I
was running for my life around the right end and drove for the end zone and was
knocked out of bounds. The next play or so I threw a pass to wingback George
Fink. He caught it in the end zone. TD! No wait, the defender somehow reached
around George and grabbed the ball and they fell to the ground. George caught
the ball and took a step or two before they fell to the ground. The correct
call was a TD! We beat Hawaii and go to the NAIA National Playoffs. But we had
a horrible call from the local Hawaiian ref. He said it was an interception. No
TD or a chance for golden toe Steve Davis to kick the winning field goal. I was
right there and it was a touchdown! The referee came from the back corner of
the end zone and had a poor line of sight. Coach Rutschman was as mad as I had
ever seen him and later diplomatically called it a " home cooking "
call. That “homer" call cost us an undefeated season and national playoff
berth.
Before he went on to fame
nationally on TV, Al Michaels was calling the game for
a Honolulu radio station. My Dad contacted Al asking him for an audio tape
recording of the game, but Al couldn't give it out.
WILDCATVILLE – YOU
PLAYED BASEBALL FOR LINFIELD, TOO?
I played baseball for Coach Roy Helser at Linfield for three
years. Third base. My JV year my batting average was .500. Terry Durham was the
JV coach. I had a challenging 1970 baseball season. I decided not to play in
the 1971 season. I needed to do my student teaching and would be able to get
some coaching experience with the Newberg High School baseball team. In
hindsight, If I had known then that Coach Rutschman would be the Linfield
baseball coach, I would have joined the 1971 baseball team.
WILDCATVILLE –
AFTER YOU GRADAUTED FROM LINFIELD IN 1971 YOU WERE IN THE U.S. AIR FORCE?
I joined the U.S. Air Force Oregon National Guard for a six year
tour of duty. I was stationed at the 153rd Oregon Guard Base
at the Portland Airport. After six years I was honorably discharged with the
rank of staff sergeant. After active duty at Lackland Air Force Base in San
Antonio , Texas; I returned to Linfield to do my student teaching and coaching
at Newberg High School.
WILDCATVILLE –
MENTION YOUR SPORTS EXPERIENCES BEFORE LINFIELD
I played flag football when I was in the sixth and seventh grade.
S.J. Pounder Realty Co. sponsored my Pop Warner tackle football team in eighth
grade. I was the quarterback and played safety on defense. At Madison High
School in Portland I was quarterback and kicker for PATs , field goals and
punter.
I started basketball in the 5th grade on a 6th grade
team because my Dad was the coach. I lettered for two years in basketball in high school and was a point guard. I
attended Ted Wilson's basketball summer camp.
In
baseball, I played Little League as a pitcher and second and third baseman when
not pitching. I also played for American Legion (Contractors ) and Madison High
School in Portland (on 82nd Avenue in Northeast Portland) for four years. I was
a good high school pitcher; more control than speed. I threw a fastball, curve,
slider, drop ball and a change of pace and played third base when not pitching.
I usually batted third. Madison was a very good baseball area in the 1960s.
In the late 1960's Madison had something like 3,500 students. The
school had double schedules to accommodate all the students. Madison had really
good athletes and its teams were usually in the postseason playoffs.
WILDCATVILLE – WHEN DID YOU START PLAYING FOOTBALL?
I started playing football
before school in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade at Rose City Park School in
Portland with my classmates. I was usually the quarterback because I had a good
arm and could hit the receivers.
I played flag football for two
years and then Pop Warner tackle football before high school. I was the
quarterback and played safety on defense. A total of about 150 guys turned out
for freshman football at Madison High in 1964. For the first two weeks we
mostly ran drills and conditioning so some guys would quit because the school
didn't have enough equipment for that many players. I was the starting freshman
quarterback. Sophomore year I was a backup varsity quarterback. My junior year
I started some games, my senior year I was the starting quarterback. My senior
season, 1967, Madison was 6-2 and 2 ties. I liked football, basketball and
baseball. My favorite sport was whichever season it was at that time.
WILDCATVILLE – HOW
DID AD RUTSCHMAN IMPACT YOU?
He’s a great person! Coach Rutschman was an outstanding player and
coach for Linfield. He won a national championship in baseball and three
national football titles for Linfield. Amazing. He was an inspiration to do
something with my life. I really enjoyed our private quarterback football meetings
where he would explain what defenses our next opponent would probably run and
what plays we should run against them. So on game day as quarterback I was
prepared to call the correct plays vs. certain defenses. After my father, Coach
Rutschman was the most important male role model in my life. I used many of his
concepts and philosophies during my teaching and coaching careers. He was a
great teacher and an even better person. Everyone should read his book,
‘WINNING with CLASS!’
WLDCATVILLE – DAVE,
DO YOU REMEMBER ANY LINIFELD FOOTBALL GAMES IN WHICH YOU PLAYED FROM BEGINNING
TO END?
I remember parts of some of our games key situations. I recall
things that I did, some good and some not so good. For example; we were on the
four yard line ready to score. The Willamette defense was stacked off tackle
where we were going to run, so I audibled a QB sweep around the right end. At
the goal line I lowered my head and hit helmet to helmet and stalemated with a
defensive player. Unfortunately another defensive player hit me on my left ear
hole and sent me flying out of bounds. I went back to the huddle with head
hurting. All I saw was red and blue flashes. I couldn't think of a play to
call. So, I called timeout and went to the sideline. Coaches asked me what's going
on. I said something like I have to wait for the shooting stars to stop. After
the timeout, I went back out and called a play for Dennis Davidson off tackle
and we scored.
WILDCATVILLE – YOU
WERE A QUARTERBACK THROWING THE BALL TO BOB MURPHY AND OTHER RECEIVERS.
Bob was the star receiver when I became the starting quarterback
in 1970. Among reasons I had success throwing to Bob:
#1 We had an awesome defense, kickoff and punt return teams. Our offense usually had great field
position. A short field.
#2 We had all-conference linemen to block for me. I had time to
look for an open receiver and throw the
ball without a defender in my face. It’s very hard to throw a good pass if you
are lying on your back.
#3 Bob Murphy and Ray Congdon were tall and they ran great
patterns and had very good hands. Sonny Jepson and George Fink seemed to be
always open in play action passes and were easy targets.
Bob was special. He was always open. When I made a poor pass he
would always catch it anyway. True story; of all the hundreds of passes I threw
to Bob, I remember him only dropping a catchable ball once. Amazing! Bob caught every good and poorly thrown pass.
It didn't matter.
WILDCATVILLE – YOU
WERE THROWING THE BALL EVEN THOUGH AD RUTSCHAMN TEAMS OF THE LATE 1960s and
EARLY 1970s WERE RUNNNNG TEAMS?
Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s Linfield was a running
team. I think about 80 percent of our plays were runs. With all-conference
linemen and Jim Massey, Mike Achong and Dennis Davidson running, why not! Jim
was fast, strong and hard to tackle. Mike was sneaky fast, nimble and could
fake you out of your jock. Whenever we had a short yardage situation, Dennis
got the call and he never ever lost a yard. He was a brick wall and tacklers
would bounce off him. Defenses would then stack the box, crowd the line of
scrimmage to try to stop these guys. I’d call “red” (a play action pass) and
fake the run. Usually our receivers were wide open and it was easy to pass the
ball to them. Upon occasion we had to drop back pass, usually third and long. I
frequently looked to Bob or Ray because they would probably get open and catch
the pass for a first down.
In the game against Pacific, I called a pass play to our left with
Bob going down and flag (outside ). I noticed that the defender was on Bob's
outside and that the safety had moved over to guard our tight end. That left a
gap in the middle of the field. I audibled, changed the play at the line of
scrimmage , so Bob would run a ‘skinny post; It worked for a 42-yard touchdown!
WILDCATVILLE – WHY
DID YOU WEAR FOOTBALL JERSEY #15 FOR LINFIELD?
In high school my football number was 12. I wanted something different in college.
I picked 15 because it was Bart Starr's number; he was the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers . I read
his book and used some of his QB drills.
WILDCATVILLE – DID YOU CONSIDER ATTENDING
OTHER OR ANOTHER SCHOOL IN THE NORTHWEST CONFERENCE?
I always knew I was going to go to college. My grandfather, the
Rev. William Sherman Burgoyne, received the Thomas Jefferson Award For the
Advancement of Democracy for his commitment to helping the Japanese-Americans (
Nisei ) in Hood River, Oregon, during World War II. (Google his name for the
story ). Most of his material was donated to the Oregon Historical Society in
downtown Portland. He graduated from Willamette University. My parents
graduated from Willamette. I thought that I would probably go there. My high
school senior year, after football season, I visited Willamette and didn't
receive much encouragement or any scholarship support from the coach. The
facilities there looked old after compared to Madison, which was built in 1957.
I visited Pacific, Lewis & Clark, OCE. I didn't check out the University of
Oregon or Oregon State because I wanted
to play football and baseball and they wanted you to pick one sport. I visited
Linfield with my father and talked with Coach Paul Durham. I applied at
Linfield and Willamette. At this time I didn't know that at NAIA schools (at
least Linfield, Willamette, L&C and Pacific among them) didn't give
athletic scholarships; just funding based on need and credit based on working
on campus. Linfield accepted me before Willamette did.
WILDCATVILLE – WHAT
WERE YOUR MAJORS AND MINORS AT LINFIELD? AN ADVANCED DEDGREE, TOO?
I graduated in 1971, P.E./health major and social studies minor.
Bobbie Scharf and I married in May of 1972. While teaching and coaching at
Jackson High School in southwest Portland I worked on my master’s thesis and
earned my Master of Education degree in 1976. Bobbie and I were
head residents at Linfield of Whitman Hall, an all-women’s dorm, and I worked on my master degree program and
was a student assistant Wildcat quarterback football coach for the 1973 season.
WILDCATVILLE – DETAIL
YOUR CAREER
My first full time teaching job was at Jackson High School in
southwest Portland. I was at Jackson for 10 years. I was an Activities
Director, Social Studies teacher, Rally advisor, assistant varsity football and JV baseball coach. During the
summer I coached Jackson’s American Legion baseball team (Jake’s Famous
Crawfish )
After Jackson was closed, I transferred to Wilson High in
Portland. I was at Wilson for the next 20 years. I was an Activities Director
and a Social Studies teacher. Later I was a Physical Education and Health
teacher for about seven years. I was an assistant varsity football coach; JV
baseball coach and Winter Assistant Athletic Director. I coached Jakes's Famous
Crawfish American Legion baseball team during the summer. I also taught summer
school in Portland at either Lincoln High or Roosevelt High. Also I went to
Portland State University to qualify for a vice principal's license.
WILDCATVILLE – WHERE DID YOU GROW UP IN PORTLAND?
We lived on
Northeast 62nd & Thompson Street, across the street from Rose City Park and
Rose City golf course. I went to Rose City Park primary school for grades 1-4
and Rose City Park Elementary for grades 5 -8. Because I lived on the school
border line I could have gone to Grant High or Madison High. I picked Madison
because it was newer (opened in 1957) and because my sister went to Madison.
WILDCATVILLE – DAVE, TALK ABOUT
YOUR PARENTS AND SIBLINGS?
My Dad, David
Robert White, was a center on offense and linebacker on defense and was on the Willamette football team that
played the University of Hawaii in Honolulu on Dec. 6, 1941; the day before
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. He witnessed the attack. He is in the Willamette
Athletics Hall of Fame. For many years my Dad - nickname “Pat” and, in the
Marine Corps during World War II he was “Doc” - was a truant officer for Benson
and Washington High Schools in the Portland School District. Later he became the Work Experience
Coordinator for those schools. For many summers he worked at the Multnomah
Kennel Club (Greyhound races) in Fairview, Oregon.
My mother Ruth H. White attended Willamette University. When my
sister Bonnie and I were in high school she became an elementary school
teacher's aide. She was an accomplished singer who would often sing
with the church choir.
My Sister Bonnie D. White graduated from Oregon State
University and became an elementary school teacher. Most of her teaching career
was teaching 5th and 6 th grades in St.
Thomas and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
# End of Dave White
Q&A. What follows is Bob Murphy Q&A
WILDCAT
SPLIT END BOB MURPHY (Class of 1972) TALKS ABOUT HIS LINFIELD EXPERIENCE
It started with the idea of doing a Q&A/Question &
Answer story with that great Linfield football “battery” – in baseball, a
catcher and a pitcher —split end (catcher) Bob Murphy (Class of 1972) and
quarterback (pitcher) Dave White (Class of 1971).
Bob, who lives in Happy Valley in Clackamas County, Oregon –
and Dave, who lives on Lacamas Lake in Clark County, Washington, said they’d do
it.
Questions asked. Their answers were thorough. No reason to
edit. Each gets their own Q&A. Here is it for Bob, followed by Dave’s.
Photos
by Reid Blackburn (Class of 1974), Rusty Rae (Class of 1968), and Wildcatville.
WILDCATVILLE – BOB, WHEN DID YOU
START PLAYING FOOTBALL:
I grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon. and started playing
football in the 8th grade (Pop Warner) in Milwaukie. Greatly influencing me was
my brother, Mike. He was an all-league football and basketball player at
Milwaukie High School. He was a constant inspiration. But he also liked to
taunt me. Mike would say “a brother who did not play football was not my
brother.” I assumed that he was talking about me since I am his only sibling.
WILDCATVILLE – YOU ATTENDED MILWAUKIE
HIGH SCHOOL, TOO?
In 1963 Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie opened. I was
fortunate to be part of the first freshman class at this new school. I
graduated from Putnam in 1967.
WILDCATVILLE – WHY LINFIELD?
After high school I set my goals high. I was all-league in
football and basketball in the tough Metro League. The possibility arose that I
might have an opportunity to play at a large school. However, no large schools
came knocking at my door. I did visit Oregon State. During my visit to campus
in Corvallis, OSU provided good sandwiches and I got a nod from the “Pumpkin,”
head football Coach Dee Andros. But, nothing materialized. In addition, I was
invited to visit Willamette. After reviewing all the information, I decided to
go to Lower Colombia College, a two-year college, in Longview, Washington. I
was going to play basketball; for Coach Don Porter, an all-American basketball player at Linfield
and a McMinnville High School graduate.
Ted Zetterberg (Linfield graduate, English teacher at Rex
Putnam) and Ben Gehlen (Linfield graduate and teacher at Clackamas) contacted
me about visiting Linfield to talk with football Coach Paul Durham. I
accompanied them when they drove to McMinnville to attend their summer classes
on campus. They introduced me to Coach Durham. For two-and-a-half hours Coach
and I went around campus and the city of McMinnville. If we weren’t walking he
was driving. He introduced me to town people, coaches and school officials. This
experience sealed the deal for me, and I made my decision to attend Linfield. I
was going to be a “Wildcat.” In addition, Linfield let me play both football
and basketball.
WILDCATVILLE – TALK ABOUT YOUR
EXPERIENCE AS A LINFIELD FOOTBALL PLAYER
In 1967 I began my freshman year at Linfield. I and we
(other players on the team), didn’t know the 1967 season would Coach Durham’s
last leading Linfield football. (He coached 1948-1967, 20 seasons. After the
1967 season, Ad Rutschman was named football coach and then Coach Durham left
Linfield to become University of Hawaii athletic director. I was fortunate to
have made the Linfield football varsity travel squad as a freshman. I’d run in
plays during games on Saturdays and play in the JV games on Mondays. As a
freshman, I played behind John Sadowski. I’d get in about 15 to 20 plays a
game, depending on the score, certain situations, and injuries/dings. Linfield
had a very strong team, losing only to Lewis & Clark at the end of season.
(The 1967 Linfield team is best known for upsetting the University of Hawaii by
15-13 in the first game of the 1967 season.) There was a large group of
graduating seniors, especially offensively on that 1967 season. In 1968, my
sophomore year and Coach Rutschman’s first season, I recall we had three or
four starters returning on offense. Our defense was going to be
solid/outstanding, but offensively we had a mess of shoes to fill. We were
going to have to do that with a few starters, backup players, JC transfers, or
first year players. Add to that the fact that we had Coach Rutschman’s new
system and new expectations.
WILDCATVILLE – HOW MANY SEASONS DID
YOU AND QUARTERBACK DAVE WHITE PLAY LINFIELD FOOTBALL TOGETHER?
One. The 1971 season. Dave and I got on the ‘same page’
quickly. But, we also had to do well in practice and games for Coach Rutschman.
I didn’t want to make mistakes, including dropping passes. That would mean
running extra 240-yard dashes on Maxwell Field.
WILDCATVILLE — DAVE WHITE SAYS YOU
CAUGHT VIRTUALLY EVERTHING BALL HE THREW YOU
That’s nice compliment. Dave threw catchable balls. I’m fond
of the statement, "You touch it, you catch it" This was not unique,
but a comment by the great Raymond Berry, NFL Hall of Fame split end for the
Baltimore Colts, made in a book. He wrote, knowing that because he wasn't
blessed with great speed, it was imperative to run good routes and if he
touched the football he had to catch it. I tried to do the same thing when I
player.
WILDCATVILLE – WHY DID BOB MURPHY
CATCHING THE FOOTBALL FROM DAVE QUITE WORK
Dave and I bought into Coach Rutschman’s system—footsteps,
routes, timing, and the demand for excellence through repetition. The other key
to our success was that we practiced every day against defensive personnel that
inspired us to be excellent: Tim Arthur, Carl Lavier, Bob Hill, Don Ng, Steve
Johnson, Jim Bailey, Virgil Ripley, Roy Umeno, Mike Cahill, and countless
others.
The most fierce battles we had all season were running
routes against our own defensive backs and linebackers in each practice. I say
here that the OFFENSE won most of those battles. But, I’m only kidding. Offense
and defense did equally well. Dave had a strong arm and his timing was amazing.
We had an excellent run game with Jim Massey, Mike Achong, Sonny Jepson, and
crew. The thoughts that continually ran through our minds were: Keep moving the
chains. First downs. Control the game. Keep our outstanding defense off the
field. Move the ball, don’t turn it over. Dave and I contributed to that
philosophy. Execution, don’t deviate, “you touch it, you catch it.” Most
importantly, it was always fun.
WILDCATVILLE – YOUR LINFIELD FOOTBALL
NUMBER AND WHY/
I was number 35. I was assigned a duplicate number, 83, as
a freshman for our first game of the year at Hawaii, but didn’t make the trip
due to a sprained ankle. A couple of players did not make the return trip, and
I was assigned a new number, 35. NO more “asterisk” by my name.
WILDCATVILLE
–BOB, MEMORIES OF LINFIELD FOOTBALL
GAMES?
*Getting off the Linfield bus before our first game my
sophomore year 1968 at Boise State. Boise. We flew from Portland to Boise on
that Friday before the game and rode in our bus on that Saturday from the hotel
to the stadium. Boise had just moved up from being a two-year program to a four-year
program. As we unloaded the bus, their players came out of their
commons/cafeteria on the Boise campus. All of them were wearing short-sleeve
white shirts buttoned up to the neck. My thighs were not as thick as any of
their necks. We won 14-7.It was Coach Rutschman's first game as Linfield
football coach.
*Tim Arthur’s game-saving tackle of the Lewis & Clark
quarterback on the 3rd or 4th yard line to seal our win and the Northwest
Conference championship my senior season. What a great way to conclude my
Linfield football playing career.
*Going to the sideline, during our last game my senior
year in 1971 in Honolulu against Hawaii. I told Coach, “I can beat their
cornerback deep. After uncontrolled laughter for a couple minutes, on the next
series we called the play. “Touchdown” 6-foot-3 me versus the 5-foot-9
defender. I knew my own abilities.
WIDCATVILLE – HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK
ABOUT YOUR LINFIELD EXPERIENCE?
Every second! I know it’s easy to say now. Being part of
something that epitomizes excellence and has continued to do so for many
decades is truly a blessing and a legacy. From the athletics, to the education
that I received, to the friends that I met, and, most importantly, to my wife of 49 years,
Chris (Meyers) Murphy, Linfield class of 1972, I owe it all to Linfield!
WILDCATVILLE – WHAT WAS IT LIKE
PLAYING FOR COACH DURHAM AND COACH RUTSCHMAN?
Playing for Coach Rutschman was an amazing,
once-in-a-lifetime experience. No question, there was a huge philosophical
difference between Coach Durham and Coach Rutschman. On one hand you had Coach
Durham who would come into our freshmen health class, held in the old Frerichs
Hall (not to be confused with the dorm of the same name), and sit down at the
piano and play a sing-along-song to begin class.
Coach Rutschman, on the other hand, was the first person
to play the famous “Dueling Banjos” song on a coaching whistle. That song was
made famous by the 1972 movie “Deliverance,” but the song existed before the
movie.
All kidding aside, Coach Rutschman was and still has a
phenomenal coaching mind and command for the game. Football was about perfect
execution. Exactness and effort would get you to the winning side. It wasn’t
always fun or easy. No. It required strong discipline and commitment. If our
attention waned, he would find meaningful ways for us to refocus. He also
believed in the “next man up.” It not that he lacked compassion or that he
didn’t show compassion, he believed that you must always be prepared so when
it’s your time to enter the game, you’re ready to perform.
WILDCATVILLE – OTHER SPORTS FOR YOU
IN ADDITION TO FOOTBALL?
I played football, basketball, and baseball growing up. I
loved baseball, but as soon as the baseball started spinning and curving I
started spending more time in the other sports. They didn’t have all defensive
first baseman. You had to hit the ball. I played basketball for three years at
Linfield. Redshirted my junior year. Coach Ted Wilson was the head basketball
coach. I played JV my first two years. Redshirted. Played varsity my senior
year, the 1971-1972 season.
WILDCATVILLE – BOB, TALK ABOUT YOUR FOLKS AND BROTHER.
My parents: Gordon and Dolly. Brother: Mike, five years older than
me. My parents both worked. Their greatest enjoyment in their spare time was
watching their sons play sports. They never missed a Linfield football game,
except Hawaii. So, that included trips to Spokane to play Whitworth, Walla
Walla to play Whitman and Caldwell to play the College of Idaho. They attended
all of my youth and Rex Putnam High School of Milwaukie games. Mike played
football, basketball and baseball at Milwaukie High School and was an
outstanding football and baseball
player. At Milwaukie High, he played basketball with Rick Whelan, who went on
to fame playing basketball for Oregon State. After graduating from high school,
Mike attended PLU for two years and played football and baseball. He left after
his sophomore year, got married and served in the National Guard. In 1968, Mike
returned to PLU and played football and baseball again. Before you ask, yes we
played against each other in the 1968 in Tacoma. The score was 7 to 7. Yes! It
was a variation of the saying that ties are “just like kissing your sister.” In this case it
was my brother. The 1968 game was pretty exciting for the family.
WILDCATVILLE – AFTER YOU GRADUATED
FROM LINFIELD IN 1972 WITH AN EDCUATION DEGREE, THEN WHAT?
I was hired as a teacher and coach at Rex Putnam High
School (North Clackamas School District). I taught a variety of subjects:
Geography, Personal Finance, PE and Health. I coached several sports: Football,
boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball, and golf. I became the Athletic Director
at Rex Putnam in 1986 and moved to the Athletic Director’s job at Milwaukie
High School in 1996. I accepted an offer to move to Clackamas High School in
2000 where I spent my last five years in education as a Student Government
Teacher and Attendance Advisor. That
tenure concluded my 32 years in education.
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