John Prutsman (Linfield Class of 1957) is proud he played on the same Linfield football team (1954) as all-stars Ad Rutschman, Howard Morris and Vic Fox

 

By John Prutsman, Class of 1957
Wildcat football player
1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956,
wearing jersey #40 or #45

Linfield played its first football game in 1896.In the following 126 years, thousands of young men have put on a football jersey and stepped onto the gridiron to defend the legacy of Linfield Football.

 

Three of those players are unique. They are the only Linfield football players to have their jersey numbers retired:

 

…#32 Ad Rutschman, Class of 1954, played 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1953.

 

…#43 Howard Morris, Class of 1958, played 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957. Died 2017.

 

…#47 Vic Fox, Class of 1958, played 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957. Died 2020.

 

I am among the few Linfielders who played with Ad, Howard and Vic on the same team (1954), coached by Paul Durham. I was and am honored to be one of the few guys who played with all three of them. I was and am proud to be their teammate. 

What the three of them had in common was excellence as Wildcat football players. They were all-stars. And, they were all on All-American football teams and they are all enshrined in the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame.

 =AD RUTSCHMAN (Hillsboro) was a very gifted athlete and not only played both ways but punted as well. He was always the team leader and highly respected by all his teammates. He went on to coach state of Oregon high school championship teams in both football and baseball. And, Ad is the only collegiate coach to win National Championships in two sports, Football and Baseball. He is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

 =HOWARD MORRIS (Central Point) was an outstanding athlete. He was Linfield “most Inspirational” football player for three consecutive years. Howard is a member of the NAIA District 2 Hall of Fame, the NAIA Coaches Hall of Fame and the NAIA National Hall of Fame. He was always a great team player and a gentleman. Never a cheap shot. A great downfield blocker.

 =VIC FOX (Cottage Grove) was an excellent tough guard.

 .....

ASIDES ABOUT MY LINFIELD FOOTBALL CAREER

My time playing a lot of football for Linfield was mostly on JV teams. In my years there was limited substitution and, because of that, we played both offense and defense. Sometimes players might play almost the entire 60 minutes of a game. In one JV game I played for 58 1/2 minutes, and the coach took me out because I looked tired. 

Several times I’ve given a speech about my Linfield football career. It is self-deprecating and humorous. A former teammate who introduced me to deliver the speech called me a “bench warmer." Ad Rutschman always introduces me as his teammate, which I prefer.

…..

John Prutsman (Portland-Lincoln), Dick Holliday (Kelso), Vern Marshall (Portland-Roosevelt) and Les Hershey (Hillsboro), all seniors, on the 1956 Linfield football team featured in the Linfield Homecoming 1956 printed program. Game was Sat., Nov. 3, 1956, College of Idaho at Linfield, Linfield won, 20-7. (Photos from Linfield Archives.) John Prutsman, ATO member, Linfield Oak Leaves 1954.