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Engraved tile in American Football Coaches
Association ‘Plaza of Influence’ honors Linfield Coach Paul Durham
(This story was issued by the Wildcatville blog and Facebook page on Oct. 18, 2022, the anniversary of Paul Durham’s birth. He was born Oct. 18, 1913, in Portland and died at age 93 on June 22, 2007, in Honolulu.)
When Dale Newhouse (Linfield College Class of 1966) and Tim Marsh (Linfield Class of 1970) learned Paul Durham (1913-2007, Linfield Class of 1936) was not in the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, they were disappointed.
But they also learned the American Football Coaches Association in Waco, Texas, has a “Plaza of Influence.” The plaza is described as a “special place where football coaches can be honored by those whose lives they have inspired.”
There was no doubt in their minds that Paul Durham, a long-time Linfield football coach (1948-1967) and athletic director (1949-1968) deserved a tile in the plaza. So, this summer (2022) they donated a total of $500 to the American Football Coaches Foundation to buy a tile with this inscription:
PAUL DURHAM
LINFIELD COLLEGE
ATHLETE COACH ATH DIR
STARTED THE STREAK
RENAISSANCE MAN
HIS POSITIVE IMPACT
WAS FAR REACHING
Because they already bought the tile, you can't contribute to its purchase. But you can, as they each did in concert with the tile purchase, make a donation to the Linfield Top Cat Club. The club supports Linfield’s NCAA Division III varsity sports teams and Wildcat student athletes.
https://linfieldtopcat.com/sports/2020/11/23/support-the-topcat-club.aspx
Dale played Wildcat football for Coach Durham. As a student, Tim served an academic year as Linfield Sports Information director.
"I am so proud to be a part of acknowledging THE Man, Paul Durham, who made me the teacher and coach I became. I just cannot thank him enough," said Dale.
Honored in the “Plaza of Influence” with an engraved brick is College Football Hall of Fame enshrine Ad Rutschman (Class of 1954). Durham coached Rutschman, then a Linfield student, in football and basketball at Linfield. The brick was funded by Mike Riley, a former Linfield assistant football coach on Rutschman's staff and longtime college head football coach. The brick inscription:
AD RUTSCHMAN
LINFIELD COLLEGE
COACH & FRIEND
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Questions? Contact:
Dale Newhouse
7triple@earthlink.net
(925) 528-9146
