An important part of Wildcat football is the Linfield Water Crew

Linfield Water Crew 2009 (l-r): Bill Harlan, John O'Connor, Eric Lundeen, John Schindelar and Jason Schindelar. This photo and accompanying video from Oct 11, 2009, at the Pine Bowl on the campus of Whitworth University in Spokane/Mead/Country Homes, Wash., prior to Linfield-Whitworth football game.



Water Crew members John Schindelar, Eric Lundeen before a 2005 home football game at the Catdome (Linfield College's Maxwell Field).


First came the Ice Age.

In the case of Linfield College football's Water Crew, first came Fred "Iceman" Baugh.

Through hot practices in McMinnville and home and away games during part of Ad Rutschman's tenure, all of Ed Langsdorf's and, now, Jay Locey's Wildcat head football coaching career, Baugh or the Crew has served the needs of Wildcat football players.

After retiring from a 27-year career with the McMinnville School District, Baugh noticed a need while attending a Linfield Wildcat football practice on a sunny day in August 1986.

At the practice, he saw hot and thirsty Wildcat football players drinking water from a hose, he told Linfield Review reporter Jeni Aaby in an April 2, 2004, article, “Nourishing the thirst to win.”

Baugh came up with a better way to keep the Wildcats cool. Starting in the 1986 season, he provided water and ice to Linfield players during hot practices and on the sidelines at home and on the road football games.

After working solo for a couple of seasons, Baugh invited his best friend, Brad Mills, then a McMinnville elementary teacher, to “help me water the boys.” For a time, Baugh and Mills were the Linfield Water Crew. In addition to providing water, they purchased towels and water bottles, kept ice water and towels for overheated players during the games, cleaned mud from cleats, and repaired some equipment and helmets.” They also affixed the famous Wildcat logo decal on player helmets.

Water Crew members John O'Connor and John Schindelar at University of Wisconsin Whitewater Perkins Stadium prior to Dec. 12, 2009, Linfield NCAA semi-final playoff game, Linfield Wildcats vs. UWW Warhawks.

In 1989, John Schindelar, also a Mac elementary teacher, accepted their invitation to join the Crew. In 2002, Baugh retired from his Crew work. So, did Mills. But, alas, Baugh missed the work too much and could not stay away. He returned to practices and the sidelines. Baugh claims the 2005 season was his last on the Crew. “It's been a wonderful time being associated with such quality coaches and players,” Baugh says. Schindelar now leads the Crew.

"Lots of people don't know how much time we spend providing water during the during the hot fall practice pre-season sessions. Often there are three to five of us on the practice field for more than three at least four days per week. That's about 48 hours weekly," Schindelar says.

When practices take place later in the season, when it's cold and rainy, the Crew does not work. "But, rain or shine, on home game days, all Crew members are busy," says Schindelar. Water Crew members are volunteers, but each make a financial commitment. Crew members buy their vehicle gas, and pay for their food and lodging on the road. They also buy some towels, water faucet hoses and coolers.

The Crew is credited with organizing the Linfield football icebreaker, which continues to this day. Held on campus immediately before fall drills, the events provide players, coaches and player parents with a good meal and a chance to get to know each other.

"We love what we do," says Schindelar. "The student-athletes at Linfield are great. Our coaches are the best. They teach our players to always do the right thing."

Crew team members (listed in sonority order):

John Schindelar…
…joined the Crew in 1989. A Solon, Ohio, native and Solon High School and Bowling Green State University grad, he played football at Solon High and, as a freshman, at Bowling Green. He has a master of education degree from Ohio's Kent State University and he has studied at Ohio State University. His background includes teaching in Ohio and also in U.S. Department of Defense Dependants’ Schools in Japan, Germany, and Spain. He taught 25 years in the McMinnville School District. This includes 20 years teaching fifth grade at Cook Elementary School and five years of fourth grade at Memorial Elementary School. In Augsburg, Germany, at an American high school, he was an assistant varsity football coach and head varsity track coach, both for four years. At Ohio’s Beachwood High School, he was an assistant varsity football coach. He also coached football, soccer, and track for 20 years at Cook Elementary.

John O'Connor…
…after being a substitute, he became a full time Crew member in 1995 and says, “I absolutely love it.” Born and raised in New Jersey, he is a 1973 economics graduate of Southern Oregon University. Prior to retiring in 2003, he served 27 years with the state of Oregon as an Adult & Family Services case manager. He says baseball is his favorite sport. He coached Little League baseball, 10 years in Mac and two in Klamath Falls. Now retired from swim officiating, for 15 years, he was head timer for McMinnville Swim Club and McMinnville High School meets swim meets.

Bill Harlan……joined the Crew in 1996, the year he moved to McMinnville. Born and raised in central Illinois, he is a graduate of Monmouth College in that state. His 30-year teaching career included working in Los Angeles public schools and in U.S. Department of Defense Dependants' Schools in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Greece. A snow skier who has skied in the Alps of Switzerland, he and John Schindelar taught at the same Department of Defense school in Germany.

Eric Lundeen……became a Crew member in 1997. He’s a McMinnville School District child development specialist. Originally from California, Lundeen graduated from Nebraska's Concordia College and earned a master of science in social work degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He says a benefit of crew work is "being involved in a program that uses positive thinking to achieve monumental goals." There's great joy, Lundeen says, in "watching a group of Linfield students come together as a team, see leaders develop, see goals being met and surpassed. I see our coaches skillfully guide their team without raising a voice, lowering themselves to denigrating their players and overcoming obstacles that get in the way." His sports background includes bicycle touring – he’s cycled Europe. Lundeen is learning and practicing tai chi, a traditional Chinese mind-body relaxation exercise. He has coached football and track at McMinnville's Adams Elementary School. As a swim meet official for the Oregon Swim Association, affiliated with USA Swim Association, he has officiated for McMinnville Swim Club and McMinnville High School meets

Jason Schindelar…
…signed on with the Crew in 2002. The son of John Schindelar, he is a McMinnville High School graduate and former Mac High football player and track athlete (shot put and discus). He was elected Mac-Hi track & field team captain as a senior. He lives Estacada. During the 2005 season, his father says, "Jason took care of (All-American quarterback) Brett Elliot and other players every time they came off the field with a dry towel and water. He also watered the referees."

Honorary Water Crew member

Al Sekerak…
…an Ohio State Buckeye fan/friend of Joan and Joan Schindelar, from Canyon Lake, Calif., he serves as an honorary Water Crew member. Says John Schindelar, “We allow him to come to Oregon once or twice a year to be an honorary Linfield Water Crew member.” In the 2005 season, he worked as a Crew member for the PLU game on Maxwell Field and traveled to Spokane to work the Whitworth game. “He has been doing this for five of six years,” says Schindelar.

Honorary Water Crew Groupies
Joan Schindelar, Marcia Harlan, and Phyllis Mills have Linfield football season passes, and travel to away games with their Water Crew husbands. ”Sometimes Kay O Connor joins us, especially when we travel to California,” says John Schindelar.

Crew team alumni (listed in senority order):

Fred Baugh…
…the founding father of the Linfield Water Crew, he was nicknamed the “Iceman” when he started providing water and ice for Linfield football players. In his more than a quarter of a century of work for the McMinnville School District, he was principal of Columbus and Newby elementary schools and support services director for the district. Born and raised in Wenatchee, Wash., he came to Linfield as a student in 1947, transferring from Spokane’s Whitworth College, where he played football for one season. He graduated from Linfield in education in 1950 and earned a master’s of education degree from the college in 1955. A Navy veteran, his sports background includes coaching elementary school sports and high school freshman football. Iceman died Sept. 21, 2015.

Brad Mills...
…made the Crew possible, when he joined Fred Baugh at practices and on the sidelines that made two, a Crew! Although Mills “retired” from the Crew in 2002, he still helps at practices and on the sideline when needed, until he drives his recreational vehicle for winter in sunny southern California. There, he’s activities director at an RV resort. A Navy veteran, Mills taught 30 years in the McMinnville School District, at Columbus and Adams Elementary Schools. Ten of those years were as a K-6 P.E. instructor. He is a graduate of Newberg High School and earned bachelor (minor in physical education) and master’s degrees from Western Oregon University. He coached fourth-sixth graders in all sports and helped in the early stages of the district’s successful outdoor school for sixth graders. Mills is an avid golfer and enjoys fishing.

Bob Payne…
…served on the Crew from about 19XX until his death in 2004 -- a cancer victim -- in 2004. He was a McMinnville attorney, city councilor and civic leader. A California native, he graduated from the University of California-Davis and earned a law degree from the University of Georgia. He was a Vista volunteer. Also, he was a legal aid attorney in Georgia, Coos Bay and for Yamhill County. From 1983-1985, he lived in Germany, where he taught business law to the U.S. military. He returned to McMinnville in 1985 and opened a private law practice. He taught business law at Linfield. His sports interests included watching soccer and playing golf. See below for his obituary as it appeared on March 3, 2004, in The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise newspaper.

Jerry Nutt…Jerry Nutt was a member of the Water Crew from XXXX until his death in 2011. Said the Crew’s John Schindelar, “The Wildcat football team never really got to know … Jerry … because he was always too ill (Myelodysplastic Syndromes) to really help much," he said. "(But team members) would surely recognize him with his oxygen tank and cane limping along on the track or field. … One thing is for sure, he loved the Wildcat football program and he came to every practice or game he could manage!"

Jerry L. Nutt
1940 - 2011
McMinnville News-Register
February 2011
Jerry Lynn Nutt, 70, a resident of McMinnville, died on January 29, 2011, following his long-fought and valiant battle with Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

He was born in Cashmere, Washington to Claude and Lulu Nutt on February 1, 1940. Jerry attended primary and secondary school in Coulee City, Washington and graduated from Coulee City High School in 1958. He received a Bachelor’s degree in education from Whitworth College and a Masters Degree in library sciences from Central Washington University.

He began his career in education in Cashmere, Washington in 1963; however, worked the majority of his 35 year career as a teacher, librarian, administrator and media specialist in the Beaverton School District where he retired from in 1997.
Jerry, or “Grandpa Griz” as he was known to many, continued to work with children by volunteering as a counselor at the Tillamook County Outdoor School. He also loved spending time as a docent at the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville and was proud to be part of the Linfield College Football Team Waterboys.

He provided guidance and passion to his family, friends, coworkers and kids through his enduring love of life and spiritual passion. He exuded a joyful spirit with a zest for life and made everyone feel comfortable through his fun, giving and outgoing personality. He devoted his life to Phyllis, his beloved wife of 33 years. Together they traveled throughout the western United States expanding their horizons and visiting their children in Portland, California, Wyoming and South Dakota; however, they always reveled in the tranquility and solace of their companionship spent on their porch watching the birds and sunsets.

Jerry is survived by his beloved wife, Phyllis; son, Jason, his wife, Michele and grandchildren, Justin and Ryan; son, Dan and grandchildren, Samuel and Logan; son, Eric and his wife, Patty; and a large community of loving and caring friends who will miss him very much.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, February 10, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. at the Church on the Hill located at 700 North Hill Road in McMinnville, Oregon 97128 (503) 472-8476. Viewing will be held Thursday and Friday from 12:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Macy & Son.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Tillamook County Outdoor School, P.O. Box 4, Cloverdale, OR 97112. To leave private online condolences, please visit www.macyandson.com.


Robert A. Payne
The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise
March 3, 2004
Robert A. "Bob" Payne, a 1963 Davis High School graduate, died Feb. 20, 2004, of pancreatic cancer in his McMinnville, Ore., home. He was 58. He was born Dec. 19, 1945, in Sacramento, to Leonard and Thelma Bailey Payne. He grew up in Woodland and Davis, graduating from UC Davis in 1970. He graduated from the law school at the University of Georgia in 1975.

In 1971-72, he served as a Vista volunteer in northern Georgia, where he later worked as a legal aid attorney.

In 1976 he moved to Coos Bay, Ore., to practice as a legal aid attorney. He moved to McMinnville two years later. He served as director of Yamhill County Legal Aid until 1983.

From 1983 to 1985, he lived in Germany, where he taught business law for the U.S. military.

He then returned to McMinnville, opening a private practice. He was a member of that city's planning commission for four years, then served 12 on the City Council before declining health forced his resignation last October.

He also served on the McMinnville Cable Commission, Yamhill County Community Action Organization board, Oregon Legal Aid board and local Habitat for Humanity board. He was a founding member of the Henderson House family crisis shelter, and was active in the North Willamette Valley Investment Club.

He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1966-75. He worked with the Cheyenne River Sioux on the Eagle-Butte Indian Reservation in South Dakota. And he taught business law at Linfield College in McMinnville.

His hobbies included reading, playing golf, traveling, camping, playing computer games and politics. He was an avid sports fan, supporting McMinnville-area soccer teams and serving as a "water boy" for the Linfield football team.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Payne of McMinnville, daughter, Katy Payne of Seattle, sons, Jim Payne of Anacortes, Wash., and Bailey Payne of Corvallis, Ore., mother, Thelma Cooper of Woodland, sisters, Katie Cooper of Dayton, Ore., Lynn Wilen of Shingletown and Elizabeth Sherin of Pollock Dunes, and one grandchild.

A memorial service was held Feb. 26 at McMinnville First Baptist Church. A private burial was planned.

Memorial contributions may be made to Habitat for Humanity, care of Macy & Son Funeral Directors, 135 N.E. Evans St., McMinnville, OR 97128.

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Good Hydrations 

By Andrew Kilstrom of the N-R/McMinnville News-Register 9/13/2013 

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. It’s 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,” Shindelar 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.”

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Below from Oct. 11, 2014, edition of (football) Game Time, the official publication of the Linfield College Wildcats. Click on image to read story.

In memory of Fred “Iceman” Baugh, a 1950 Linfield grad, who died 9/21/2015.   Photo of Iceman provided by his son, S. M. “Steve” Baugh, smbaugh(at)yahoo.com

Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh
1926 - 2015
McMinnville N-R/News-Register 9/25/2015

FRED BAUGH

Story below based on obituary from Baugh family on 9/28/2015 

Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh, age 89, formerly of McMinnville died Sept. 21, 2015, in a private care home in Portland. Private family services were held.

Fred Baugh was born Jan. 23, 1926 in Wenatchee, Wash., to Fred E. and Luella Thurston Baugh. 

Their son, Fred, served in the U.S. Navy from 1943–1946, including during World War II.  Fred's mother wore a pin with five blue stars indicating Fred and his four brothers were on active service in the war. 

After his military discharge -- but serving as a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve -- he attended (and played football for) Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash. It was there that he met a fellow student, Patricia Ann “Pat” Henefer. 

They married Sept. 7, 1947, in Seattle and moved to McMinnville, Ore., as Fred had transferred from Whitworth to Linfield College. 

He graduated from Linfield in 1950.  Upon graduation he was hired to teach at McMinnville Junior High School.  But, in August 1950 -- before the school year began – he was called back into military service with the Navy because of the Korean War. 

During this Navy tenure which ended with his discharge in 1952, he had additional schooling and served in the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Wash.

In 1952, after military discharge, Fred and Pat moved back to McMinnville where Fred taught at the junior high and Cook Elementary School. Later he was principal of Columbus and Newby Elementary Schools. 

In 1975, he began work in the McMinnville School District #40 Office as Director of Support. 

In 1977 Fred and Pat moved to Kauai, Hawaii, where he was Supervisor in the Rehabilitation Center for mentally and physically handicapped.

In 1979, they moved to St. Helens, Ore., where he was Principal of the elementary school there until retiring in 1983. Then, they moved back to Kauai when he worked again at the rehab center.

In 1985, Fred and Pat moved back to McMinnville. 

Fred worked at the McMinnville Elks Lodge part-time janitor. He founded the Linfield "Water Crew" for the football team and was known as "Ice Man" by the teams’ players.

Fred was a member of the McMinnville Elks Lodge and the First Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed fishing, reading, Linfield and other football teams. He spent time working in his wood shop at home in which he enjoyed making handicrafts for the Linfield Athletic Department,  Linfield Hawaiian Club and other clubs.

Fred was preceded in death by Pat in 2011 and his brothers. He is survived by his older sister Irma Wise, 95, Tualatin; sons David of Oklahoma City and Steven of Valley Center, CA; daughter Melinda Olson of Tualatin; and 8 grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Housecall Providers at www.housecallproviders.com, 5100 SW Macadam Ave., Portland, OR 97239

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Obituary (below) for Fred’s wife, Pat Baugh. 

Patricia Ann Baugh

May 21, 1927 -March 18, 2009

Daughter of Ben C. and Ina Davis Henefer, she attended school in California and graduated from North Central High School in Spokane, Washington. 

She attended Whitworth College in Spokane from 1946-1947 where she met her husband Fred Baugh. They were married on September 7, 1947 in Seattle, WA. Following their marriage they moved to McMinnville, OR where Fred attended Linfield College in 1947. 

They resided in McMinnville from 1947 - 1977 then moved to Hawaii for 2 years; then to St Helens, OR in 1979 for 4 years until moving back to Hawaii in 1983.  In 1985 they returned to McMinnville. 

She was President of Junior Matrons; charter member and President of PEO, Chapter DO; elder and Deacon of McMinnville First Presbyterian Church; President of Chapter BO of PEO in St. Helens; and was also involved in community activities at Hillside Manor. She also designed and founded Hawaiian appliques in Kauai, Hawaii. 

The family said she will be remembered as a devoted and loving wife of 61 years. She enjoyed traveling, gardening, crafts, sewing, and reading and loved to play bridge.

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Below is photo of Fred Baugh as a Linfield student. Fred, Pat and their son David, as a baby, lived in this trailer (which leaked when it rained) in McMinnville while Fred attended Linfield. Photo provided by their son S. M. "Steve" Baugh.

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In October 2015, Coach Ad Rutschman told Wildcatville, "Both Fred and his wife, Pat, were close and very loyal friends. I stayed with Fred and Pat while recruiting on Kauai. Pat sewed appoximately 20 aprons for our ticket crew and game ushers. I believe some are still in use." These two photos, taken 10/10/2015 at a Linfield home football game, show Linfield ticket crew members wearing aprons.

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IN THE N-R:

==Story in Nov 30, 2000, N-R about Fred Baugh includes, "Baugh's friends more likely associate him with the Linfield College football team ... He is a member of the program's support staff, and he has worked on the water crew for about 15 years."

==Story in Aug 21, 2001, McMinnville N-R includes” While there are plenty of questions to be answered (about Linfield football) before the Sept. 8 (2001) season opener, players and coaches seemed relaxed during Saturday night's icebreaker, commonly known as the "Beanie-Weinie." As players arrived Saturday to prepare for the season, they were treated to a meal of hot dogs and chili in Memorial Stadium. The event, organized by longtime volunteer water crew members Fred Baugh, Bill Harlan and Brad Mills, serves as a welcoming party for Linfield players and parents. A silent auction also serves as a fund-raiser for the football program. About 150 players are out this year. After dinner, they met with position coaches and received playbooks.”

==Frederick "Fred" Allen Baugh obit in the Sept 25, 2015 N-R includes, "He was known as the “ice man” for Linfield College Football Team since 1989, for which he was very proud."

No football at Linfield (then called McMinnville College) 1906-1921

Photos: Linfield 1922 football, left. Below (top to bottom) Thodore Roosevelt and Leonard Riley.

A PRINTED LINFIELD FOOTBALL PRESSGUIDE:

1906-1921
"Football suspended by action of the Board of Trustees in the summer of 1906. No football that year or until it resumed in 1922." BACKGROUND HELPING EXPLAIN WHY LINFIELD TRUSTEES SUSPENDED FOOTBALL:
"President Theodore Roosevelt ordered a cleanup of the game in 1905 and used the bully pulpit of the White House to pressure the Presidents of Harvard, Yale and Princeton to change college football rules after the deaths of 18 players during college games in 1905. The American Football Rules Committee changed the culture of football overnight with rule changes with included the banning of mass formations and gang tackling, increasing the distance for a first down from five to ten yards and the introduction of the forward pass." LINFIELD MAGAZINE WINTER 2007 ISSUE INCLUDES:

From the annals
Leonard Riley on football

While celebrating his presidency’s 10th anniversary at the local First Baptist Church, on March 1, 1916, McMinnville College President Leonard Riley delivered the following judgment on football:
“When I was a lad in the country school there was one game which we played from morning until night, season in and season out....That game was football played in the old fashioned way when kicking the ball was the main part of the game, and the running involved developed both muscle and lungs.The following year the change was made to the modern method of playing the game. I went out with the rest of the boys and practised (sic) the new methods, and then I said to them:‘Boys, you’ll have to excuse me; I think too much of my face, my limbs and my life to run the risk of having them ruined in any such game as that.’

“What I have seen of the game since that time has but strengthened my conviction that the modern game of football has no more place in a Christian institution, or a civilized country, than has bull baiting and prize fighting. One of the first recommendations I made to the Board of Trustees of McMinnville College was that the game of football as then played should be prohibited. It was unanimously adopted; and Professor Northup, who has been with the College for more than a quarter of a century, insists that few, if any, of the actions of the Board of Trustees during this decade, have done any more for the improvement of the moral tone of the institution than has the elimination of this game with its spirit of rowdyism and brutality. In this respect I have seen another of my ideals of College life in such a way that neither the Trustees nor the Faculty would for one minute consider a reinstatement of the game in McMinnville College.”
One “modern method” that distressed Riley was gang tackling, eliminated by rule changes demanded in 1906 by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. As Roosevelt’s reforms took hold, the game’s image was bolstered. Its revitalized boosters included McMinnville College’s male students, who regularly lobbied to reinstate football. Their wish was granted in an announcement at chapel on Jan. 10, 1922. This welcome word was superseded that day by even better news in the announcement of Mrs. Linfield’s bequest and the name change for the college.
Given the timing of its reinstatement, the opponents of football, including Riley, may have focused as much on its cost as its morality. Still, in Riley’s defense, Roosevelt’s reforms did eliminate much “rowdyism and brutality” from the game.

–Marvin Henberg
(Editor’s Note: This vignette is a glimpse back through 150 years of history as Linfield approaches its sesquicentennial in 2008. Marvin Henberg, professor of philosophy, is writing an illustrated history titled “Inspired Pragmatism: An Illustrated History of Linfield College.” Barbara Seidman, dean of faculty, is editing the text and will write an afterword for the book. The book will be available this fall.)


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'Popular Mechanics magazine' - Jan 1906

"'SOCKER" FOOTBALL.— The appalling list of 19 deaths and 132 serious accidents during the American football season of 1905, has called forth the demand from press, public and college presidents for an immediate and radical change. "Socker" football is suggested as much less strenuous."

(Comment from 2018: Spelled "socker" then, it's "soccer" now.).

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Vote for Linfield's Joe Smith as football 'Coach of the Year'

Posted 10/19/09

Vote for Linfield head football coach Joe Smith as college football 'Coach of the Year.' The link through which to vote is below.

http://www.coachoftheyear.com/Coaches.aspx

DVD sale supports Paul Durham Endowed Fund for the Support of Athletics at Linfield College

Oct. 11, 2009

Contact:
Ray Olson, Linfield Class of 1954
Vancouver, Wash.
360-896-3023
brolson@pacifier.com


McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Paul Durham was head football coach at Linfield College for 20 seasons, 1948-1967. Ray Olson is among the hundreds who played for Durham says Durham’s influence is never ending.

A 1954 Linfield graduate, Olson played four years for Durham. “Coach was a role model without peers. I am forever grateful to have had him as a coach and as a friend,” said Olson, a three sport athlete enshrined into the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.

During the later years of his life, Durham traveled from his home in Honolulu to the Linfield campus for a summer lunch reunion with former players and friends. After Durham died in 2007 the reunions continued. A final reunion in September 2009 was the spark Olson needed to complete a DVD on which he had been working for several years.

The 82-minute DVD is “Apples Don’t Fall Far from the Tree: The Legacy of Linfield’s Paul Durham,” sells for $25 each. All funds raised by its sale support the Paul Durham Endowed Fund for the Support of Linfield Athletics, which Olson and the Durham Summer Luncheon Committee created in 2005.

Narrating the DVD is Craig Singletary, Linfield Athletics Hall of Famer and public address “voice” of Linfield home football games at Maxwell Field.

Interviews in the one of the DVD’s nine chapters -- "Paul Durham: Gentleman, teacher and coach – includes the following from three of his Linfield football players:

-- “Coach Durham … he was just a person you could like. As soon as you met him he always had a nice thing to say, he always embraced you.” Odis Avritt

--“He was an excellent teacher, he was a coach that you respected, I never heard this man use a foul word.” Mike Stelman

--“ I have been associated with some very distinguished people in the business, none of them are any better men or better at what they did than that Lincolnesque guy sitting over there.” Fred vonAppen

Buy the DVD for $25 each in the Linfield Bookstore, Riley Student Center, Linfield College, McMinnville OR 97128. Orders to the bookstore by phone (503-883-2240), U.S. Mail or through the bookstore Website, www.linfieldbookstore.com, will be $30 each to cover shipping and handling. The DVD is also available by e-mailing Ray Olson at brolson@pacifier.com or calling him at 360-896-3023.

A graduate of Dallas, Ore., High School, Olson earned a bachelor’s degree from Linfield in 1954 and a master of science degree in sociology in 1968 from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He retired in 1994 from College of DuPage in Illinois, where he taught sociology for 25 years. His interest in East Asia led to two Fulbright scholarships in Korea (1992) and China (1994). In retirement he studied filmaking and produced two documentaries on China for social science and humanities teachers. After Linfield won the NCAA III National Championship in 2004 he produced the film A Dream Fulfilled: Linfield’s Incredible Stagg Bowl Journey.

For more information, contact Olson, 360-896-3023, brolson@pacifier.com.

Linfield at Oxy football 19 Sept 2009 & more

Still photos taken on Oxy campus in Eagle Rock, Calif., except the photo directly below, taken in Claremont, Calif.

Football: Hardin-Simmons at Linfield Sept. 12, 2009

"Welcome to Wildcatville"

Dave Hansen, radio 'Voice of the Wildcats'

Linfield 'Hello' Video

Roy Helser, Beaver pitcher & Linfield coach, dies at 83

The Oregonian, Wednesday, October 26, 1994

Helser, Beaver pitcher and Linfield coach, dies at 83

By KEN WHEELER (a Linfield grad)
of The Oregonian staff

WHO:

Former Portland Beaver pitcher and Linfield baseball coach

QUOTABLE:

“He was one of God's gifted people.” – Paul Durham, classmate, coaching colleague and friend.

The Portland native starred for his hometown baseball team, then added a national baseball title while coaching at his college alma mater

Roy Helser, a man who pitched with distinction for the Portland Beavers for more than a decade half a century ago, then later made a name for him­ self as a coach at his alma mater, Linfield College, died at his McMinnville home Tuesday.

Helser, a native of Portland and graduate of Benson High School, was 83. Death was attributed to causes re­lated to age.

Helser, a left-hander, was a top pitch­er with the Beavers from 1942 to 1952 and was a member of Portland's 1945 Pacific Coast League pennant winning team.

It was an era when the Beavers played in old Vaughn Street ballpark and rode a wave of popularity that saw them draw nearly half a million fans 1947.

Later, Helser coached at Linfield for 21 years, then served as athletic director at the school for four years before retiring in 1972. The baseball field at the college was named after him several years ago. “He was one of God's gifted people,” said Paul Durham, who was a classmate, coaching colleague and friend through the years. “I can't say enough wonderful things about him. I'm limited.”

Durham, who lives in Hawaii, and Helser were classmates at Linfield from 1932 to 1936. Durham returned to Linfield as football coach in 1949 and Helser joined him the next year.

The two served as co-coaches of the basketball team for four years while Helser also was the baseball coach. Helser then took over the basketball duties alone and continued as the baseball coach and also as an assistant on Durham's football staff.

During his 21 years as baseball coach at Linfield, the Wildcats won 14 Northwest Conference championships, and his 1966 team won the NAIA national championship.

One thing that marked Helser throughout his career was his competitiveness.

In 1956, four years after Helser left the Beavers, the team moved from Vaughn Street into what was then called Multnomah Stadium. A staple of the time among fans was Rollie Truitt's Beaver Scrapbook, and in that 1956 edition there still was a picture of No. 25, Roy Helser, beneath which was written, “One of the fiercest competitors ever to wear ' a Beaver uniform.”

Helser's pro baseball career started at Waterloo, Iowa, in 1937. Later, he pitched for the Salem Senators of the Northwest League in 1940 and 1941, and then signed with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1942. Late that season, he was acquired by the Beavers.

At first, it was part time. Helser also pitched for a team in the Albina Shipyards League in 1943, before settling in as one of the Beavers’ top pitchers for the next several years. He had three consecutive 20-win seasons, going 20-16, 20-14 and 20-16 from 1944 to 1946. He also made a mark as a semi-pro player and manager in a time when that carried considerable weight, first with the Silverton Red Sox, then with the Drain Black Sox.

“He was one of the greatest competitors that I have ever known,” said Ad Rutschman, former football coach and current athletic director at Linfield who played both baseball and basketball for Helser at the school.

“He was just a great competitor, and that rubbed off on everyone. The quality of his programs was always outstanding.”

Ted Wilson, who succeeded Helser as basketball coach at Linfield and worked with him there for 11 years, said: “When we speak of Roy Helser, the first thing I think of is a great competitor. He was like a brother to me. We had a great time working together. When I think of Roy, I think of honesty, strength, integrity, and compet­itiveness. It's very difficult to realize he’s not going to be with us any longer.”

Helser is survived by his wife, Dorothy; sons, J. Dennis Helser of Salem, and Roy Helser Jr., of Portland; daughter, Susan Peterson of Tualatin; brother, Morris Helser of Tigard; nine grandchildren and one great grandchild.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the First Baptist Church at McMinnville. The family has requested that remembrances be made to the Roy & Dorothy Helser Baseball Scholarship Fund at Linfield.

...........

The Volga Germans in Portland, Oregon

Click here for this story.

Roy Helser was a top pitcher with the Beavers from 1942 to 1952 and was a member of Portland's 1945 Pacific Coast League pennant winning team.

Later, Helser coached at Linfield for 21 years, then served as athletic director at the school for four years before retiring in 1972. The baseball field at the college was named after him several years ago. “He was one of God's gifted people,” said Paul Durham, who was a classmate, coaching colleague and friend through the years. “I can't say enough wonderful things about him. I'm limited.”

Roy Helser was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.

http://www.volgagermans.net/portland/roy_helser.html

Linfield Athletics Newsletter of Nov. 10, 1969

LINFIELD COLLEGE
ATHLETIC NEWSLETTER
NOV. 10, 1969

Dear Friends of Linfield Athletics:We were very optimistic here at Linfield upon the writing of the first newsletter back in September and now have reason for new hopes. The building program, which is going on down below us right now, is hopefully drawing to a close, the football Wildcats are back in a familiar spot – first place – and Ted Wilson’s hoopsters have begun a new season with practice, Nov. 1. Since losing the season opener to Portland State, 26-21, Ad Rutschman’s ‘Cats have taken five of their past six games and are riding a three-game winning streak going into this weekend’s College of Idaho tilt. The Wildcats need only to take the game in Caldwell to cinch at least a tie for the conference title. Rutschman came through with another thriller, Saturday, as his troops reared back from a 17-7 halftime deficit to squeak by Willamette 20-17. Linfield’s only league loss has come at the hands of Pacific Lutheran, 27-21, in a game in which the Lutes denied Linfield in a brave last ditch come back attempt. Other Northwest Conference victories include a 15-3 decision over Pacific, 17-7 over Whitman and 14-0 over Lewis and Clark. As you can see, the games have all been closed with the ultimate decision virtually hanging to the last seconds in some.

It cannot be denied that Ad had produced another fine football team in his second year at Linfield. The Wildcats have been getting their share of publicity out of the season also. OF note was an article in the Sunday Oregonian (Nov. 2) on Linfield’s tough defense. Many thanks go to Chuck Humble, student sports information director, and Tim Marsh, who held the job last year and is assisting Chuck. The have both had a busy fall with the football brochure, game programs and a million other details that crop up from time to time in covering Linfield football. We’ve received excellent publicity in the local newspapers (Salem) and even in some others, further away. A clipping of a story written by Kenn Hess, Sports Editor, of the Coos Bay World, filtered across my desk a few weeks back. Also, articles have appeared to our knowledge in the Milwaukie Review, McMinnville News-Register, and North Bend Sun and News besides our regular news outlets. For the first time in Linfield sports history, radio KMCM is broadcasting all home and away football games. Dick Bacon, local businessman, and Frank Molek, Linfield grad and former student body president, are handling the coverage for KMCM. Dick has already left for the Hawaii game as he is combining both business and pleasure on this one!

A rather hectic few days face Ad and his Wildcats. The make their two longest trips of the season on back-to-back weekends. Following the trip to Caldwell, from which they arrive back on Sunday afternoon, they leave again Wednesday morning from Portland International Airport via Northwest Orient Airlines for Honolulu. Some of you may be making this trip with the team and we wish to extend out hopes for both a good game and a pleasurable vacation. Local travel agent, Peter VanLeerdam, is handling the tour and will accompany the team and fans. He is also in charge of basketball trip to Honolulu in January and anyone interested in going with the team at that time could make arrangements through The Travel Bureau (503) 472-5127 in McMinnville. Peter has done an outstanding job in helping get Wildcat teams where they have wanted to go and was a major factor in helping the Wildcat basketball team log over 6,000 miles last winter mainly on trips to Alaska and Kansas City.

Several of the alums in Hawaii are anxiously awaiting our visit there. I wrote to Kenny Ling, who is working for Palama Settlement in Honolulu. Kenny and the rest of them are anxiously awaiting the football team and we are looking forward to a very happy time with members of the party. We have a luau planned for that Sunday night and he has a lot to do with getting it together. Kenny in past years has been a great deal of help to our football team in transporting the team to different places and making arrangements for different functions in the Islands. It will be nice seeing him again.

Following his three-day tournament, Ted Wilson has begun formal practices. Ted has nine letterman returning and four of those are starters. We are looking forward to another outstanding season in which the ‘Cats will be seeking to repeat as Northwest Conference champions for the sixth time. The conference has cut its schedule from 18 games to 12 this year giving us many more non-conference games. Therefore, Ted has put together an outstanding schedule which includes such outstanding teams as Central Washington. Last year, CWSC finished third in the NAIA tournament after Linfield had split wit them on the regular season. Other top opponents include Humboldt State, Portland State, the University of Hawaii and St. Martin’s College. Returnees to Wilson’s squad include all-conference choices Dan Beeson, Gary Donnell, and Pat Smithey. Other lettermen are Keith Shriver, Bobby James, Jim Sims, Ross Peterson, Terry Miller, and John Venemon. Ted kicks off his season with the annual tip-off tournament being held at Willamette and Lewis and Clark, Dec. 4-6.

Anyone who happens to pick up a Converse Basketball Book may notice the team picture of Linfield’s 24-4 past season on page 19. The ‘Cats are also listed among teams in the nation with the fewest losses.

The Cross-Country team coached by Hal Smith is winless, meet-wise, but finished sixth in the Northwest Conference meet held last week in Salem. Top performers for the Wildcats are freshman Jim Williams from Albany, Jerry DeVore from San Leandro, along with lettermen Mike Westfall and Tim Marsh. Newcomers who have helped Hal’s team include Jim H. Rich, Dan O’Brien and Bob Bogardus. Westfall, after breaking his finger, has been forced to run in several meets with a cast. He is also a top performer on the Wildcat track team in the spring.

Speaking of track, Keith Shriver finished fifth in the NAIA Tournament in the 200 yard dash. The meet was held in Billings, Montana on its all-weather track. Keith’s points allowed the ‘Cats to tie for 46th in team standings. He is also a basketball letterman and has high hopes for another outstanding track campaign.

Dave Kernan, swimming coach, has been organizing his team for the winter season. The team will again use the McMinnville Municipal Pool for its practice sessions and home meets. Men turning out for the team include: Ken Roberts, William Brenner, Edward Bird, Glen Shepard, Dennis Wiley, Shawn Fisher, Emerson Wood, Kim Vannatter and Dale Croy. Women turning out are Billie Marsh, Connie Hermen, Jan Beesley, Sheryl Bartel, Angie Chinn, Nancy Schonfeld, Heidi Harrison, Anita Hunt and Kathy Howard.
About the construction of the new student center in Riley Hall which has directly affected us, it is expected now to be completed about the first of January and reading for the students to use when the second semester begins in the middle of January. Already, the book store has moved to where out old offices were. Bookstore manager John Dillin has found the new smaller space causing him some problems but has made the move with a minimum of difficulty and inconvenience. The trophy case which was removed with the moving of the post office across the hall will be rebuilt, (and is nearly complete now) on the wall straight ahead as you enter Riley. It will be a little smaller that the old one but will provide a nice place of attention for our athletic awards. The rest of the student center is just beginning. The large patio on the west side of the building has been done for some time, but delays in wiring and heating equipment have caused the postponement of completion time.

Speaking of new things, the new baseball diamond is looking very good. Both the infield and outfields have been planted and the hope now is that winter rains do not cause a serious settling of the areas which contain the drainage tiles. I plan to play all our varsity games there this season if it comes along satisfactorily.

On behalf of gifts, our heart-felt things go to the Autzen Foundation of Portland for its $3000 grant to purchase a universal gym. The equipment will make a great contribution to our physical education program and physical fitness area.

From the mail we hear that Dave Lum, Linfield alum, is the new co-owner of Toyota of Astoria and recently he and two other partners held their grand opening.

Tom Caspell, private first class United States Army, has been awarded the bronze Star Medal for heroism not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. While under heavy enemy fire, he gave aid to the medical team with treatment of the wounded and aided the evacuation operation until he was seriously wounded. His courageous professionalism and selfless concern for his comrades and instrumental in saving soldiers’ lives.

Terry Picknell, class of ’59, is at home recovering from an operation to remove some growths. The major surgery was done at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, but it has helped Terry to expect to return to a normal life. He is expected to be fully recovered in about a year’s time. He would like to hear from friends and you may write to 224 Raymond Road, North Bend, Oregon. Terry was an All-Conference tackle under Paul Durham in ’57-’58 and graduated in business administration and has worked for Pape Bros. Implement Co. in Eugene, Coos Bay and North Bend.

Russ and Bonnie Hollinshead from Bend, a couple of alums from a few years back, stopped by after the PLU game. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in, but they left a card saying they saw a real great ball game.

George Murdock, former sports information director and good buddy of the athletic department, has been named vice-principal at W.F. West High School. He joined the Boosters Club and said his new school has topped the 800 student mark and is busy on a million dollar building program. He has bought a home about four miles south of Chehalis. His new address is Rt. 5, Box 564, Chehalis, Washington 98532.

My old coach Henry Lever, who is now 85 years old, dropped a line the other day. He is one of the great people I have ever met in my lifetime, and I will always remember him. I always remember what he did for me and other people like myself. If it hadn’t been for Coach Lever, I would never be here today. He was reminiscing in a littler about going to Dr. Riley, who was president at Linfield when Coach Lever first came here. He asked for a little tuition help for the athletes which up to that time only students studying for the ministry and were from strong Baptist families were receiving. As his entering argument, he said, “It is harmful to players and to student morale to always lose.” He mentions also that his was probably the entering wedge toward getting some aid for the athletes here at Linfield. Lever now employs seven people at the Henry Lever Real Estate Agency in Madras. Here is another quote from his letter: “I will be 85 next Saturday. I feel the same as many years ago, but will probably collapse when taking a wind sprint some day, and that will be alright also, for my life has been enriched by the wonderful men whose path’s crossed mine in their youth, and have gone ahead and done a wonderful job in life.” Some of you old timers might drop him a card—he’ll be thrilled to hear from you. You can reach him by sending a letter or card to the Henry Lever Agency, P.O. Box 89, Madras, Oregon 9741.

Sp. 4 John Hart dropped a card from Vietnam where he is stationed at 8th Field Hospital in Nha Trang. It is a seacoast town along the central portion of Vietnam. He says the area is relatively pleasant and secure compared to the rest of Vietnam. The only get mortar and rocket attacks once in a while. He says their biggest worry is the “Sapper” attacks in which the VC try to blow up the hospital with satchel charges. John’s address is Sp. 4 John Hart …98th Med. Det. (k.o.), A.P.O. 96240.

Bob Dungan says he’s now at Columbia River High School in Vancouver, Washington as the principal. Bob isn’t a Linfield man but has always been a Booster for the Wildcats.

Before I forget, a couple of “Thank Yours” to Louie King, who flew in from Michigan, and the Robert Harrisons from Alhambra, California, along with many, man others both near and far, who game to McMinnville for the Linfield-PLU Homecoming football game.

Any friends you have who wish to be on our Athletic Department Newsletter mailing list can do so by notifying the athletic department.

Keep smiling.

Best wishes,
(Signature)
Roy Helser
Athletic Director

RH/gt

Add the following name of the Wildcat Athletic Newsletter:

Send this form below to: Linfield Athletic Department, McMinnville, Oregon 97128

NAME
ADDRESS
CITY & STATE ZIP

Ad Rutschman Baseball Stadium dedicated in Hillsboro

Rutschman gets his due from Hilhi

by Steve Poehler, Hillsboro Argus
Tuesday July 7, 2009, 3:00 AM

A sign at the entrance reads, "Welcome to Hare Field Athletic Complex." Below, two lines say, "Elden Kellar Track" and "Craig Ruecker Stadium."

The latest addition? "Ad Rutschman Baseball Stadium."

Yes, in a tribute that most in attendance said was long overdo, the Hillsboro High School community honored local legend Ad Rutschman with a ceremony Saturday afternoon at newly renamed Rutschman Stadium.

The dedication also included the official unveiling of the field's new electronic scoreboard, which was installed above the left-field wall in early May.

"It's about time we've been able to honor him for all he's done," current Hilhi athletic director Steve Drake told the audience.

Former and current Spartan players and coaches, friends and family came together for a barbecue and the dedication, all to pay tribute to Rutschman.

Earlier in the day, Rutschman served as the grand marshal for the Hillsboro Rotary's Fourth of July Parade that snaked through the streets of downtown.

"I want to thank you very much for this very special and wonderful honor," Rutschman told the crowd.

Following Drake's introduction, five Hilhi graduates spoke about Rutschman.

First up was Larry Binkerd, class of 1961, who had the not-so-easy task of trying to list some of Rutschman's numerous accomplishments.

Rutschman, a 1950 Hilhi graduate, later coached his alma mater to state titles in baseball and football. By the time he left for Linfield College in 1968, his Spartan baseball teams had racked up a 246-79-1 record, and his football squads had gone 58-30-8.

While at Linfield, Rutschman guided the football program for 24 seasons and the baseball program for 13 seasons, and he worked as the athletic director for 25 years.

He retired from coaching in 1991 and as the AD in 1996.

Rutschman was inducted into the hall of fames of the NAIA (1988), Oregon Sports (1993), College Sports (1998) and Linfield (1998). He was also named Oregon's Slats Gill man of the year five times.

"Congratulations, coach, this day is kind of for you," Binkerd said.

Bob Mewhinney (1970), Greg Lord (1967), Dan Rickard (1967) and Ron Webb (1968) also got a chance to tell stories and talk about the impact of Rutschman and his wife of 57 years, Joan.
Mewhinney said he's never met a man that he respected more or a better person than Ad.

"This is where coach Rutschman taught us to be a man," said Lord, referring to the baseball and football fields at the Hare Complex.

Said Rickard: "I never played for a better coach, and I've never known a better person than coach Rutschman."

Drake said the $40,000 scoreboard wouldn't have been possible if not for the generous donation of time, money and labor by the Hillsboro baseball community, Ken and Roman Gratteri and the Hoffman family, among others.

Ad & Joan Rutschman Hillsboro 4th of July parade grand marshals

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/news/1246384247281380.xml&coll=6

Music features add spirit to Saturday July 4 Rotary Parade

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Hillsboro Argus

From the White House in Washington, D.C., for the Presidential Inaugural Parade, to Main Street in Hillsboro for the Hillsboro Rotary Club 4th of July Parade….

Later, the story says:

= “Hillsboro native and sports icon Ad Rutschman as grand marshal will be up near the front of the parade along with his wife Joan. His selection fits well with the parade theme this year of "Teamwork Wins." Former players he has coached will come right behind them, plus a team of 11- to 12-year-old players, reflecting Ad's interest in an early start for ball players… =
…………

http://blog.oregonlive.com/hillsboroargus/2009/07/hillsboro_ready_to_celebrate_i.html

Hillsboro ready to celebrate Independence Day
Posted by The Argus July 03, 2009 13:00PM

Hillsboro native and coaching icon Ad Rutschman is the grand marshal of the parade and will be near the front of the parade lineup with his wife Joan. Former players Rutschman has coached will be right behind the grand marshal's car.

Linfielder Bob Walker retires as a Roseburg High football coach

Coaching career ends for Roseburg's Walker

By TOM EGGERS/The News-Review, Roseburg, Ore.- July 10, 2009

Talking football, even if high school and college practices are still a month away:Roseburg won't have a familiar coaching face around when it begins daily doubles in late August. Bob Walker, a member of Thurman Bell's staff the past 23 years, has ended his coaching career dating back to 1975.

Walker, 56, coached the offensive line and worked with the defensive ends. Known as “Elliott” around the coaches' room, Walker was part of the most successful 10-year stretch in school history.Roseburg won state titles in 1995 and 1996, and was a co-champion in 1990.

The Indians finished second from 1987-89. Roseburg had a terrific run of talented linemen during that time, and Walker got the most out of them.“It's been great ... all the people,” said Walker, who plans to teach health and physical education at RHS the next two years.

“The coaches, the kids, the community. I always enjoyed going to practice after getting out of the classroom.“It's been fun. It exceeded what I thought it would be.”Walker had been thinking about retiring from coaching for a couple of years.

He said last year was a struggle for him physically.“It was a rough year,” he said. “I was so banged up and tired by the end of the year. My knee wouldn't bend. My back started hurting, and both shoulders started acting up.”Walker served the third-longest time on Bell's staff, trailing Ron Goodell (33 years) and Mark Engle (28 years). Bruce Walker (no relation) is entering his 23rd season as an assistant.

“Elliott was with us for a long time and did a wonderful job,” Bell said. “He was a technician ... a great Xs and Os guy, and knew the offensive line inside and out. He wasn't a rah-rah coach. He did an excellent job of working with the kids who were highly motivated.”Walker was in the press box on Friday nights, giving Bell his input on which plays to run when the Indians were on offense.“That was where he was at his best,” Bell said.

“He had a pretty cool head.”Walker coached the likes of tackles Heath Howington (1987-89), Brad Simmons (1988-90), Matt Morrow (1995-96), Sandon Duncan (1995-96) and Robin Knebel (1997-99), guards Chris Gibson (1995-96) and Matt Brock (1997-99), and centers Greg Harris (1987) and Toby Johnson (1996). Howington (Oregon), Knebel (Oregon), Gibson (Oregon State) and Brock (Oregon State) all became starters on the Division I level.

“I could give you hundreds of names,” said Walker, who politely refused to name an all-time top five list of best blockers. “It's tough to remember when everyone played. There were other kids (aside from the all-staters) who were amazing, to play like they did.”

Walker — a 1970 graduate of Grants Pass and former Linfield College player — came to Roseburg after 11 years of coaching under Ad Rutschman at Linfield.

Bob says he'll spend more time on the golf course this fall. He added a vacation with Laurie, his wife of 25 years, is in the works for later this year.“My golf game is bound to get better,” he said.

“It can't get any worse.”

BEAVERS. All reports out of Corvallis say the Rodgers brothers — James and Jacquizz — should be 100 percent by the time OSU's fall camp begins on Aug. 10.

Articles by Linfielder Howard Graves

This story below is by reporter Howard Graves, who attended but did not graduate from Linfield. After graduating in spring of 1944 from Robinson, Ill., High School (also known as Robinson Township High School or R.T.H.S.), he went to work for weekly (issued on Thursdays) Robinson Argus newspaper.

Howard recalls he was paid 10 cents per column inch to report on high school sports. The Argus was in competition with the Robinson Daily News, which had a full time sports writer and a Saturday edition. That might explain the reasons The Argus story is long and detailed. By the way, Howard joined the U.S. Navy on Nov. 28, 1944. Thus, this article was one of the last he wrote before going into military service.

This story was published in the (issued on Thursdays) Argus. It describes a Armistice Day high school football game –- Robinson vs. Marshall -- in 1944. Armistice Day that year was Saturday, Nov. 11. Perhaps the game was played that night or perhaps it was played Friday night, Nov. 10? Howard thinks it was played on Friday, the typical day then (and now) for a high school football game.

See story here about a visit with Howard and his wife, Audrey.

Maroons Win
Armistice Day
Pigskin Tussle

Down Strong Marshall Team By
Scot of 27 to 6; Victory Over
Oblong On Turkey Day, Nov.
23rd Will Give the R. T. H.S.
Eleven The E.I, and Valley
Championships.

By HOWARD GRAVES
Capt. Jack Kaley, know as the arm to his schoolmates, proved that name against Marshall on Armistice Day in the annual pigskin tussle which the Fighting Maroons came out of top 27-6. For Kaley, his runningmate, Dave Steele, and kid brother “Hoop” put on an aerial attack that has not been witnessed for sometime by local fans. The strong Marshall forward wall stopped the vaunted Maroon running attack so Kaley took to the air to bring victory number eight to the Maroons. Perhaps with this victor came the E.I. and Wabash Valley championships for left on the Maroon schedule is only their cross county rival the weak Oblong Panthers.

On the receiving end of these passes were Lew Olds, Bob Schneider, and when Steele wasn’t pitching he was snagging the pitches of Kaley. Defensibly the Maroons were a little off the ball by past performances. The line seemed weak at times and at other times felt like playing the game. But, the old stalwarts Wayne King and Bob Schneider played their consistent game of stopped any play coming their way. The Maroons left loose another backfield threar in Mike Cauley. Cauley ripped some beautiful holes in the Marshall line and was one of the better players on the field.

The Lions won the kick off toss and took their ball on their 40 after both teams exchanged points and the ball rested on Marshall’s 46 yard line in the Maroons possession. Kaley streaked 54 yards for the opening touchdown. Capt. Kaley also drop kicked the extra point. Kaley intercepted a Lion pass on his 19 yard to start the next series of fireworks. Steele picked up a yard and on 3rd down punted. Vic Bennett, husky Lion guard, broke through the Maroon line and blocked the punt. The Lions recovered on the Maroons 10 to give them their first break of the game. The first quarter Summers picked up 4 yards. English added another yard to bring up the fourth down and five yards to a first down. And then the Lions made a mistake by one that they didn’t make again. Summers took the ball on an end sweep but Schneider brought him down for no gain and the loss of the ball for the Lions. The Maroons took over on their 19. Cauley and Steele gave the Maroons a first down and took them out of the hole but the tough Marshall line braced so Kaley took to the air. V. Kaley hit brother Jack with a pass that netted 23 yards. J. Kaley threw to Schneider for an 18 yard gain and another first down on the Lions 24. The Maroons lost five yards on an offside penalty by Capt. Kaley kept calling aerials and Steele took his hand in the game and hit Olds on the 3. Cauley made the touchdown in two plunges. Kaley made the extra point. Steele intercepted a Loin aerial and the Maroons started another drive. The Kaley brothers took the ball to Marshall’s 32. Here the Maroons could go no farther and the half ended with the Maroons trying to score.

The Lions started the second half with blood in their eye and a determination to grab the game from the visiting Maroons. “Hoop” Kaley returned the kick off to the 28. Steele punted to the 44. With Summers and Maurer totin the ball the Lions advanced to Robinson’s 39. Here the Maroons bucked up a little bit and held for downs. A series of passes gave the Maroons their third chucker. Kaley pitching from the 40 hit Steele who carried the ball for 50 yards to score. The play was good for 59 yards. Kaley’s attempted kick for point was blocked. King intercepted another Lion pass to start the Maroons again on the road to paydirt. With little “Hoop” Kaley using his throwing arm and plunging by Don Shears helped to advance the ball to the Marshall one yard time. Were V. Kaley plunged over. Brother Jack kicked the point.

With Summer and Maurer lugging the Lions started their touchdown drive late in the third quarter. Maurer and Summers toted the ball. To the Robinson 35 and with the help of a roughing penalty got the ball to the 20 from where Maurer slanted between left tackle and end to score standing up. The game ended on Marshall’s 38 in the Fighting Maroons possession.

MaroonsWinbyHowardGravesNov1944.doc
...................
Wildcatville says, when Howard Graves was a Linfield College student writing for the Linfield Review student newspaper, he went to Portland and covered the May 17, 1948, debate of Republican presidential candidates Gov. Thomas Dewey of New York and Harold Stassen, former Minnesota governor. A story he wrote about the debate -- held in the studios of KEX Radio and broadcast nationally -- was printed in the newspaper. Dewey went on to win the Republican nomination and lose to President Harry Truman in the general election held Nov. 2, 1948. Read about the debate in 2011 story 'Dewey beats Stassen: Republicans hold a real debate.' It is written by 1957 Linfield grad Floyd McKay. 

............

Ludington (Mich.) Daily News - Friday, Dec 23, 1966

Two Wyoming Gridders Lost 

By HOWARD GRAVES, Associated Press Sports Writer 

EL PASO,Tex. (AP) — Football practice sessions for Saturday's Sun Bowl game became so secretive Thursday that two Wyoming players got lost. 

And Wyoming Gov. Clifford Hansen and Gov.-elect Stan Hathaway, both Republicans, were run out of the Florida State workout after jestingly being accused as "football spies" by a young coach. 

"It was all kinda comical," commented Dave Lantz, graduate assistant at FSU, after he had asked Hansen, Hathaway, University of Wyoming President Dr. John King and two others to leave the practice. 

But it wasn't nearly as comical for Wyoming gridders Glen Lybarger, offensive tackle, and Tom Gottfaurg, defensive end. 

They were following the Wyoming team bus in a private car driven by a professional football scout. The car lost the bus at a stop light. The two players and the scout drove for nearly an hour trying to find the high school field where the Wyoming team practiced. 

They never did find it, and neither did Hansen and Hathaway. 

“We went to five different fields," Hathaway said. "Dr. King didn't know where they were. Their secret practice was very well concealed." 

When they showed up at the FSU workout, Lantz and another graduate assistant, Al Conover, asked them to identify themselves. They did and were told they couldn't stay — in a nice way. 

Besides lost players, Wyoming has another problem. The Cowboys have new uniforms for the nationally televised game NBC) which starts at 4 p.m., CST, and they can't make up their minds whether to wear white helmets or gold ones. 

A spokesman said it depends on which shows up better in the game to be televised in color.