WILDCATVILLE: Where did you grow up, go to school? And, in what sports did you participate?
GREG: “I was born and raised in northeast Portland, Oregon. In Portland I attended Kennedy Elementary (now McMenamins Kennedy ) and Grant High School. I graduated from Grant in June 1969 and started at Linfield as a freshman in the fall of 1969.
“I started playing baseball as an eight-year-old at Riverside Little League, encouraged by my parents, friends and neighbors. As 12-year-olds, our Riverside Little League all-star team won the state championship and went on to the divisional playoffs at the baseball facility at Alpenrose Dairy in Portland. We lost to Centralia, Washington, the eventual winner.
“As 15-year-olds, our Babe Ruth all-star team, Fernhill, made it all the way to the Babe Ruth World Series in Douglas, Arizona. We lost in the championship games to New Orleans. I was one of three starting pitchers. When not pitching I played left field.
“An interesting coincidence on the road to this very successful summer season was that we played McMinnville Babe Ruth for the State Championship. On McMinnville's team were three future Linfield teammates, Mike Smithey, Mike Cahill and Tommy Briggs. The championship game pitted Mike Smithey and me as opposing pitchers. We won 5-0 but to Mike's credit he was pitching with a very sore shoulder.
“At Grant High I participated in cross country, basketball and baseball, though I only played at the varsity level in baseball. Our junior year we played Ad Rutschman-coached Hillsboro High in the first round of the State Championship. Hilhi’s pitcher was Spencer Wales, another future Wildcat baseball teammate.”
WILDCATVILLE: You have ice hockey in your background?
GREG: “At 10-years-old I started participating in what would today be called "club" ice hockey. As a 17-year-old Grant junior, our all-star team won its way to the National Juvenile tournament in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. We met up with some ‘real’ hockey players that skated before they walked, but it was an unforgettable opportunity and experience.”
WILDCATVILLE: Why Linfield?
GREG: “In June of 1969 I graduated from Grant High School in Portland. I concentrated on math and Latin. I had been accepted to Lewis & Clark, Redlands and Linfield . Also, I applied to University of Pennsylvania in hopes of being accepted so I might be able to play both hockey and baseball. I was interested in Penn, but Penn was not reciprocal.
“I chose Linfield because early on I knew I wanted to teach. Linfield had a good reputation for placing teachers. Baseball was secondary and I was not recruited for baseball by Coach Helser. I really didn't know much if anything about Linfield's storied athletic history.
“As a sophomore in 1971 I made Coach Rutschman's first baseball squad, probably as the last player picked.”
WILDCATVILLE: You were on the 1971 Linfield baseball team which would win the NAIA national championship?
GREG: “Playing for Coach Rutchman was an eye opening experience. Besides learning that running lines was the solution to all baseball shortcomings (hitting, bunting, base running, fielding, mental aspects) he exposed me to more baseball knowledge in one season than the eight previous years and I thought I knew a lot about baseball. I also learned from Coach Rutschman rhetorical questions are sometimes best not answered.
“My memories of being on the 1971 team winning the NAIA national baseball championship in Phoenix, Arizona, included playing our first game against Grand Canyon (of Phoenix) when their leadoff hitter (Duke Synder's son) hit an inside the park home run, but didn't return for the defensive half of the inning. His replacement came up in the next inning and duplicated the inside the park homerun and he, too, didn't play the defensive half of the inning. We later found out both of them had swallowed their chew (tobacco), gotten violently sick and probably decreased their team’s chances of winning the national title.
“The second lasting memory from playing in Phoenix was the fan support of Professor Dave Hansen, Professor Bruce Baldwin and students Phil Hankins and Tom Sutro. They were at every game, loudly supporting the ‘Cats and riding the umpires. After we won the championship they left Phoenix by car , drove straight through and were at Portland International Airport when we landed the next day. To my knowledge they never put in for the land speed record they must have broken accomplishing that feat.
“I earned three varsity letters (1971 as a sophomore, 1972 as a junior and 1973 as a senior) while I only started as a senior as our everyday center fielder. I played little on the junior dominated team when I was sophomore, but I coached first base on a regular basis. As a junior I was used sparingly in left and right field.
“My senior year we were Northwest Conference champions and played for the NAIA Western regional championship in Los Angeles. We lost to U.S. International University (of San Diego, California), the eventual 1973 NAIA National champion, on what can only be described as a mammoth homerun hit by one of their players. The ball landed on the southbound freeway adjacent to the stadium. “
WILDCATVILLE: What were your team honors?
GREG: “I was honored as Linfield’s most inspirational baseball player in 1973 and also awarded Linfield's male student/athlete of the year in 1973.”
WILDCATVILLE: Where did you live as a Linfield student?
GREG: “All four of my Linfield years I lived in Larsell Hall. I was dorm president for at least one of those years. I believe it was my senior year, 1973. That school year (1972-1973) Larsell became a co-ed dorm. Larsell was so close to the Commons (Dillin Hall) I had no excuse for being late for meals!”
WILDCATVILLE: What was your Linfield major?
GREG: “I graduated with majors in math and econ but also had enough education credits to get my teacher’s certificate. Dave Hansen, Levi Carlile and Win Dolan were the professors that were the most influential in my Linfield career. I will be forever grateful to Dave Hansen for being there after my sophomore year to convince me Linfield was a much better fit than the University of Oregon would have been. I thought about transferring to the U of O. To think of everything and everybody in my Linfield experience I would have missed out if I had left Linfield.”
WILDCATVILLE: After graduation from Linfield where did you live and what was your career path?
GREG: “After graduating from Linfield I moved to Newberg in August of 1973 where I taught math at Renne Junior High for six years. I also coached football, girls’ basketball and baseball at the school.
“In June of 1974 Peggi Thomas, whom I met at Linfield my senior year, and I married. She worked at Newberg hospital for one year before being accepted into the OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University in Portland) one-year medical technologist program. After she graduated from OHSU in June 1976, she started working at Physician’s Medical Center in McMinnville as a medical technologist. She spent 20 years working there before moving to Willamette Valley Medical Center (WVMC) in McMinnnville and doing the same type of work. She retired in May of 2017 after 16 years at WVMC.”
Following my six years at Renne Junior High, I worked the next 33 years for Cummins Northwest (diesel engine business) in Portland.
“We moved to our one acre property in Yamhill County’s wine country in Dayton, Oregon, about seven miles from McMinnville, in June 1977. That was about a week after the Portland Trail Blazers won the NBA championship.
WILDCATVILLE: When did you retire and what’s your schedule as a retiree?
GREG: “Since retiring in 2012, I divide my year in three periods.
“The first few years -- November thru February of 2012-2015 -- I was blessed to be able to help our daughter, Cindy Walsh, as head girls’ basketball coach at Horizon Christian High School in Tualatin.
“This began by working with inexperienced international students who wanted to play competitive sports. That segued into being Horizon Christian assistant girls’ basketball coach.”
“February through May is spent attending most, if not all, of Linfield's baseball games.
“I have enjoyed watching/supporting Linfield's trips to regional finals in Austin, Texas, and Tyler, Texas (2) and NCAA national finals in Appleton, Wisc., 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014.”
“We attend most and if not all the home football games and I try to attend all the away games. We are trying to get to more men's and women's basketball games to support the new look teams. As I indicated, Linfield baseball is a priority come early February. Last year I was fortunate to make it to all the 2017 team’s games. It is rewarding for me to support the baseball staff, players and parents of this program that has given me many great memories and experiences.
“Early May through mid-November is spent caring for, harvesting and putting to bed my 150 dahlia plants.”
WILDCATVILLE: How did you get into the dahlia business?
GREG: “The latent dahlia growing bug was probably passed on to me by my father who grew a few at our northeast Portland home. He and a neighbor bet on who could grow the biggest.
“I started my dahlia growing adventure eight or nine years ago. My personal commitment was that if I ever made any money at it, I would donate all proceeds to worthy causes. I've been blessed to have some very productive years (7500-8700 blossoms). I furnish probably 40 percent of the flower production to Friendsview Manor in Newberg, McMinnville Senior Center and our church, McMinnville Covenant Church.
“Another 40 percent of the flowers are sold to a couple local wineries and on my roadside stand. The other 20 percent go for personal use like to friends, former workmates and Linfield functions.
“The causes that I have donated to include Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, the KEX Radio (Portland) Kids Fund, McMinnville Meals on Wheels and our church youth group.”
WILDCATVILLE: What is the dahlia schedule?
GREG: “Dahlias are planted in mid-May, begin producing as early as late June though more normal to start mid- to late-July. They continue to produce until the first hard frost as long as the mature blossoms have been cut off.
“I put them to ‘bed’ in late November by cutting the stocks off at ground level, cover with heavy tarps and on top of the tarps a layer of straw. This keeps to tubers warm and dry.
“The tarps come off in late April to find some plants already broken through the surface and an anxious wait for the others to show.”
WILDCATVILLE: A few final questions about Linfield baseball. You’ve seen a lot of Linfield baseball in NCAA post-season playoffs and tourneys. The first Linfield national baseball title was in 1966 and you were on the 1971 national championship team. Both of those were NAIA. Did you see the team in 1966? Is there anyone who has been as many Linfield post-season baseball games as you?
GREG: "I did not see any of the 1966 championship team's games but I'm proud to say I've either participated in or watched in person every baseball championship tournament since. My hope is to see even more."
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PHOTOS
--Greg in a dahlia field on Greg and Peggi’s property in Dayton, Oregon.
--Formal 1971 Linfield Baseball team photo, Greg is the third player from the left kneeling.
--In the downtown McMinnville 1971 Linfield Baseball celebration photo, Greg (wearing glasses) is second from the left.
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SLIDESHOW
--Slideshow about 1971 Linfield NAIA World Series Champions team:
