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The NFL establishes a scholarship at WSU in Michael Utley’s name.

Michael Utley, former student and 1989 All-American offensive guard, injures his spinal cord and is paralyzed during a Detroit Lions football game. Utley establishes the Mike Utley Foundation to help those with spinal cord injuries and Utley became known for the “thumbs up” he flashed fans after being carried off the field when he was injured in 1991.  In 2008 the NFL established a scholarship at WSU in Utley’s name for students studying sports medicine.

1993 Flyer for Mike Utley Foundation and appearance at WSU Homecoming
1993 Flyer for Mike Utley Foundation and appearance at WSU Homecoming

Henry Rono sets multiple world records while running for the Cougars

Henry Rono sets multiple world records while running for the Cougars. Rono won the NCAA Cross Country Championship three times, in 1976, 1977, and 1979, as well as the NCAA Steeplechase in 1978 and 1979, and the NCAA Indoor champion in the 3000 meters in 1977.

The high point of Rono’s running career was in 1978. In the span of 81 days, he broke four world records in the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 3000 meter steeplechase, and 3,000 meters. Rono would never go on to the Olympics because Kenya, his country, boycotted the games in 1976 and 1980.

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Steve Puidokas sets Cougar men’s career basketball scoring records

Steve Puidokas, a six-foot-eleven point guard, sets the Cougar men’s career basketball points record. Puidokas other career records would include scoring average (18.6 points per game), field goals, and rebounds (9.7 per game).  He was the second-team all-conference for four straight seasons. Puidokas is the first WSU basketball player to have his number (55) retired.

Steve Puidokas
Steve Puidokas

Hugh Campbell, WSU record-breaking football pass receiver, is voted MVP of the East-West Shrine game after setting a new catching record

Hugh Campbell, WSU record-breaking football pass receiver, is voted MVP of the East-West Shrine game after setting a new record after catching 10 passes. The East-West Shrine game, sponsored by the Shriners, has been played annually since 1925 and teams are drawn from the two geographic regions east and west, including Canada. Campbell played wide receiver from 1958 to 1962 and during that time he appeared in the Hula Bowl, the College All-Star game, the Coaches All-America game and the aforementioned Shrine Bowl, and while at WSU he was awarded the 1961 W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. After playing for WSU, Campbell went on to play for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders and coach several Canadian and US college and professional football teams.

 

Hugh Campbell

 

 

Weldon B. “Hoot” Gibson graduates with a B.A. in economics

Weldon B. “Hoot” Gibson graduates with a B.A. in Economics. Gibson attended WSC with the help of his Uncle, Arthur “Buck” Bailey, and was a member of the football team and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After graduating from WSC, Gibson studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business receiving an MBA in 1940 and a Ph.D. in 1950. Gibson was a long-time executive at the Stanford Research Institute from 1947 until 1988. He earned the Legion of Merit in 1946, Commander of the British Empire in 1947, and the Washington State University Distinguished Alumni Award for his role in creating the Washington State University Foundation.

 

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The football stadium at Rogers Field gets a complete renovation

The football stadium at Rogers Field gets a complete renovation. The new horseshoe-shaped structure is named for former Washington State Governor, John R. Rogers. The wood bleachers supported by concrete pilings seat 23,500 fans.

During spring break of 1970, a fire destroyed the wood stands. The Cougars were forced to play off-campus for two years while the university built Martin Stadium.

 

Stadium_Job_217_Sept_1_1936

Hein and Edwards: First Team All-Americans

Mel Hein and Glen “Turk” Edwards receive the honor after anchoring the Cougar defensive line and leading the team to a 9-0 regular season record and a spot in the 1931 Rose Bowl against Alabama.

Hein goes on to play 15 seasons for the New York Giants (1931-45) and never misses a down due to injury. He is the first player and only offensive lineman to win the NFL MVP award (1938), and he helps the Giants win the championship that season.

In 1963, Hein is selected as part of the inaugural class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After college, Edwards plays 9 seasons in the NFL for the Braves/Redskins beginning in 1932, winning All-NFL honors from major media outlets every year of his career except his last one. Following the end of his playing career, he continues with the Redskins as an assistant coach from 1941 to 1945 and then as the head coach from 1946 to 1948. After 17 consecutive seasons with the Redskins, Edwards then retires from professional football. He is selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

Mel Hein

Mel Hein

 

Glen 'Turk' Edwards
Glen “Turk” Edwards

Earl Foster: the man who built WSU’s athletic plant and hired some of its most famous coaches

Foster begins a 21-year tenure at the college as graduate manager and later, athletic director. He plays a pivotal role in the construction of almost every major sports facility on campus, including Bohler Gymnasium, Hollingbery Fieldhouse, and the original university golf course, and oversees enlargement of the football stadium.

Known as “Froggy” because of his drooping upper eyelids, Foster also hires (with Doc Bohler) the famous coaches who make up WSC’s “Golden Age” of athletics: Babe Hollingbery, Buck Bailey, Jack Friel, and others. He also helps pioneer sports broadcasting on KWSU, and introduces Dads’ Day to the WSU calendar of annual activities.

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The WSU Cougars return to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 67 years

The WSU Cougars head to the 84th Rose Bowl for the first time in 67 years. Sadly, the Cougars lose to Michigan, 21-16, a sad end to an otherwise great season. The Cougars were predicted to finish seventh in the Pac-10, but won the conference title and posted a 10-1 record.  In February, football coach Mike Price signed an eight-year contract extension through December 31, 2005.

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WSU baseball coach Chuck “Bobo” Brayton wins 1,000th game

Chuck “Bobo” Brayton won his 1,000th game as Cougar head baseball coach in a 14-6 victory against Eastern Washington at WSU’s Bailey Field. The field was renamed Bailey-Brayton after Bobo retired in 1994, having accumulated 1,162 career wins at WSU. Brayton’s predecessor, Buck Bailey, coached the Cougars from 1927-1962, and Brayton followed from 1963-1994. The two combined to coach the Cougars for over 60 years.

 

John Candy immortalizes the WSU fight song as “Tom Tuttle from Tacoma”

John Candy immortalizes the WSU fight song in the movie Volunteers. Candy plays a WSU graduate, “Tom Tuttle from Tacoma,” who is assigned to build a bridge for local villagers in Thailand with fellow costars Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. The WSU fight song is sung by Tom Tuttle while he is under the capture of communist forces.

 

 

WSU athletes win three gold medals in the Olympic games

WSU athletes win three gold medals and one silver medal, in Los Angeles at the 1984 Olympic Games. Julius Korir wins the gold in steeplechase, while Paul Enquist and Kristi Norelius both win in rowing -Paul in the men’s double sculls and Kristi in the women’s coxed eights.  In track, Gabriel Tiacoh finishes with the 400m silver.

Julius Korir
Julius Korir

WSC gets a ski jump

WSC builds a ski jump on campus near the east end of what’s now the CUB. It runs down the hill towards what’s now the Football Operations Building and was reportedly one of only two ski jumps on college campuses in the United States. During World War II, the jump became part of the obstacle course for the fittest of the soldiers; it was even displayed in Life Magazine (Oct. 12, 1942, pg. 142).

The ski jump was repaired and reworked in 1947, but by 1950 it was permanently removed to make way for the construction of the CUB.

Cougar baseball finishes second in College World Series

The 1950 Cougar Baseball team finished second in the fourth College World Series and the first to be held in what would become its permanent home, Omaha, Nebraska. The Cougs finished the season with a 32-6 record. They defeated Tufts, Alabama, and Rutgers in the World Series, but fell to Texas in their final two games. The 1950 team was the first of four Cougar baseball teams (as of 2015) to represent WSU at the College World Series.

 

Varsity_baseball

Class project delivers Cougar fight song

Zella Melcher writes the lyrics and Phyllis Sayles pens the music to the well-loved song, which receives a ringing endorsement from the Evergreen when it’s sung for the first time February 20 at a school assembly.

Fight, fight, fight for Washington State! Win the victory!
Win the day for Crimson and Gray! Best in the West, we know you’ll all do your
best, so
On, on, on, on! Fight to the end! Honor and Glory you must win! So
Fight, fight, fight for Washington State and victory!

W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N-S-T-A-T-E-C-O-U-G-S! GO COUGS!!

The song appears in the 1985 film Volunteers, sung by John Candy’s character Tommy Tuttle.

New fight song coverage as seen in the Evergreen, Feb. 26, 1919, page 1.

The February 26 issue of the Evergreen gives front page coverage to the first performance of the new fight song.

New fight song, first printed in the Evergreen, Feb. 26, 1919, page 8.
New fight song, first printed in the Evergreen, Feb. 26, 1919, page 8.