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1941 Willamette Bearcats football team

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1946 Willamette Bearcats football
NWC champion
ConferenceNorthwest Conference
Record8–2 (5–0 NWC)
Head coach
CaptainBuddy Reynolds and ?[1]
Home stadiumSweetland Field
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1941 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Willamette $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Whitman 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 1 – 0
Pacific (OR) 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Puget Sound 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
College of Idaho 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Linfield 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1941 Willamette Bearcats football team was an American football team that represented the Willamette University of Salem, Oregon, as a member of the Northwest Conference during the 1941 college football season. In their 16th season under head coach Spec Keene, the Bearcats compiled an 8–2 record (5–0 against NWC opponents), outscored five conference opponents by a total of 218 to 7, and won the conference championship.[2] Dick Weisgerber, a Willamette alumnus who went on to play for the Green Bay Packers, returned to Willamette as an assistant coach in 1941.[3]

Due to their playing in Honolulu on the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor, they became known as the "Pearl Harbor" team. Four members of the team (Keene, Weisgerber, Ted Ogdahl, and Marvin Goodman) were inducted individually into the Willamette University Athletic Hall of Fame. The team as a whole was inducted in 1997.[2][4]

Willamette players received 11 of 13 first-team spots on the 1941 All-Northwest Conference football team. Four players were unanimous picks: end Bill Reder; tackle Martin Barstad; guard Tony Fraiola; and back Teddy Ogdahl.[5]

Willamette was ranked at No. 99 (out of 681 teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1941.[6]

The team played its home games at Sweetland Field in Salem, Oregon.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Portland Army Air Base
W 19–0[7][8][9]
September 26College of Idaho
  • Sweetland Field
  • Salem, OR
W 52–0
October 2at Portland
W 26–0[10]
October 10at LinfieldMcMinnville, ORW 43–0
October 17Whittier*
  • Sweetland Field
  • Salem, OR
W 33–7
October 25at Idaho*
L 6–331,200[11][12]
November 7Puget Sounddagger
  • Sweetland Field
  • Salem, OR
W 55–7
November 11Pacific (OR)
  • Sweetland Field
  • Salem, OR (Armistice Day)
W 40–0[13][14]
November 20at WhitmanWalla Walla, WAW 28–0
December 6at Hawaii*
  • Honolulu Stadium
  • Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
    (Shrine Football Classic)
L 6–2025,000[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

Shrine Game and Pearl Harbor

[edit]

On the afternoon of December 6, 1941, in the Shrine Football Classic, Willamette lost to Hawaii at Honolulu Stadium.[15] The game drew a crowd of 25,000 persons, the largest paid attendance in Hawaii history to that point.[16] The attendees included Territorial Governor Joseph Poindexter, Honolulu Mayor Lester Petrie, and Lt. Gen. Walter Short, the U.S. commander responsible for the defense of U.S. military installations in Hawaii;[16] the game was preceded by a "spectacle" of marching bands, including performances by the U.S. Marine band and bands from several Hawaiian high schools and colleges.[17]

Early the following morning, the team gathered for a planned sightseeing tour and picnic. The attack on Pearl Harbor interrupted the picnic plan and began the Pacific War. Willamette was also scheduled to play San Jose State on December 16 in Honolulu, but that game was cancelled.[18] In the wake of the attack, it was unclear if a full-scale invasion had begun. Martial law was declared in Honolulu, and the visiting Willamette football players were assigned to support the emergency. They were given World War I rifles, bayonets and helmets, and served for the next 10 days as guards at the Punahou School which was converted into an ammunition depot.[19][20][21]

The team returned home on the SS President Coolidge, attending to wounded sailors, finally arriving in San Francisco on Christmas Day.[19][22][23]

In 2019, the experiences of the Willamette and San Jose State football teams were documented in the book, "Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II".[24]

Honors

[edit]

The conference coaches selected an All-Northwest Conference football team at the end of the 1941 season. Willamette players received 11 of the 13 first-team spots. Willamette's first-team honorees were:

  • Marshall Barbour, right end, age 20, 5'11", 190 pounds, Portland, Oregon
  • Martin Barstad, left tackle, age 20, 6'1", 203 pounds, Woodburn, Oregon (unanimous pick)
  • George Constable, right end, age 20, 6', 200 pounds, Gillespie, Illinois
  • Anthony Jo "Tony" Fraiola, left guard, age 23, 5'9", 175 pounds, New Providence, New Jersey (unanimous pick, second consecutive year with all-conference honors)
  • Gordon Moore, right guard, age 22, 6'2", 195 pounds, Tigard, Oregon
  • Neil Morley, right tackle, age 19, 6'2", 210 pounds, Bingen, Washington
  • Teddy Ogdahl, right halfback, age 19, 5'9", 172 pounds, Portland, Oregon (unanimous pick)
  • Bill Reder, left end, age 20, 6'2", 190 pounds, Portland, Oregon (unanimous pick)
  • Buddy Reynolds, left halfback, age 24, 5'7", 168 pounds, La Grande, Oregon
  • Gene Stewart, left halfback, age 23, 5'10", 175 pounds, Ontario, Oregon
  • Al Walden, fullback, age 21, 5'7", 175 pounds, San Diego (third consecutive year with all-conference honors)

[5][25]

In addition, two other Willamette players were named to the second team:

  • Pat White, center, age 20, 6', 190 pounds, Portland, Oregon
  • Chuck Furno, right halfback, age 20, 5'5", 165 pounds, Wisconsin Rapids

[5][25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ex-La Grander Runs for Bearcats". La Grande Observer. October 31, 1941. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b "1941 "Pearl Harbor" Football Team". Willamette Bearcats Football. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  3. ^ "Weisgerber Back To Coach Bearcats". The Capital Journal. September 16, 1941. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Dan Postrel (December 7, 1997). "Surprise of Pearl Harbor forever changed Willamette athletes". Statesman Journal. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "All-Northwest Conference 11? Certainly, It's 'All'-Willamette". The Oregon Statesman. November 22, 1941. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 26, 1941). "Gophers Grid Kings Over 6-Year Span: Tennessee 2d, Pitt 3d Over Period Litkenhous Ratins Are Published". The Courier-Journal. p. Sports 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Air Base Gridders Tackle Willamette at 8 Tonight". The Capital Journal. September 19, 1941. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "'Cats Vie With Airmen Tonight In Season's Grid Opener Here". Statesman Journal. September 19, 1941. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Willamette Trims Air Base Club 19-0 in First Game". The Capital Journal. September 20, 1941. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Bearcats Whitewash Pilots, 26 to 0". The Capital Journal. October 3, 1941. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Willamette walloped by Idaho, 33 to 6". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. October 26, 1941. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Tough line play helps Idaho win". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 27, 1941. p. 11.
  13. ^ "33rd Clash of 'Cats, Badgers Set on Sweetland Here Today". Statesman Journal. November 11, 1941. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Willamette Smothers Pacific Gridders by 40 to 0 Score". The Capital Journal. November 12, 1941. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b Red McQueen (December 7, 1941). "University of Hawaii Downs Willamette 20-6: Rainbows Explode in Last Half to Conquer Invading Eleven". The Honolulu Advertiser. pp. 14, 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b "Record Crowd Takes In Colorful Shrine Show". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. December 8, 1941. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "14 Bands Play in Spectacular Benefit Affair". The Honolulu Advertiser. December 7, 1941. pp. 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Red McQueen (December 9, 1941). "All Major Athletic Events Are Cancelled". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ a b "Willamette University Pearl Harbor Football Team". Willamette University. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  20. ^ Capi Lynn (December 6, 2018). "1941 Willamette football team called to arms after Pearl Harbor". Statesman Journal.
  21. ^ "Visiting Grid Players Given Police Duties". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. December 8, 1941. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Ivan Maisel (December 24, 2019). "San Jose State, Willamette football teams, and the aftermath of Pearl Harbor attack in 1941". ESPN.com.
  23. ^ "1941 Pearl Harbor Willamette Football Team". Willamette University, Hatfield Library. December 17, 2015.
  24. ^ Bill McWilliams (2019). Scrimmage for War: A Story of Pearl Harbor, Football, and World War II. Stackpole Books.
  25. ^ a b "Bearcat Club Complete, 45 Players". The Capital Journal. September 17, 1941. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
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