An appreciative crowd greets the speaker, master of ceremonies Clay Huntington, at the podium during the 1963 Washington State Sports Hall of Fame gathering on February 6, 1963. The event was filmed by KTNT-TV. The Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1960 by the Tacoma Athletic Commission's Clay Huntington, well known Northwest sportscaster and radio station owner. Those elected to membership in the Hall of Fame must be at least five years in retirement from the sport involved. Members are recognized for their outstanding sports accomplishments and contributions. The fourth State Sports Hall of Fame gathering combined the State and Tacoma-Pierce County Halls of Fame. (TNT 2-3-63, B-7) (www.washingtonsportshalloffame.com/index2.htm)

Tacoma Athletic Commission (Tacoma); Washington State Sports Hall of Fame (Tacoma); Awards;

Festivities continued at the 1963 Washington State Sports Hall of Fame sponsored by the Tacoma Athletic Commission. Guests appear to be conversing quietly at the head table while two men stand at the podium. The man to the right is Jack Connor, octogenarian boxing manager and one of the five honored as inductees in the Tacoma-Pierce County Hall of Fame. Present during the February 6, 1963, awards banquet were Governor Albert D. Rosellini (seated with head bowed next to trophy), baseball star Maury Wills, Ben Cheney and William Gazecki, president of the Tacoma Athletic Commission. Comedian Joe E. Brown, principal speaker, is seated on the right side of the head table. (TNT 2-7-63, C-7)

Tacoma Athletic Commission (Tacoma); Awards; Washington State Sports Hall of Fame (Tacoma); Rosellini, Albert D.; Wills, Maury; Cheney, Ben B., 1905-1971; Gazecki, William; Connor, Jack;

Guest Maury Wills poses next to lumber magnate Ben Cheney (L) during the Tacoma Athletic Commission's Washington State Sports Hall of Fame awards gathering on February 6, 1963. Wills, a shortstop with the L.A. Dodgers, had broken Ty Cobb's record of 97 stolen bases in one season, with a grand total of 104, in 1962. He would be a major force in his fourteen years with the Dodgers, helping them to three World Series. Wills was named the 1962 Athlete of the Year by Associated Press sportswriters and would also be honored as the Washington State Athlete of the Year that evening. During the off-season, Wills made his home in Spokane. (TNT 2-3-63, B-7)

Tacoma Athletic Commission (Tacoma); Awards; Washington State Sports Hall of Fame (Tacoma); Wills, Maury; Baseball players--Tacoma--1960-1970; Cheney, Ben B., 1905-1971;

Ben and Marian Cheney smile broadly as they pose with guest Andy Gilbert (left) at the 1963 Washington State Sports Hall of Fame banquet sponsored by the Tacoma Athletic Commission on February 6, 1963. Also at the top of the stairs on the upper right is Tacoma Athletic Commission president William (Bill) Gazecki. Mr. Cheney was a well known sports fan whose generosity allowed thousands of Tacoma youngsters to participate in organized sports. He was instrumental in bringing the Tacoma Giants Pacific Coast League baseball team to Tacoma to play in Cheney Stadium. Mr. Gilbert was the newly named manager of the Tacoma Giants. His pro career spanned twelve years as he performed at every position other than catcher. In his rookie season in the Ohio State League, Mr. Gilbert broke his neck sliding head-first into second base. Undeterred, he returned to baseball the following year. (TNT 2-4-63, p. 14-article) (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Tacoma Athletic Commission (Tacoma); Awards; Washington State Sports Hall of Fame (Tacoma); Cheney, Ben B., 1905-1971; Cheney, Marian; Gilbert, Andy; Gazecki, William;

The eight-member Cheney Studs Courteers basketball team was photographed in November of 1962 in the Wilson High School gym, with coach Gene Anderson, a Cheney Lumber Co. executive, at left. The members of the Courteers were junior high students who provided half-time entertainment at various college, AAU and high school games. These youngsters showcased their ball handling and dribbling skills in exhibition numbers set to lively rock 'n roll. Kneeling at extreme left are Wayne Hoff of Mason Jr. High with Rob Norwood at his side. Tom (Hummingbird) Mack of McCarver is in the center of the second row. Ben Cheney continued his generosity in sponsoring youth sports teams, not only in his favorite pastime, baseball, but also in football and basketball. Tacoma's traveling goodwill ambassadors would perform in December, 1962, for audiences at the San Francisco Cow Palace and also in Los Angeles. Ordered by Cheney Lumber Co. (TNT 2-4-62, A-8, TNT 12-16-62, C-19) TPL-9880 (Additional i.d.provided by a reader)

Basketball--Tacoma--1960-1970; Basketball players--Tacoma--1960-1970; Uniforms; Hoff, Wayne; Mack, Tom; Norwood, Rob; Anderson, Gene;

An exuberant Wayne Hoff of Mason Junior High shows off his basketball skills by twirling his ball in this November, 1962, photograph. He was a member of the Cheney Studs Courteers, one of the many youth groups sponsored by Ben Cheney. Each team member, in whatever sport, seemed to be well equipped with proper safety equipment and stylish uniforms. The Courteers were especially selected to provide half-time entertainment at high schools, AAU and college basketball games. Their 9.5 minute act showcased coordinated ball handling and dribbling set to rock n' roll tunes. Photograph ordered by Cheney Lumber Co. (TNT 2-4-62, A-8)

Basketball--Tacoma--1960-1970; Basketball players--Tacoma--1960-1970; Balls (Sporting goods); Hoff, Wayne;

The Cheney Studs "Rookie" team spent part of a Sunday afternoon posing for their group picture in October, 1962, at Jefferson Field. All boys were properly dressed in uniforms and padding with helmets laid neatly in front of them. The Studs, one of the many youth sports teams sponsored by lumberman Ben Cheney, had the Studs logo of a horse on both their jerseys and helmets. The two non-uniformed individuals are probably the team's coaches. The "Rookie" League Studs would wallop the SEBC Cards that day 47-0. Photograph ordered by Cheney Lumber Co.

Football players--Tacoma--1960-1970; Football--Tacoma--1960-1970; Uniforms; Helmets;

Lee Croft offered a little friendly advice on pins to his womens' bowling team and apparently it paid off. In January of 1943, his team was the first half title winning womens' team in the Eagle League and was on its way to a second half crown. Pictured, left to right, are Mr. Croft, Ellen McGowan, Zona Wild, Helen Dailey, Gladys Murdock and Norma Matineau. (T. Times 1/27/1943, pg. 12)

Bowlers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Coliseum Bowling Alley (Tacoma); Croft, Lee;

College of Puget Sound 1942 football squad and coach Leo Frank (T. Times)

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma; Universities & colleges--Tacoma; College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1940-1950;

Unidentified 1942 Bellarmine High School football player.

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma; Private schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Students--Tacoma; Bellarmine High School (Tacoma)--Sports;

Bellarmine High School 1942 Football Squad. Thirty-one players, manager and coach Gordon Toner on field, school building in background. The first grid game was against the newly confident Lincoln High School on September 25, 1942. The Belles were defeated by the Abes 14-0. Pictured are, front row, left to right: Al Buhr, Jerry Knelleken, Louis Renner, LaVerne Mantineau, Jerry Barry, Joe Ferry, Harvey Collins, Tom Comantos and Pete Stefonie. Middle row- Jack Kelly, Frank Taylor, Ray Sullivan, Al Gallwas, Phil Brown, Bud Barnes, Ken Ruffo, Jim Burkehouse, Jack Hermson and Larry Donohue. Back row- John Kelly, Dick Carbone, Ed Oswald, Gene Mack, Cliff Schiesz, Jim O'Brien, Dean Biggs, Claude Knecht, Larry Rask, Dick Simpson, Jim Farrell, Al Fairhurst, Gordon Toner (Coach.)

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma; Private schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Students--Tacoma; Bellarmine High School (Tacoma)--Sports;

Pacific Lutheran College football team, players and coaches. Unidentified coach is believed to be Philip G. Strombo, who succeeded Cliff Olsen as the new director of athletics at PLC in the fall of 1942. Strombo, at 41, was a former North Dakota University player and had coached in North Dakota and Oregon.

Football players--Parkland; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Parkland--1940-1950; Football--Parkland--1940-1950;

Pacific Lutheran football team, players and coaches. Unidentified coach is believed to be football coach Baron Barofsky.

Football players--Parkland; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Parkland--1940-1950; Football--Parkland--1940-1950;

Pacific Lutheran College football team. The team and their coach, Baron Barofsky, were pursuing their 4th straight Washington State Intercollegiate (WINKO) title. (T. Times)

Football players--Parkland; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Parkland--1940-1950; Football--Parkland--1940-1950;

Ster Harshman, quarterback for the 1942 Pacific Lutheran football team. Ster Harshman was the younger brother of Washington coaching legend Marv Harshman. (T. Times 10/16/1942, pg. 14)

Football players--Parkland; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Parkland--1940-1950; Football--Parkland--1940-1950; Harshman, Ster;

Unidentified player on the Pacific Lutheran Football team.

Football players--Parkland; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Parkland--1940-1950; Football--Parkland--1940-1950;

On April 25, 1962, three members of the Tacoma Ad Club appear to deeply ponder golf strategy as they prepare for the upcoming golf tournament at Allenmore Golf Course. One man has his putter on hand but the distance to the hole is not shown. Photograph ordered by the Tacoma Ad Club.

Golf--Tacoma--1960-1970; Golfers--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Ad Club (Tacoma);

In September of 1942, five members of the Lincoln Abes varsity eleven pose in the the unfinished Lincoln Bowl prior to their opening prep grid game against Stadium High School. After the game on September 18th, the team was all smiles. They battled the Tigers to a scoreless tie, their first non loss in the annual game since 1931. Pictured are, standing left to right, Ed Bemis, LeRoy Turnbull and an unidentified player. Kneeling, Ingwald Thompson and Gordon Brunswick. The team finished the season by winning the City Championship for the first time in nine years. (T. Times 9/21/1942, pg. 11-article)

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Athletic fields--Tacoma; Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lincoln High School (Tacoma); Turnbull, LeRoy; Bemis, Ed; Thompson, Ingwald; Brunswick, Gordon;

In September of 1942, Lincoln High School football coach Eddie Schwarz had a large turn out for the eleven positions on his varsity team. A former grid star himself at Lincoln and the College of Puget Sound, Schwarz had formerly served as coach at Stadium before being transferred to Lincoln in 1935. He retired at the end of the 1940 season but was called back into service at Lincoln in 1942 after his successor Dan Lazare was drafted. The team opened their season at the annual "King's X" game against their perennial rival Stadium High School. The game was held September 18th at the Stadium Bowl where Lincoln battled the Tigers to a scoreless tie and opened their season without a loss for the first time since 1931. They completed the season by winning their first city title since 1933. (T.Times 9/16/1942, pg. 14)

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Athletic fields--Tacoma; Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lincoln High School (Tacoma); Schwarz, Ed;

Two Stadium High School football players in Stadium Bowl. The player on the left is Bob Gibson, "all around backfield man" and sometimes quarterback. The player on the right has been identified as Jack MacDonald, Class of 1943. Bob Gibson, "Hoot" according to the 1943 yearbook, majored in science, Latin and English. He played baseball and football and was active in band. (T. Times) (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Football--Tacoma--1940-1950; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Gibson, Bob; MacDonald, Jack; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stadium High School (Tacoma); Stadium Bowl (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Stadium High School football coach Johnny Heinrick had 60 boys turn out to fill 11 varsity positions in September of 1942. Coach Heinrick was optimistic, despite having lost all but 4 of his 1941 letterman to graduation and enlistment. His players in general would be a year younger and 7-8 pounds lighter than the previous year.The team would face their arch rival, the Lincoln Abes, in the September 18, 1942 "King's X" game, held this year at 3:30p.m. in the afternoon due to mandatory dim outs. (T. Times 9/16/1942, pg. 14)

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Athletic fields--Tacoma; Stadium High School (Tacoma); Stadium Bowl (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Heinrick, John;

This photograph of a quartet of Stadium Seniors ran in the Tacoma Times the day before Stadium's pivotal Cross State League game on November 11, 1942 against the Everett Seagulls. Left to right are Cecil Stone, Co-captain Joe Boyle, Chuck Fain and Co-captain Paul Jacobsen. Coach Heinrick said only of his team "We're set" and he proved to be a prophet. Stadium defeated the favored Gulls 7-0, handing Everett their first Cross State League play loss since 1938. (T. Times 11/10/1942, pg. 4)

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Athletic fields--Tacoma; Stadium High School (Tacoma); Stadium Bowl (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Ron Aubry (left) and Robert Collins were teammates on the Stadium High School football team in 1942. They were photographed at Stadium Bowl in September of 1942. Both boys were members of the Stadium Class of 1944. (Additional identification provided by a reader) TPL-10450

Football--Tacoma--1940-1950; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aubry, Ron; Collins, Robert; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stadium High School (Tacoma); Stadium Bowl (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Unidentified player with the Western State Hospital "Tillicum Chiefs."

Baseball players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Western State Hospital (Lakewood)--baseball players;

The Western State Hospital "Tillicum Chiefs" of the Twilight League had won 23 games in the 1942 summer season and were in the playoffs for the circuit title. Manager Clink Jacobs (left) gives some tips to his players.

Baseball players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Western State Hospital (Lakewood)--Baseball players;

In August of 1942, the "Tillicum Chiefs" of Western State Hospital, who played in the Twilight League, had won 23 games and were in the playoffs for the circuit title. Much of the credit went to their pitcher Dick Smith who returned to Santa Clara University before the final playoff games. Pictured in the back row, left to right, Clink Jacobs (mgr.), Dick Smith, Fred Hebert, unidentified patient who served as mascot, Howard Johnson, Phil Jacobs and Garry Robinson (business mgr.) Front row, left to right, Bus Mitchell, Lorny Merkle, Johnny Ward, Dewey West and Bob Huegel. Chuck Rasmussen, Bud Clausen and Red Little were absent. (T. Times 9/4/1942, pg. 12)

Baseball players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Western State Hospital (Lakewood)--baseball players;

Past and possible future baseball stars stare into the August, 1961, night. The little boy, lying down on the grass, is believed to be Bucky O'Brien, the ballboy for the Cheney Studs, a team sponsored by local lumberman and philanthropist, Ben Cheney. Both he and his older counterpart, believed to be his father Eddie O'Brien, former major leaguer, Seattle University basketball star, and current Studs coach, are wearing striped uniforms decorated with the Studs logo. The Seattle Studs, defending regional and national champs, would attempt to win the Pacific Coast Regional AABC Amateur Baseball tournament held at Cheney Stadium in early September, 1961. They would, however, not be able to defend their title as the team lost to Portland, 2-0; Portland advanced to the national finals at Battle Creek, Michigan. Photograph ordered by Cheney Lumber Co. (TNT 9-1-61, D-3)

Baseball--Tacoma--1960-1970; Baseball players--Tacoma--1960-1970; Uniforms;

Publicity for Renton 7-Up Ball Club. Close-up portrait of unidentified baseball player taken outdoors on July 23, 1942.

Baseball players--Renton; Uniforms;

Publicity for Renton 7-Up Ball Club. Portrait of unidentified player in uniform taken on July 23, 1942. For another view of the same player, see D13162, image 1.

Baseball players--Renton; Uniforms;

Publicity for Renton 7-Up Ball Club. Full length portrait of unidentified baseball player preparing to pitch; photograph taken on July 23, 1942. Background is possibly Tacoma's industrial Tideflats.

Baseball players--Renton; Uniforms;