Fullback for the 1939 Bellarmine football team, Ray O'Leary is frozen in a classic football pose.

Football--Tacoma; Football players--Tacoma--1930-1940; Private schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940; Bellarmine High School (Tacoma)--Sports; O'Leary, Ray;

Stadium High School football. Young man with number 87 on sweatshirt holds bundle of football helmets as he poses for portrait with his foot on a metal wheelbarrow and his hand on a shovel.

Stadium High School (Tacoma)--Sports; Football players--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Wes Hudson, co-captain of the 1939 Stadium High School varsity football team, in action. Wes was beginning his third year as a regular on the Tiger team at the time of this September, 1939, photograph. He played quarterback and handled the punting. According to the Tacoma Times, prior to the start of his senior year, he had never played on a losing team and he had never carried the ball. He was strictly a blocker, clearing the way for the other back field men, and highly regarded as such by coach John Heinrick. His undefeated record would change in the 1939 season as the team lost the Cross-State League trophy to Everett, coached by former College of Puget Sound coach Roy Sandberg, but defended their city crown for the sixth consecutive year. He also carried the ball successfully in the latter part of the season. Wes Hudson was also a standout in varsity basketball and track. He was inducted into the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame in 1971. (T. Times 9/16/1939 pg. 7; 1939 & 1940 Stadium yearbook, the "Tahoma") TPL-8707

Stadium High School (Tacoma)--Sports; Football players--Tacoma--1930-1940; Hudson, Wes;

No, it's not the Rockettes, it's Coach John Heinrick and his 1939 Stadium High School football team during a practice session. Coach Heinrick, in his fourth year of coaching, was riding the crest of two undefeated seasons with the Tigers. 1939 was not a record year however, as the Blue and Gold suffered its first defeat in 23 games. Having put the pressure of continuing the undefeated tradition behind them, they fought back to win the city crown for the 6th consecutive year. The Tacoma Times lauded their courage and stamina in the face of defeat and voted the entire team onto their high school football honor roll. Team members, left to right, are Vern Miller, Rod Giske, Roy Murphy, Jack Wilson, Austin Fengler, Wes Hudson, Marion Klarich, Dick Beckman, Chuck Horjes, Bill Gustafson and Fred Angus. (T. Times 10/30/1939, pg. 11) TPL-9195

Heinrick, John; Stadium High School (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Football--Tacoma--1930-1940; Football players--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Unidentified player #70 of the Stadium High School varsity football team. During the season, the #70 jersey was worn by left tackle Bill Gustafson. The Tigers, undefeated the previous two years, would suffer some setbacks but still manage to retain their city title.

Football--Tacoma--1930-1940; Football players--Tacoma--1930-1940; Stadium High School (Tacoma)--1930-1940;

Unidentified player #62 of the Stadium High School varsity football team. During the season, #62 was worn by player Dick Hiltbrunn.

Football--Tacoma--1930-1940; Football players--Tacoma--1930-1940; Stadium High School (Tacoma)--1930-1940;

Unidentified player #66 of the Stadium High School varsity football team. During the season, #66 was worn by Stadium's crack ball toter Marion (Johnny) Klarich. Playing left tackle, Klarich was one of the stars of the team. At the end of the season, he was also placed on the first-string All Cross-State eleven.

Football--Tacoma--1930-1940; Football players--Tacoma--1930-1940; Stadium High School (Tacoma)--1930-1940;

Coach Al Dahlberg and young boy with three Puyallup High School football players. The 1939 Puyallup Vikings were the Puget Sound League Champions.

Puyallup High School (Puyallup); Football players--Puyallup; Dahlberg, Al;

ca. 1939. Coach and three Orting High School football players standing near brick school building.

Orting High School (Orting); Football players--Orting;

ca. 1939. Football Jamboree. Group of eight football players draw numbers from hats held by man standing behind a microphone in this night time scene. Ordered by Harold Shaw.

Football players--1930-1940;

ca. 1939. Gig Harbor High School 1939 football team. Front row, left to right, George Gilreath, John Swenson, John Peterson, Donald Ribbe, Coach Husby, Elmer Skahan, Roland Spadoni, Melvin Johnson, Jack Finnigan and Donald Reed. Second row, l to r, Christian Wally (manager), Bill Wight, Marvin McCartney, Bert Perry, bill Parrish, Robert Ryan, Donald Sehmel, James Russo, Jack Wagner, Bill Hayes, Douglas Stremme, Glen Perkins and Edgar Best. Third row, l to r, Frank Foutch, Francis Hahn, Ray Edwards, John Bowman, Warren Watson, Harry Reed, Charles Parkman, Preston Challender, Howard Reed, Roland Adolphson and Richard Brown. The team, coached by Einar Husby, had a respectable season, finishing with 3 wins, 2 ties and 1 loss to the stronger Vashon Pirates. (T. Times 11/2/1939, pg. 26)

Football players--Gig Harbor; Gig Harbor High School (Gig Harbor);

ca. 1939. Five Poulsbo High School players catch five footballs thrown simultaneously in practice in 1939. Goal post and buildings in the distance. The Poulsbo Vikings were the North Kitsap District Class B Champions and had been undefeated since early in 1937. However, they lost the 1939 state Championship to the smaller and quicker Fife Trojans, 7-0. Photograph ordered by Harold Shaw.

Poulsbo Hight School (Poulsbo); Football players--Poulsbo;

ca. 1939. Group portrait of Fife High School football team, the Trojans. Coach Bill Vinson at far right rear. Player number 10 is Frank Spear, cited by the Tacoma Times as a player of the week. Half of the team is made up of Japanese-American players. Fife was having a very successful year, winning 9 straight games on their way to becoming the Pierce County B League Champions. They continued on to defeat the favored Poulsbo Vikings 7-0 to become the State Champions. Although the Trojan linemen were much outweighed, in one case by over 40 pounds; they were faster and more agile than their opponents. (T. Times 11/16/1939, pg. 19; 11/18/1939, pg. 13)

Fife High School (Fife); Vinson, Bill; Spear, Frank; Football players--Fife;

ca. 1939. Group portrait of Fife High School football team, the Trojans. Coach Bill Vinson at far right rear. Player number 10 identified as Frank Spear. Approximately half of the team is made up of Japanese Americans. The 1939 Trojans were the State Class B Football Champions. They were also the state's highest scoring team; finishing the season with 328 points and a ten game unbeaten streak. (T.Times 11/16/39, pg. 19; 11/18/39, pg. 13)

Fife High School (Fife); Vinson, Bill; Spear, Frank; Football players--Fife;

State Champion Fife High School Trojans tumble to the ground in a heap in this November 1939 portrait. The victorious Trojans won the State Class B Football Championship with a 7-0 victory over the favored Poulsbo Vikings. At the top of the pyramid is Pete Mello. Directly below are Pete Cereghino, Frank Spear and Milton Iida. 3rd Row: Seiichi Yamada, Bob Vinson and Frank Evancich. 4th Row: Kenji Yaguchi, Masaru Tamura, Yohei Sagami and Joe Trucco. Bottom row: Howard Bryan, Willie Haminishi, Tom Pruett and Ben Holdner. The Trojans, under the direction of Coach Bill Vinson, had a 10 game unbeaten season, and were the state's highest scoring team, scoring 328 points to their opponents' 19. Although much of the team was small and outweighed by their opponents, they were fast and agile. (T. Times 11/16/1939, pg. 19; 11/18/1939, pg. 13)

Fife High School (Fife); Spear, Frank; Football players--Fife;

Group portrait of Puyallup High School Vikings and coach Al Dahlberg in Viking Field in November of 1939. For the 3rd time in 5 years, the 1939 Vikings won the Puget Sound Conference Title. The strength of the team rested mainly in the line, where four players, nicknamed the "Four Mules," wreaked havoc on the other teams. Coach Dahlberg appears to be pointing out to the rest of the regulars how the four mules operate. Pictured are, front row, left to right: Ralph Calligan, Ray Elliott, Ray Adams, Jack Kelley, Jack Durga, Fred Strankmann and Chet Rees. Back row, left to right: Lind Simonsen, Francis Marcoe, Ned Jordan, Walt Parks, Buck Buchanan, Eddie Myers (team captain and quarterback), Coach Dahlberg, Wayne Snider, Gail Bruce, Bob Cochran and Walter Burr. The team finished the season with 8 wins, 1 tie and 1 loss. Coach Dahlberg and his two brothers, Jiggs and Harry, were all high school coaches. (T. Times 11/21/1939, pg. 13)

Puyallup High School (Puyallup); Football players--Puyallup; Dahlberg, Al;

ca. 1939. College of Puget Sound assistant football coach, Lou Grant. Grant also served as the head coach of the varsity basketball squad. The 1939 CPS football team finished near the bottom of the barrel of their division, but the basketball team finished at the top. (1940 CPS yearbook "The Tamanawas.")

College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Football--Tacoma--1930-1940; Grant, Lou; Coaches (Athletics)--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1939. Pacific Lutheran College football coach Clifford O. Olson. After the completion of the football season, Tacoma honored Olson by unanimously voting him Sportsman of the Year. The 1939 team finished with admirable record of 7 victories and 1 loss. They were co-champions of the new Washington Intercollegiate Conference and the Associated Press poll named them the Northwest's outstanding small college team. (1940 PLC yearbook "Saga")

Olson, Clifford; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1930-1940; Football--Parkland--1930-1940;

ca. 1939. College of Puget Sound head football coach in 1939, Leo Frank. The Loggers had a disappointing season in 1939, finishing with 1 win and 3 losses. (1940 CPS yearbook "Tamanawas.")

Frank, Leo; College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Football--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Morley Barnard (left) and Bill Anderson (right) of the Griffin Fuel Company hockey team warm up for their game against the team fielded by Cammaranos. On Wednesday November 15, 1939 the Griffin Fuel hockey team set a new league record at the Lakewood Ice Arena when they defeated the Cammaranos 19 to 16. In 1938, the Oakes Pavilion at 7310 Steilacoom Blvd. was converted into the Lakewood Ice Arena. The Ice Arena was torn down after its roof collapsed in October 1982.

Ice hockey--Lakewood--1930-1940; Lakewood Ice Arena (Lakewood); Ice hockey players--Lakewood;

In June of 1955, while a member of the Washington Cheney Studs, Luther Carr demonstrated his bunting technique for the camera. Luther Carr played for Lincoln High School and had aroused the interest of several major colleges and professional teams. He played baseball, football, basketball and competed in track. An all around athlete, Carr in May of 1955 broke the state prep broadjump record that had stood since 1938. His jump was 23 feet, 9 5/8 inches. Carr turned down many professional sports offers after high school, choosing instead a college sports scholarship with the University of Washington Huskies. While a Husky, Luther scored on some of the most dazzling runs ever seen in Husky Stadium. The Studs, an amateur team made up of the most talented baseball players in the Puget Sound area, played 60 games during the summer of 1955 including several against professional players. (TNT 5/1/1955, pg. B-14)

Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseballs; African American baseball players; Carr, Luther; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma);

Two Stadium High School yell leaders and twelve Lincoln High School majorettes pose below the Stadium Bowl's football-shaped scoreboard. Despite being on the losing end of the Thanksgiving Day game between Stadium and Lincoln, the Lincoln students sport brave smiles. The game was held on Thursday, November 23, 1939. A crowd of 12,000 to 15,000 spectators watched as the Stadium Bengals beat the Abes for the sixth year in a row. Stadium would retain the city crown although it did not win the Cross-State League trophy. Standing between the two unidentified Stadium cheerleaders is Josephine Ludwig of Lincoln. The other Lincoln students are, L-R, Myrtle Gordon, Betty Yenne, Ann Scopoli, Bernice Berhartsen, Doris Long, Virginia Griffin, Helen Sandquist, Beverly Steele, Lois Ammon, Dorothy Warter and Evelyn Lannigan. (T. Times 11-24-1939 p.11)

Drum majorettes--Tacoma--1930-1940; Cheerleading--Tacoma--1930-1940; Scoreboards-- Tacoma--1930-1940; Stadium High School (Tacoma); Football--Tacoma--1930-1940

The concrete bleachers at Stadium Bowl are empty of people but untidy with scattered litter, probably programs or newspapers, after the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between Stadium and Lincoln High School in 1939. The State Historical Museum building is in the background.

Stadium Bowl (Tacoma); Bleachers--Tacoma; Refuse--Tacoma; Football--Tacoma--1930-1940; Washington State Historical Building (Tacoma);

College of Puget Sound Basketball team. Referee going over rules of game with team members. (T. Times)

Basketball players--Tacoma; Basketball--Tacoma; Sports & recreation facilities--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma; Universities & colleges--Tacoma; College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1930-1940;

George Kritsonis; young baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college talent in the Seattle-Tacoma area. George was one of the pitchers for the team and attended Seattle University. He also played outfield for the Studs. He was 18 years old during the season, 6'1" tall and 160 pounds and was a native of Issaquah, Wa. George was voted "Most Valuable Player" of the Northwest series of the American Baseball Congress at Watertown, S.D. The Studs defeated Omaha 12-3 to clinch the Northwest title.

Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Kritsonis, George; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma); Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A young baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college talent in the Seattle-Tacoma area. This is possibly Fred Emerson, outfielder, for the Studs and student at the University of Washington. Emerson was 18 years of age, 5'11", 180 pounds and originally from Kent, Wa. The Studs finished second in 1955 at the nationals of the American Baseball Congress. They were scouted heavily by the professional teams. Those scouts felt that the team was the best behaved, quietest and had the most major league prospects of any team in the playoffs. Ben Cheney emphasized that the young men on his team finish college before turning professional to better prepare them for life.

Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma);

Unidentified young baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college talent in the Seattle-Tacoma area. The Studs began the season by playing exhibition games against professional farm teams and also the amateur city league. They ended the season by finishing second in the nation, behind Houston, at the nationals of the American Baseball Congress.

Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma);

Ron Dodge; baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college players in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Ron Dodge was one of the catchers for the 1955 team. He was 19 years of age, 6 feet tall and 170 pounds. During the school year he attended the University of Oregon. He was a native of Olympia, Washington. The 1955 Studs team placed second in the nation at the 1955 nationals of the American Baseball Congress from an initial field of 2,500 teams.

Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma); Dodge, Ron;

Young baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team, possibly Dick Minice. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college talent in the Seattle-Tacoma area. The average age of the team in 1955 was 19 years of age. The Studs finished second nationally in the American Baseball Congress from an original field of 2,500 teams across the country. They qualified for the nationals by winning the Cascade League flag with 16 wins and no losses, the state tournament in 4 straight wins and a 5 game sweep at the Northwest series. They lost at nationals to Houston, Texas, who won for the second year in a row.

Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma); Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A young baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college talent in the Seattle-Tacoma area. This is possibly Fred Emerson who played outfield for the Studs. During the school year, Fred attended the University of Washington. He was 18 years of age, 5'11", 180 pounds and a native of Kent, Wa. After a stellar winning season, the Studs finished second at the American Baseball Congress in Battle Creek, Michigan, behind the team from Houston, Texas.

Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma);