Facts from the past

Facts from the past
Ten facts all Husky fans should know about
By: Malamute, 25 February 2003

From 1975 to the present day, most Husky fans are conversant with Husky football history. Some fans believe that Washington’s successes on the gridiron started with Don James--which isn’t true. Here are ten facts from the past that every Husky fan should know about--and be proud of.

Hugh McElhenny’s touchdown run against Minnesota.

Clad in purple-and-gold storm gear, Hurricane Hugh raced the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown against the Golden Gophers at Minneapolis in the second game of the 1949 Husky season. His lightening gallop--a seminal run in modern-day Husky history--shocked the partisan crowd, electrified Husky fans and etched “SEATTLE” boldly onto the map.

Hugh McElhenny’s 100-yard-punt return against USC
"I'll never forget that game," said Frank Gifford of the 1951 USC-Washington clash in Seattle. "I wasn't our regular kicker, but I did the punting when we got to midfield because supposedly I was more accurate at getting the ball down to the corner. Well, in this game, I got the ball down in the corner all right and The King took it there, right on the goal line. He started down the sideline and all of a sudden there was only one man -- me -- between him and the goal line. He left me flat on my face and ran it 100 yards for a touchdown! It was like a touchdown run out of a cornball movie...only it was real." [gohuskies.com].

Gil Dobie’s record at Washington (1908-1916)
Gil Dobie, in his nine years at Washington, never lost a game. He is the founder and father of Husky fever. His team beat Cal on November 6, 1915, when the "fight" song was first played. In 1916, his team won the first ever Pacific Coast Conference championship. In addition to his membership in the Husky Football Hall of Fame, he is a member of the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame. Gil Dobie talked the talk and walked the walk. Gil Dobie was…just plain Gil Dobie. There's no way to sugarcoat him.. Oh, yes, I almost forgot. During his nine-year stint as a "Sun Dodger," his record at Washington has never been matched or surpassed by any other coach in college football history--58-0-3. His record of 38 wins without a loss or tie is the second best in college football.
About half of the teams Dobie coached against would be called Division I-A football caliber teams today. For example, Dobie's teams played Colorado, Washington State, Oregon State, California, Idaho and Oregon. The Bremerton Bombers doesn't count as Division I-A football team, but neither do Alma, the Christian Brothers, Ohio Northern, Rose Hulman, North Division High, American Medical, Bennett Medical, and Kalamazoo, all teams Notre Dame played against in that era.
Many of Dobie's games were played on treacherous, muddy fields and/or played under inclement weather conditions, all of which makes his record even more remarkable when you consider that such factors are an evener in football. Put in perspective, Oregon State beat USC 3-0 in 1967, handing the Trojans its only loss of the season. The game was played on a muddy field, during a gully washer at Corvallis.

As Husky fans, we are proud of Gil Dobie, the eternal pessimist; his achievements are legendary.
The Dobie Bunk Play
The Dobie-Bunk Play, which was inserted for the Oregon game in 1911, is one of the most famous of the X’s and O’s ever devised at Washington. Washington won the game 29-3. Sometime later, the play was declared illegal. The following is taken from writer Mike Archbold’s, “A Ghost of Dobie.”

“’But since you're so interested,’ Dobie continued, ‘there really isn't that much to it. The quarterback is lined up behind the center, real low-like, see? His head is almost touching the center's back. That way the 'backers aren't as wise to what's going on, see? They think it's just another run up the gut, maybe even a sneak. The center 'hikes' the ball straight into his own gut. After the center hikes the ball to himself, the two guards to either side of the center take a dive, and the center sort of settles on top of them, real subtle-like, trying to make it look like a muffed play, but the center's knees don't touch the ground, so he's not down, see? It's still a live play.’"

"’Now the real act starts,’ Dobie continued. ‘Our quarterback, Wee Coyle, pulls of his leather helmet real quick-like and makes like it's the football, and tears off around the end, along with all our players blocking for our 'runner' Coyle, except our end, who is lingering near our center. The whole Oregon team--those dopes--run like the dickens after Coyle and his helmet! After counting to three, the center laterals the ball off to our end, patiently waiting, who leisurely runs in the opposite direction for a Washington score.’”

The 1960 Rose Bowl game

Up until the 1960 Rose Bowl, the old Pacific Coast Conference/AAWU had lost 12 of 13 games to the Big Ten. On January 1, 1960, Jim Owens’ Husky team beat Wisconsin, 44-8, ending 13-years of mostly frustrating football for the PCC/AWWU and Washington Huskies. Bob Schloredt, the one-eyed quarterback from Gresham, Oregon quarterbacked the Huskies

The “Death March”
This is a term coined by a local sportswriter for the intense conditioning program that started at Washington in 1957 under Jim Owens and Tom Tipps. Both of them were assistant coaches under Bear Bryant, when he coached at Texas A&M from 1954 until 1957. Owens led the assistant coaches at Junction, Texas, when Bryant worked his "Junction Boys" for 10 straight days in unseasonable heat, with daytime temperatures approaching 114 degrees.

Bryant needed to find out who really wanted to play football for Texas A&M. In the summer of 1954 at Junction, he started out with 111 men and, ten days later, returned with 35 survivors; among the survivors were Jack Pardee and Gene Stallings.

The conditioning program at Washington consisted of 80-yard gassers, punt return drills, and 15-yard wind sprints (Owens participating), which took place up and down the length of the field. Only the fittest survived and, during the period running from 1957 until 1965 when one-platoon football was in effect, Owens’ Huskies fourth-quartered their opponents, posting a 55-34-4 record.

Retired numbers
Only three Husky footballers have had their numbers retired. They are Chuck Carroll (#2, 1927, 1928), George Wilson (#33, 1923-25), and Roland Kirkby (#44, 1948-50).

Huskies in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Only two Husky players have been inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Arnie Weinmeister (6-4, 235, DT) and Hugh McElhenny (6-1, 190, RB)

Weinmeister played for the New York Yankees (1948, AAFC), the Brooklyn-New York Yankees (1949, AAFC) and the New York Giants (1950-1954).

Weinmeister was all-AFFC in 1949 and All-NFL in 1950-1953. He was named to four Pro Bowls.

McElhenny (12/31/28…) earned second team UPI All-Coast honors (third team AP) as a sophomore, then first team UPI and AP All-Coast honors as a junior and senior. By the time he ended his record-breaking career in 1951, McElhenny was a unanimous All-America pick.

The King is a member of the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 1970), the College Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 1982) and the Washington Hall of Fame (inaugural group in 1979). He was also selected to the Washington Centennial team in 1990.

He played for the San Francisco 49ers (1952-1960). The first time the King touched the ball for the 49ers, he ran it back for 40 yards and a touchdown. He played for the Minnesota Vikings (1961-1962) and the New York Giants (1963). He gained 11,375 yards in his 13-year Pro career. He was named to six Pro Bowls.

Enoch Bagshaw coached the Huskies in its first two Rose Bowls.

In the 1923 season, Bagshaw (1921-1929, 63-22-6) coached the Huskies in its first ever Rose Bowl game, a tie with Navy, 14-14. In 1925, the Huskies lost to Alabama in the Rose Bowl, 20-19. Because of the legendary George Wilson, a two-time All American who played for Bagshaw, the UW received its first national recognition.

Bagshaw's win percentage, 74%, is the second best in Husky history (30 or more games). Dobie, Bagshaw and James (73%) are the top three in that category.

Jim Phelan coached the Huskies to its first back-to-back bowls
Under Jim Phelan (1930-1941, 65-37-8), the Huskies lost to Pittsburgh, 21-0, in the 1937 Rose Bowl and beat Hawaii, 53-13, in the 1938 Pineapple Bowl. "Whisky Jim" and "Baggy," as they were called, are two of the Huskies most successful coaches. Ironically, Phelan, who was fired at Washington, coached Saint Mary's to a win over his old team in 1946, 24-20. The Gaels were led by the Hawaiian Centipede, Herman "The Squirmin'" Wedemeyer, a story and legend unto himself.