Reflections compiled and edited by Marc Blau
Perusing the Turkey Day football programs available in the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Museum archives reveals colorful descriptions of those early games and a constant evolution of the Lincoln and Stadium High nicknames. The first Thanksgiving Day football game was held in 1923. Lincoln, then known as the “Railhewers”, faced the Stadium “Toreadors.” Stadium won 14-7.
The game featured two players who would go on to more notable achievements. Lincoln’s Jimmy Mosolf went on to play parts of four seasons of Major League Baseball: 1929-31 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and 1933 with the Chicago Cubs. He also played parts of eight seasons in the minor leagues, most notable with the Kansas City Blues from 1932-34.
Playing right tackle for Stadium was junior Herman Brix who went on to play for the Huskies in the 1926 Rose Bowl Game against Alabama. Herman went on to earn a silver medal in the shot put in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games, played Tarzan in the ‘30s and enjoyed a successful film career as Bruce Bennett.
A 40-yard place kick by Rick Johnson won the 1924 game for the Lincoln “Axewielders” 3-0.
In fog so thick that spectators could not see the field, the “Stadions” won the ’25 game, 13-3. Stadium was again victorious in the ’26 game, 20-0 over the “Lynx” grid men.
Lincoln’s “Kak” Wasmund ran the entire length of the field in the closing seconds of play the following year to bring victory to the Southenders by a score of 14-7. The Northenders took the ’28 city championship by outscoring the Presidents 13-0. The 1929 game attracted the largest crowd in the history of the event up to that time, 10,000, to see an injury-ridden Lincoln team beat the Bengals, 13-7.
Stadium failed to make a conversion for an extra paint in the closing minutes of the ’30 game. The Abes gained the city crown for that year by a margin of one point, 7-6. The Lynx gridders of ’31, who had already captured the state championship, defeated the BengaIs 32-6.
A long pass in the closing minutes of the game the next year ended in another Abes victory, this time the tally was 12-6, and a tough fight for both teams in ’33 ended in a scoreless lie.
John Heinrick’s Stadium High proteges dominated the next seven Turkey Day games, allowing only 145 points from 1934-1940. This winning streak was broken in 1941 when the Railmen of Lincoln held the Tigers to a scoreless tie. In the 1935 Turkey Tilt, Stadium was led by halfback Carl Opolsky and Coach Vincent Keyes’ Abes were engineered by the running of fullback Jess Brooks, a multi-sport sensation at Lincoln and the College of Puget Sound before he earned a spot in the starting lineup for the famed Kansas City Monarchs baseball team of the Negro Leagues.
In ’42 the gridders of Coach Eddie Schwarz made a comeback by defeating Stadium 13-0. Twelve thousand fans were attracted to the Thanksgiving battle the following year in which both teams failed to score.
The Lincoln gridders of ’44 captured Cross-State and City crowns by defeating Stadium in the Turkey Day gigantic, 7-0. The mythical state champions were led by Bob McGuire, Len Kalapus, Dean Mellor, Al Malanca and Dick Weathermon. On the other side of the ball, key Tigers included Bill McGovern, Bill Kowalski, Tom Baker, Dick Brown, Orv Harrelson, Jim Crews, Steve Mondau, Stan Langlow and Earl Birnel.
Over the years a host of athletes got to experience the traditional Thanksgiving Day battle. Ask any of them about the game and, in most cases, they’ll readily share fond memories of a long-lost tradition that spanned 50 seasons.
My Recollection of Attending the annual Turkey Day Game
By Doug McArthur, Lincoln ‘45
In 1944 Tacoma celebrated two of the best high school football teams ever to perform locally. Both Lincoln and Stadium went through the regular season undefeated in the state’s top league of that time, the Cross State League. Stadium was unscored upon (131-0) and Lincoln had outscored its opponents 235-13. They met on Thanksgiving Day for the mythical state title. Earlier in the season Lincoln had squeaked by Stadium 6-0 in the championships quarter of the annual Grid-Go-Round (a non-counting jamboree) and they had battled to a 0-0 tie in their annual King’s-X game.
Pouring day-long rain greeted the two rivals in a “sea” of mud at Stadium Bowl but 15,000 fans looked on as Lincoln claimed a 7-0 victory and city and state supremacy. The Abe backfield of Al Malanca, Dean Mellor, Bobby McGuire and Len Kalapus (also known as the “three M’s and a K”, ran wild that season for Lincoln, operating Phil Sorboe’s t-formation to a “t”. The Abes beat Everett 20-0, Vancouver 35-0, Bremerton 46-0, Bellarmine 33-0, Kelso 39-0, Bellingham 24-7 and Seattle Prep 38-6. The elusive Bob McGuire, nicknamed “Twinkletoes” by the media, scored 16 touchdowns for the Abes, mostly on long runs. All four backs had pass completions and pass receptions during the season and all four scored in the first quarter of their game against Kelso.
The morning’s newspaper on Thanksgiving Day stated that the Lincoln’s Abes would try to extend their unbeaten season tonight. That season Lincoln and Stadium both had unbeaten seasons by Halloween, and they were the top two teams in the state according to the AP poll. They were headed for a Thanksgiving Day game destined to be one of the “all-time” prep football games ever played in our state. The scores of games that season were Stadium 21, Longview 0; Stadium 13, Bellingham 0; Stadium 28, Bellarmine 0; Stadium 19, Seattle Prep 0. Lincoln 20, Everett 0; Lincoln 35, Vancouver 0; Lincoln 46, Bremerton 0; Lincoln 33, Bellarmine 0; Lincoln 39, Kelso 0.
The football coaches in the 1944 Thanksgiving Day game were Phil Sorboe and John Heinrick. Sorboe, who played for Lincoln in the 1929 Turkey Day clash, lasted only one year as the Lincoln coach because WSU (then WSC) couldn’t resist claiming a Cougar alum who had played professionally and brought so much t-formation excitement to Tacoma. Sorboe hoped to take several Lincoln players with him to the Palouse but Uncle Sam drafted them instead. Of Lincoln’s Bobby McGuire, who scored 19 TDs that season, Sorboe called him the best high school player he had ever coached AND the best he’d ever seen.
John Heinrick was seldom called anything but “Coach”. You name the sport. He coached it. One of John’s greatest football teams was the 1944 Stadium Tigers who played Lincoln for the state championship. Going into Thanksgiving Day they were unbeaten and unscored upon. In ’46, his Stadium team was unbeaten and took both City and Cross State titles. By 1948 he was coaching at CPS (now UPS) and winning Evergreen Conference crowns right and left. He also coached basketball at CPS and the Loggers 48-41 victory over the University of Washington in the Tacoma Armory was one of Tacoma’s most meaningful games ever. Indeed he was some kind of coach!!!!!
One Stadium guy (Denton “Bud” Thomsen) and one Lincoln guy (Doug “the General” McArthur) ended-up covered with mud after the 1944 Thanksgiving Day extravaganza between Stadium and Lincoln. Neither was credited with a yard gained or an off-side penalty, so what happened? Here’s an odd happenstance in that ” Big Game” of Thanksgiving Day football.
Lincoln tackle Dick Weathermon wore #55 that day. So did Stadium tackle Orv Harrelson. Weathermon weighed 183. Harrelson almost the same. Both went on to college and earned doctorates – Weathermon in education and Harrelson in medicine. Weathermon became a Supt. of Schools. Harrelson a physician with Tacoma Public Schools. The year before, in 1943, Lincoln’s Harry Rice and Stadium’s Bill McGovern
were both tackles and their school’s student body Presidents. Incidentally, McGovern became the only player in history to play in the Thanksgiving Day game in November and in the Rose Bowl that January. The Navy made that possible by taking him out of Stadium to the U. of Washington.
As for the game….it was raining!!!!! Oh, how it rained! From 7 a.m. till long after the final gun, IT POURED! Lincoln’s Bobby McGuire played left half and threw right-handed, Dean Mellor played right half and passed left-handed. They threw to each other on the run and often. In the first quarter they tried a little trickery. Mellor tossed to McGuire in the flat, McGuire passed to left end Ernie Johnson downfield. Stadium’s Stan Langlow intercepted at the 49. In spite of the Lincoln win, the name of Langlow was mentioned a dozen times or more, making the tackle, breaking up the pass, etc. The Tigers drove to the Abe 21-yardline but came up short on 4th down.
My Recollection of Playing in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Jack Warnick, Stadium ‘49
Lots of memories of Stadium and football.
Brother Al and I went every year since we were in grade school to the Turkey Day game at Stadium. It was a big event and the best football available; there was no TV. High schools had the day to themselves. College games were always on Saturday and if there was a pro game, it wasn’t available or nobody was paying attention. I can’t vouch for the crowd size, but I would imagine it to be greater than 10,000.
In those years, due to availability, high school sports had much, much greater support from both the students and the community. At that time, we played in the City League with Bellarmine and Lincoln. Bellarmine was a small all-boy’s school. It featured Otto and Bobby Fink (then a freshman) as running backs and had Bill Payne at tackle. I believe Bill went on to play at Santa Clara. We opened the season with a King’s-X game against Lincoln and ended with the Thanksgiving Day game. We were two of the six teams in the Cross State League–the others were Bremerton, Seattle Prep, Everett and Bellingham.
Lincoln featured Art Viafore at quarterback, Ed Munt as running back, Glen Huffman as linebacker/offensive tackle and Ole Magnuson. Our co-captains were Bobby Hoskins and Greg Friberg. They both went to WSC and started for three years. Bob was our quarterback and Greg the center and linebacker. In high school there were limited substitution rules that changed in college. Bob was a defensive halfback and Greg was a middle linebacker.
We played both a single wing and T formation offense. Mostly T with a man in motion on occasion. Our defense varied from a 5-3-2-1 to a 6-2-2-1. The teams we played used both offenses, and once we played against a double wing. I can’t remember how/what we did against Bremerton with Don Heinrich, but I know we lost on Thanksgiving to Lincoln and Art Viafore, 6-0. The passing game and defenses have evolved substantially since my day.
John Heinrick’s last year at Stadium was 1946. I played sophomore ball with V.G. Lowman as my coach. Bob Levinson started as head coach in 1947, my first year on the team. I don’t recall any extra enthusiasm for the game by Levinson or his assistant coaches, Marv Scott and Jack Beer, but I think we were pretty pumped up by the game, student body enthusiasm and teammates.
I can’t remember the field conditions for those particular games. I do recall dry and pebbly conditions as well as wet and muddy days in the bowl, both in practice and in games. Climbing the hill from the bowl to the locker room after practice was worse. The grass fields we played on in our away games were a real treat.
I don’t recall any special assembly for the game, food drive or prep time before the game. We had the whole family together for dinner afterwards and probably talked about the game — there wasn’t much to say and the food limited conversation. I can’t over emphasize how big Thanksgiving was. The food, game and family made it very special. That and Pesach (Jewish holiday of Passover) were Al’s and my favorite holidays.
My Reflections of Playing in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Duane Lowell, Lincoln ‘55
Regarding the 1954 Thanksgiving game, I have the following reflections: This was the last game of a great season, and we were undefeated under two great coaches Norm Mayer and Harry Bird. It was a sun shining day and the crowd set a record. It was a big deal. Stadium had a great team and were well-coached. They surprised us with a waiting defensive line, and it really hurt our running game. We could not spring Luther Carr for any big gains and were down 6 to 0 with seconds left before half time. Stadium was forced to punt. I got emotional and told myself l was going to block their punt. Harry Bird had coached me to cross my arms in front of my face and run straight into the kicker. I ran past George Jones and blocked the punt, picked up ball and ran about 35 yards and scored. We led 7-6 at the half. We never made any adjustments to our running game however, and Stadium scored to win 13-7. There was no joy in East Tacoma that day, and Thanksgiving dinner was not a fun event. Hats off to Stadium on their win. Even at age 85 it still hurts.
My Recollection of Playing in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Dick Zierman, Lincoln ‘56
Thanksgiving Day 1955 was one of the greatest days of my life. I knew I was going to have a nice turkey dinner with my family, but the main excitement was going to be the football game between Stadium and Lincoln in Lincoln Bowl. It was an annual event and the largest attendance day for football of the year. As a senior I knew it was the last football game I would play with this bunch of guys.
I remember the weather was lousy, wet and windy but typical for this time of year. We assembled in the locker room to pick up our uniforms and start getting prepared for the muddy field and the Stadium Tigers.
Nevertheless, the excitement was there. As we were getting our uniforms on, coaches Norm Mayer and Harry Bird were there talk to us about how we would remember this game for the rest of our lives and winning would make the remembering even better. Uniforms on, we lined up at the top of the hill in our gold and black jerseys and waited for the coaches to give us the go ahead. Down the hill we ran and out onto the field. The Stadium players were already there at the far end of the bowl in their gold and blue uniforms and were warming up. When we started down the hill all the Lincoln fans on the East side of the stadium stood up and started yelling “Lincoln, Lincoln”. The sound made you feel bigger and faster.
I played left end and was split out most of the time to open up the middle of their defense so our running backs could gain a few more yards. I wore a Wilson model helmet because I could see the ball better as it had a single face bar so as not to block my view. Most of the players had birdcage masks to protect their face better. It was a grey day with a little wind and the field was dirt mixed with sand.
Stadium had won one game that year and lost the rest. I think Lincoln was ranked pretty high in the state having been the number one team in the state the year before. Our record that year was 8-1, our only loss was to Olympia down there. I remember catching a few passes from quarterback Doug McClary but nothing to brag about. The running game was really working lead by Bill Elmore along with Harry Harper and Ernie Altheimer. Our offensive line was opening large holes and the backs were taking advantage of that. After rolling around on the ground, the wet sand would work its way into your pads and down your pants. If you haven’t experienced something like that-well good for you because it was scratchy and wet.
The game wasn’t very close as I remember, the crowd was loud and the people were all over the place. I remember coming off the field after we had blown a play and coach Mayer was scrubbing his head with that old Lincoln baseball cap he always wore. I can laugh now but we didn’t dare back then. After the game we all stood around and hugged each other and shook hands with the Stadium players, many of whom I knew from having played with them at Jason Lee. Many of us knew it would be the last time we would be together so we wanted to hang around and enjoy that feeling as long as we could. We retreated to the locker room and removed our wet and dirty uniforms and headed for the nice hot shower.
The coaches and visitors were complimenting us on a nice game… it was great. I road home with my sister and her soon to be brother-in-law Dean Doering who was an outstanding baseball player at Lincoln years before. It was the one time we had turkey. I lived on a farm and we raised chickens, so turkey only happened once a year. Thanksgiving was topped off with some pumpkin pie and ice cream. After all was cleaned up, we would gather around our old Baldwin player piano and sing some great songs. Coaches Mayer and Bird were right. I will never forget that Thanksgiving Day game!
My Reflections of Playing in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Dave Williams, Lincoln ‘63
The wonderful Turkey Day game tradition was one of the most significant sports experiences for me personally as well as the Williams clan in our lives! The happiness and joy of Thanksgiving Day would rise and fall depending on Lincoln winning the game. It started with my oldest brother, Big Joe, who I believe played in the 1952, 1953 and 1954 Turkey Day games against Stadium. Brother Jerry played in the 1955, 1956 and 1957 games against Stadium. I had the honor to play in the 1960, 1961 and 1962 Turkey Day games all against Wilson High School.
Regardless of our win/loss record, the Turkey Day game determined a successful season or not. The day before the game our Lincoln Lettermen’s Club would collect names of needy families, packed huge baskets full of food, including turkeys and hams, load up our parent’s cars and deliver them to those families in need- usually 40 to 50 families in the area. I will never forget the looks of gratitude and thanks on their faces, especially the kids—for me, that was a personal inspiration This was always a very humbling experience and kept all of us in focus on the important things in life.
As all of you remember, back in the day, Lincoln Bowl had NO grass, but rather dirt and sand. It didn’t much matter because we were so excited, we could have played on the Safeway parking lot and not griped about it! The game was always about noon so most of us arrived at the locker rooms at 9:00 a.m. This is the one game that our legendary head coach, Norman Mayer, never needed to give a pep talk. We had a huge pep rally and bonfire the night before and burned the Ram representing Wilson’s mascot. I never really noticed the crowd size for the game or anytime during my career. The focus and intensity needed to be so great that I just never heard the crowd. However, I could sure hear Coach Mayer chewing my ass out for a mistake or a bad play!
The Williams clan numbered about 60 in the Puget Sound area in those days and we always met for Thanksgiving Day dinner after the game. Depending on the outcome of the game the bird either tasted like turkey or crow! My three teammates and I made sure it was always Turkey! I really missed those days of slugging it out with Wilson down in the dirt and mud of Lincoln Bowl. Mostly I miss my teammates like Donnie Moore, Bill Vodarski, Brent DeMeerleer, Don Hager as well as our opponents like Fred Forsberg and the Parker brothers. Seems like I chased Billy Parker all over Lincoln Bowl over those three years and never caught up with him!
My Reflections of Playing in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Dick Zatkovich, Wilson ‘64
I played in two T-Day classics, my sophomore and junior years against the dreaded rival, Lincoln. Both games were close and extremely tough, as both teams were loaded with excellent high school/college players. Fred Forsberg, Bill Parker, Mike Tower, Ron Sweeney, Jeff Hale, Norm Strom were Ram teammates and Lincoln had Donnie Moore, Dave Williams, Brent DeMeeleer, Bill Vodarski (a cousin of mine) and Dan Hager. The ‘62 game, when I was a sophomore, I started at middle linebacker and I won the tackle-pool (a whopping $3.75) and had a solid game against the eventual state champs. I was completely worn out at the dinner table and, yes the game was the focal point. The same thing happened for the ‘63 game and that one had the largest crowd ever to watch a high school game there, 13,995 people. I remember they brought in bleachers and put them up behind each end zone. It was a beautiful, cold and crisp Fall day and the place was loud and crazy. Lincoln was #1 in the state and undefeated and we were #4, our only loss to Lincoln during the season, 13-12. I remember I was as nervous as I’d ever been and the game went down to wire, with Lincoln beating us 13-7. At the dinner table, the game occupied most of the conversation and I always ate a ton of turkey and saved a little room for some of my mom’s apple pie.
I remember how big the game was for Tacoma and it was our version of the state playoffs. Bands, cheerleaders, fans, parents, classmates, it was a real big deal and the only game in town. I played guard and linebacker and it was always strange playing that game because it was the only day game on the schedule. The games were brutal and well played and the fans always got their money’s worth. The turf was that sand mix that always got down deep in the pads, and I always remember the burning sensation when we showered after the game. Our bodies looked like someone had sand-papered us. It was red and hurt for days.
Wilson had a big pep assembly and a parade of cars that started out in front of the school that led to the Bowl.
These were some of the greatest memories of all time in my playing career and I loved every crazy minute of it.
My Reflections of Playing in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Rob Benedetti, Stadium ‘69
The Turkey Day game was the setting for some of the most memorable athletic experiences of my life. Consequently, my recollections are mostly first person. My junior year we (Stadium) finished in second place with a 5-3 won-loss record, I think. Mount Tahoma was undefeated, had Bobby Moore, aka Ahmad Rashad, as their marquee player and were ranked #2 in the state. That year, I was starting only on defense, at defensive back, but playing backup QB. The weekend before the Turkey Day game, our starting QB became ineligible for some kind of an infraction, and it led to that game being my first high school start as a quarterback. I focused on not making any mistakes and can’t remember if I even threw one pass. I’d be surprised if we had 100 yds total in offense, but our defense played out of their minds intercepting five or six Rod Bolek passes, one of which flew up in the air like a wounded duck after Jim Gallo hit him as he was releasing the ball from near his own end zone. I jumped in front of Bobby Moore in the left flat on the 15-yard line and ran untouched for a touchdown, the only one scored by either team that day.
The next year we finished second to Wilson and were seeking revenge for a rather bad loss in our first game during the season. The game was pretty even and we were driving in the fourth quarter, seven points down, when I threw behind an open receiver, was intercepted, and we ended up losing.
I think I remember those two plays so vividly because the Turkey Day game was such a big deal in the Tacoma sporting calendar. You would have to be pretty jaded to not get up for it. The excitement in the school was palpable the week before, with signs plastering the halls, though I don’t remember if we had an in-school pep rally. I don’t remember if coaches Levinson and Kintz introduced anything special, but I do remember Coach Levinson putting his arm around my shoulder before I ran onto the field for my first QB start against Mt. Tahoma, gave me encouragement, but asked me to keep the ball on the ground. His cautionary feelings about my chances at success with the ball in my hands were palpable. Running onto the field before 10,000 was a real trip, but as soon as we started playing the crowd disappeared from my awareness. Both of those games were played on moist dirt, but it did not rain during the game and the field was not muddy. It did not really affect the playing, as we were used to it from our field in the Stadium Bowl.
My family had all come to the game and we had dinner after I returned, which after the first game was quite a celebration. Though I was complimented for scoring the only points, I remember giving most of the credit to the entire defensive team, and that I was lucky enough to have been in the right place at the right time. Most of the credit for that play should have gone to Jim Gallo, who I think intercepted a pass by himself later in the game.
My Reflections of Playing in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Tom Hayward, Stadium ‘69
I remember Thanksgiving, 1968 like it was yesterday. A fond memory is that because I was on the field for the pre-game coin toss with Chet Morris, Tony Apostle and their QB Mike Lobberegt I received a kiss on the cheek from an Olympic Gold Medalist, Kaye Hall. Although a Ram, she and I were casually acquainted at the time. I was a bit shocked. Maybe Stadium would have won but for that knee-buckling pre-game moment.
My Reflections of Coaching in the annual Turkey Day Game
By Joe Stortini, Mt. Tahoma HS
My first year as the head football coach at Mt. Tahoma High School was in 1965 and I remember the first team meeting with the players and their parents as we kept the heart of our goals on the locker room wall the entire season: PRIDE, POSITIVE ATTITUDE and TURKEY DAY! Our season schedule ended with us playing Lincoln High School, and we were told by Bill Post, the Tacoma School District Athletic Director, that the winning team would play Stadium on Thanksgiving Day. We went out and knocked off the Abes, and the following Monday, we had an early morning pep assembly. The student body and faculty all shared the Friday Night win and the right to face Stadium. I remember being on stage with Ron Cey and Bobby Moore addressing the entire school enrollment when our principal came to the microphone with a special announcement. We were excited, only to be told that even though we won, Lincoln was tied with Mt. Tahoma for second place. They decided the winner with a flip of a coin, and we lost the flip. We were sad and disappointed, yes, but we had more reason for hard work and commitment.
In 1966 we won the City League championship and defeated Lincoln on Turkey Day, 33-12. In 1967 we won the City League crown again and were considered to be one of the top teams in the state. We played Stadium Thanksgiving Day and Lincoln Bowl was a mud bowl, with the T-Birds losing to the Tigers, 6-0. Despite the loss we kept our schedule for dinner at Steve’s Gay Nineties, even though it was a sad and disappointing event.
From my first year at Mt. Tahoma to the last year of the annual Turkey Day game in 1972, the Thunderbirds played in five of the eight contests. And, on each Thanksgiving Day game we participated in, the mornings started with the parents, players and coaches attending a church service together. Despite the 8-0 loss to Ed Fallon’s Bellarmine Lions in the final game of a 50-year tradition, it is an honor to be the lone remaining head coach still around to share and reflect back on Turkey Day–A great memory for many reasons.
Some of the prominent players over the years:
1946: Lincoln-Don Maitland, Sam Baker, Bill Greco and Bob Carlson
Stadium-Garry Hersey and Harry Nygard
1951: Lincoln: Earl Hyder, Merle Hagbo and Les Kleinsasser
Stadium: Gordy Hersey. Bob Ehrenheim and Pat Dillon
1952: Lincoln: Jim Jones, Luther Carr and Bill Ochs
Stadium: Mike Cranston, Bob Lashley, Dick Nyssen and Marv Shain
1954: Lincoln: Luther Carr, Duane Lowell, Jack Walters and Joe Williams
Stadium: Arley Kangas, Mike Cranston, Len Manke and Jim Skaggs.
1956: Lincoln: Jerry Cecchi, Jim Jones, Doug McClary, Herm Magnuson and Jerry Williams
Stadium: Dave Kerrone and Wayne Pavlic
1957: Lincoln: Jim Jones, Jerry Ramsey, Doug McClary, Marlowe Roesser and Jerry Williams
Stadium: Dave Kerrone, Ed Menotti
1958: Lincoln: Jim McCuen and Ron Tingstad
Wilson: Terry Parker and Wayne Pavlic
1962: Lincoln: Don Moore, Dave Williams and Mark Wojahn
Wilson: Dean Cherbas, Butch Dunlap, Bill Parker and Dick Zatkovich
1964: Lincoln: Ron Baines
Stadium: Phelon Cole
1967: Mt. Tahoma: Rod Bolek, Don Falk, Bobby Moore, Stan Pietras, Tim Samlaska and Terry Warren
Stadium: Bill Messing., Joe Newman, Van Owens, Jeff Race and Jim Tyner
1968: Stadium: Rob Benedetti, Tom Hayward, Van Owens and Jeff Race
Wilson: Tony Apostle, Mike Lobberegt, Skip Nagrodski, John Swanes and John Whitacre
1969: Lincoln: Ken Baines, Chuck Bingham, Terry Keister, Larry Lien, Tim McDonough and
Charles Weatherby
Mt. Tahoma: Marc Guild, Carlos Warren and Hank Whitehead
Coaches: Harry Bird, Ed Fallon, John Heinrick, Vincent Keyes, Bob Levinson, Norm Mayer, Phil Sarboe, Eddie Schwartz and Joe Stortini.
Marc Blau thanks Doug McArthur for his editing and the players and coaches who shared their stories. Also thanks to Ilona Perry and the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library for assisting with access to newspaper accounts of the games.