The last hurrah

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Friday night’s football game against Monroe will mark the end of one era in Oak Harbor and the beginning of a new one.

For the past 60 years, War Memorial Stadium has been the venue for Oak Harbor football teams but after Friday’s game, the turf at the historic facility will never again see a varsity kickoff.

The stadium was dedicated in 1947 by then chairman of the school board Lyle B. Muzzall to: “The boys who came back and those who did not come back from the fight to preserve our way of life.” Memorial Stadium is haunted by the memories of players and teams both past and present.

There were at least 128 men and women from North Whidbey who served their nation in various branches of the armed forces during World War II, and Memorial Stadium was constructed as a community effort to honor their service.

Originally built as a baseball and football field, the stadium was constructed on land donated to the school district in 1911 by the Izett family, and shared ground with a three-story, wooden school building constructed at the time of the land donation.

The idea of building a municipal stadium had been in the works since the fall of 1945.

On Nov. 5 of that year, the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce proposed holding a “Grid Memorial Turkey Shoot” to raise funds.

That event was ultimately held at Town Beach Park on Dec. 15, 1945, with approximately 1,000 men turning out to shoot at clay targets. Prizes of turkeys and geese were donated by the Robert Mitchell Farm for the event.

The first baseball game was played at the stadium May 3, 1947, with Coupeville beating Oak Harbor 8-0, and the first football game was played under the lights Sept. 19, 1947.

In that game against Concrete, the home town Wildcats battled the Lions to a scoreless tie.

In the early days, the stadium was also used for community and Navy baseball and football games, in addition to high school contests.

Most of the original Memorial Stadium structures on Whidbey Avenue have been demolished. However, the basement of the old school building still remains, as does the football field.

Memories abound from both players and coaches about great games played on the field.

Burdon “Duck” Daugherty, who was the Wildcats’ head coach from 1972 to 1990, said one of his fondest memories was beating Snohomish 3-0.

“Back in the heydays of Snohomish, they were the perennial state champions and were always ranked near the top,” he said. “One year, Coach Armstrong brought his team down here and we beat them 3-0. That was a memorable one. The bottom line is, every game is a memory. Not just among the coaches, but for the players themselves. They never forget. It’s the little bitty things that bring a smile to your face.”

To many, the greatest game ever played at the stadium was on Oct. 28, 1966, when Oak Harbor hosted Anacortes for homecoming.

The Wildcats went into that game undefeated, and until 1966, the only other undefeated Oak Harbor team at that point in the season had been the 1963 squad. But that team was beaten by Anacortes.

The 1966 game was fiercely contested by both sides and the Wildcats found themselves trailing 21-7 going into the final quarter of action.

Oak Harbor scored early in the fourth quarter and then tacked on another touchdown after a Seahawk turnover.

With time running out, Jeff Short scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak to give Oak Harbor a dramatic 26-21 victory.

Scott Hornung was a member of that team.

“I was a member of the OHHS class of 1967 and had the privilege of playing center and defensive tackle on that team,” he said. “I can remember Todd Oldenburg pleading in the huddle: ‘We gotta win this one, guys. It’s homecoming,’ when we were down 21-7 in the third quarter.”

Hornung said there were a couple of players injured including Keith Hoffman, who was in pain from a rib injury, and the other guys were all breathing hard, trying not to give in to what seemed like an inevitable loss.

“We finally got a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter and on the ensuing possession, Anacortes ran the ball right at my defensive tackle position. I was able to tackle the ball carrier who fumbled, and Mike Tennis recovered it for us,” Hornung recalled.

Oak Harbor put another touchdown on the board to make the score 21-20 with time running out.

“We got the ball back one last time with less than two minutes left and with 27 seconds on the clock, Jeff Short hit George Johnson with a pass to take the ball down to the 2-yard line,” Hornung said. “We lined up and everybody expected us to run our best play, Hoffman off tackle. However, Short saw an opening and gave me the quarterback sneak signal. I made my block and he dove into the end zone to give us a 26-21 win.”

The following week, Oak Harbor pounded Marysville 65-0 to finish the season undefeated and win the Northwest Class 2A title.

The 2005 football team went undefeated through the first six games of the season before being upset 8-7 by Stanwood.

This year it was deja vu for Oak Harbor with the Wildcats again winning the first six games before being knocked off 24-21 by Lake Stevens last Friday.

Current head coach Dave Ward said he has coached many big games at the stadium.

“A couple of years ago, we got a double overtime victory over Marysville in the final game of the regular season that put us in second place,” he said. “That was quite a game and we had blocked two extra points to win it. Marshall Lobbestael hit Cameron Kays with two touchdown passes on fourth down situations during the overtime periods. That was quite a season. We started off 0-2 and ended up finishing in second place.”

Next season, Oak Harbor will play on a new field replete with artificial turf, covered grandstands and many upgrades, including better parking facilities.

The new field is scheduled for construction adjacent to the high school and will bring an end to the use of Memorial Stadium for Wildcats’ games.

One thing is certain, though, the memories of the old facility will always linger in the memories of true Oak Harbor supporters.