Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
NAIA National Runner-up
The 1961 Camellia Bowl team set the standard for Linfield's national achievements in football and other sports as well. It was the first athletic team from Linfield to play for a national championship in any sport.
"It was this team that started Linfield's string of great athletic success, not only in football, but baseball and basketball, too," notes Hal Cowan, student sports information director at the time.
The Camellia Bowl was the name of the NAIA national championship game in Sacramento, Calif., in 1961. It was only the sixth NAIA football championship game and it was in the pre-division era, meaning about 275 teams competed for four national playoff berths.
Linfield was ranked third in the NAIA after rolling through the regular season with a 9-0 record and outscoring opponents by an average of nearly 29 points ? 38.4 to 9.6. Only two teams scored more than 12 points against the Wildcats.
In an era of generally low-scoring college football, the Wildcats' offense hit its stride in midseason and scored 52, 45, 46 and 55 points in successive games. The defense jelled earlier, holding six successive teams to a total of 30 points, less than a touchdown per game.
Four teams were chosen in mid-November for the NAIA playoffs.
The Wildcats soundly defeated Whittier of southern California 18-7 in the first post-season football game in Linfield history.
That set up the Camellia Bowl championship game against Pittsburg State of Kansas in Sacramento on December 9, 1961.
Pittsburg State was a big, strong, physical team aptly nicknamed Gorillas. They had won the NAIA national title four years earlier.
Linfield outgained them, but Pittsburg State shut down the vaunted Wildcat offense and won 12-7.
The 1961 football team not only left a legacy of national achievement, but a number of school records as well.
These included: --Total rushing yards - 2,682 (ranked third in school history now)
--Rushing yards per game - 243.8 (also third best 44 years later)
--Rushing yards per carry - 5.18 (third best now)
--Individual rushing attempts in a season - 195 by Steve Beguin. Beguin's 1,219 yards were second best to the 1,237 gained by Ad Rutschman in 1953.
--Individual rushing touchdowns in a season - 19 by Beguin.
--Individual touchdowns in a game - 5 by Beguin against College of Idaho, which has not been broken.
But the Wildcats wee not one-dimensional. Quarterback Bill Parrish broke his brother Ron's season passing yardage record and set a Linfield career record in pass attempts of 594 from 1958-61. He completed 271.
Senior linebacker Hugh Yoshida set a school record of two pass interceptions returned for touchdowns, which has not been broken.
It was the first undefeated regular season Linfield's 65-year football history and post-season honors followed.
Offensive tackle Jim Bernhardt was named first team NAIA All-America; linebacker Yoshida was named second team and safety David Rohrer received honorable mention.
Nine Wildcats were selected to the first-team Northwest Conference all-star team by the league's coaches.
Honored on the first offensive team were Bernhardt at tackle, Fred vonAppen at guard, Parrish at quarterback and Beguin at halfback.
Wildcats on the first defensive all-star team were Tom Younker at end, Pete Dengenis at tackle, Tom Buckner at middle guard, Yoshida at linebacker and Rohrer at safety.
Additionally, honorable mentions were accorded to five offensive players: end Jeff Durham, tackle Mike Stelman, center Larry Reeser and backs Bill Dressel and Val Barnes.
Bernhardt, a unanimous all-conference selection, was drafted by the American Football League Dallas Texans in the 22nd round.
Yoshida's teammates selected him as Most Inspirational Player. The next season's Wildcats also were undefeated, with only a non-conference tie marring a nine-game season, but they were not invited to the playoffs. The NAIA partly made up for that slight by picking Linfield's Paul Durham as 1962 national Coach of the Year.
Between 1961 and 1965, Linfield had three undefeated regular seasons and a total regular-season record of 40 wins, 2 losses and 2 ties.
Durham said the 1961 team was the best he coached in 20 years at Linfield.
The 1961 team set in motion an avalanche of excellence at Linfield that has led to seven national championship games (with four ultimate victories) and continues to this day.
