Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Athlete 1985 - 1988
Linfield's incomparable streak of winning seasons owes its longevity to more than a thousand players and tens of thousands of successful plays.
But Steve Reimann's interception to preserve a 17-12 victory over Pacific in the final game of the 1987 season is certainly one of the most important.
Pacific was moving toward Linfield's goal line in the final moments of the game, and the outcome of that drive would determine whether the Wildcats logged a 5-4 record, or fell to 4-5.
But Reimann, an honorable mention NAIA All-American that fall, stepped into a passing lane and intercepted a pass to keep the streak alive. The following year, as a senior, the linebacker was a first team All-America selection.
He was also a starter on the 1986 team that won Linfield's third national championship. He was the defensive player of the game in the Wildcats’ memorable 27-21 overtime victory over rival Pacific Lutheran in the first round of the playoffs.
The 1987 team started off 1-4 before turning the season around.
I think by the end of the year we could have played with anybody, he said.
Reimann came out of McNary High School in Keizer and attended Colorado State for one year before transferring to Linfield, in part because he missed the thrill of playing football.
He returned to his high school alma mater to coach the freshman team there one season, in 1997, the same year the McNary varsity won the state championship.
Today, Reimann owns his own business, Wildcat Development, and lives in Yamhill with his wife, Tiffany, and two children, Taylor (a girl), who is six, and Tiger (a boy), who is three.
