The 1951 Ballard High School Beavers Football Team Season The season began September 4, 1951 with the opening day of practice. Preseason analyses by local sportswriters noted Garfield as the favorite returning 16 players from last year s fifth placed team. Franklin was also a favorite returning 12 players from their 1950 City runner up team. Roosevelt, the defending City and State champs was hit hard by graduation returning only three players. Ballard was described as a lighter but faster team. They were also felt to be one of the contenders for the City title, something they hadn t done since 1947. Coach Bendele s Beavers were returning ten lettermen from last year s third place team. A key loss would be Hugh Locker (Jake s grandfather) who was an All City fullback in 1950. Returning seniors from the 1950 team included Arleigh Hiersch, Mickey McKinnon and Mel McCain in the backfield. Other returning lettermen were Don Higley, switched from fullback to center, Dick Sorenson and Arnold Lind, both guards, Ted Peterson at tackle, and Russell Quackenbush and Tom Fish, both ends. Jack Dorcas was at the other tackle, while Dewey Wright, the final lettermen, recovered from a knee injury. Others expected to see playing time included Alex Denholme, Mack Leetch, Bill Gray, Paul Basse, Bill Norton, Don Simpson, Dennis Kerton, Doug Donnell, Dick Watson, Al Jones, Warren Green, Whitney Greenwood, and Bob Baird. A pre season jamboree between the eastern and western divisions of the City League was held September 21st. The season opened September 28th against Franklin. The game was under a steady rain at Memorial Stadium. The Beavers had a relatively easy victory rushing for 148 yards while throwing for 33 against the Quakers total of 67 yards. Ballard scores included a 6 yard run by McKinnon and 1 and 3 yard runs by Hiersch. Other noted plays included an interception by Alden Buckles with a 52 yard return, a one handed catch by Quackenbush for a 25 yard gain and an interception by Basse. The Beavers next game was Friday night October 5 th against Cleveland. Again, the game was not much of a contest as the Beavers rolled up 350 yards of total offense against Cleveland s 130 yards. Scores included a 15 yard pass from McCain to Quackenbush, a McKinnon 2 yard run, a McCain 4 yard run, and a Norton 4 yard run. 1951 Ballard High School Football Team Season Summary Page 1
Their next game was Friday October 12 th against Garfield. A pep rally for both teams was held Thursday night at Ballard followed by a dance at the school. Earlier in the week Hiersch was named player of the week by the Seattle Times. Coach Bendele noted that Hiersch was the most improved player on the team so far. Hiersch, the 190 pound fullback, led the league in scoring with 19 points after two games. Another note during the week was that sophomore Jim Gregory was called up as the kicker. He s only the third sophomore to see varsity action at Ballard in the last 13 years. Ballard goes on to roll against Garfield 24 0. Ballard had 284 total yards against Garfield s 35. Beaver scores included a 14 yard run by Hiersch, 13 and 55 yard passes from McCain to Basse, and McKinnon with a 6 yard run. After the weekend s play the Beavers are up one game in the standings over West Seattle and Lincoln. After three games, the Beavers led the league in rushing and first downs and were second in passing yards and team defense. McCain led the league in passing with 223 yards and Hiersch and McKinnon led the league in points with 25 and 19 points, respectively. Ballard is ranked third in state behind the Blue Devils of Walla Wall and the Wildcats of Bremerton. The Beavers played West Seattle Thursday October 18 th easily winning 20 to 2 surrendering their first points of the year. McCain was tackled in the end zone trying to punt after a bad snap. The Beavers were outrushed by five yards, mainly due to two long runs by the Indians. Scores by Ballard included a 1 yard run by McKinnon, a 72 yard punt return by Basse, and Hiersch with a 2 yard run. Wright, Denholme and Sorenson were the outstanding linemen of the game. Once again Ballard rolls with a 33 0 win over Queen Anne the following week. Ballard had 330 total yards of offense to the Kuays 54. Beaver scores included a 3 yard run by McKinnon, 2 and 9 yard runs by McCain, a 23 yard run by Hiersch and a 48 yard pass from McCain to Quackenbush. Sophomore Jim Gregory kicked 3 extra points. That week Bremerton moves up to first place in the writers poll with Ballard dropping to fourth behind Walla Walla and Everett. Ballard still gathers two first place votes. 1951 Ballard High School Football Team Season Summary Page 2
Ballard defeats Roosevelt 25 to 0 on Friday night November 2 nd. The Teds out rushed the Beavers in the first half 100 to 25 yards, but the Beavers came roaring back holding Roosevelt to minus one yard rushing the rest of the game. The Beavers scored with a one yard run by Hiersch, 13 and 61 yard runs by McKinnon, and a 40 yard pass from McCain to Bill Gray. Ballard concluded their regular season Friday November 9 th against Lincoln. The Beavers had secured a lock in the Thanksgiving Day game even with a loss to Lincoln. The Beavers hope to avenge a 19 to 0 loss to Lincoln two years ago, which ended the Beavers six game victory string. The Beavers have lost three years in a row to the Lynx. A crowd of 9,500 were at Memorial Stadium to watch the game. The Lynx outrushed the Beavers but were unable to control the passing game. McCain was 5 for 5 for 73 yards and two touchdowns passing. Ballard won 13 6 to capture the City title and an undefeated regular season. Ballard scores. McCain connected with Basse on a 16 yard pass and Quackenbush for 22 yards. Line play by Sorenson and Donnell stood out. Undefeated, number two ranked Bremerton High School was selected to be Ballard s opponent in the Thanksgiving Day game. Organizers of the game felt that the pairing of the two undefeated, untied teams promises to make the game one of the best in history. Bremerton defeated Ballard in the first Thanksgiving Day game 19 to 14 in 1947. Bremerton ran the T formation and had two powerful backs. The Wildcats had rushed for 2,212 yards in their eight games lead by 661 yards from Mick Parker and 622 yards from Sid Payne. Wildcats had only thrown for 180 yards total all season. Everyone expected the Wildcats to run all over Ballard. For the regular season Ballard had a number of accomplishments in the City High School Football League. McCain was the passing champion completing 23 of 40 passes for 505 yards. Coach Bendele said McCain was the best quarterback I ever had at Ballard. McCain was named Player of the Week after the last regular season game. Ballard was first in the league in rushing, second in passing, second in team defense and first in first downs. McKinnon was second in rushing with 453 yards, Hiersch was fourth with 505 yards, Basse was 14 th with 175 yards, and McCain was 22 nd with 108 yards. Top league scorers were McKinnon first at 45 points, Hiersch second at 43 points, Basse sixth with 24 points, and McCain seventh with 18 points. 1951 Ballard High School Football Team Season Summary Page 3
The hype for the big game was building. Tickets for the 1:00 p.m. game on Thanksgiving Day were selling for $1 and $2. Pre game analyses noted that the Wildcats line outweighed the Beavers on average 188 pounds to 171 pounds. The Beavers starting line was Quackenbush and Fish at ends, Peterson and Denholme at tackles, Donnell and Sorenson at guards and Donn Higley at center. Beavers coming off of injuries included Lind, Wright, Basse, and Phil Tjelle. The papers noted that this was the most evenly matched teams to meet in the Thanksgiving Day game with neither team favored. Ballard BALLARD ALL CITY HONORS has not faced a running game like the Wildcats all year. Extra points are predicted to be the difference. 1 ST TEAM HONORS o Russell Quackenbush, End The game was broadcast live on King 5 with 11,000 fans in o Dick Sorenson, Guard attendance. The game didn t disappoint anyone. The o Mel McCain, Quarterback Beavers kept themselves in the game but time was running o Mickey McKinnon, Halfback o Arleigh Hiersch, Fullback out. Halfway through the third quarter they found o Tom Fish, Defensive End themselves down 13 to 0 on a 5 yard touchdown pass and a o Mickey McKinnon, Defensive Back 1 yard touchdown run by the Wildcats. However, after the HONORABLE MENTION Wildcats second score the Beaver offense came alive. o Alex Denholme, Tackle Ballard drove 67 yards on three plays on their next o Ted Peterson, Tackle possession to score their first touchdown. Hiersch ran for 43 o Dewey Wright, Tackle yards followed by Basse running for 20 and then McKinnon o Donn Higley, Center o Paul Basse, Halfback scoring from 4 yards out. The Wildcats then took the ball o Phil Tjelle, Linebacker after the kickoff and drove to the Beavers 15 yard line before o Arnold Lind, Linebacker being stopped. Ballard then followed with a drive down to the Wildcat 11 yard line before being stopped. With 3½ 1951 Ballard High School Football Team Season Summary Page 4
minutes to go in the game the Wildcats were once again stopped and had to punt. On the Beavers first play Hiersch broke free for a 47 yard touchdown run. McCain passed to Fish for the extra point. The Beavers held on for a final score of 14 to 13. Bremerton s head coach said that Hiersch simply was too tough to stop. Hiersch rushed for 135 yards. Sorenson and Wright were name the outstanding linemen of the game. Ballard was voted the state champions following the victory. Coach Bendele and captain McKinnon accepted the plaque for the team. Coach Bendele was further honored by being selected to coach the Tri City team in the Prep All Star football game. McCain was chosen as the quarterback, Quackenbush as an end and Hiersch as a back to the Tri City team. McKinnon was chosen as an alternate. 1951 Ballard High School Football Team Season Summary Page 5
1951 Ballard High School Varsity Football Team Lettermen No. Name Position Weight Class 1 Mel McCain Quarterback 155 Senior 2 Mack Leetch Quarterback 165 Junior 3 Mickey McKinnon Half 155 Senior 4 Paul Basse Half 150 Senior 5 Don Simpson Half 172 Junior 6 Alden Buckles Half 160 Senior 7 Ted Peterson Tackle 172 Senior 8 Bill Gray Full 170 Senior 9 Arnold Lind Guard 168 Senior 10 Tom Fish End 175 Senior 11 Al Jones End 165 Junior 12 Warren Green End 162 Junior 13 Don Higley Center 175 Senior 14 Dick Watson Guard 176 Senior 15 Bob Baird Center 176 Senior 16 Phil Tjelle Full 160 Senior 17 Dick Sorenson Guard 158 Senior 18 Doug Donnell Guard 170 Senior 19 Alex Denholme Tackle 180 Senior 20 Russell Quackenbush End 168 Senior 21 Bill Norton Half 160 Junior 22 Whitney Greenwood Tackle 172 Senior 23 Arleigh Hiersch Full 190 Senior 26 Dennis Kerton Half 170 Senior 30 Ray Rockstead Center 170 Senior 35 Dan Cameron Tackle 170 Senior 36 Dewey Wright Tackle 200 Senior 46 Jerry Harris Guard 160 Senior 50 Jim Gregory Kicker 145 Soph Joe Kelsey Manager