Fires rage in the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. (Oregon State Archives-Highway Division Records) ubject of numerous news stories and a short documentary broadcast on ESPN's "NFL Films Presents," the dramatic experience of the 1941 Willamette University football team is a story worth retelling. When news of the attack on Pearl Harbor was broadcast on radio Sunday, some of the first fears for Oregonians were for the Willamette University football team and fans in Honolulu. They had traveled to Hawaii for a series of post season games known as the Shrine Bowl against the University of Hawaii and San Jose State. The first game was played Dec. 6th before a crowd of 24,000. Although the Bearcats had suffered a 20-6 defeat, many of the Oregonians were looking forward to several days of post-game festivities. The Willamette team and fans from Salem were waiting outside the Moana Hotel for a bus tour to take them on a sightseeing tour of the island and a picnic. They were planning to see Pearl Harbor. As black oily smoke filled the air the team and their supporters realized they were witnesses to a momentous event.     The 1941 Willamette University football team. Click on image above to see photograph with player names in caption. (Photo courtesy of Willamette University) In the aftermath of the devastating attack the football team was enlisted by the Army to fend off a possible Japanese invasion by water. Their first set of orders was to string barbed wire on Waikiki beach at low tide. The players were issued bolt-action Springfield M1903 rifles from World War I and given some brief training. They were told to be prepared to defend the beach. Shortly thereafter they were assigned to Punahou High School in the hills above Honolulu. Authorities feared that water towers and storage tanks nearby might become targets of sabotage. The players moved into the dormitories and class rooms and went on sentry rotation. Uppermost in everyone's mind was how and when they would get home. They finally left Hawaii on December 19th aboard the SS President Coolidge. A luxury ocean liner, the Coolidge had arrived in Hawaii with evacuees from the Philippines. Now it was commandeered to transport gravely wounded servicemen. Willamette coach, Roy "Spec" Keene and Douglas McKay** persuaded the captain to take the team and their followers back to the mainland in exchange for assisting with the wounded. There were approximately 1,200 people on board the ship that was designed to carry 800. The normal four day trip took seven days because of the zigzagging route required to avoid Japanese submarines. On Christmas Day the Willamette football party returned safely to San Francisco. It was the last time they would all be together. Virtually everyone from that year's football team enlisted in the service. They went on to careers as teachers, business people, and lawyers. One became a federal judge. The team was inducted into Willamette's Athletic Hall of Fame. The honor acknowledges the team's football exploits - an 8-2 record with six shutouts, the second leading scoring team in the country - and its extra service in a time of chaos and disbelief. ** At the time McKay was a state senator from Salem, he would later be elected Governor of Oregon and served as Secretary of the Interior in the Eisenhower administration. Sources: Statesman Journal: July 25, 2000 pg. 1b & 3b Statesman Journal: Dec 7, 1997 pg. 1c Statesman Journal: Dec 7, 1981 pg. 1 Statesman Journal: Dec 7, 1991 Sp. Sec. 2 Oregonian : Dec 7, 1998 pg. A09 On to Oregon Responds Casualties | Arizona | Football | Oregon Responds | USS Sederstrom | Other Resources | Exhibit Home Oregon State Archives Home