1951BallardHighSchoolFootballTeamSeasonSummary Page1
The1951BallardHighSchoolBeaversFootballTeamSeasonThe 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 5th 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.
1951BallardHighSchoolFootballTeamSeasonSummary Page2
Their next game was Friday October 12th 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 18th 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.
1951BallardHighSchoolFootballTeamSeasonSummary Page3
Ballard defeats Roosevelt 25 to 0 on Friday night November 2nd. 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 9th 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 14th with 175 yards, and McCain was 22nd 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.
1951BallardHighSchoolFootballTeamSeasonSummary Page4
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
has not faced a running game like the Wildcats all year. Extra
points are predicted to be the difference.
The game was broadcast live on King 5 with 11,000 fans in
attendance. The game didn’t disappoint anyone. The
Beavers kept themselves in the game but time was running
out. Halfway through the third quarter they found
themselves down 13 to 0 on a 5 yard touchdown pass and a
1 yard touchdown run by the Wildcats. However, after the
Wildcats second score the Beaver offense came alive.
Ballard drove 67 yards on three plays on their next
possession to score their first touchdown. Hiersch ran for 43
yards followed by Basse running for 20 and then McKinnon
scoring from 4 yards out. The Wildcats then took the ball
after the kickoff and drove to the Beavers 15 yard line before
being stopped. Ballard then followed with a drive down to
the Wildcat 11 yard line before being stopped. With 3½
BALLARD ALL‐CITY HONORS
1ST TEAM HONORS
o Russell Quackenbush, End o Dick Sorenson, Guard o Mel McCain, Quarterback o Mickey McKinnon, Halfback o Arleigh Hiersch, Fullback o Tom Fish, Defensive End o Mickey McKinnon, Defensive Back
HONORABLE MENTION
o Alex Denholme, Tackle o Ted Peterson, Tackle o Dewey Wright, Tackle o Donn Higley, Center o Paul Basse, Halfback o Phil Tjelle, Linebacker o Arnold Lind, Linebacker
1951BallardHighSchoolFootballTeamSeasonSummary Page5
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 Varsity Football Team Lettermen
No. Name Position Weight Class1 MelMcCain Quarterback 155 Senior2 MackLeetch Quarterback 165 Junior3 MickeyMcKinnon Half 155 Senior4 PaulBasse Half 150 Senior5 DonSimpson Half 172 Junior6 AldenBuckles Half 160 Senior7 TedPeterson Tackle 172 Senior8 BillGray Full 170 Senior9 ArnoldLind Guard 168 Senior10 TomFish End 175 Senior11 AlJones End 165 Junior12 WarrenGreen End 162 Junior13 DonHigley Center 175 Senior14 DickWatson Guard 176 Senior15 BobBaird Center 176 Senior16 PhilTjelle Full 160 Senior17 DickSorenson Guard 158 Senior18 DougDonnell Guard 170 Senior19 AlexDenholme Tackle 180 Senior20 RussellQuackenbush End 168 Senior21 BillNorton Half 160 Junior22 WhitneyGreenwood Tackle 172 Senior23 ArleighHiersch Full 190 Senior26 DennisKerton Half 170 Senior30 RayRockstead Center 170 Senior35 DanCameron Tackle 170 Senior36 DeweyWright Tackle 200 Senior46 JerryHarris Guard 160 Senior50 JimGregory Kicker 145 Soph JoeKelsey Manager
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