13 headed to R.A. Long Hall of Fame
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 11:31 PM PST
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleThree members of the famed “Four Horseman” backfield that led the R.A. Long football team to an undefeated season in 1947 are among the 13 newest inductees into the R.A. Long Hall of Fame.
The group will be honored during a ceremony at the school on Friday.
This year’s honorees were selected by a committee of former and current school administrators. The R.A. Long Hall of Fame has three components:
Individual: To recognize outstanding achievement by an individual at a varsity-level sport.
Team: For outstanding achievement by a varsity-level team in a single season.
Lifetime Achievement: For outstanding contribution to R.A. Long as a coach, pioneer, administrator, teacher, graduate or supporter.
Individuals who will be honored are John Adams, Dr. Robert Ballard, Bernard Donahue, John Donahue, Ray Karnofski, Marlen Peterson, Jim Rosenzweig, Don Stewart and Darold Talley in the individual category; and Dr. Bruce Blackstone, Gary Bryson, Dr. James Ford and Jim Taylor in the Lifetime Achievement category.
The public is invited to the free ceremony, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the school auditorium, before the RAL boys open their basketball campaign against Mountain View later Friday at Joe Moses Court.
Here’s a look at this year’s honorees:
John Adams (Class of 1948)
An all-Southwest Washington Conference center, Adams anchored the offensive line for the 1947 team that went 10-0 and was considered by some to be the state champion, even though no team was officially given the title.
Adams also played basketball at RAL before accepting a scholarship to play football at the University of Oregon, where he lettered for two years as a linebacker. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the UO Business School, and after college he completed the Marine Platoon Leader and Officers Program to receive a commission as a Marine Infantry Officer.
After a 10-year stint in the U.S. Marines, he retired as a full colonel and spent another 28 years in the Marine Reserves. Adams also had a 27-year career in the U.S. Federal Reserve System, where he served as the assistant to the secretary of the board of directors.
Adams, who is retired, lives in Great Falls, Va. He also has two daughters and a son, who also live on the East Coast.
Dr. Robert Ballard (Class of 1936)
Born in 1918 in Cordova, Alaska, Ballard spent much of his childhood years in Seattle before moving to Longview. As a senior, he won the 880-yard run at the state championships to become the school’s first state track champion. Ballard donated the medal he won from the track meet to the school, which is part of its permanent trophy collection.
Ballard attended the University of Washington where he received an undergraduate degree in 1940, and later studied at the University of Oregon Medical School in Portland (now the Oregon Health Sciences University).
After an internship at Seattle’s Harborview Hospital where he received his medical degree in 1944, he joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps where he served as a captain while stationed in the Central Pacific and Korea during 1945-46.
Ballard opened a medical practice in the Grays Harbor area in 1947, and twice served as Chief of Staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Aberdeen. Ballard frequently made house calls to his patients, and it was common for him to accept a limit of razor clams or a few jars of homemade preserves as payment.
Ballard retired in 1980, and died in Feb. 2006 at age 87 at a care facility in Olympia following a brief illness.
Bernard Donahue (Class of 1948)
An all-Southwest Washington Conference player who was a member of the famed “Four Horsemen” backfield who led the RAL football team to a 10-0 record in 1947.
In local lore, Donahue made “The Catch” in the closing seconds of the 1947 Thanksgiving Game against Kelso while lying on his back in the end zone. The game’s finish was so unbelievable that it was featured as an Associated Press wire story nationwide.
The contest was tied 0-0 with 15 seconds left when Donahue raced into the end zone to catch a pass from quarterback Leo Gilnett. Donahue was knocked down in the end zone as Gilnett released the pass, which was tipped by a Kelso player as it crossed into the end zone. Amazingly, the ball dropped onto Donahue’s chest as he lay on the turf, resulting in a 7-0 victory.
Donahue lettered in football, basketball and track, and also helped the 1945 football team to an undefeated season. He also led the 1947 RAL basketball team under first-year coach Joe Moses to a fifth-place finish at the state tournament.
After graduation, Donahue attended St. Martin’s College in Lacey on a football scholarship, and later transferred to Lower Columbia Junior College where he earned all-conference honors at halfback. He later moved on to Lewis and Clark College in Portland, where he played on a Pioneer team that was ranked second in the nation for small colleges after finishing its season undefeated and untied.
Donahue’s performances at both LCJC and Lewis and Clark earned him Hall of Fame induction at both schools. After a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, Donahue returned to Lewis and Clark to complete his studies for a teaching degree.
He taught math and physical education for many years at Cascade Junior High (now Cascade Middle School), where he also coached football and track before his retirement in 1990. Donahue has been married to his wife, Katie, for 30 years and has two children, Julie and John.
John Donahue (Class of 1945)
The older brother of fellow inductee Bernard Donahue, John Donahue was an outstanding athlete in his own right, earning all-Southwest Washington Conference honors in football and basketball.
In 1945, Donahue played for the Hi-Jacks, a collection of local prep basketball players who teamed up to win the first-ever Gold Ball basketball tournament held at the YMCA and Kelso High School. Donahue earned all-tournament honors after leading the Hi-Jacks to a 35-29 victory in the championship game over the Seabees of Beaver (located near Clatskanie).
Donahue played on the first football and basketball teams at Lower Columbia Junior College, and later went on to play both sports at St. Martin’s College in Lacey.
After graduation, Donahue taught and coached football and basketball at Centralia Junior High School before moving on to Elma High School, where he coached basketball for 27 years, golf for 33 seasons, served as an assistant football coach for 14 years and two campaigns coaching track.
Donahue’s success as a basketball coach led to the Eagles placing seven times in 13 state tournament appearances, including a state title in 1964 and a runner-up finish in 1970. His 394-239 record also earned him a spot in the Washington State Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Donahue, who is retired, resides in Elma. He has two daughters and a son, who are all employed in the medical field.
Ray Karnofski (Class of 1948)
Another member of the famed “Four Horsemen” who lined up beside Bernard Donahue as another halfback, Karnofski also earned all-Southwest Washington Conference honors in football as a member of the undefeated 1945 and ’47 teams. A three-sport athlete who also earned all-conference honors in basketball and played with Donahue on the 1947 team that finished fifth in the state basketball championships.
In the classroom, Karnofski was voted Student Body vice president as a junior and elected president as a senior. He later attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship, where he lettered for three years as a defensive back, and was named the Cowlitz County Athlete of the Year in 1950.
Karnofski was named to the National Honor Society during his final two years at Oregon, where he graduated with a degree from the UO Business School. After graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and served three years as an intelligence officer in the Strategic Air Command.
After his discharge, Karnofski worked for 37 years in the international insurance industry. He’s now retired and lives in Redmond, Wash., with Jean, his wife of 55 years. They have three sons and three granddaughters.
Marlen Peterson (Class of 1947)
Born in 1928 in Castle Rock, Peterson moved to Longview at age 3. A gifted three-sport athlete, Peterson lettered as a tackle in football, wrestled and was a thrower on the track team.
After graduation, Peterson played football at Lower Columbia Junior College, where he earned all-star status during the 1950 and ’51 seasons. He later joined the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, where he held membership for 31 years while working at the Continental Grain elevator.
Peterson’s involvement in athletics as a coach and manager in Little League and Babe Ruth baseball, along with girls softball, earned him recognition as Fan of the Year by the Longview-Kelso Sports and Breakfast Club in 1971. In addition, he remained loyal to RAL by assisting at many of the school’s sporting events, including serving on the chain gang for football games at Longview Memorial Stadium.
Peterson died in 1983 at age 54.
Jim Rosenzweig (Class of 1947)
A three-sport athlete who was a standout fullback in football, guard in basketball and baseball third baseman, Rosenzweig was a member of RAL’s 1945 football team that went undefeated, and earned Southwest Washington Conference and all-state honors on the gridiron.
He was named Cowlitz County’s Athlete of the Year in 1946, beating out six other notable athletes, including RAL quarterback Leo Gilnett and softball pitcher Eddie Feigner.
Rosenzweig graduated as class valedictorian, and went on to the University of Washington on a football scholarship. A three-year letterman, he also wrote his name into the UW record book as one of the most successful placekickers in school history.
After earning an undergraduate degree in math and a Master’s degree in business administration, he transferred to the University of Illinois where he obtained his doctorate in business administration.
Rosenzweig returned to the University of Washington, where he taught for 40 years and became the professor of management and organization for the Graduate School of Business Administration. He later served on the American National Business Hall of Fame’s board of directors.
Rosenzweig, who has passed away, was married to Elizabeth, who also graduated from RAL and attended the same kindergarten class as her future husband. They had a boy and two girls.
Don Stewart (Class of 1947)
Stewart was an all-Southwest Washington Conference basketball star who helped the Lumberjacks to consecutive conference crowns in 1946 and ’47, and a fifth-place finish in the 1947 state championships.
In addition to his basketball prowess, Stewart was a jumper and a relay runner in the track team, and was elected junior class president. He was also active in the marching and concert bands, and was a piano soloist at many events.
Stewart earned a graduate degree in forestry and played basketball for four seasons at the University of Washington, where he led the Huskies to a conference title and a fourth place finish in the regional championships.
Stewart and his wife, Gladys, who have three children and seven grandchildren, reside in San Mateo, Calif.
Darold Talley (Class of 1948)
A three-time all-Southwest Washington Conference player who was also a member of the famed “Four Horsemen” backfield who led the RAL football team to a 10-0 record in 1947.
Talley was born on Nov. 28, 1929 in St. Helens, Ore., and later moved to Longview. He also excelled in track, but it was football where he made his mark. He played in the 1948 All-State football game where he was named one of the team captains.
After graduation, Talley received a football scholarship to the University of Washington, where he was a three-year starter at defensive end. He also served as a graduate assistant coach for the Huskies in 1952, and in 1953 became a science teacher and football coach for four seasons at Centralia Junior College. In his first season at Centralia, his team of 18 players tied for second place in the Washington Community College Association.
In 2000, the Centralia College Foundation established the Darold Talley Endowment Fund, which provides tuition support for student-athletes at the school. The endowment was created by his former players to honor the support and guidance he gave them.
Talley left the Northwest in 1956 when he was hired as an assistant football coach at Whittier (Calif.) College under Don Coryell, where he also taught science. He returned to Washington in 1959 and became an assistant football coach and head track coach at Clover Park High in Tacoma. During his stint at Clover Park, he coached the likes of Mac Wilkins, a four-time U.S. Olympic Track and Field team member, and led the team to the Class 3A State Track Championships in 1968.
Talley taught physical education for 16 years at Clover Park, where he later became the school’s athletic director for seven years before retiring as the district athletic director in 1985. He was also instrumental in the planning and construction of Lakewood Stadium during his tenure as district athletic director.
Talley, who was married to his wife, Jackie, for 34 years, died at age 72 in Jan. 2002 after a long fight with cancer and Parkinson’s Disease.
Dr. Bruce Blackstone (Class of 1970)
An accomplished football player, Blackstone was the only junior to start on the 1968 Lumberjacks, and earned All-Southwest Washington Conference honors as a senior. His athletic prowess also led to lettering in wrestling and track.
After graduation, Blackstone attended Stanford University where he was a walk-on member of the football team. He later received a scholarship to play his junior and senior seasons, and started every game in his final season which led to earning the distinction of having the most minutes by an offensive player.
Blackstone was named an Academic All-American, and graduated with honors with a degree in human biology. He later received his doctorate from the University of Washington, and completed his orthopedic residency at the University of Utah.
He later returned to Longview where he started Longview Orthopedic in 1983, and later worked in partnership to create the Pacific Surgical Institute. In 2007, he was one of the first 500 doctors in the nation to receive certification in sports medicine.
As a public service, Blackstone and his colleagues started offering a free annual coach’s clinic two years ago.
Blackstone, and his wife, Suzette, have five children. Their youngest, Cole, will graduate from R.A. Long next spring.
Gary Bryson (Class of 1962)
A three-year letterman in football, basketball and baseball, Bryson graduated as class co-valedictorian. He later enrolled at Dartmouth College where he pitched on the school’s baseball team for four years, including three on the varsity squad.
Bryson was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Green Key, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sphinx while in college, and served as vice president of the Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Society before graduating with honors in 1966, and earned his Master’s in Business Administration a year later.
He remained close to the college as a Regional and Leadership Agent for the Dartmouth College Fund.
Bryson went on to a successful career with Bell and Howell before leaving to join Time Inc. as it began a venture into the cable television market. He worked his way up to become senior vice president and executive vice president of ATC, a subsidiary of Time, and later moved on to work for USWest where he helped to establish the company’s role in the video and broadband arena.
After a stint as president and CEO of TeleWest International, a subsidiary of USWest, which provided service to more than 4 million households in the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Hungary. In 1994, Bryson became president of SkyConnect, a national digital media distribution network, and held the position until he retired in 1998.
Bryson and his wife, Bobbi, settled in Edwards, Colo., where he died of a brain tumor on Jan. 29, 2004. He is also survived by four children.
Dr. James Ford (Class of 1945)
Ford, who grew up in Ryderwood before moving to Longview, lettered three years on the football and track teams, and one year on the baseball team. He served in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II, and returned to the area to earn his Associate’s degree from Lower Columbia Junior College in 1948. He later transferred to Western Washington University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree.
After a stint of teaching junior and senior high school in Bellevue, Ford was hired at Skagit Valley College in 1954 to teach zoology, biology and algebra, along with coaching track and baseball, and directing the night school. Ford stayed at Skagit Valley for six years before taking a leave of absence to get his Doctoral Degree from Oregon State University in 1960. He later returned to SVC to teach, and was later approached by a publishing company about writing a biology textbook.
After several years of compilation, Ford co-authored the book Living Systems: Principles and Relationships with longtime friend and SVC instructor Dr. Jim Monroe in 1971, along with accompanying lab manuals and study guides. The book covered animals, plants and organisms separately by basing itself on shared concepts like cell structure and ways of producing food and energy — mechanisms all organisms have in common. More than 125 colleges in universities adopted the text for use in its class curriculums.
After serving as the school’s Dean of Instruction for 12 years, Ford was named President of the college in 1976, a position he held for 18 years before his retirement in 1995.
Ford was inducted into the Lower Columbia College Hall of Fame in 1987, the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Hall of Fame in 1992, the Skagit Valley College Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Southwest Washington Softball Hall of Fame in 2007. He received the Western Washington University Distinguished Alumnus award in 1995, and was also honored by Skagit Valley College when the James Ford Hall on campus was named in his honor.
Ford still resides in the Mount Vernon area of northwest Washington.
Jim Taylor (Class of 1972)
A native of Darby, Mont., Taylor is a model of perserverance as double-amputee who has become one of the top double-amputee golfers in the country.
Taylor lost both of his arms as a 10-year-old in May, 1965 when he came in contact with a 7,300-volt power line on the roof of his grandparents’ home. The accident left Taylor with a broken back and the loss of his arms. After nearly four dozen surgeries, including four on his back, Taylor took up golf at the suggestion of a doctor as a form of therapy for his arms.
While in high school, Taylor served as the placekicker on the football team, and was a distance runner on the track team. He also played pool, basketball, darts, tennis, ping pong and soccer, and learned to fly airplanes.
On the golf course, he has a 12 handicap and owns several national titles along with 17 hole-in-ones. His exploits in the links has drawn jaw-dropping stares of admiration from the likes of Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson, and he’s been documented in publications including Golf Magazine and the National Enquirer.
Taylor, who retired from insurance sales in the 1990s as one of the top salesmen in the state, still lives in Longview and three children and five grandchildren.
farnsworth68 wrote on Dec 5, 2008 3:17 PM:
But why is the "Hall of Fame" apparently only for athletes? Surely there ought to be other criteria for Hall of Fame status, or am I missing something? "
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