1928 Football Team

Under the guidance of first year coach, John Warren, the 1928 Astoria High Football Team cemented itself as one of the most dominant teams of the 20th Century. Known as the “Purple and Gold Gridiron Boys,” they were considered the most dominant high school football defense of all-time. This dominance helped the 1928 Team claim the mythical “State Title” based on their 6-0-1 won-loss record.

The Fishermen started the 1928 season by drubbing the Columbia University Preppers. This began the start of a four-game winning streak and helped Coach Warren’s boys to become the talk of the town. Week five of the season brought the powerful team of Centralia Junior College to Astoria for a showdown at Gyro Field. The two teams met on a stormy day on a Saturday in mid-October. The big Washingtonians were characterized as “behemoths” and towered far above the boys of Astoria High. The Fishermen scored first, set up by great field position after a 60-yard punt by Roland Larson pinned the junior college team deep into their own end. Four plays later, it was again Roland Larson making a big play. The defensive end found his footing, jumped and blocked the Centralia punt. “Big Bill’ Paetow caught the blocked pigskin in midair and darted across the goal line for the first and only score for the Fishermen. The game remained this way until early in the fourth quarter when Centralia found a way to do what no team had done all season, nor would any team do again, by finding its way into the end zone to tie the game at six. Saving the day for the Fishermen was defensive guard Gene Bowers, who broke thru the line and blocked the extra point attempt of the Centralians. The game ended in a 6-6 tie and was the only blemish on the team’s otherwise perfect season. These Fishermen gridiron boys finished their season with a 6-0 win over traditional rival Tillamook High School the following Saturday.

At the completion of the 1928 season, the Fishermen had outscored their opponents 133-6. Their dominance, playing what was considered the toughest schedule in the state, helped Coach Warren’s crew lay claim to the title of Oregon’s 1928 State Championship. Medford High School, having just finished their fifth consecutive undefeated season, also laid claim to the title of state champion.

School officials from both schools worked to schedule one final game pitting the two teams against one another. Unfortunately, a final agreement could not be reached and the 1928 season ended with both schools claiming the title of champion.