Larry Hill

A newcomber to Astoria sports' community might wonder how an athlete playing on a 4-5 football team could make his way into the inaugural class of the Astoria High School Hall of Fame. It is a much used cliche, but the statistics speak for themselves, as did Larry Hill's. Astoria High School's football program was just coming off a decade of having Dick Pavlat and Jerry Olson gobble up huge chunks of real estate from their spots in the Fishermen backfield and were looking for its next football hero.

As a junior on a 7-2-1 Pete Bryant-coached squad, Hill would garner 1st team All-Metro defensive honors for a team that captured the Metro League championship.

With 1958 1st team All-Metro offensive picks Dick Gregg, Gordon Scott, Jerry Olson, Brian Paaso and Ron Osmus moving on to greener pastures, Hill was left to do much of the offensive work himself. He was the leading scorer in the Metro League and was the league's only unanimous 1st team selection. His 13 touchdowns and 82 points accounted for most of the 114 points Astoria scored as a team. On the ground, Hill rushed for 885 yards in 159 carries. In a 25-6 win over Clackamas High School, he bolted across the goal line four times for touchdowns. A 65-yard scamper for a score was called back. Through the air he connected on a 9-of-17 attempts for 139 yards. Hill pulled in 14 Fishermen aerials for another 126 yards.

Special teams were always a favorite of the Astoria team captain. He returned 11 kickoffs for 281 yards, a 26.5 average. His longest kickoff return was for 84 yards. His seven punt returns totaled 111 yards or 15.9 per try. Hill's longest effort resulted in a 40 yard touchdown. Later that summer, Hill played in the annual Shrine All-Star football game.

As a basketball player Hill was a reserve on the great 21-3 Fishermen squad of 1958-1959. As a senior, he was team captain and a honorable mention All-Metro League selection.

On the baseball field as a senior first baseman, Hill paced the Fishermen with a .410 batting average. He was named to the Metro-PIL All-Star squad that played the Down State All-Stars during the summer.

Under Len Casanova at the University of Oregon he earned three letters in football. In 1962 he was named the recipient of the Dudley Clarke Trophy, awarded annually to the Most Improved Duck in a vote by the Oregon coaching staff. In 1963, as a senior, he was co-captain, along with future NFL Hall of Famer, Mel Renfro, on the 8-3 Webfoots. That team would make an appearance at El Paso's Sun Bowl.

After his final season he was choosen to play in the Hula Bowl in Honolulu.