Uno Koskela

Uno Koskela was an athlete way ahead of his peers. In his eighth grade year, his size and skill level allowed him to be brought Astoria High School team in both football, where he played left tackle, and in track and field where he threw the shot put, and discus. A quote from the school paper, the Astor Post, states “He is of enormous proportions and is able to make the weights travel far and wide.”

By 1923, his freshmen year, Uno lettered in football as the Fishermen’s starting left tackle. By 1926 he had grown to 225 pounds and again was a starter on the gridiron for the Fishermen eleven.

Uno also played basketball for Astoria High. By the 1926-27 season he was a 6’3” and 235 pounds and a “force” on the “hardwood”. With Uno, the Fishermen were 15-6 and qualified to the state tournament. The 1927 team also played in the state of Oregon tournament.

As good a football and basketball player as he was, it was track and field where his athletic prowess would attract national attention from as far away as Chicago.

As an eighth grade athlete competing on the Fishermen Varsity team, he threw the discus and shot put and according to the Astor Post “made the majority of Astoria’s points in the district track meet”. His discus mark was 115’9”.

An Astor Post article states “Koskela is the most likely prospect to smash the records and take the first place in all throwing events”. And smash records he did. His marks from 1925-1927 were 45’4.25” in the shot put, 129’ in the discus and 138’2” in the javelin.

As a sophomore in 1927, Uno who was now 6’3” tall and 250 pounds, would throw the shot put 44’ 11.5” to become Oregon’s first official state shot put champion. He then won the first annual Oregon State University Invitational shot put competition and placed second in the discus.

These awards earned him the honor of an invitation from the University of Chicago to throw in the national scholastic track and field invitational, which brought together top athletes from across the United States. Travel being what it was back in the 1920’s, Uno was not able to make the trip.

Following his sophomore year, Uno choose to pursue his successful lifelong career of fishing.