Guide to the Mark Fiege Washington State University Athletics Oral History Project 1982
CT 17

Early years as coach of high school teams in Colville and Spokane. Came to WSU in the fall of 1928. Talks about early conditions at WSU. Used to play their games in an "old crackerbox" where the CUB now stands. 

WSU was a small school before WWII. But athletics were popular with students and local populace. Students held alternate tickets for games at old gym. Students climbed in the windows with ladders to view events. 

Story of the "Golden Era" of WSU sports. Successful teams, and all the coaches had good rapport. Babe Hollingberry, football; Karl Schlademan and Jack Mulberry, track; Ike Deeter, boxing; Buck Bailey, baseball. Bailey had a basketball team called "Bailey's Angels." They played games around the northwest. Also played the Harlem Globetrotters. Bailey once broke his toe by kicking a waterbucket filled with cement. 

Old conference was once divided into a northern and southern division. There was a lessening of interest in basketball because of this. But rivalry always existed between US and WSU. 

For a while he was intramural director. Baseball was offered for a time. He spent more time with intramurals than with basketball. There was "no attitude" in those days toward women's athletics. Woman leadership did not want women's intercollegiate athletics. They recognized the drawbacks of men's. 

More about baseball. Believes that there was a "colored" House of David team. He thinks that the automobile had a great deal to do with the decline in popularity of community baseball teams. Practically all small towns had a team. 

Early years at WSU as student and coach. Hurt knee in football injury. Bohler told him to forget playing football. Bohler interested in build ing an organized boxing program. Club started. Had matches with other clubs in Spokane, Butte, Trail, Seattle. Mullan, Idaho had "tough miners" for a team. Deeter eventually took over as coach. Recalls some of the more memorable boxers. Story of a Philipino boxer. 

Owes all of his success to Bohler. Gave him an opportunity to do something with boxing. Bohler a great sportsman. Once tried to get lacrosse started. Bohler had good connections around the athletic world. Arranged dual meets with Wisconsin. As WSU Boxing grew, other schools took it up. Louis August coached Idaho’s first team. 

Boxing was popular, had good attendance. Drew more than anything except basketball and football. Sometimes packed Bohler gym. Had an intramural program, P.E. classes. Got some team boxers out of this. 

Why the boxing program was discontinued. Some schools got too strong for others. Some boxers were killed. School administrations were in fluenced by the brutality of pro boxing they saw on television. WSU had a safe program. Use of headgear and stand-up knock-dn count began at WSU, later adopted by the AAU. WSU never had its safe program aired on television. As schools dropped the sport, teams had to travel longer distances for competition. Took too much money to travel. 

Has a high regard for boxing. It has been good to him. Got through school by getting money from merchants through merchandise orders. Wasn't supposed to get cash. Been to boxing clinics around the world: Honolulu, Tokyo, Yokahama, Europe. Helped U. S. boxing coach at Rome Olympics. 

Covered WSU sports from 1956 until 1980. Mainly football, basketball, with some track and baseball. In football Coach Sutherland in the late 1950s and good teams. He was ahead of his time. One of the first to time the football in the air. The 1958 team was good. They would have gone to the Sugar Bowl if it had not been for the break-up of the Pacific Coast conference. 

The track team. WSU was one of the first teams to recruit foreign athletes. Discusses implications of this in the Pacific Eight conference. Best football team was in 1981. Coach Sweeney had excellent teams, especially when Jack Thompson played. 

Memorable football games. Jim Sutherland's teams once had eight straight victories over Stanford. 1970 Stanford game in Joe Albi stadium. Next year at Stanford he had a bet with Red Smith. Warren Power's team once beat Nebraska in opening game of season. 

Washington State has had good teams for the area that it is in. Talks about infractions of rules by Pacific Eight teams. WSU has a clean record. Many people have thought WSU has played over its head. Financing of athletics through bowl games. 

His choices for outstanding athletes at WSU. He always liked the "improbable types" who made it. 

Worked for WSU from 1949-1981. Had job in Controller's office, then moved to the Athletic Department. Athletics were separated from other student activities. Coaches and staff have worked harder than at any other university. Distance from other schools has hindered the program. 

Used to travel with the football team to handle travel arrangements. Suffered from oxygen starvation in unpressurized cabins. Jets improved traveling because they were faster. He enjoyed the travel. Travel had to be well scheduled, or people got upset. Feels lucky that he was never in an airplane crash. 

Changes in athletics during his career. Financial support for athletes changed. Eventually students received aid without having to work. Conference rule concerning this had been more strict than that of NCAA. Books were permitted to be issued. Conference disbanded in the late 1960s. Eventually came back together. 

Changes in individual sports. Travel is more complicated now. Football teams used to travel with thirty-three players, now it is fifty-six. Substitution rules allow more players. With specialization, there are more players. 

Changes in women's sports. WSU has been behind the times in this area. Women used to be allocated money out of men's programs when he started. Women had "play days" instead of regular athletics. 

Helped to promote expansion of facilities, such as the coliseum. In the stadium project, a foundation was set up for the construction, so that the contractors did not deal directly with the University. Some did work at reduced (continued) cost, or for free. Coliseum was a valuable addition to the University. WSU renovated three facilities in "one fell swoop." This was unique, and it received national attention.