Reliving the ‘Run for the Roses’

Don Cantrell

Two noteworthy football names out of the Harbor area from the early

days, Harold Pangle and Bob Milum, always appear in the local

conversations when Oregon State becomes a Rose Bowl possibility.

And that’s the picture at this hour. Coincidentally, the Pacific Coast

Conference at this time finds Oregon State possibly facing the Oregon

University Ducks for title showdown within the next two weeks.

It is rare for Oregon teams to be battling it out for the coastal in

the same season, but that is the picture. Both teams currently have 8-1

records. Oregon has only lost to Wisconsin, 27-23, while Oregon State has

only lost to Washington, 33-30.

Pangle, who grew up on the west side of Costa Mesa, starred at Santa

Ana High in the late 1920s before Harbor High opened its doors in 1930.

He advanced to Oregon State where he became an outstanding halfback for

the Beavers.

Although the OSU Beavers did not go to the Rose Bowl while Pangle was

there, his ’33 team stunned USC and broke its 23-game winning streak

under legendary Coach Howard Jones, 0-0, on a soggy field in Corvallis.

The noted writer Grantland Rice wrote poetic words about the Beavers

from his coverage of the game. And Pangle was nominated for an

All-American halfback slot.

It is fair to say the Beavers fielded an “iron-man team.” There were

no substitutions for OSU.

With Milum, a ’55 Harbor High grad and a member of the fine ’54 Sailor

football outfit, one of his dreams came through after he enrolled at OSU.

The Beavers made it to the ’56 Rose Bowl and Milum and mates were

inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame.

He later learned that only he and ’47 Newport grad Roy Ward had made

it to the Rose Bowl in those days. Ward was a noted end for California

Berkeley under the famed Coach Lynn (Pappy) Waldorf. As a junior at

Newport, Ward was also a basketball mate of George Yardley. Yardley later

won numerous honors at Stanford and subsequently became an NBA Hall of

Fame member.

One interesting thing that Milum recalls, “from my three years of

varsity football at Oregon State was that there were five fullbacks,

including me and three went into pro football.”

He said one of the proud years was his junior season. “We were ranked

sixth in the nation at one point and won the conference, but we didn’t go

to the Rose Bowl because of the ‘no repeat’ rule,” he said.

The Beaver coach was Tommy Prothro and Milum had utmost regard for

him. “He was a great coach,” he said. “He really knew how to recruit. He

could take an average kid and draw a great talent out of him. Prothro was

very cerebral, very smart.”

Milum also has similar praise for the present Beaver Coach, Dennis

Erickson. He recalls the two national grid championships he won at Miami

University years ago and the struggles he had directing the Seattle

Seahawks. He was elated to see him reach out for the opening at Oregon

State.

Reflecting back, Milum said he was drawn to Oregon State “because I

liked the single-wing formation. And Prothro installed the single-wing.”

He would up playing fullback on offense and right wing on defense.

It was a familiar picture of him from his ’54 grid season at Harbor

when he played right half on offense and defense, then backed up

All-Sunset League fullback Charlie Berry on offense when he was out of

the game.

Milum, who weighed 160 pounds as a Tar senior and was only 17 when we

entered college, recalls numerous impressive Harbor peers on the grid,

but three he lauded from in ’54 was tackle Dick Mirkovich, tackle Bob

Cantu and fullback Berry. He called them, “real studs.”

He said, “Berry was a real raw-boned athlete. He hit with constant

impact. It always reminded him of his older brother, Bob Berry, who was

an all-league fullback as a junior and senior.

A classmate, Salty Green, who lives in Alsea, Ore., and played on the

‘53 Newport grid team, is fond of Oregon football and has attended two

Oregon State games with Milum of Santa Rosa this season.

Green has an interesting record connected with the Rose Bowl. He has

attended 40 consecutive Rose Bowl games over the years. He is trying to

break the record held by his dad before he passed away. He and his dad

owned and operated a big fishing craft in Balboa for years.

He is looking forward to the next Rose Bowl, especially if Milum’s

Beavers make the grade.