The Class of 1992: ATHLETES

DEAN BENSON (1952-1956)

Dean Benson still holds the Willamette school record in the high hurdles (13.9) and won an NAIA championship in that event as a junior in 1955. He also won the Northwest Conference high hurdles crown four straight years and was a two-time District champion, after the district was formed in 1955. As a senior, he placed third in his specialty at the NAIA meet. In 1956, he was fourth in the high hurdles during the Olympic trials. In football, Benson was an honorable mention all-Conference wide receiver and later was offered a tryout with the San Francisco 49ers. He was head track and field coach at Medford High School for 32 years and was an assistant in football for 29 seasons. His 1964 boy track team won the Oregon state title and four Medford football teams won state crowns during his tenure. Benson’s top two track stars at Medford were Bob McIntyre, what was part of a word record 400-yard relay team at Stanford, and Dick Fosbury, an Olympic high jump champion.

LYNNE CROSETT FLYNN (1972-1976)

Lynne Crosett won a total of 15 letters in volleyball, basketball, softball and field hockey during her four years. She was Willamette’s first Female Athlete of the Year in 1976. Her best sport was field hockey, in which she was all-conference four years and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Field Hockey Program in 1977. 1979, 1980. Crosett received a master’s in education, physical education and sports management from Old Dominion in 1983 after serving as an instructor and head basketball and field hockey coach at the College of Idaho- now known at Albertson College. She began working for the Navy in 1984 as a Community Activities Director in New Orleans. She is currently serving as Deputy in the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department for the Navy’s Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, Calif. The Navy honored her with an individual achievement award in 1989.

HENRY HARTLEY (1923-1927)

Henry “Hank” Hartley started four years in football and basketball and was all-Northwest Conference in both sports as a senior- the year the Conference was started. He made the first basked in WU’s old gym as a freshman during the 1923-24 season and scored 35 points one game verus Linfield. Hartley also held the school’s high jump record of 5-10 1/2 for 25 years. After college, Hartley coached for nine years- seven in Coquille. He later became superintendent and principal at Bandon and Nyssa high school before winding up his career as North Bend superintendent for 16 years- retiring in 1970. He won national attention while at Nyssa for developing a combination baseball diamond, football field and track and field athletic complex.

CALVIN LEE (1967-1970)

Calvin Lee is the only Willamette Athlete to be a two-time first-team NAIA All-American being selected as a linebacker in 1968 and 1969. He was also a three-time all-Northwest Conference performer during his three years at Willamette. Lee, one of the feared players ever to don a Bearcat uniform, was a key ingredient in Willamette’s NAIA Division II semifinal team that finished 9-1 and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country. The linebacker led WU to the Pacific Northwest’s best defensive squad, limiting opponents to 181.7 yards per game. The Bearcats defense was ranked No. 6 in the NAIA against the run that year at 60.0 yards per game. Lee is now the head football coach at St. Louis High School in Honolulu, which has won six straight Hawaii state championships heading into the 1992 season.

STAN SOLOMON (1957-1961)

Stan Solomon was an all-Northwest Conference running back for four years- three times being named to the first-team unit. He helped the Bearcats to their most recent undefeated (8-0) season in 1960 and was named to the first-team NAIA, Willamette System and Methodist All-American squad. His career rushing records of 6.4 yards per carry, 2,859 yards and 37 touchdowns have stood for 32 years. Solomon’s outstanding senior season in 1960 brought about many honors, including being selected to play in the All-American bowl. He was named the Oregon Journal’s Small College Player of the Year. In addition, Solomon ran track for four years and placed third in the 220 and fourth in the 100 at the 1959 Northwest Conference championships. Solomon teaches at Marshfield High in Coos Bay. He has been an assistant football coach for 27 years, head track coach for 21 years and coached girl’s basketball for 14 seasons.

The Class of 1992: COACHES

CHESTER STACKHOUSE (1949-1952)

Chester “Stack” Stackhouse was Willamette’s head football coach and track and field coach for three years- his track squad winning Northwest Conference titles in 1951 and ’52. He is considered the father of Willamette’s storied track history. His greatest contributions to Willamette’s athletic heritage were starting the popular Willamette Relays for college and high school track and field athletes in 1951, which lasted for 36 years, and the founding of an innovative athletic equipment company, which is still in business today in Salem. Just prior to coming to Willamette, Stackhouse initiated the first-ever inter-racial collegiate athletic competitions during his first year at Lincoln University (1947), the nations oldest black university in Pennsylvania. Lincoln competed against some 35 white colleges and universities. Stackhouse died June 29, 1978.

JEAN MOORE WILLIAMS (1945-1947, 1949-1951, 1953-1981)

Jean Williams coached every sport offered to women, at one time or another, during her 32 years at Willamette until her retirement in 1981. She also served as Director of Women’s Physical Education, Director of Women’s Intramurals and Coordinator of the Service Programs. She was president of the Women’s Conference of Independent Colleges during its first year in 1953 and was inducted into the NAIA District 2 Hall of Fame in 1987. Williams prepped at Salem High School, graduating in 1939. She then attended Willamette, receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1943 and a master’s in education in 1967. Much like former track coach Chuck Bowles, a 1991 charter Hall of Fame inductee, Williams befriended all of her Willamette athletes and those friendships have grown ever since.

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