The Birth of Highline Sports

Highline Community College will be celebrating a fortieth anniversary by going back in time. The city that Highline resided in was founded in 1968 in Des Moines, Washington where the population was minimal. The population in Des Moines was considered even smaller than the size of other small cities of the time, which made it even more difficult for the school to establish notoriety. Des Moines was approximately one twelfth the size of King County which population was 935,000 in 1960, therefore the Des Moines area consisted of about 78,000 people. The different groups of people, from different backgrounds, contributed to the development of the community college. Part of the development of a city consists of the construction of educational institutions. Therefore, Highline was built. With the new college the city would be able to draw attention from the public and people outside of the community. One way that Highline gained attention was through the development of sports teams. This would allow Highline to compete with other teams and schools from around the county and beyond. This aroused the interests and brought in visitors from other counties to the Des Moines area. Highline soon attracted athletes that would choose to play for Highline after graduating from high school in search of a higher education.

Looking back to the newspapers of the 1960’s I found articles detailing the emergence of the sports programs of the time. Intramural Flag Football was first introduced to Highline in 1968. The Flag Football rules differed from those of today. The rules began with the prohibition of cleats and spikes and hard surface padding. The games began at noon and were comprised of two twenty minute halves. The first Flag Football game of Highline history was October 8, 1968. In this game the Highline T-Birds were competing against the Beater Squad. The teams were organized by Mr. Dale Bolinger. He directed the men and women who were interested in participating in the intramural activities, by designating a time and place for the students to meet. The participation in Flag Football was not only limited to the students, but the faculty joined in the games as well. This sport attracted attention of spectators and participants because it was not as rigorous as standard football and was not a contact sport. This opened up the program to more individuals and allowed those who could not play standard football to participate in Flag Football.

One of Highline’s great coaches, Milton Orphan Junior, ran the swim program in the sixties. He stayed actively involved in the program by spending extra hours working on different training methods. Without the dedication of Milton Orphan Junior, the students would eventually have become bored with swim practice. He created these different methods which kept student involvement and interest high. This program became a success because of the dedication of the coach and the interests of the students. It quickly gained a positive reputation and has continued to progress over the years.

The Cross Country team was another popular program that flourished and gained attraction from spectators. In 1968 the Highline Cross Country team had never finished lower than third place in the state competition. Even before the Cross Country team was recognized in 1966, Highline was becoming acclaimed for their wins. In 1965 Highline won three individual championships and in 1966 they placed second in state. The top five runners in Highline’s Hall of Fame in 1968 were Steve Stageberg, Rick Adams, Paul Eichenberger, Carl Goetzinger, and Bob Pierce. As a team, with their strong abilities combined, these five runners dominated almost all events.

Along with the success of the Cross Country team, the T-Birds women's Volleyball squad was at the top of their division. Throughout the year their hard work and dedication lead them to challenge top competitors. Bellevue stood in the way of the title for the volleyball team and they were forced to compete in an all conference battle. The women's Volleyball team was popular and the progression that they made on their way to attain the all conference title brought about much attention and was a positive reinforcement of the success of the athletic programs at Highline Community College.

By examining Highline history it is clear that this is a school to be proud of. Since the beginning of time it has consisted of dedicated coaches, all-star athletes and motivated students. With this type of history and success the motives behind the development of the school achieved its desired effect. Highline attracted positive attention from the public and the community through its sports programs and therefore created a attention to the athletic portions of the school as well as the academic. These memories, created through athletic victories, have given a sense of pride to Highline Community College students and staff.

Works Cited

Archives. The Highline Community College Newspaper. (1960-1965).