Don Younger-In Memoriam

Long ago in Portland there was little in the way of beer,  little in the way of cool districts,  no McMenamins or other brewpubs, and very very little sympathy for or interest in that sport called soccer.   What there was, however, was a place called The Horsebrass Pub on SE Belmont street.  A place which evoked every imaginable sensation that would warm the hearts of an Anglophile.   Don Younger,  independent and single-minded publican,  had managed to create something magic with his pub.   
Sadly, I read the news today oh boy,  and part of it was the announcement that Don had passed on.  Which made me sad for both his passing and the loss of his friends and family but also for the loss of a time in Portland that is unlikely to be repeated.  Rightly,  Younger is honored and mourned for the nurturing and support he provided to people in the nascent brewing industry.  And for his quirky but authentic approach to the Horsebrass, a Portland institution.
What might go unsaid in other settings though is that Don was one of the people who helped the birth of broad interest in soccer in our city.   The pub sponsored teams,  the best known of which  I believe was Rangers.   On the east wall just near the dart boards,  a framed photo still hangs of the Old Nicks Horsebrass team which rang up some metal in the 80s.   I don't know whether Don liked the game itself all that much or saw it as an essential outcropping of the pub life which he was working to create.  Regardless,  he gave it his support.   I remember well going to the Horsebrass on a weekend morning with family to have a good English breakfast and to watch a tape or limited access broadcast of the FA Cup final on the telly.    
Those are good and genuine memories.  I was lucky to be part of it all.   And I'm sad today that Don is no longer with us.  But I hope his memory will be part of our stories for years to come.

A Thrill of Recognition

Okay it's a small thing, but I was reading the Timbers Notebook this past week and saw the small print notice announcing the division alignments in the coming MLS season.   In the West I noted that competitors included our boys, the Portland Timbers,  Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders, and the San Jose Earthquake.   All of them teams who struggled for the title back in the 70s NASL.  Brings back memories of an extraordinary time when most of us were just discovering soccer.  Who would have thought that we'd be gearing up thirty some years later to go to battle under the same banners and wearing the same colors (sorta).  As I say,  I felt a thrill.

Portland Timbers Ink!

My great frustration over the years that soccer has become more popular in our city has been the dearth of coverage by The Oregonian when good and interesting stories have been available to cover.   I can see that the tide has turned in the past week or two as the sports page has frequently had updates on the Timbers' recruiting, drafting, speculating, and training.   All of which is to say that Portlanders who follow The Game have at least a reason to check the sports page.   And Portlanders who haven't yet followed The Game might be persuaded to take a little interest as the stories unfold.   And I applaud The Oregonian's Editorial staff for giving some greater priority to the effort.  
In the mists of the 70s past, local media covered the Timbers with gushing enthusiasm because they had a fantastic and unexpected run to prominence in the old NASL.   And Portlanders,  much to everyone's surprise,  took the team into their hearts even if they did have funny accents, or perhaps because they did.  Maybe it was an early example of why Portland could be 'weird'.  
I am hopeful that Portland's print media continue the decent and insightful coverage of the Timbers and of the game in general two years from now,  regardless of where our crew fall in the table.   The sport has labored for acceptance as something more than an oddity for a half century almost.   Write about it. And write about it well.  Soccer deserves it.

Unraveling the mystery "These Lads Really Know How to Kick It Around"

The Oregonian Sport Section, sometime in the latter part of 1935,  featured a picture of the Sellwood soccer team, arms folded and smiling confidently, in a parklike setting.   At their feet were ranged two trophies and a ball.  Until this week,  I couldn't venture an opinion about those trophies.  Today I can say with certainty that the Cameron Cup,  Oregon's oldest known soccer artifact, sits on the left at the feet of T. Watson and the Bennett Cup, a second ancient icon of our game, sits at the feet of R. Watson.  The crew from Sellwood,  including the ever-affable Hugh Templeton, were getting ready to face off against German Sports at Sellwood Park. 


The match had been called off at the half four weeks earlier when one of the German players, Gus Moessner, had died during the game.  The German Sports were ahead by two goals when the match had been stopped, but Sellwood was confident after having beaten the Germans three times in league play.   


At stake in the match was the Oregon State Cup annual fixture.   


Most notable to me, though, was the presence of those two trophies, icons of our state's soccer heritage going back almost to the turn of the Twentieth Century. The Cameron Cup, only recovered in the last few weeks after being out of sight for decades,  symbolizes our sport's earliest competitions.   And to see these photos recalls many threads of continuity between past and present.


Earlier today,  I had an exhilarating phone conversation with a descendant of Judge Cameron,  who created the Cameron Cup at the beginning of the 20th Century.  She is eager to share family history about the Judge and also about her ancestors who played for Portland's Scottish sides ninety or so years ago.  


So more is to come. Like the unfolding of a Chinese puzzle the unraveling of history no one remembered provides opportunities to recognize that we are part of a grand and long tradition.