SHANNON URTNOWSKI
The Current Editor
In recent years, Pepperdine’s athletic program has been characterized by the phrase, “Small school, big tradition.” However, the program has been making history since George Pepperdine College first opened in Los Angeles in 1937, when the school was even smaller and the tradition was just beginning to blossom. One of the athletic program’s most notable achievements? The 1947 football team’s national championship for small schools.
“One has to remember that campus was about 1,200 students, and they went on to become a football powerhouse in the nation,” said Athletic Director John Watson. “And then they went on to become great leaders and contributors to society.”
The 1947 football team was undefeated, which students, faculty and staff still take pride in today.
To commemorate the men who brought this honor to Pepperdine, at least 10 members of the team will return to the University Saturday to be recognized at an event hosted by the Athletics Advancement program.
The team was comprised of almost 50 members, and this year marks the 60th anniversary of the title they earned. Watson said it is the perfect time to remember the achievement.
“It’s the 60th year of their success, which shows that Pepperdine is maturing and has had athletic success for many years,” he said. “It’s a tremendous milestone.”
Saturday’s event has been in the works since the beginning of the year, according to Associate Vice Chancellor of Athletics Sam Lagana.
Starting off the evening, members of the 1947 football team and the administration will share an intimate dinner reception in the Trophy Room. Afterward, the men will be escorted to the first Pepperdine men’s basketball home game of the season, which will be against Cal State Northridge. During halftime, the team will be honored with plaques and a commemorative football.
According to Lagana, this event will be special because it will involve the entire Pepperdine community. It will serve to remind students that the University’s tradition has been a work in the making since it was founded.
“This is important because these guys have a great history and a great legacy and the students really seem to enjoy their company,” he said.
Likewise, members of the 1947 team said they are excited to return to Pepperdine this weekend.
“It’s always nice to come back to campus,” said former fullback Darwin Horn, who will be attending the event with some of his team members Saturday. “It’s going to be a great function.”
Horn, an All-American who graduated from Pepperdine in 1949, was the nation’s highest-scoring football player in 1947. The retired Secret Service agent said he could not have been so successful without the Pepperdine football program.
“I feel that was one of the greatest programs that Pepperdine ever had, and I’m very privileged to have been a part of it,” Horn said. “It was an electrifying experience.”
Former running back, Ron Whitson, who will also attend the event, said he looks back on the experience fondly.
“It’s bittersweet thinking those days are all gone,” Whitson said. “I still have emotions about some of those games. I still picture getting that ball and running down the field.”
The football program was started at Pepperdine in 1946, one year before the team won the national championship, and was disbanded in 1961 because of financial reasons, according to Watson.
Although Pepperdine no longer has the football program, junior Allison Mericle, the student coordinator for the event, said she hopes the weekend will show the alumni football players that they are still important for Pepperdine’s tradition.
“We want them to still be a big part of our university even though we don’t have a football team anymore,” Mericle said. “Sometimes, those guys can feel disconnected from school, so we want them to still be involved with Pepperdine.”
Horn said he has made it a point to stay as active as possible with Pepperdine throughout the years. One of the ways the football alumni have done this is through an endowment fund they created for fifth-year student athletes who need assistance to graduate.
The football players have donated more than $130,000 over the past 8 years, and each year a scholarship of about $6,000 is awarded to Pepperdine athletes, according to Watson. Basketball senior Gregg Barlow was awarded the scholarship this year.
“They love seeing the students thrive,” Lagana said. “So many of these guys were given a chance by George Pepperdine to go to college — they want to help other students. They really believe in our mission.”
Lagana said he is proud to know these men, who have such a heart for their alma mater.
“I think these gentlemen represent so much of the true nature of Pepperdine, shown by their loyalty to the institution,” he said. “When you look at their lives, they really represent men who have purpose, give great service and provide incredible leadership.”
Students will be able to share in the company of these men during the halftime presentation of Saturday’s men’s basketball game, which will take place at Firestone Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.
In addition, the first 1,000 students at the game will receive commemorative rally towels that are printed with the 1947 national championship banner, which hangs in the fieldhouse today.
“It’s not a multi-media super slideshow,” Lagana said of the upcoming halftime presentation. “It’s, ‘Here they are,’ and they are so excited about it.”
11-15-2007
