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School contract talks continue
Company gets
federal money to catch the wind
Chamber continues
name-change discussion
OSU
sports from a
local angle |
Newberg resident George Edmonston Jr. co-authors
a new book recounting the university's athletic past |
By Schellen Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic Reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendein@eaglenewspapers.com
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It’s been a part of his life for the past three years.
The brainchild of George Edmonston Jr., a resident of Newberg, is his first
book, “Tales from Oregon State Sports.” He said the idea for the book was born
during conversations with co-author Jeff Welsch, sports editor at the Corvallis
Gazette-Times.
The tales range from wildly victorious, to nostalgic.
Often funny, sometimes sad and even, at times, a little scandalous, the
“Tales from Oregon State Sports” is a collection of 34 stories from Oregon State
University athletic history. Edmonston is editor of the Oregon Stater alumni magazine.
Stories include football history, basketball — both men’s and
women’s — a discussion on the effect of Title IX, as well as profiles, tidbits
and anecdotes tossed in for flavor.
“We did it for a lot of reasons,” he said.
Edmonston said he wrote the book to promote a feeling of pride in OSU’s
athletic programs, and to help preserve institutional memory.
The book is told in a pull-up-your-chair-and-listen-to-this-story style with
asides from both authors. It includes a handful of archive photos, as well.
Edmonston said that in researching the book he and Welsh consulted
historians, scoured archives and interviewed, when possible, the athletes and coaches and
their families, as well as calling on their own memories to get a clear view of the past.
 “Sometimes a book comes out because a
writer or writers feel it’s time,” Edmonston said, adding that the book is the
first publication celebrating the life of OSU athletics.
Edmonston said he never found a book like the one he and Welsh put together,
and feels it’s important to make these records available to a younger generation of
fans.
“Another purpose is to try and tell stories that connect Oregon State to
the nation and the world,” he said.
Several chapters include the stories of OSU athletes who set national
records, changed nationwide rules on athletics and even a few who went on to win gold and
silver medals for the United States in the Olympics.
The 221-page hardback book is published by Sports Publishing in Champagne,
Ill. and sells for $19.95. |
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From Oct. 8,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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