War and the Roses for Oregon State
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Jack Yoshihara might not make it to the big game, but it won't be because he wasn't allowed to to be there, as was the case in 1942.
Jack Yoshihara, a Japanese American and a sophomore reserve on Oregon State's football team, was practicing in mid-December 1941, just as he had throughout the season.
There was anticipation, with the Beavers preparing to play second-ranked Duke in their first trip to the Rose Bowl game. There was also fear, with the country still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor only a week or so earlier.
"I will never forget that day," said George Zellick, a teammate of Yoshihara. "It was late afternoon. It was drizzling. We noticed two men coming on to the field. They were very well dressed, wearing overcoats and hats. You could tell they were different people. They met with the coach and, the next thing we new, Jack left with them. It was first indication that Jack had a problem."
The Beavers went to the Rose Bowl, which had been moved to Durham, N.C., because of the war, and upset Duke. They traveled without Yoshihara, who was not allowed to go to the game, left school and was soon sent to a civilian assembly center in Portland.
Oregon State and Duke players went to war after the game. Yoshihara went to the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho.
In June, Yoshihara was among the Oregon State students of Japanese ancestry, interned during World War II, who were given honorary degrees by the university. After receiving his diploma, Yoshihara was asked to hold up his 1942 Rose Bowl ring, given to him 1985, bringing cheers from the crowd at Reser Stadium.
University President Edward Ray stepped to the microphone and said, "It seems to me, given the setting we're in today, it is only appropriate that we give Jack another Rose Bowl."
Rose Bowl, 2009
This season's Oregon State team is trying to honor that IOU. The Beavers need only to win their final two games to get to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1965 game.
From his condominium in Edmonds, Wash.., the 87-year old Yoshihara, who retired 27 years ago from running his refrigerator and air conditioning store in Portland, keeps a close eye on Oregon State football.
"We have a good team," Yoshihara said. "We just have to keep winning big."
Even if the Beavers do, Yoshihara said he is unlikely to go to the Rose Bowl. He attends homecoming every year, but health issues, which forced him to give up ocean fishing three years ago, "would make it very hard to drive that far to go to the game."
Besides, Yoshihara's Rose Bowl is in the past.
