Moments in History

June 25, 1897

An article in The Oregonian announces the debut of the "Oregon Interscholastic League" with a track and field event held at Multnomah Field.

There is no mention of how many schools participated, but the report focuses on athletes from Portland High School, the city's lone public school at the time. Other schools mentioned are PA (we assume Portland Academy), Pacific University and HBC (which we assume stands for Hudson’s Bay Company).

With the exception of a Ben Norden of PHS, who won the novice 100-yard dash, only the last names of the young participants are listed. We presume that Ben had a brother ,necessitating the use of his first name.

Among other PHS athletes to win events were guys named Blumenthal, Wickersham, Dammasch, Upton, Wisdom and Scholler (or Schuller or Schaller. In the article, the name is spelled multiple ways).

Portland High School eventually became Lincoln High. It was located on several sites in what is now downtown Portland over the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Multnomah Field, of course, was located where Providence Park now stands.

•The same edition of The Oregonian includes items about an upcoming cricket match between the Married Men and the Bachelors at Riverside Park.

• A basket ball (sic) exhibition was scheduled for that evening at the EastSide Young Men’s Christian Association grounds at East Sixth and Salmon between the host club and the champions of California from San Francisco.

• Another item stated that, though a local bicycle dealer was suspended for hosting a race on a Sunday, participants wound not be suspended.

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March 9, 1915

A story in The Oregonian states that a meeting was planned yo discuss admitting the Portland School of Trades to the "Portland Interscholastic League," which included Portland Academy, Hill Military Academy, Columbia University and public high schools Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Franklin.

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June 4, 1925

The Oregonian reported that the high school baseball season would not be completed and that no champion would be crowned. Reasons included ineligible players on several team, rainouts and scheduled final exams. Benson and Washington were tied for first place when the season was abandoned

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NOVEMBER 11, 1925

Jefferson wins the PIL football championship with a record of five wins and two ties, clinching the title with a 19-0 defeat of Lincoln at Multnomah Stadium. Washington (6-1-0) finished second, followed by Commerce/Cleveland (4-2-1), Benson (2-2-2), Grant (2-4-1), Franklin (1-2-3), Lincoln (1-4-1) and Roosevelt (0-5-2).

Citing the lack of an approved state playoff format, Jefferson declined the opportunity to face Medford for a showdown of top teams in Western Oregon. Instead, Medford hosted Salem in what was billed a sthe championship of western Oregon. Medford won 16-13 in front of some 5,000 fans on Dec. 5, 2025.

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DECEMBER 2, 1950

Led by PIL Hall of Famers George Shaw, Ruben Menache and Ron Pheister, Grant wins its second consecutive state championship, beating Marshfield of Coos Bay 12-7. It was the Generals’ 23rd consecutive win over two seasons and fifth state title in eight years. The Oregonian reported that Grant scored twice in the first half but that Marshfield controlled the second half and came up just short of a winning touchdown. The newspaper described the crowd of 10,595 at Multnomah Stadium as “small and disappointing.”

Shaw, the Grant quarterback, went on to star at Oregon and in the NFL for the Baltimore Colts.

Menache, a two-way lineman, was 1st-Team All-State in 1950 and named outstanding lineman in the 1951 Shrine Game. Pheister, the center, would later serve as the longtime PIL Director of Athletics and was involved in establishing the PIL Hall of Fame.

Grant had reached the state title tilt by beating Roosevelt 13-0 to claim the PIL title, then taking down Astoria 38-0 in the state quarterfinals and Eugene 7-6 in the semifinals.

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Be sure to check back here for more key dates in the history of the PIL and Portland high school sports.