Ad Rutschman

Adolph "Ad" Rutschman (born October 30, 1931) is an American football coach, former baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He was a head football coach for 24 seasons, head baseball coach for 13 seasons, and served as athletic director for 25 years at Linfield College. He is the first athletic director emeritus in the history of the college. He also served as head coach of football and baseball at his alma mater, Hillsboro High School. Rutschman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

Ad Rutschman
Current position
TitleKick return coach
TeamLinfield
ConferenceNWC
Biographical details
Born (1931-10-30) October 30, 1931
Hillsboro, Oregon, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1958–1967Hillsboro HS (OR)
1968–1991Linfield
2001–presentLinfield (KR)
Baseball
1955–1968Hillsboro HS (OR)
1971–1983Linfield
Head coaching record
Overall183–48–3 (college football)
Bowls1–2
Tournaments11–6 (NAIA D-II playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
3 NAIA D-II National (1982, 1984, 1986)
12 NWC (1969–1972, 1974–1978, 1980, 1982, 1984)
2 CFL Southern Division (1985–1986)
1 CFA Mount Hood Division (1991)

Baseball
1 NAIA World Series (1971)
Awards
Football
NAIA Division II Coach of the Year (1982, 1984, 1986)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1998 (profile)

Early years

Rutschman was an athlete at Hillsboro High School (Hilhi Spartans) in his hometown of Hillsboro, Oregon. There he starred as a running back in the late 1940s, scoring 20 career touchdowns.[1][2] After high school, he turned down a professional contract with the NFL's Detroit Lions[3] and made up his mind to teach and coach sports. He received his degree in physical education and began teaching at Hilhi in 1954. He was an assistant baseball coach in 1955 before becoming the head baseball coach in 1956. He became the head football coach three years after that, winning a state championship in 1966.[4]

As baseball coach of the Spartans he led the school to a co-state championship in 1962, with the title game rained out.[5] He also led the team to both the 1966 and 1968 AAA state titles (the top division at that time in the OSAA).[6][7] The 1966 team featured future Major League player Bob Beall, and the 1968 team Bob's brothers Jim and Gene. Rutschman also coached the first event, a baseball game, at Hillsboro's Hare Field in 1965.[8] Hillsboro had four Little League teams when Rutschman began coaching at Hillsboro, but by the time he left, there were 41 teams.

After 13 years at Hillsboro High school, Rutschman was approached about taking over the head football coach position at Linfield College.

Linfield College

Rutschman was hired as the head football coach at Linfield College in 1968. During his 24 seasons as Linfield head football coach, his teams won three NAIA national championship (1982, 1984, 1986) and 15 Northwest Conference championships. One of his most memorable coached games was the 1984 national championship. Linfield trailed defending NAIA-II champion Northwestern 22-0 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, but would come back to win 33-22. His Wildcats played in a total of 20 post-season games in 12 different seasons. He led the team to a winning season in all 24 seasons as coach, part of Linfield's current all-divisions national record streak of 62 consecutive winning seasons (as of the end of the 2017 season). After the 1991 season, Rutschman retired from coaching with a career record of 183-48-3 (.788).

Rutschman also served as the head coach of the baseball program from 1971 to 1983. In his first season as the head baseball coach, he guided Linfield to the NAIA national championship. Before stepping down as head coach in 1983, he led the Wildcats to six conference championships and seven NAIA District 2 titles.

Rutschman is the only college coach at any level to have won national titles in both football and baseball. He was named Division II football coach of the year three times and was honored as the state of Oregon's Slats Gill man of the year five times, more than any other individual. Rutschman was named to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1988, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

During his 25-year tenure as athletic director, the college's sports facilities took major leaps forward. The spacious and modern athletic complex, including two new gymnasiums, a swimming pool and multi-purpose field house, was constructed, a new baseball stadium was erected and the tennis courts were relocated and expanded. Locker rooms were renovated and a concession stand and ticket booth was built. The field house, a 26,600-square-foot (2,470 m2) multi-purpose facility completed in 1995, was named in honor of Rutschman and his wife, Joan, for their 27 years of service to the college.

Rutschman retired as head coach of the football team in 1991, but returned in 2001 as kickoff return coach under head coach Jay Locey.[9]

Family

Rutschman's grandson, Adley Rutschman, was a catcher for the Oregon State Beavers baseball team. Adley was the College World Series Most Outstanding Player on Oregon State's 2018 College World Series championship team and was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the first overall pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft.[10]

Head coaching record

College football

Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Linfield Wildcats (Northwest Conference) (1968–1984)
1968 Linfield 6–2–14–1–12nd
1969 Linfield 6–34–2T–1st
1970 Linfield 8–16–01st
1971 Linfield 5–44–2T–1st
1972 Linfield 6–36–01st
1973 Linfield 7–25–22nd
1974 Linfield 9–17–01stL NAIA Division II Semifinal
1975 Linfield 6–36–1T–1st
1976 Linfield 7–36–11stL NAIA District 2 Oregon Bowl
1977 Linfield 8–16–01stL NAIA Division II Semifinal
1978 Linfield 9–15–01stL NAIA Division II Semifinal
1979 Linfield 6–3–14–12ndL NAIA District 2 Oregon Bowl
1980 Linfield 9–15–01stL NAIA Division II Quarterfinal
1981 Linfield 8–24–12ndW NAIA District 2 Oregon Bowl
1982 Linfield 12–05–01stW NAIA Division II Championship
1983 Linfield 6–2–13–1–1T–2nd
1984 Linfield 12–04–01stW NAIA Division II Championship
Linfield Wildcats (Columbia Football League) (1985–1987)
1985 Linfield 8–26–01st (Southern)L NAIA Division II Quarterfinal
1986 Linfield 12–06–01st (Southern)W NAIA Division II Championship
1987 Linfield 5–44–2T–2nd (Southern)
Linfield Wildcats (Columbia Football Association) (1988–1991)
1988 Linfield 7–24–22nd (Mount Hood)
1989 Linfield 6–34–2T–3rd (Mount Rainer)
1990 Linfield 7–24–23rd (Mount Rainer)
1991 Linfield 8–35–1T–1st (Mount Hood)L NAIA Division II Quarterfinal
Linfield: 183–48–4117–21–2
Total:183–48–4
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References

  1. Hilhi career scoring. The Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  2. McKinney, Dick. Footballers excel during tenure at Goodman. The Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  3. "Ad Rutschman NFL Stats and Bio". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  4. McKinney, Dick. Spartans 1966 teams rank as two state champions. The Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  5. McKinney, Dick. Hilhi, South Eugene share 1962 Oregon baseball crown. The Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  6. McKinney, Dick. Balance carries Spartans to 1966 AAA diamond crown. The Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  7. McKinney, Dick. Rutschman's final Hilhi team claims '68 crown. The Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  8. McKinney, Dick. Sparts win first game at Hare. The Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
  9. Daschel, Nick (November 19, 2015). "Ad Rutschman is 84, and still making a difference with Linfield football". OregonLive.com. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  10. "Oregon State's Adley Rutschman wins 2018 College World Series Most Outstanding Player". ncaa.com. June 28, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
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