Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 75 years ago

It was opening day of the 1935 college football season – yes, they started late in those days – and the region’s teams experienced mixed results.

Gonzaga University was shut out by Oregon, 18 to 0. In 1942, Gonzaga would drop its football program altogether.

Washington State College (now University) raced to a 46-6 victory in front of 4,000 spectators in Pullman, but they weren’t facing their most formidable rivals. They were playing the College of Puget Sound (now University). WSC’s first play was a 69-yard touchdown run. The regulars played only 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, the University of Washington had a good day in front of 16,000 spectators at Washington Stadium in Seattle. The Huskies beat the University of Idaho Vandals, 14 to 0.

Idaho threatened to score with a fancy “double-lateral” play, but one of the laterals went awry and Washington pounced on it at the 1-foot line.

Idaho unveiled “its shiny new silver helmets and gold satin pants.” That’s apparently why a sportswriter called them the “fan-dancing” Vandals.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1907: The foundation stone was laid for the Washington National Cathedral, which wasn’t completed until this date in 1990. … 1982: Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide claimed the first of seven victims in the Chicago area. (The case remains unsolved.)