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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2003)
Where Are They Now? Don Reynolds by Jerry Thompson Duck RB Great has Close Ties with OSU’s Riley Riley & Reynolds receive 1970 state trophy. Photos courtesy Corvallis High School Thirty-three years ago Don Reynolds and Mike Riley were star teammates on Corvallis High School’s State Championship football team (see photos). Reynolds went on to run for 2299 yards during his 3 years on varsity at the University of Oregon while the left-handed Riley played quarterback for Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama. Despite their being separated by time and distance they always cheered for each other as their professional careers continued in sports. Don had an outstanding professional base- ball career while Riley followed his dad’s footsteps and became a football coach. Yes, Don even roots for Riley’s Beavers to win every game-every game except one, that is. It is no different this year in the 107th Civil War. Don says he can’t sit still during the Oregon-Oregon State game and will find a way to be roaming the sidelines urging on his Ducks while his good friend will be in orange and black on the opposite side of the field. Friends against friends, brothers against brothers — that’s what the Civil War game is all about. One of the greatest Civil Wars ever for the Ducks was the 1972 game in rain- soaked Corvallis. Try to imagine going into the ‘72 OSU game with a 3 and 7 record having lost the last 8 Civil Wars in a row. On a play that will always remain fondly in the minds of longtime Duck fans, sophomore Don Reynolds took Dan Fouts’ handoff on the first play from scrimmage (a blast up the middle), broke two tackles, and ran 60 yards for all the points the Ducks needed. Fouts and company under first year coach Dick Enright routed the Beavers 30-3 and ended the 8-year drought a bat, in the fall of 1971, Jerry Frei talked him into walking on for frosh football. Reynolds led the frosh team in rushing, returned kicks and punts, and also played defensive back. He was more impressive than the scholarship backs, and so he became a two-sport athlete for the Ducks. Under new coach Dick Enright, Reynolds earned the starting position at tailback in ‘72 and he helped the Ducks beat Stanford with an 85-yard touchdown run, which is 2nd on the all-time list. It is still the longest run from scrimmage since 1938. Don’s outstanding sophomore year earned him the Casanova award given to the team’s most outstanding first year player. The Ducks never had a winning sea- son in Reynolds’ three years, but Don was one of the most exciting runners to ever play for Oregon. He combined great Mike Riley, #12, was the star QB and Don Reynolds, #22, was Corvallis’ star tailback. E u g e n e s H o t t e s t D a n c e r s LOTTERY FULL BAR Eugene’s Bachelor Party & Birthday Headquarter’s 2620 W 10TH PLACE • 541-485-2303 8 NOVEMBER 20, 2003 DucksIllustrated In 1973, Don became Oregon’s second 1,000-yard rusher in school history. on a soggy, miserable day in Corvallis. The win was particularly satisfying for Reynolds who was a three-sport star at Corvallis High School. He ran for 1227 yards his senior year (1970) for state champion Corvallis who was led at quarterback by Mike Riley. Don grew up in Eugene and the family moved to Corvallis in the 5th grade. At Corvallis he lettered 3 years in baseball, two in football, and once in basketball. He led Corvallis to the Oregon State American Legion championship in 1970 and earned All-State honors in baseball and football. Oregon State recruited him “pretty hard” as a football player, but they showed no interest in him as a baseball player. Oregon was just the opposite as he was offered a full-ride for baseball, but nothing for football. Don’s first love was baseball so he decided to go to Oregon and play in the outfield for head coach Mel Krause. Before he even swung balance, quickness, and strength reminis- cent of Onterrio Smith. Reynolds turned a lot of sure losses into gains and was always striving to get an extra yard. Six times in his career Don ran for over 100 yards which still ranks him 8th in Duck history. He was just the second back in Oregon history to gain 1,000 yards (Bobby Moore was first) and his most productive games were 196 yards against Northwestern in 1974 and 179 against Utah in 1973. Meanwhile Don was also excelling with the bat and in the outfield. He was a 3-time All Pac-8 Northern Division selection and posted his best numbers his junior year (1974) hitting .358 and leading the team in home runs with 8. A bundle of energy, Don took no time off, as he played summer collegiate baseball and led the Alaskan Gold-Panners to two straight National Baseball Congress championships in 1973 and 1974. As a result of his great
