Author: Donald Guenther
Obtained: October 25th, 2013
Many families have a focus or center to which they consider their claim to fame. The Guenther family’s claim to fame was sports. Dad had been a star football player and baseball player in Marshfield high school, a Pit Rat. His strengths were sports and music. He missed so much school growing up as his family moved around that if it weren’t for his mother putting her foot down he could have grown up without having attended any school. After his mother died at age twelve his life centered on music (his dad’s love) and sports his love.
Dad built everything a family could imagine on the acreage we owned. We played tennis, basketball, badminton, golf, horse shoes, swimming, baseball and many other sports all on fields and courses dad built. Your importance to the family lay in how good you were in sports. Richy’s desire was to gain dad’s approval and lived dad’s dreams. Richy had quick muscles for speed and determination that kept him practicing.
Dad coached Coos Catholic grade school for years and could tell who would be the future high school stars. Richy, dad thought, had all the talent to be a start athlete. Richy did have an attitude problem that plagued the family’s best athletes. Those of us who weren’t good didn’t seem to suffer as much from being self-directed as opposed to being coachable. Simply put, we were cocky know it all’s.
The climax for the Guenther’s family sports attainment came when Marshfield played North Eugene during Richy’s senior year.
Objectively, Richy couldn’t shot from the outside. He was a talented ball handler and defensive player. Both Marshfield’s first string guards had played on the varsity team for years while Richy came up through the ranks. These two kids were superb athletes but lacked the heart that Rich had. In the middle of Richy’s senior year both starting guards were injured and could no longer play.
Coach Hoffine turned to Richy’s skills when Marshfield faced one of the best teams in the league, North Eugene. He had no choice. Dad knew all along of Richy’s talent that had been overlooked in football earlier in the year.
In the game Richy dribbled the ball so well that North Eugene couldn’t get it from him. Marshfield beat North Eugene 49 to 45. It made the local paper.
This was an amazing game as it vindicated dad’s beliefs and made the family feel they had arrived. We were recognized as great athletes in the community.
Earlier performances by Ronny and Bobby in tennis are overlooked because the family was too young to really appropriate their greatness. Ronny even played Pac 8 varsity tennis.
After Richie, of the boys Eddy went on to play good high school sports but nothing would compare to the excitement the family experienced when Richy played basketball. Johnny quit sports and Donny played in the line. Davy came down with a long term illness.
Anjo and Annie were stars in tennis and most of the family doesn’t know that they were the best college badminton players on the west coast as evidenced by winning a college tournament in Seattle while they attended Marylhurst.
Phiddy boys would outshine everyone as NCAA wrestling champions.
Nothing would ever even come close to feelings the Guenthers had with Richy’s achievement because dad and the family needed the recognition that followed. A family centered on sports had what their dream come true, an acknowledged sports star at Marshfield High School.