Benjamin "Benny" G. Hammond

Fort Lewis Panthers (1957-58) / Seattle Ramblers (1959)

Center / Noseguard

Tacoma Tyees (1961-1966) / Victoria Steelers (1967)

Originator / Head Coach / Player

One of the first black originators of a semi-pro football team in the Pacific Northwest, Ben Hammond rose from a California high school prospect to one of the most highly decorated players and coaches in college and semi pro football ranks through the tumultous 1960s.

Born in Davidson, Oklahoma in 1934, "Benny" was an active child, moving with his family at age 8 to Richmond, California where he found sports fame in football while being a three-sport standout at Richmond High School.  Ben was the first varsity letter winner in school history to do so as only a sophomore.  As a junior and senior, Hammond was named All-Conference for the 1951 and 1952 seasons.  Staying local, Ben enrolled at Richmonds, West Contra Costa Junior College where he was shifted from fullback to the trenches after coaches felt he lacked the speed they were looking for.  Benny dove in head first to master his new position and for two-straight seasons he never had the "feeling of splinters" as he was a 60-minute man playing both sides of the ball.  He was a two-time All-Conference selection again at junior college, 4 consecutive years of such honors.  Ben also picked up his glove to play baseball promptly leading the league in batting (.349) and being twice named to the 2nd All-Star team while playing first base, outfield and pitching.

In 1955, now a scholarship player at the University of Washington under John Cherberg, Hammond was in the regular rotation but for the first time in his career, he was not an unchallenged starter.  1956 began under difficult circumstances as the Huskies were penalized, along with other Pacific Coast Universities in an illegal athlete subsidization scandal.  This meant all scholarship players were suspended for half of the 1956 season.  Ben made the best of it, in all five games he was allowed to start, he was considered the finest offensive center on the Pacific Coast.  Defensively, against UCLA he was credited with 27 tackles and 15 assists earning outstanding lineman of the week and made the UCLA All-Opponent team for the season.  Ben considered that his greatest accomplishment when interviewed by Ron Mann in 1961.  Many Associated Press reporters believed, had he been allowed to compete in a full season he would have been named the #1 lineman in the nation.

Following the 1956 season, the San Francisco 49ers drafted Hammond but a few weeks later, so did the US Army.  The Korean War and the US Army won out, and the 49ers had to release the rookie.

For two years of duty, Ben was stationed at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington, where he continued playing football as the anchor of the 47th Infantry Panthers, Cascade Champions and kings of the Rain Bowl as the #1 Fort Lewis Football Team.  The Panthers would travel to California to take on the Army Coastal Champion Presidio Red Raiders falling 19-14.

Following his discharge, Ben married Clarice Altheiner and joined the Seattle Ramblers.  Playing under Hall of Famer Bill Castrow in 1959 and 1960, Hammond learned all that he could as a part-time starter on a team that went on a two-year sixteen game winning streak. 

With a new family and living in Tacoma, Hammond embarked on a mission to create a new team and in 1961 the Tacoma Tyees hit the field.  An 0-5-1 season didn't seem like much to be happy about, but for one of the first black team owners, proving they could play in the 1960's was enough to garner respect and the Tyees went on to build a powerhouse and claim the North Pacific League crown in 1962 and 1963 beating Bill Castrow's Ramblers in head-to-head match ups in four outings.  The Tyees narrowly lost the 1963 North Coast Championship in a 7-0 loss at the Humboldt (California) Foresters.  They would return in a 1964 regular season match-up to tie the Foresters 21-21, eventually losing the North Pacific crown to the Edmonds Warriors 12-7, a team they had defeated in three outings the year before.  Following the 1965 regular season, the North Pacific League All-Stars, coached by Ben Hammond gave Edmonds everything they could handle before falling 13-12 in the Warriors closest game of a 12-0 campaign that extended Mel McCain's coaching win streak to 21.  Hammonds Tyees had lost three games to the Warriors by a combined 81-12, prompting one sports writer to point out, the All-Star team filled in some talent gaps the Tyees had, and when on level talent ground, Ben Hammond could coach against anyone.

All during this time starting in 1962, Ben was tabbed to coach the line for the University of Puget Sound.  The Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Errol Garner fan could be heard humming in his baritone voice as he went about his work after UPS athletic director and football coach John Heinrick brought him aboard as a 27-year old assistant.  Cal Christoph (DE) and Harland Patterson (OT) earned All-Evergreen Conference honors under Hammond as UPS shared league honors with Whitworth in 1962.  Ralph Bauman would earn all-star honors as a two-way lineman for UPS in 1963 as well as Hall of Fame end Joe Peyton who would be an All-Star four consecutive seasons (1963-1966).  Jim DeStefano (1964-65), Al Neeley (1965-66), Mike Sienkiewich (1966), Don Brennan (1966), Joe Roundy (1966), and Steve Doolittle (1966) all earned Evergreen Conference honors as proteges of Ben Hammond's line coaching.

Following the 1966 season, the Tyees began negotiations with Stadium High School and other venues to be the new home for the semi-pro team, however agreements could not be reached and the Tyees would be forced to disband as the Pacific Football League had been forming with a goal of being the West Division to the Continental Football League.  Shortly after, that same Continental Football League came calling and the Victoria Steelers (British Columbia, Canada) franchise signed Hammond to play center for the 1967 season.  Ben played that season as a 34-year old veteran, and when the franchise began to falter financially, he and the coaching staff jumped into action salvaging the remaining five games of the season as the "Victoria Tyees".  Fellow Hall of Famer Fred Forsberg, as an assistant coach to Don McKeta, as well as 1967 All-CFL and future Denver Bronco, helped take the team 1-4 down the stretch to finish the season. Lafa Lane announced the team would be moved to Spokane to become the Spokane Shockers.  Hammond hung up his cleats for good after making winning a habit regardless of the level he was at.

"Benny" returned to California where he spent 25-years with the California School District until his retirement when he came back to Tacoma to be close to children and grandchildren.  Ben Hammond passed away in 2018, one day shy of his 84th birthday.

Bert Sweeting (Tacoma), Bill Castrow (Seattle Ramblers), Ben Hammond, and Bob Jones (Longview) pose prior to the 1963 Columbia River Shrine Club Football Festival at R.A. Long Stadium.  Hammond and his Tyees beat his former mentor and the Ramblers 34-12.