Raymond Vincent Borleske

Seattle Athletic Club / Washington Athletic Club

Halfback

1911-1912

"Banned" by the PN-AAU

1913

From 1907 to 1910 Vincent "Nig" Borleske was considered the greatest sensation in Northwest college football ever put out while at Whitman College.  Pretty high praise for the Spokane athlete who was never picked for the high school all-star team.  During those days, high school was an on-again, off-again affair for the tough speedster.  It wasn't until he started attending Blair Business College, a pseudo-prep school created by Hugh C. Blair in 1897 for "practical eduction", that his legend took off.  The football team at BBB was a recruiting tool for attendees to learn a skill as an alternative to the changing public education system and Vincent showed his first glimpses of greatness while captaining the Blair baseball team in the spring of 1905 and as a hard tackling 18-year old defender in the fall.

In one game against Idaho University it was reported that "Nig" got away on six or seven runs of over 30 yards, scored four touchdowns and kicked two goals from placement, himself accounting for 26 of Whitman's 30 points. Walter Camp placed Borleske as an honorable mention All-American, while Northwest writers balked "at Harvard or Yale there would be little doubt of his name being on the top of the list, he was attending too little of a school for the east coasters".  He would be the first "western" U.S. player named to Walter Camp's All-America teams.

Labeled the best halfback, hardest line hitters and surest punt catchers by pundits, Borleske was not only highly sought after on the gridiron, but on the baseball diamond as well holding down 3rd base and pitching for Whitman.  Those baseball skills would take him to the Brandon Angels and Edmonton Grey Birds of the Western Canada League in 1911 and 1912, during his off-season from football.  This would come back to be a problem for the "amateur" club teams.

After graduating from Whitman, Vincent took the reigns of the Broadway High School team in Seattle and was courted by every major football club in the northwest with the Seattle Athletic Club winning his services for 1911.

Borleske was such a force with the Seattle Athletic Club, after averaging over 20 yards per punt return against the Multnomah Athletic Club, perennial west coast champions and able to dominate Oregon colleges, the MAAC petitioned to have him banned from play due to his "professional" baseball status in the return match-up slated for New Years Day 1912.

The Seattle Athletic Club would change to the "Washington Athletic Club" for the 1912 season in response to the MAAC charge and away from the AAU umbrella, set out to dethrone the Winged M's and Borleske returned in better shape than ever.  And the MAAC loaded up with "ringers" as well.   Students of history will recall this was the era of targeting opposing players and "taking out" the stars was not uncommon.  Borleske had a big target on him, and it wouldn't be the first time.  Against Washington State College as a senior, Vincent lay on the field unconscious four times and four times revived to carry on.  With two minutes left in the game, Borleske picked up a Cougar fumble and ran 95-yards for a touchdown.  Four Cougars were carried off the field unconscious after the play, the result of chins meeting a brutal shoulder or elbow from Vincent.

When Multnomah and Washington lined up the hits were on...literally.  Fists were flying 10 seconds before the final whistle with Multnomah players suffering from many injuries.  The game ended in a tie, but Vincent was the star of the game according to the Tacoma Ledger. 

After leaving in the second quarter with another concussion, Vincent returned to rush 18 yards and intercept a pass just before halftime.  In the 4th quarter, Borleske took a Multnomah punt straight into the heart of the Winged M's defenders and when the dust settled, Vincent had laid out Callicrate and Conville, Multnomah's starting tackle and end in the collision.  Carrying the ball two of the next three plays, Borleske had gained 11 yards, and did not get the ball the next three plays resulting in a punt.  Both teams missed on their scoring chances, neither penetrating the others 10 yard line, Seattle erroneously going away from the hot Borleske at crunch time, opting for gimmick plays that gained no yards.  Vincent Borleske was a one-man wrecking ball on defense as well all season and the two teams finished with identical 5-1-1 records.  The Amateur Athletic Union began looking hard at the complaints of "professionals" in the club ranks even though the same players were eligible for college.

The Washington Athletic Club would disband as the organizers and Coach Tom McDonald took off for Alaska to chase gold.  Borleske, having been banned from club ball for 1913 as a "professional" would go on to coach Lincoln High in Portland until being named the coach at his alma mater in 1915.  Northwest Club football may have looked a lot different if "Nig" Borleske was allowed to showcase his skills for more than two seasons of "amateur" club ball as he had been compared to Jim Thorpe in ability, and to some, he was even better than Thorpe.

From 1915 to 1946 Vincent would serve as head coach of Whitman College where he would lead football, baseball and basketball to 17 conference championships, including the 1921, 28, 30 and 31 football crowns and amassed a 530-368 record as baseball coach.  His basketball teams won 7 titles in a 12 year span. 

Retiring from coaching in 1947, Vincent served as mayor of Walla Walla, coaching the American Legion team during his second term.  The Borleske Trophy is given to the top male athlete at Whitman, and Borleske Stadium is named in his honor.  The very first inductee to the Washington Sports Hall of Fame in 1960, he is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame (1959) and Whitman College Hall of Fame Class of 2003.