** The following are memories of the Islanders by former QB and Auburn Mayor Bob Roegner.

I played for the Whidbey Islanders in 1972 and 1973. In high school I played football as a back up quarterback and ran track at Wilson High school in Tacoma. I went to Peninsula Community College and played basketball and baseball. At Pacific Lutheran University I lasted one week. They were a top program back then and had at least five quarterbacks better than I was. And it was time to  buckle down and study and stop playing sports.My grades did improve. But a friend, Don Robinson, suggested I go with him to play for the Islanders. I still had a good arm and split time with Jim Lehman for two seasons. Jim actually preferred playing defense. But he was also our punter and threw three touchdown passes out of punt formation. It was hard competing on an equal basis so trickery was always good.

Most of the players had played high school football up in the Everett area.  We didn’t get any game money, but we got insurance coverage, gas money for practice and games and expense’s when we went to away games.I never missed a practice or a game and got the biggest reimbursement check at the end of the season.  It was probably about $50. They were probably keeping the float, very low budget operation. As you can see from the photos our uniforms were ugly. Lavender and orange!  I still have one of the jerseys. We played because we enjoyed playing. It was fun. If I could still play I would, but all I can play now is golf.

We practiced at a high school field on Whidbey and I left work at exactly 5pm twice a week and could just make the Langley Ferry at Mukilteo. We practiced for two hours and then got back on the Ferry a little more worse for wear. 
 

We weren’t very good, but we did win some games.The “stumble,fumble and fall” was meant as a joke because we had two very good running backs.  But in trying to learn the wishbone offense we kept knocking each other over and falling down. None of us quarterbacks were quick enough to run the wishbone.  It requires timing and precision. We like to throw the ball or just hand it off.  Clarence Coleman, from Port Angeles, had played a little at Washington State and was a big fullback. Stan Bertsch was almost as big and just as tough. I just handed the ball to them a lot.

When we went to Canada we played by Canadian rules. When they came down here they played by American rules. Canadian rules resemble a fire drill with everyone going a different direction. There were two Canadian teams. One was a college team and they had a nice small college stadium. We played one game at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. It was huge and would seat over 30,000 people. With family and friends the total crowd was probably 100 people. None were cheering for us. I was a track fan and remembered the stadiums history. It was built in 1954 for the British Commonwealth Games. It was known as the place that Roger Bannister and John Landy both broke the 4-minute mile in the same race. It was also home to the B.C. Lions. When I was in school at Peninsula Community College in Port Angeles we got the Canadian TV stations and I watched the Lions play on Canadian television and was familiar with the stadium. It was fun to play there. It had also hosted Elvis and the Beatles.  It was demolished in 1993.

In the game at Empire Stadium, the Canadian team scored on the first play as our defense ran into each other trying to figure out where the ball went. It evened out after that.  In Canadian football the field is longer and wider. We had practiced with their three down system and wider field and I kept moving the receivers out wider to get more room for passing. It was a fun game but I don’t remember who won.
 

In 1973 the Pierce County Bengals joined the league and became the dominate team. They had several players who had played in the NFL for periods of time and wanted to get back to the big time. Their quarterback, Bill Donkers, was from Renton and had a good career at San Diego State, and was on the roster for the St. Louis Cardinals for 4-5 years. Unlike the rest of us, he actually looked like he knew what he was doing.

I remember their middle linebacker used to play for the Washington Huskies and chased me all over the field yelling he was going to “tear my head off”. I believed him and scared the daylights out of the center. Fortunately he didn’t catch me very often. But then he didn’t need to, they beat us by 50 points.

One of the Seattle teams, the Cavaliers I think, had quarterback Bob Cason who had been a star at  the University of Puget Sound.  He was really good. There were other names that I remembered at the time but don’t recall them now.

We had a small running back named Chris who was quick and had been in Viet Nam. If he got hit in the head he would start to act funny. We had to watch him. My friend Don was like my personal protector and made sure I was as safe as possible. But he wasn’t always successful. One time he picked me up off the ground after I was hit and said ”you're going to have to learn to run faster, because you're not tall enough to stand behind me to throw the ball”.  Don and I later played Recreation softball, basketball and flag football together. He was a good athlete. Don got involved in some illegal stuff and ended up in prison. I lost track of him. Clarence, Stan and one of the offensive lineman made the All-Star team. I remember that because I was assigned to buy them small trophies. I was told that they got short tryouts in Canada, but was never able to verify the story. 
 

Marshall Paris was way to thin to be a lineman, but he tried hard and was persistent! I think he was a part owner of the team because he played when ever he wanted to.  Jim and Joe Lehman were sons of the coach and great guys. I think the father owned a well digging company.

I don’t know what happened to most of the team. I finished up a Masters Degree at Pacific Lutheran and worked in government. I served as Mayor of Auburn for twelve years. I am now a Trustee at Highline College and serve on various Boards and act like a retired statesman. But I still remember those two years. I got to play on the same field with some football players who played in the NFL, and that was pretty special.

 - THANK YOU BOB FOR SHARING THESE MEMORIES!  - GNFA Staff