Game Daily: This week in Husky history

Sep 17, 2015, 6:50 PM

With no score in the first or second quarter, the 1958 Washington football team knew it had to make something happen after halftime in its season opener against San Jose State. At Husky Stadium, on Sept. 20, 1958, in the first-ever matchup between the UW and the Spartans, the Huskies ended up pulling out the win in their season opener. The Spartans, now a member of the Mountain West Conference (MWC), but formerly part of the Western Athletic Conference, fell to the UW 14-6. The Huskies have played nine of the 12 schools that make up the current MWC and are 28-11 all-time. The best record comes in their meeting against San Jose State, where they currently stand 10-0, starting back in 1958. Opening the scoring with a 4-yard run from quarterback Bob Hivner, the UW finally put numbers on the board in the third quarter. “We’re young and green,” then-UW head coach Jim Owens told The Seattle Times. “I’d have settled for 7-6. I’m just glad we won.” The Spartans answered back in the fourth, and when they took a risk to go for two, their pass attempt was deflected by the UW’s Carver Gayton, keeping their total at six. Later in the game, Gayton had a 31-yard run, notching what would remain the longest rush of the year. The second touchdown for the UW came in the fourth quarter. A 36-yard pass from Hivner to running back Mike McCluskey was part of a scoring drive of 62 yards in eight plays, ending with a 6-yard run from McCluskey. Multi-position player George Fleming kicked both of the extra points that day, however, the second touchdown conversion kick was brought back due to a holding penalty and the ball was moved to the 18-yard line. Fleming lined up to kick again, once again making it through the goalposts. Talented both as a place-kicker and as a running back, Fleming went on to be part of the championship teams both of the next two years and was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2011. “ … I feel he will be a field-goal threat the rest of the season,” Owens told The Seattle Times regarding Fleming’s kicking performance against the Spartans. San Jose State head coach Bob Titchenal recognized that his team was outmatched by the Huskies, despite a solid effort. “They outmatched us, but I felt we pretty much held our own,” Titchenal told The Seattle Times. “We made mistakes — I think those pass interceptions were more throwing errors than defensive brilliance.” In 1958, Jim Owens’ second year as head coach, the Huskies would go on to finish 3-7-0 in their last year as part of the Pacific Coast Conference. Hivner was the passing leader of the year for 1958, finishing 48-of-115, with 587 yards, 13 interceptions, and three touchdowns. The following year, the Huskies were conference champions and won the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin. In 1960, they were crowned national champions and again found themselves in Pasadena, Calif., defeating Minnesota for a second Rose Bowl victory in as many years. Reach Editor-in-Chief Kathryn Altena at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @kkaltena

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