More on Ward Collinsworth

In 1953, Echo dominated the entire state enroute to a 30-0 season and a state championship. LeWard Collinsworth was a vital member of that team, the school and the entire community. We named him to our 3rd Team All-Decade Team for the 1950's.

Not long ago, I connected with Dale Fife, board member of the Echo Historical Museum. who provided supplemental information on Collinsworth and the teams he led in the early 1950's.

Fife writes, "Ward was born in Emmett, Idaho and moved to Echo about 1943. He excelled in basketball, football and baseball."

Indeed, during Echo's magical run during the 1952-53 school year, Collinsworth helped lead the Cougars to a Cayuse League football championship and a spot in an Eastern Oregon playoff game against Wallowa. the winner earned a spot in the state quarterfinals. Wallowa prevailed 19-12 enroute to the state championship game.

Collinsworth was named to the All-Cayuse League and earned a spot in the East/West Shrine Game as a halfback.

When basketball started, the Cougars wanted to build on a 5th place finish in 1952. Echo dominated everyone it encountered, piling up a 68 points per game average while giving up just 37 to its opponents. Collinsworth was one of four players to average double figures during the season with a 13.2 average.

In the 8-game state championship drive, Collingsworth increased his average to 17 per game and finished on the First-Team All-State Tournament team.

That summer, Collinsworth was named MVP of the East/West Shrine Game, witnessed by nearly 8,000 people in Pendleton. He returned a punt 40 yards for the first touchdown of the game and the East prevailed 19-0.

According to Fife, "after graduating from Echo, Ward went to Washington State on a football scholarship. He transferred to Oregon Institute of Technology where he played basketball and ran track. He joined the military and played on the Army's basketball team.

"He had four kids and raised a couple of foster children as a journeyman electrician."

Collinsworth passed away in 2010 and left a lasting legacy in Echo as an athlete and leader.

In the words of Fife, "Since 1953, Echo has fielded many teams and had a few that excelled, but none have ever matched what this group of boys did that magical year of 1953. The team, the school, and the people of the town became one and the focus was on the team, the boys, the school and victory!"


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