Catching the Oregon Spirit: The Arrival of Bill Hayward

Bill Hayward began coaching track and field at the University of Oregon in 1904, launching a career that would span more than four decades before his retirement in 1947. In his early years, his role was commonly referred to as “trainer,” a seasonal position rather than a full-time post, reflecting national norms at the time.

Hayward’s path to Eugene began on the West Coast at Berkeley, where he worked under head trainer Walter Christie. He then accepted two positions in Oregon, leading track and field programs at Pacific University (1901–1902) and Albany College in 1903. His success at Albany—highlighted by a northwest championship—proved to be a turning point in his career.

A dual meet between Albany College and the University of Oregon was originally scheduled for May 16, 1903, and was set to be the first competition on the newly completed Kincaid Field on the UO campus. However, torrential rain that day “turned the field into mud and made running impossible” (The Oregon Weekly, May 18, 1903). The meet was rescheduled for June 1st in Albany, coinciding with Oregon’s return trip from a meet in Portland against the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club.

The result was decisive: “Oregon met severe defeat at the hands of Albany College yesterday afternoon. The score was 76½ to 49½” (Daily Eugene Guard, June 2, 1903). Although Oregon had won all its previous meets that season, it could not match the strength of Hayward’s team. Even before the contest, some observers had predicted the possibility of an upset: “There are some enthusiasts who are speculating on a victory over the ‘varsity athletes’” (Morning Oregonian, May 4, 1903).

Virgil Earl, the student manager of Oregon’s track and field team, took note of Hayward’s success and sought to bring him to the university. While working a summer surveying job in Idaho for the Department of the Interior, Earl wrote to President P. L. Campbell urging him to consider Hayward for the 1904 season. “Hayward is now looked upon as one of the best trainers in the Northwest,” he wrote, adding that Hayward “has several offers, among them one from the University of Tennessee.” A week later, President Campbell responded that the proposal “was taken up at the meeting of the Athletic Council last Friday and passed on favorably.”

Hayward’s signed contract was reported in the Morning Oregonian on November 30, 1903. He arrived in Eugene in mid-April 1904 to begin what would become an illustrious tenure.

In 1941, a journalism student, Sally Mitchell, wrote a biography of Hayward, noting his deep affection for Oregon. “Bill was attracted to the state from the first by the fine fishing and the glorious climate,” she wrote. Hayward himself reflected: “I came to Oregon for a vacation, and I caught what they call ‘the Oregon spirit.’ It’s not a serious disease, but it’s contagious, so they kept me here. I like everything in the state, and everything I like is in the state, so I stayed.”