The Story of the 1941 Willamette Bearcats and the Aftermath of Their Season Finale
The 1941 Season went on like any other season Willamette Dominated the Northwest Conference outscoring opponents 218 - 7, after losing to Idaho on the mainland the Bearcats thought they would be on a fun trip to Hawai'i as both them and the San Jose Spartans were invited to play Hawai'i in a series of games called the Shrine Bowl in Honolulu.
On December 6th, 1941 the Willamette Bearcats played in the Shrine Bowl against the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors losing 20 - 6.
The next morning as the Bearcats got ready for a tour of the Island the unpredictable happened, Japan Bombed Pearl Harbor launching the United States into World War 2. Proceeding the attack Coach Knee volunteered the football team to help in the war effort for 10 days in Hawai'i
Posted Dec 7, 2025, 11:41 PM UTC