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Clarence "Nub" Beamer Jr.'s first varsity football game for Roseburg High in 1953 was an impressive debut, to say the least.
Beamer, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior halfback, was in his first season of football and had turned out for the team late in the summer. He didn't play in the Indians' opening two varsity contests, shutout losses to Eugene and Klamath Union.
His presence was the difference in the third game against Medford at Finlay Field. Beamer rushed for 205 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Indians defeated the Black Tornado 26-14 -- Roseburg's first win ever over Medford (now North Medford) after 16 losses to its southern Oregon rival.
"I didn't know what to expect," Beamer said Wednesday from his home in Winfield, British Columbia, Canada. "My parents (Beatrice and Clarence Sr.) didn't let me play football until I was a junior," fearing he'd get hurt. "But after the Medford game, I convinced them."
A star was born from that point on.
Beamer went on as a senior to become Roseburg's first football player to receive first-team all-state honors, played three years collegiately under Tommy Prothro at Oregon State University and spent five seasons with the B.C. Lions in the Canadian Football League.
Beamer, a 1955 RHS graduate who will turn 70 on Tuesday, was one of four running backs selected to The News-Review's All-Century Roseburg High football team in 2001.
"I think Nub was one of the top three or four (all-around) athletes in the state at that time," said Denny Brundage, a '55 classmate who played football with Beamer at RHS and OSU. "He was a very disciplined athlete and powerful runner. He did it all extremely well."
Beamer was a three-sport athlete his final two years at RHS, playing football, basketball and baseball. Bill Harper, who coached Beamer in basketball and baseball, says he was a talented catcher for the Tribe on the diamond. Unfortunately, a broken wrist kept Beamer out of baseball his senior year.
"I thought he had the potential to be a professional baseball player," said Harper, a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies since 1970. "He could really swing the bat. He was strong physically, and was a good competitor. When the bell rang, he was ready to go."
But football was the sport that opened doors for Beamer.
He shined in his two years under Bob George at RHS, making the all-district team both seasons and receiving honorable mention on the High School All-American Team in 1954. The Indians finished 4-4-1 both years.
Beamer ran for 12 touchdowns in seven games as a junior. His biggest game as a senior came against Springfield, when he rushed for 187 yards and scored a school-record five TDs in a 32-6 victory over Springfield. That record stood solely until Greg Fogle, Roseburg's career leading rusher, matched it in 1990.
Beamer could also throw, tossing two scoring strikes in a 28-6 win over Sandy. He accounted for 1,001 yards of total offense in 1954, gaining 795 on the ground and 206 through the air in nine games.
"After my senior year, I knew I wanted to play pro football," he said.
Beamer accepted a scholarship offer from OSU and spent the next four years in Corvallis. He played on the rook team in 1955, then played a major role over the next three years.
He was a reserve fullback on the 1956 team that lost to Iowa 35-19 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1957, before 100,000 fans in Pasadena, Calif. Beamer gained 31 yards on seven carries, including a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter, and caught two passes for 31 yards for the 10th-ranked Beavers, who finished 7-3-1 that season.
"Playing in the Rose Bowl was really exciting," Beamer said. "That crowd was unbelievable."
The Beavers had good clubs in 1957 and 1958 as well, going 8-2 and 6-4. The '57 season ended with a 10-7 win over Oregon in Eugene, but the 19th-ranked Beavers were kept out of the Rose Bowl due to the conference's no-repeat rule at the time.
"That was hard to swallow," Beamer, a starter his last two seasons, said.
Beamer remembers two highlight games from his junior season -- a 20-0 upset of USC in Portland with 131 yards rushing and two TDs, and a 39-25 win over Washington State at home when he gained 114 yards and scored three times.
"(Tommy) Prothro was a man of few words, but I liked him," Beamer said. "He wasn't too much into giving pep talks, he just asked you to go out and give 100 percent and do your job. My fundamentals really improved at OSU. I learned how to block and how to run better. He helped get me into pro football."
After playing in the East-West Shrine Game, it was on to Canada and Beamer says he enjoyed his time in the CFL from 1959-63. He played 59 games for the Lions, making the Western Division all-star team twice. He won the Eddie James Memorial Trophy as the Western Division's top rusher in 1962.
B.C. won the Western Division title in 1963 and lost to Hamilton 21-10 in the Grey Cup. A pair of concussions forced Beamer to retire and become a stockbroker.
Nub is the third of the late "Pop" and "Ma" Beamer's six children. His three brothers -- Wally, 72, Ron, 66, and Jim, 59 -- all played professional baseball. There are two sisters: Doris, 74, and Bessie, 67.
All but Nub reside in Oregon: Doris in Coquille, Wally and Ron in Roseburg, Bessie in Salem and Jim in Keizer.
Now retired from the workforce, Beamer has lived in Winfield with his wife of 21 years, Jean, the past two years after residing in Lynden, Wash., for 16. Their two children, Gregg, 40, and Marcie, 38, live nearby in Canada. They have three grandchildren.
Nub, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago but says he's doing fine today, will celebrate his 70th at his brother's house in Keizer. All his brothers and sisters, along with some of their families and friends, are expected to attend. Plenty of stories will be told, no doubt.
"I've had a terrific life," he said. "Roseburg was a great place to grow up and I've done pretty much everything I wanted to do. I couldn't ask for anything more."
* You can reach Associate Editor Tom Eggers at 957-4204 or by e-mail at teggers@newsreview.info.
Beamer, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior halfback, was in his first season of football and had turned out for the team late in the summer. He didn't play in the Indians' opening two varsity contests, shutout losses to Eugene and Klamath Union.
His presence was the difference in the third game against Medford at Finlay Field. Beamer rushed for 205 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Indians defeated the Black Tornado 26-14 -- Roseburg's first win ever over Medford (now North Medford) after 16 losses to its southern Oregon rival.
"I didn't know what to expect," Beamer said Wednesday from his home in Winfield, British Columbia, Canada. "My parents (Beatrice and Clarence Sr.) didn't let me play football until I was a junior," fearing he'd get hurt. "But after the Medford game, I convinced them."
A star was born from that point on.
Beamer went on as a senior to become Roseburg's first football player to receive first-team all-state honors, played three years collegiately under Tommy Prothro at Oregon State University and spent five seasons with the B.C. Lions in the Canadian Football League.
Beamer, a 1955 RHS graduate who will turn 70 on Tuesday, was one of four running backs selected to The News-Review's All-Century Roseburg High football team in 2001.
"I think Nub was one of the top three or four (all-around) athletes in the state at that time," said Denny Brundage, a '55 classmate who played football with Beamer at RHS and OSU. "He was a very disciplined athlete and powerful runner. He did it all extremely well."
Beamer was a three-sport athlete his final two years at RHS, playing football, basketball and baseball. Bill Harper, who coached Beamer in basketball and baseball, says he was a talented catcher for the Tribe on the diamond. Unfortunately, a broken wrist kept Beamer out of baseball his senior year.
"I thought he had the potential to be a professional baseball player," said Harper, a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies since 1970. "He could really swing the bat. He was strong physically, and was a good competitor. When the bell rang, he was ready to go."
But football was the sport that opened doors for Beamer.
He shined in his two years under Bob George at RHS, making the all-district team both seasons and receiving honorable mention on the High School All-American Team in 1954. The Indians finished 4-4-1 both years.
Beamer ran for 12 touchdowns in seven games as a junior. His biggest game as a senior came against Springfield, when he rushed for 187 yards and scored a school-record five TDs in a 32-6 victory over Springfield. That record stood solely until Greg Fogle, Roseburg's career leading rusher, matched it in 1990.
Beamer could also throw, tossing two scoring strikes in a 28-6 win over Sandy. He accounted for 1,001 yards of total offense in 1954, gaining 795 on the ground and 206 through the air in nine games.
"After my senior year, I knew I wanted to play pro football," he said.
Beamer accepted a scholarship offer from OSU and spent the next four years in Corvallis. He played on the rook team in 1955, then played a major role over the next three years.
He was a reserve fullback on the 1956 team that lost to Iowa 35-19 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1957, before 100,000 fans in Pasadena, Calif. Beamer gained 31 yards on seven carries, including a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter, and caught two passes for 31 yards for the 10th-ranked Beavers, who finished 7-3-1 that season.
"Playing in the Rose Bowl was really exciting," Beamer said. "That crowd was unbelievable."
The Beavers had good clubs in 1957 and 1958 as well, going 8-2 and 6-4. The '57 season ended with a 10-7 win over Oregon in Eugene, but the 19th-ranked Beavers were kept out of the Rose Bowl due to the conference's no-repeat rule at the time.
"That was hard to swallow," Beamer, a starter his last two seasons, said.
Beamer remembers two highlight games from his junior season -- a 20-0 upset of USC in Portland with 131 yards rushing and two TDs, and a 39-25 win over Washington State at home when he gained 114 yards and scored three times.
"(Tommy) Prothro was a man of few words, but I liked him," Beamer said. "He wasn't too much into giving pep talks, he just asked you to go out and give 100 percent and do your job. My fundamentals really improved at OSU. I learned how to block and how to run better. He helped get me into pro football."
After playing in the East-West Shrine Game, it was on to Canada and Beamer says he enjoyed his time in the CFL from 1959-63. He played 59 games for the Lions, making the Western Division all-star team twice. He won the Eddie James Memorial Trophy as the Western Division's top rusher in 1962.
B.C. won the Western Division title in 1963 and lost to Hamilton 21-10 in the Grey Cup. A pair of concussions forced Beamer to retire and become a stockbroker.
Nub is the third of the late "Pop" and "Ma" Beamer's six children. His three brothers -- Wally, 72, Ron, 66, and Jim, 59 -- all played professional baseball. There are two sisters: Doris, 74, and Bessie, 67.
All but Nub reside in Oregon: Doris in Coquille, Wally and Ron in Roseburg, Bessie in Salem and Jim in Keizer.
Now retired from the workforce, Beamer has lived in Winfield with his wife of 21 years, Jean, the past two years after residing in Lynden, Wash., for 16. Their two children, Gregg, 40, and Marcie, 38, live nearby in Canada. They have three grandchildren.
Nub, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago but says he's doing fine today, will celebrate his 70th at his brother's house in Keizer. All his brothers and sisters, along with some of their families and friends, are expected to attend. Plenty of stories will be told, no doubt.
"I've had a terrific life," he said. "Roseburg was a great place to grow up and I've done pretty much everything I wanted to do. I couldn't ask for anything more."
* You can reach Associate Editor Tom Eggers at 957-4204 or by e-mail at teggers@newsreview.info.
