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From athlete to coach
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman Baldy Foster, 82, was a coach at Klamath Union High School for about 20 years. |
April 30, 2007
It may have been hard to believe that sports would play a large part in Baldy Foster's life.
As the youngest member of his family, 82-year-old Foster recalled being smaller than most guys in his younger days, so much so that Klamath Basin school officials wouldn't allow him to attend the first grade.
“I was so small they didn't even believe I was old enough,” Baldy said.
But after personal successes in football, basketball and track at high school and college levels and as a coach at Klamath Union High School for about 20 years, sports are a big part of the Klamath Falls resident's life.
Foster was born in a barn near Mount Shasta in February 1925. His father was a teamster and nomadic, a theme that would be prevalent throughout much of his youngest son's life.
The parents split up when Foster was 5, and he moved to Grants Pass with his mother.
During the next 13 years, Foster moved all over southern Oregon, partially as a result of the Great Depression. Unable to attend the first grade in the Basin, he lived with his grandparents in Grants Pass and attended school there. In the second and third grades he moved in with family friends in Stewart-Lenox, then lived in a sawmill camp outside Lakeview during his years in the fourth and fifth grades.
From the sixth grade through high school graduation, Foster stayed in Klamath Falls, moving between the homes of his two older sisters, Lela Bates and Billie Snyder. He said he is beholden to them, as it was during those years they taught him how to take care of himself, from cooking to washing his own clothes.
Sports entered Foster's life while he was in Lakeview. He participated in a track meet in the fifth grade, where he placed in the football throw, jump and relay events. He still has the ribbons in a scrapbook he's kept over the years.
“Then I was hooked,” he said.
Throughout the rest of his education, Foster would dedicate himself to athletics. He attended Roosevelt and Fremont schools in Klamath Falls, adding basketball and football to his repertoire.
School organization and locations were different back then, with Fremont serving as a one-year middle school between the elementary and high school grades. Fremont was on Pine Street and is now the First Baptist Church, Foster said.
Foster said he didn't enjoy his time at Fremont, partially because it didn't have any recreation facilities to satisfy his athletic needs. Whenever he was bored in the school library, he would look out the window and count roof tiles on Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
At Klamath Union, Foster's athletic career continued. Many team photos from those years show a man smaller than any other player on the team, but he still made varsity squads. In football, he played left halfback, which is considered a quarterback now.
In those years, Medford High School was the team to beat in nearly every sport and Foster said the rivalry between the two schools was intense, particularly in football. Oregon had no state football championship in those years, but there was the Mythical Championship, which went to the undefeated team in Pacific Northwest.
Medford was a regular winner of the honor, and Klamath Union threatened to take the championship in 1942, Foster's junior year, but lost to Medford in a snowy game at Modoc Field.
Foster said Klamath Union was vindicated for that loss his senior year in 1943 when they shut out Medford in the game leading up to the championship. Unfortunately, his team lost in the championship game to Vancouver, Wash.
Senior year was still good to Foster, though. He was named to the all-state high school basketball team and Klamath Union was the state basketball champion that year. He helped the track team finish fifth in the state championships as well.
World War II
He planned to attend Oregon State University the fall after graduation but the U.S. Navy put that on hold when he was in the first group of graduates drafted into World War II.
“They marched us down to the armory, gave us a little New Testament and a pack of cigarettes and put us on the train,” Foster said.
The next two and a half years were spent in the Pacific Theater on an LST, or landing ship tank. Foster refers as a “large slow target.” He saw action on Okinawa and Iwo Jima and remembers the kamikaze attacks of the Japanese airplanes.
One of the more frightening experiences came after the war, but before he returned to Oregon. He was at sea while transporting Japanese troops between Okinawa and mainland China when a typhoon struck.
“You'd see a wave as big as Hogback Mountain, then a valley just as deep,” he said.
Discharged in 1946, Foster returned to Oregon and started classes at Oregon State. Corvallis didn't suit him, his athletic opportunities were limited and funding was tight even with the G.I. Bill so he transferred to Southern Oregon College, now Southern Oregon University, the next year.
Foster spent four years in Ashland. After sitting out a required year, he played for the school's football and basketball teams, back when the uniforms were red and yellow hand-me-downs from the U.S. Marine Corps. He sustained one of his more serious football injuries during his ineligible year practicing with the football team when he smashed the orbital of one of his eyes.
To save money, he lived in the basement of the old gymnasium, Brit Hall, with five other students. Foster's room housed the building's boiler while the other room contained the school's athletic equipment.
It wasn't always pleasant living in such an environment. Despite living with the boiler, Foster said it could be horribly cold in his room during the summer, especially right after a shower. Rats also were a common sight as they chewed on the leather portions of the stored athletic equipment. One ran across Foster's roommate's face one night, unnerving him.
“He sat up the rest of the night with a Japanese sword,” Foster said.
Becoming a teacher
Inspired by the coaches he'd had in his youth, Foster studied to become a teacher with the aim of becoming a coach as well. He graduated with his degree in 1951 and accepted his first teaching job at Roosevelt Elementary, the same school he attended as a boy.
After his stint at Roosevelt and a few years teaching at Fremont Elementary, Foster was at his high school alma mater, Klamath Union. During the school day he taught American history, but as soon as classes were out for the day, during the spring and fall, he was coaching athletes in cross country and track and field. Coaching was the experience he'd thought it would be and it was fun to be working with youth every day, he said.
Foster also was a part of the creation of girls' sports at Klamath Union. One year four female students approached him about setting up a girls cross country team and he coached them.
Several students also wanted to start a girls basketball team but were short of funds. The high school athletic director approached Foster about coaching the team and he did for free the first year. Foster said he wasn't used to coaching girls but he enjoyed it and it provided some interesting experiences, especially during basketball games.
“I always had to pack safety pins in my jacket because they'd break a bra strap,” he said.
After more than 30 years of teaching and coaching, Foster retired on Christmas Day in 1982. This was necessitated partially by the worsening health of his older brother, who lived in Northern California. Foster took care of him until he died several weeks later.
Foster met his current wife, Faith, after his retirement. Both share a birthday and were attending a birthday celebration at the local American Legion post. They've been together since.
The Fosters have enjoyed their retirement, traveling and participating in organizations such as the Elks Lodge and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Foster casually referred to him and his wife as the town clowns because they used to attend numerous events in costume. Some of Foster's characters were Miss OIT, Father Posterior and Miss Piggy.
The former teacher and coach still follows local athletics. All his children played sports through their education, some continuing through college. Now Foster attends games and meets to watch his grandchildren compete. An incident the other day reminded him of why he enjoyed coaching so much.
While at Modoc Field to watch a track meet, he took a fall that bumped his bad hip, making it difficult to get back up. A female track athlete saw him fall and jumped several rows of seats to help him to his feet.
The next time he was at Modoc Field, he went down to the field and asked if there was a girl who helped an old man to his feet the other day. Students pointed out a javelin thrower and Foster gave her a box of candy to thank her.
But not before saying she shouldn't eat it before she competed.
- Ty Beaver
It may have been hard to believe that sports would play a large part in Baldy Foster's life.
As the youngest member of his family, 82-year-old Foster recalled being smaller than most guys in his younger days, so much so that Klamath Basin school officials wouldn't allow him to attend the first grade.
“I was so small they didn't even believe I was old enough,” Baldy said.
But after personal successes in football, basketball and track at high school and college levels and as a coach at Klamath Union High School for about 20 years, sports are a big part of the Klamath Falls resident's life.
Foster was born in a barn near Mount Shasta in February 1925. His father was a teamster and nomadic, a theme that would be prevalent throughout much of his youngest son's life.
The parents split up when Foster was 5, and he moved to Grants Pass with his mother.
During the next 13 years, Foster moved all over southern Oregon, partially as a result of the Great Depression. Unable to attend the first grade in the Basin, he lived with his grandparents in Grants Pass and attended school there. In the second and third grades he moved in with family friends in Stewart-Lenox, then lived in a sawmill camp outside Lakeview during his years in the fourth and fifth grades.
From the sixth grade through high school graduation, Foster stayed in Klamath Falls, moving between the homes of his two older sisters, Lela Bates and Billie Snyder. He said he is beholden to them, as it was during those years they taught him how to take care of himself, from cooking to washing his own clothes.
Sports entered Foster's life while he was in Lakeview. He participated in a track meet in the fifth grade, where he placed in the football throw, jump and relay events. He still has the ribbons in a scrapbook he's kept over the years.
“Then I was hooked,” he said.
Throughout the rest of his education, Foster would dedicate himself to athletics. He attended Roosevelt and Fremont schools in Klamath Falls, adding basketball and football to his repertoire.
School organization and locations were different back then, with Fremont serving as a one-year middle school between the elementary and high school grades. Fremont was on Pine Street and is now the First Baptist Church, Foster said.
Foster said he didn't enjoy his time at Fremont, partially because it didn't have any recreation facilities to satisfy his athletic needs. Whenever he was bored in the school library, he would look out the window and count roof tiles on Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
At Klamath Union, Foster's athletic career continued. Many team photos from those years show a man smaller than any other player on the team, but he still made varsity squads. In football, he played left halfback, which is considered a quarterback now.
In those years, Medford High School was the team to beat in nearly every sport and Foster said the rivalry between the two schools was intense, particularly in football. Oregon had no state football championship in those years, but there was the Mythical Championship, which went to the undefeated team in Pacific Northwest.
Medford was a regular winner of the honor, and Klamath Union threatened to take the championship in 1942, Foster's junior year, but lost to Medford in a snowy game at Modoc Field.
Foster said Klamath Union was vindicated for that loss his senior year in 1943 when they shut out Medford in the game leading up to the championship. Unfortunately, his team lost in the championship game to Vancouver, Wash.
Senior year was still good to Foster, though. He was named to the all-state high school basketball team and Klamath Union was the state basketball champion that year. He helped the track team finish fifth in the state championships as well.
World War II
He planned to attend Oregon State University the fall after graduation but the U.S. Navy put that on hold when he was in the first group of graduates drafted into World War II.
“They marched us down to the armory, gave us a little New Testament and a pack of cigarettes and put us on the train,” Foster said.
The next two and a half years were spent in the Pacific Theater on an LST, or landing ship tank. Foster refers as a “large slow target.” He saw action on Okinawa and Iwo Jima and remembers the kamikaze attacks of the Japanese airplanes.
One of the more frightening experiences came after the war, but before he returned to Oregon. He was at sea while transporting Japanese troops between Okinawa and mainland China when a typhoon struck.
“You'd see a wave as big as Hogback Mountain, then a valley just as deep,” he said.
Discharged in 1946, Foster returned to Oregon and started classes at Oregon State. Corvallis didn't suit him, his athletic opportunities were limited and funding was tight even with the G.I. Bill so he transferred to Southern Oregon College, now Southern Oregon University, the next year.
Foster spent four years in Ashland. After sitting out a required year, he played for the school's football and basketball teams, back when the uniforms were red and yellow hand-me-downs from the U.S. Marine Corps. He sustained one of his more serious football injuries during his ineligible year practicing with the football team when he smashed the orbital of one of his eyes.
To save money, he lived in the basement of the old gymnasium, Brit Hall, with five other students. Foster's room housed the building's boiler while the other room contained the school's athletic equipment.
It wasn't always pleasant living in such an environment. Despite living with the boiler, Foster said it could be horribly cold in his room during the summer, especially right after a shower. Rats also were a common sight as they chewed on the leather portions of the stored athletic equipment. One ran across Foster's roommate's face one night, unnerving him.
“He sat up the rest of the night with a Japanese sword,” Foster said.
Becoming a teacher
Inspired by the coaches he'd had in his youth, Foster studied to become a teacher with the aim of becoming a coach as well. He graduated with his degree in 1951 and accepted his first teaching job at Roosevelt Elementary, the same school he attended as a boy.
After his stint at Roosevelt and a few years teaching at Fremont Elementary, Foster was at his high school alma mater, Klamath Union. During the school day he taught American history, but as soon as classes were out for the day, during the spring and fall, he was coaching athletes in cross country and track and field. Coaching was the experience he'd thought it would be and it was fun to be working with youth every day, he said.
Foster also was a part of the creation of girls' sports at Klamath Union. One year four female students approached him about setting up a girls cross country team and he coached them.
Several students also wanted to start a girls basketball team but were short of funds. The high school athletic director approached Foster about coaching the team and he did for free the first year. Foster said he wasn't used to coaching girls but he enjoyed it and it provided some interesting experiences, especially during basketball games.
“I always had to pack safety pins in my jacket because they'd break a bra strap,” he said.
After more than 30 years of teaching and coaching, Foster retired on Christmas Day in 1982. This was necessitated partially by the worsening health of his older brother, who lived in Northern California. Foster took care of him until he died several weeks later.
Foster met his current wife, Faith, after his retirement. Both share a birthday and were attending a birthday celebration at the local American Legion post. They've been together since.
The Fosters have enjoyed their retirement, traveling and participating in organizations such as the Elks Lodge and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Foster casually referred to him and his wife as the town clowns because they used to attend numerous events in costume. Some of Foster's characters were Miss OIT, Father Posterior and Miss Piggy.
The former teacher and coach still follows local athletics. All his children played sports through their education, some continuing through college. Now Foster attends games and meets to watch his grandchildren compete. An incident the other day reminded him of why he enjoyed coaching so much.
While at Modoc Field to watch a track meet, he took a fall that bumped his bad hip, making it difficult to get back up. A female track athlete saw him fall and jumped several rows of seats to help him to his feet.
The next time he was at Modoc Field, he went down to the field and asked if there was a girl who helped an old man to his feet the other day. Students pointed out a javelin thrower and Foster gave her a box of candy to thank her.
But not before saying she shouldn't eat it before she competed.
- Ty Beaver
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