By the time he finished middle school, David Maley realized he wasn’t going to be the next David Robinson.
Herald photo
“I saw the light,” said Maley, who grew up in Eastern Washington in the small town of Rosalia, located about 33 miles south of Spokane.
But while Maley’s athletic career was short-lived, his passion for observing sports and recording their dizzying array of statistics blossomed. About 15 years ago, Maley, 34, who still lives in Rosalia (Pop. 613, according to the 2004 U.S. Census), started researching high school basketball in Whitman County. By the late 1990s, he tackled prep football on a statewide level. Maley collaborated with Dave Tuengel, who at the time published a weekly magazine dedicated to Washington prep football. One of their primary projects was to create a bulletproof list that recognized the state’s all-time winningest coaches.
The duo set out to find career win-loss records for every varsity high school football coach in state history. Using a combination of previously published lists, old high school annuals, in-person interviews and microfilm, Maley and Tuengel pieced it all together. Along the way, they found some major discrepancies.
In particular, they discovered errors in the records of four of the state’s top six winningest coaches. Among them was Dick Armstrong, the longtime Snohomish High coach who retired in 1994 with a reported state-record 279 career victories in 38 seasons, including 32 at Snohomish.
However, according to Maley, Armstrong had 272 total victories, not 279. Five of the seven phantom wins, he found, came during Armstrong’s four-year stint at Camas (1959-1962). The others were at Snohomish (one in 1965 and another in 1986).
“Through the years, from the time Dick retired,” Maley said, “it’s always been 279. But I knew I had evidence to prove otherwise. … (And) I knew we had to get this rectified before the (2005) season started.”
That’s because Tumwater coach Sid Otton, with 271 victories through 2004, was hot on Armstrong’s trail. And when Tumwater won its first two games this fall, several newspapers reported that Otton’s 273rd career victory, a 42-15 triumph over Elma on Sept. 9, lifted him past Armstrong on the all-time wins chart.
Needless to say, the announcement surprised the Snohomish community. Mark Albertine, Snohomish High’s athletic director, was initially skeptical. But Albertine, who coached with Armstrong at Snohomish for 18 seasons, called Camas High and obtained records from Armstrong’s tenure. He found that Maley’s research was correct.
Jeff Armstrong, Dick’s son, was also thrown for a loop. “I think we all knew that (Dick’s record) was eventually going to get broken,” said Armstrong, 49, who, along with two other brothers, played for his father. “But it was just kind of strange (the way) it was broke.”
So where did Armstrong’s extra victories come from? Maley said he can’t pinpoint the original source of the inaccuracies, although he said several papers published the 279 mark over the years.
“It just perpetuated itself,” Albertine said. “I don’t think anyone was trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.”
In Snohomish, 279 became more than just a number. It was a powerful source of pride and an emotional tribute. At least one former player had the digits tattooed on his arm, and in 1999, the year Dick Armstrong died at age 69, “279” stickers decorated Snohomish’s helmets. Jeff Armstrong’s son, Adam, was a senior that season.
In recent weeks, Jeff Armstrong, currently a teacher at Snohomish’s freshman campus and the Panthers quarterbacks coach, has talked to former teammates who are puzzled by the record mix-up. “They’re all kind of wondering, scratching their heads,” he said.
Many wonder what Dick Armstrong would think of all this. The sturdily built logger (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) was known for his stern demeanor, demanding approach and, of course, winning. “He was always real intimidating,” Jeff Armstrong said of his father. “You didn’t want to disappoint him. … We didn’t cross him too many times.”
But how did the legendary coach view his lofty achievements? “He was never one to beat his chest and say ‘Look at me.’ He was never an ‘I’ guy,” Albertine said.
“He would just think it is all kind of silly,” Jeff Armstrong said of how his father would react to the 279-vs.-272 talk. “He wasn’t really involved with the record or too engrossed in it. He just really enjoyed coaching. He wasn’t really into wins and losses. He was into getting the best out of each player.”
That desire carried over beyond the field. Dick Armstrong often helped out students with rough edges, and ones that struggled with poverty. “He gave them jobs and fed them lunch,” Albertine said. “He’d look out for those kids.”
Jeff Armstrong said his father’s difficult childhood encouraged him to reach out to other less-fortunate kids. Dick grew up in California during the Great Depression and alternated from living with his mother to staying in an orphanage.
It seems the impact Dick Armstrong made on those around him will outlast any win-loss record.
“We’re all proud of him,” Jeff Armstrong said. “The focus is kind of the legacy he left behind. We just try to continue it and be a part of that.”
As for Maley, the passionate researcher plans to continue his work. He rarely gets paid for his effort (“It’s a job for me,” Maley said, “but it pays like a hobby.”), which some weeks requires up to 30 hours. But he enjoys providing a service that might not otherwise exist.
“I am filling a gap, from a high school standpoint,” Maley said. “It seems like not many people are aware of me outside of Whitman County.”
You’d be surprised.
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