Two alumni earn recognition for paying forward the gift of becoming legendary Huskies
It’s been more than 60 years since “the pass.” But rarely a month goes by when former Husky end Jim Houston isn’t regaled by fans who still remember.
It’s been more than 30 years since his teammates tossed coxswain Eric Cohen into Lake Washington to celebrate yet another championship. But there’s barely a moment of the program’s century-long history that the UW Rowing historian can’t recite.
Both Jim and Eric have cemented their place in Husky history through their athletic achievements and by giving back to the University that gave them so much.
Jim Houston
Frank Orrico Award recipient
One of Husky Football’s most famous games came close to ending in a scoreless tie. With 6:20 to go in the fourth quarter of a 1955 home game against 10th-ranked USC, quarterback Steve Roake dropped back to pass from his own 20-yard line. He connected with Jim, who took off running.
“I ran about five yards before a USC halfback got a hold of one leg,” recalls Jim, who earned the Tyee Club’s 2016 Orrico Award for his outstanding commitment and volunteerism. “As I was about to fall on the 45-yard line, I lateraled the ball to our other tight end, Corky Lewis. He rumbled into the end zone 55 yards away for the winning touchdown. It stood for a long time as the longest scoring pass play in Washington history.”
Jim was widowed from his UW college sweetheart, Jackie Lee, after nearly 55 years of marriage and now lives in the Palm Springs area. He still runs into Washington alumni across the nation who recognize him and remember that awesome play — just as the self-made millionaire from Prosser, Washington, always remembers the University that made it all possible.
“The UW took me in, just a kid from a little town, someone who could never have gone to college without that scholarship,” says Jim. “They helped me get a degree in engineering which eventually led me to become quite successful. I met my wife there. I felt that I owed them big time.”
Jim has been a generous donor to Husky Athletics and the University for many years. The Jim Houston Board Room in renovated Husky Stadium attests to his generosity, as does all of the times he served as host for Dawg Days in the Desert.
“Playing football for Washington opened doors for me. It still does,” Jim concludes. “It feels good to give back.”
Eric Cohen
Dave and Ruth Cohn Alumni Merit Award
Eric’s parents met on a blind date at a Husky basketball game more than 60 years ago. They raised their family in the neighborhood abutting the UW and Lake Washington, where a young Eric would watch Husky rowers with his dad. His wife Heidi’s grandmother rowed on the UW crew team in 1918. Their daughter, Monica, attends the UW. The family’s sports roots run deeply purple.
“I had a strong passion for athletics and wanted to play football, but I was five-foot-four in high school and weighed 85 pounds,” says Eric, honored with the 2016 Cohn Award for outstanding service and support to UW Athletics by a former letter-winner. “I wanted to compete, and rowing was it.”
Living in the crew house, winning conference championships and making lifelong friends had such an impact on Eric that he joined an alumni group, The Washington Rowing Stewards, and wrote a history of the program in 2003. He consulted on the PBS documentary, The Boys of ’36, and the famed book, The Boys in the Boat.
He and teammate Al Forney founded Husky Crew Gear to raise money for the program, and along with teammate Al Erickson, they ultimately established the Class of ’82 Scholarship Endowment for Rowing. Eric and Heidi are longtime personal donors as well. Eric credits his teammates — and his wife — for enabling him to devote so much of his time and energy to supporting the program he loves.
“Rowing taught me hard work for a greater purpose, for a sum that’s bigger than the parts. It was a wonderful time of growth and learning. It gave me all my friends. And there’s not a single one of us who wouldn’t go back in a heartbeat to do it again,” Eric says. “Giving back is almost a requirement after all this program gave me.”
View the full list of past Dave and Ruth Cohn Alumni Merit Award and Frank Orrico Award winners.
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