Ewaliko on James Statue: 'Wanted to Catch the Essence of Him

Don James figurines fill a shelf. There's maybe a dozen of them showing the legendary Washington football coach in a classic pose. He has his arms crossed, a stern look on his face.

Standing about a foot high, these statuettes resemble Oscars. However, a diehard Huskies fan might even consider this keepsake more valuable than the Hollywood offering.

Former UW offensive lineman Matt Hicks, a California sculptor and an artist, made the small statue bent on using it to build a much larger one.

Ex-Huskies defensive lineman Mike Ewaliko, who builds machines and products, and keeps a collection of James figurines in his Seattle shop, was tasked with taking one over to the coach and obtaining his reluctant approval on the likeness.

The humble James, who died in 2013, wasn't sure why anyone would be interested in something like this that depicted him.

Out of all of this negotiating, the Don James statue that's positioned on the north end of Husky Stadium was borne.

"Our goal was to get one out there so everybody who passed by could learn about the coach," said Ewaliko, shown in the photo in his No. 88.

Former players, largely from the UW's 1985 Orange Bowl team and led by the persistent efforts of former safety Jimmy Rodgers and a few others, raised the $150,000 necessary to pay for the James statue, which shares the stadium space with his coaching predecessor, Jim Owens.

Artist Lou Cella forged the James piece in Chicago, creating something that stands more than 10 feet tall, and it was installed in 2017.

"It was kind of challenging because we wanted to catch the essence of him -- which was scowling," Ewaliko said.