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Sixkiller Knew How to Beat Michigan State — It Was Quick and Lethal

The legendary UW quarterback launched his career by beating the Spartans.
Dan Raley|
Sixkiller Knew How to Beat Michigan State — It Was Quick and Lethal
Sixkiller Knew How to Beat Michigan State — It Was Quick and Lethal

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Washington Huskies

Michigan State will be happy to learn that the great Sonny Sixkiller will watch today's game at Husky Stadium from high up in the stands rather than come out of the huddle and rifle the ball downfield.

He still looks trim and athletic, like he could run a series or two. Yet he turned 71 on Sept 6. Happy belated birthday, No. 6.

Fifty-two years ago, Sixkiller and his University of Washington teammates hosted the Spartans in the only other meeting between these teams played in Seattle and they took a resounding 42-16 victory. It was close for only a half.

Those were different times in 1970, but not all that different — the UW team back then similarly was coming off a terrible season and was breaking in a brand-new quarterback from out of state. 

What happened was the unveiling of Sixkiller, a marketing dream who made the most amazing quarterback debut in Husky football annals.

A few hours before kickoff that day, the Michigan State busses pulled up to Hec Edmundson Pavilion, where the old locker rooms were kept, and the players climbed off and wandered inside. The Spartans had to walk past the Huskies dressing area to reach theirs. It was an eye-opening if not a deafening experience.

"The doors were open," Sixkiller said. "We had Jimi Hendrix and Purple Haze turned up to about 10. Guys were singing and dancing. The Michigan State guys had blank stares. We were having fun."

This was a tribute to a Seattle original as well as motivation to play an important football game. Hendrix, a Seattle native, had died the day before in London, asphyxiated during a drug overdose. The city was in a bit of a shock over losing this icon. UW players used the memory and the music of the international rock star to get them ready to play football against the fearsome Big Ten and do it their way. These Huskies always were a swashbuckling team.

Out on the field, Sixkiller threw the ball around to get loose and he paused to soak up the atmosphere as his first starting assignment fast approached. It was a perfect day for football. Sixty-seven degrees. Slight wind out of the Southwest. Swagger totally unrestrained.

The new UW quarterback felt as loose as could be with kickoff for his Husky debut near, especially when legendary Spartans coach Duffy Daugherty went past him.

"I remember standing on the field looking at the sunshine and the lake, and Duffy Daugherty ran by in warm-ups with all that gray hair," Sixkiller said. "I yelled, 'Duffy, you're going down today! We're going to kick your butt!' I might have had a bad word in there but I don't remember. Then I thought, 'Wow, what did I just say?' That was my attitude back then."

The Huskies won the toss, returned the kickoff to the 22 and then all the fun began.

"It was a quick succession of plays," Sixkiller said. "It's like the Red Sea opened up."

On the first play, Sixkiller threw a 12-yard strike to tight end Ace Bulger from Tacoma over the middle. Speedy tailback Mark Wheeler, another sophomore making his debut and from nearby Seattle Preparatory School, ran over right guard to pick up 6 more. Fullback Bo Cornell, a veteran from nearby Roosevelt High, got a tough yard going around left end.

On third-and-3 from his 41, Sixkiller dropped back and heaved one for wide receiver Ira Hammon, who gathered in the ball while streaking down the middle and the Portland player raced to the end zone. The Husky Stadium crowd of 52,000 exploded in delirium. No one expected this thunderbolt. Just one minute and 51 seconds had been played.

"The crowd was unbelievable and loud and crazy," the quarterback recalled. "It was something you never forget."

Of course, the game wasn't over in two minutes. Sixkiller threw a first-quarter interception to Spartans roverback Brad Lee, who returned the ball 80 yards for a tying touchdown.

Momentary blip. Minimal damage. A permissible rookie mistake. 

Sixkiller responded with two more TD passes, finding Cornell for a 5-yard score for a 14-7 halftime lead and Hammon again for a 37-yarder and a 21-7 advantage in the third quarter.   

The Spartans dropped Sixkiller in the end zone for a third-quarter safety, but the UW came right back with instant scores on Wheeler's 52-yard sprint to the end zone and Bob Burmeister's 28-yard interception return, and led 35-9 early in the fourth quarter.

Sixkiller became an instant folk hero as the Huskies, a 1-9 team the year before and 27-11 loser at Michigan State without him, finished on top by nearly four touchdowns. They piled up 598 yards in total offense. The new QB wasn't perfect, completing 16 of 35 passes for 276 yards and 3 scores, but he did a lot of damage.

It wasn't a one-off either. The UW went 6-4 and nearly advanced to the Rose Bowl. The limber-armed Sixkiller led the nation in passing. He showed up on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following year and in the movies such as the original "Longest Yard" thereafter. The Huskies won 22 of 32 games during his time in the program. 

For three years, Seattle lived and died with these players, regularly filling up Husky Stadium. They were led so dynamically and successfully by a Native-American player with a lot of chutzpah, a full-blooded Cherokee from Ashland, Oregon, and someone who can relate to new QB Michael Penix Jr. from Tampa, Florida, with his big arm.

All of that magic began with a sound thrashing of Michigan State so long ago, with an unapologetic Big Ten beating, giving great hope to Montlake.

"I felt as a team we were ready for them, but, of course, we had anxiety things, first big game, and mom and dad and brothers and sisters all there, rooting you on — then it all goes away," Sixkiller said. "You have to play the game. I made a point to go out there with a lot of confidence. Maybe that's why I was able to say something to Duffy."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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