Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/249166
History By Diane Mapes A WAC history mystery WA C A R C H I V E P H O T O What happened to the old totem pole? The 1930s' and 1940s' interclub competition between the Multnomah Athletic Club and the WAC was all for the love of a totem pole for the winning club. Y ou'd think it would be hard to misplace a 10-foottall totem pole covered with distinctive carvings of faces, animals, and even a man in a canoe throwing a harpoon, but that seems to be exactly the case with this particular Northwest artifact. The pole, which has been captured in a few photographs, served as a sports trophy of sorts more than 75 years ago. That's when the inaugural interclub meet between the Washington Athletic Club and Portland's Multnomah Athletic Club took place in Seattle. Few details are available about the meet, held Saturday, March 16, 1935. According to a story in The Seattle Times, a group of 50 amateur athletes and their wives came up from Portland for the contest. Both sides scored 15 points, and a coin was flipped to decide the winner of the "colorful totem pole." The MAC took the prize, and a dinner-dance was held afterward. Multnomah hosted the second contest, held in March of 18 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | FEBRUARY / MARCH 2014 1936. About 120 Seattleites attended, most of whom took the train—complete with a special "dance" car—to the Rose City. There, they were ceremoniously met by the mayor of Portland and escorted to the MAC by a patrol of mounted police. Competitions were held in boxing, basketball, billiards, bridge, and a few other categories. The MAC won with 40 points to the WAC's 30, and the totem pole remained in the Portland club's possession another year. THE WAC WINS By the third year, however, the contest had grown considerably, and Seattle was chomping at the bit to win the coveted totem pole prize. "Just about every known branch of club sports is included in the competition," wrote The Seattle Times, referring to forthcoming contests in handball, softball, basketball, badminton, bowling, squash, billiards, fencing, swimming, golf, wrestling, and more. "This year, with practically