Hoquiam's Olympic Stadium to be designated birthplace of spread offense

Hoquiam Mayor Ben Winkelman will lead a ceremony at Olympic Stadium on Friday, October 16, to designate the venue as the birthplace of the football spread offense. The event, scheduled for 6 p.m., will feature members of the Swarthout and Elway families.

According to sports reporter Bart Wright in his book, ‘Football Revolution: The Rise of the Spread Offense and How It Transformed College Football’, the origins of the strategy date back to 1947 at Hoquiam High School. Wright credits Coach Jack Swarthout and quarterback Jack Elway with developing the radical strategies that eventually transformed the game.