We're starting to step up our one-on-one podcast game, and we figured we'd go back all the way to the beginning of Washington's Golden Era for football. That coincides with the start of the Don James Era, so Dawgman's Kim Grinolds tracked down one of James's early team captains, Mike Rohrbach.
Rohrbach was one of four captains of the 1977 Washington Football team that won the 1978 Rose Bowl, joining Warren Moon, Blair Bush, and Dave Browning.
After school, Rohrbach joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and came back in 1989 as the volunteer chaplain of the UW Football team, a position he held until 2005. Mike is also the current volunteer chaplain for the men's basketball team, something he's done since 2004.
But his day job is Run to Win, an outreach that he created with his wife Karen for the last 29 years. Their goal is to bring communities together through chaplaincy and sports, offering up summer camps to help children learn and grow.
Grinolds and Rohrbach go back to Mike's childhood love of Washington Football and his recruitment to Washington out of Ingraham High School. He came to Montlake at a time when Jim Owens was heading out and Don James was taking over, so Rohrbach talked about the unique aspect of playing for both legends.
He also reminisced about certain players and coaches like Randy Hart, Dan Lloyd, Dave Pear, Blair Bush, Ray Pinney, Nesby Glasgow, Michael Jackson, Antowaine Richardson, Mike Baldassin, Warren Moon, Joe Steele, and more.
As the volunteer chaplain for men's basketball, Rohrbach also talked from his perspective on the inside watching the hoops transition from Lorenzo Romar to Mike Hopkins.
Finally, Rohrbach provides more insight into Run to Win and how people can participate in their outreach.
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