| Graduation Year | Class of 1965 |
| Date of Passing | Dec 15, 2024 |
| About | For every meeting of the Monday Morning Quarterbacks Club, George ‘Spud’ Edmondson would make his chatty rounds through the SunTides Golf Course clubhouse, greet the guests and lay out his notes and newspapers from the previous week. This was Spud’s happy place. Always cheerful, engaging and involved, the longtime club president was at his best when it came to youth sports in the Yakima Valley, where he first starred as a high school athlete and later immersed himself in supporting local organizations. And so it was with a deep sadness that the community learned of Edmondson’s passing from a sudden illness on Sunday in Seattle. He was 78. Just a year ago, Edmondson presided over the QB Club’s 75th anniversary celebration. If you didn’t run into him at a QB meeting, then you were likely to at the SunDome for a state tournament or at events hosted by the Parker Youth & Sports Foundation. A member of the Parker Youth & Sports Board of Directors and frequent writer of historical stories for the newsletter, Edmondson was instrumental in organizing the foundation’s annual fundraising golf tournament. Spud was the ideal ambassador for Yakima’s athletic community because he was an indelible part of it. As a 1965 graduate of Eisenhower, Edmondson was part of unquestionably the best class in Yakima’s prep sports history and a leader in the golden era of the three-sport athlete. The Cadets were undefeated and state champion in football, Davis was undefeated and state champion in basketball, and Marquette didn’t lose a game in football, basketball or baseball. Edmondson, who was a power-hitting baseball star for the Cadets and Senior Legion baseball teams before heading off to the University of Oregon, joined teammate Steve Dale to lead the basketball team as juniors and seniors. They might have won the state title in 1965 were it not for Davis and Ted Wierman, who turned back Ike four times as the Pirates charged through their 25-0 season. The highlight, certainly, was when all these talented seniors met at Yakima (Zaepfel) Stadium to conclude the 1964 football season, a finale of unbeatens that decided the state championship before a record crowd of 7,500. During this biggest night in Yakima sports history, Edmondson turned in a stellar game, connecting with Dave Cook on a 67-yard touchdown pass off a triple-reverse to break a scoreless duel with 26 seconds left in the first half. Also a return specialist and all-state safety, he led the defense with an interception in the second quarter and another in the final period to preserve a 14-7 victory. Sadly, another major player in this game and throughout the remarkable three-sport year, Davis’ Lenny Allen, also passed away this year. Edmondson had those memories and so much more, following closely and being involved in the Valley’s history for decades to come. Sharing all of it every Monday, that was Spud’s happy place. Memorial services are pending. |
