(Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives)

The passing of legendary University of Washington football coach Don James last Sunday at age 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer was a sad moment for UW football fans everywhere. James, who led the Huskies to six Rose Bowls and a co-national championship with Miami in 1991  during his 18-year career in Seattle, will be remembered during the Huskies’ homecoming game with California Saturday night. The UW is holding a memorial service for the highly respected coach Sunday at 3 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. The service is open to the public.

The State Archives located this photo of Coach James when he visited Olympia three decades ago. It was taken on Nov. 29, 1981, soon after the Huskies defeated WSU in the Apple Cup and clinched the Pac-10 title to earn a trip to Pasadena to play Big 10 champ Iowa (the Huskies blanked the Hawkeyes in that Rose Bowl battle, 28-0). In the photo, from left to right, are Sen. Pete von Reichbauer (now King County Councilmember), James, Gov. John Spellman, UW Athletic Director Mike Lude and House Speaker Bill Polk.  The photo is from the Archives’ Governors’ Negative Collection.