TACOMA, Wash. - Colleges and universities around the nation are celebrating the 150th anniversary of college football throughout the 2019 season. As part of the celebration, GoLutes.com will cover some of the greatest moments in the history of the storied gridiron program at Pacific Lutheran University. The second part of this series will cover the Lutes' 1947 season that culminated in a victory in the Pear Bowl in Medford, Oregon.
 
The early 1940s saw the Lutes, then known as the Gladiators, build a reputation as a high-octane football team with the "aerial circus" orchestrated by All-Americans Marv "Tommygun" Tommervik and Marv Harshman but World War II abruptly ended the Lutes' dominance as many of the college's best players enlisted. Football took a back seat to the war effort as the University didn't field an intercollegiate team from 1943 through 1945, returning to the gridiron again in 1946.
 
Tommervik returned to campus in 1947, this time as head coach with Marv Harshman serving as an assistant coach. The '47 squad featured several war veterans returning to campus including Jack Bratlie, Frank Spear, Dwayne Rose, Jack Guyot, Don D'Andrea, Eldon Kyllo, Carl Hatley, Bob Andrew, Jack Carbone, "Pete" Peterson, and Jack Proud.
 
The '47 gridders opened the season with three consecutive shutouts, blanking Saint Olaf College (14-0), University of Puget Sound (19-0), and Saint Martin's University (35-0). The Gladiators battled to a 7-7 draw against Eastern Washington University and a scoreless draw against Lewis & Clark College, ending the regular season with a 6-0-1 record. Pacific Lutheran outscored opponents by a 134-21 margin, earning a share of the program's first Washington Intercollegiate Conference title since winning three straight from 1939 to 1941.
 
PLU's regular season dominance was enough to earn an invitation to the Pear Bowl on Thanksgiving Day where the Lutes faced heavy favorite Southern Oregon University. The host Red Raiders, winners of 15 straight, raced out to an early 14-0 lead. Pacific Lutheran, facing its first deficit of the season battled back, scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns for the 27-21 victory.
 
280-pound center Don D'Andrea would finish the season as an All-American. Tommervik would guide the Lutes for four seasons before turning over the reins to Harshman who served as head coach from 1951 to 1957 while also serving as head coach of the basketball team.