The Most Famous No. 6 Sonny Sixkilller Brings Husky Legends to the Peninsula

Emanatingfrom the vision of former University of Washington football star Sonny Sixkiller, 40 Husky legends and 200 total players are teeing off again at the 11th Annual Sonny Sixkiller Husky Celebrity Golf Classic Presented by Wilder Auto at Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course on July 29, 2022.

Sixkiller was the dynamic and prolific quarterback who was instrumental in helping turn around the University of Washington football program and led the NCAA in passing in 1970.

Nearly ten years ago Sixkiller met with Seven Cedars Casino General Manager Jerry Allen, who mentioned getting the Olympic Medical Center Foundation involved, and the First Annual Sonny Sixkiller Husky Celebrity Golf Classic was born.

“We’ve been talking about doing a fundraising golf tournament for a while,” Sixkiller said, “but we wanted to make sure that everything was right. We wanted the right charity and wanted to make sure that we could stage a first class tournament.”

“I have always wanted to set up a tournament to showcase the legacy of University of Washington sports, especially football,” Sixkiller said. “I also wanted to make sure that the tournament would accomplish two things. I want it to raise a lot of money for charity and I want every player to walk away after the event saying that they had the time of their life.”

Sixkiller is the official spokesman for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, who operates the Casino, Longhouse Market and the golf course.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Ron and Jerry Allen,” he said. “They really make you feel comfortable and they do a lot for the community. That was important to me. I knew that by working with them that we could do a lot for the Foundation, which directly and indirectly does a lot for the people on the Peninsula, not just in a single community.”

“The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is very honored that Sonny Sixkiller is choosing to initiate this annual fundraiser here at our Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course,” said Tribal Chairman Ron Allen. “Sonny is a ‘class act’ for the University of Washington, our northwest community and now here in our Olympic Peninsula community. We have been blessed by his great leadership, character and community spirit.”

“We are delighted to be a part of this tournament — we think it will be the premier sporting event on the Peninsula,” said Jerry Allen.

It was also important to Sixkiller that there are a lot of Husky fans on the Peninsula. Since his playing days ended in 1972, he has stayed very close to the University – he is currently the Senior Associate General Manager for IMG Sports Marketing at the University, after being involved with Fox Sports Broadcasts for 13 years, and serving with the UW Alumni Association, Tyee Club, and the Husky Hall of Fame and Athletic Director Search Committees.

“In all my years coming over to the Peninsula, I learned that there is a strong following for the U Dub,” said Sixkiller. “I see a lot of people walking around in Husky polo’s or other UW attire.”

The Huskies that will accompany Sixkiller are a Who’s Who of Husky players and coaches. They include Steve Emtman, Robin Earl, Michael Jackson, Jim Lambright, Ronnie Rowland, Sequim resident Don McKeta, as well as Scott Jones, the only Port Angeles High School graduate to play in the NFL.

A native of Ashland, Oregon, Sixkiller played for the Hawaiians in the World Football League, and was a cast member of the original The Longest Yard movie production.

As a sophomore at the UW, he took over the reins of a team that had gone 1-9 the year before, and directed seasons of 6-4, 8-3 and 8-3. He led the nation in total passing in 1970, completing 186 of 362 passes for 2,303 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Roy Blount Jr. aptly described Sixkiller as a player in the Sports Illustrated story: “Another powerful inducement for fans and scribes to go wild over Sixkiller is his style of play. He is a fine looking athlete who whistles the ball and moves fluidly. He is…not much of a runner, but he scrambles and does wild things. His passes tend to be either 15-yard lasers into someone’s stomach or lofted 25-yarders that just clear two defenders’ hands to hit a receiver in full stride down the sidelines.

“After he matched, or perhaps outdid, the passing of Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett in

Washington’s 29-22 loss to Stanford last year, Stanford Coach John Ralston said, ‘We’ve faced some fine quarterbacks this season, but none of them presented as many defensive problems as Sixkiller. After studying the films of him in action, our coaching staff agreed they have never seen a passer as loose as this kid. He free lances all over the field and you never know what he’s going to do next. And talk about your gunners, I can’t recall anyone who unloads the ball as fast and as often as Sixkiller.”

His movie and TV credits are short but memorable. Burt Reynolds, who is one eighth Cherokee, visited a UW practice in Sixkiller’s sophomore year. Two years later, he invited him to Georgia to be a part of The Longest Yard movie. Sixkiller played a halfback on the inmate team that took on the guards. Later, he appeared as a boat captain in Hawaii Five-O.