(June 27, 1914 – August. 26, 1988) Del Bjork played his way from the Oregon coast to the Willamette Valley and into the NFL and is also remembered for his valor on the battlefield.
Bjork grew up in Astoria and was part of the AHS dynasty that won four basketball state championships during the 1930s. and filled out into a 6-foot-1, 218-pound lineman during a sparkling athletic era for the high school, which won four state basketball titles in six years beginning in 1930. In his junior year, the Fishermen enjoyed an undefeated 7-0-2 record in football.
Bjork was a lead six-foot, one-inch athlete, barely 200 pounds, but football would become his primary sport when he came to Eugene and the University of Oregon. Football was growing under coach Prink Callison at the time, 73 other freshmen joined Bjork for tryouts in 1933. Del played for the varsity from 1934-36, when the Ducks were a combined 14-13-1. Despite Oregon’s 2-6-1 record in 1936, Bjork’s play stood out. He was named team captain and team MVP and carried the highest Grade Point Average on the team. His second sport was shooting and Del was a meber of the Duck's national championship rifle team. Bjork received the Albert Cup, given to the UO's top senior. His All-Coast and Honorable Mention All-America status earned him postseason action in the East-West Shrine Game. He also played in the 10th Collegiate-Pro Classic, and helped the college team beat the Green Bay Packers 6-0.
The Chicago Bears drafted Bjork in the sixth round of the 1937 NFL Draft, only the league’s second draft, and he played there for two seasons. He was the second UO player drafted, following guard Ross Carter in the 1936 Draft. Del played three seasons in the pros before going into teaching. He made the NFL All-STar game in 1938.
He served in the Army in the North Pacific during World War II, earning a Distonguished Service Cross, a Purple Heart and five Bronze Stars. Bjork stayed in the Army for 24 years, retiring as a full colonel. He returned home to Astoria, teching at Clatsop Community College.
Del Bjork is a member of the Astoria High School Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame.