‘Pop’ goes the Bothell stadium

The name Harold Stevens Keeney may not mean much to newer Bothell citizens. For that matter, it may not mean much more to longtime residents.

But “Pop” Keeney definitely does.

That’s because every football season, Bothell and Inglemoor high schools play their home games at Pop Keeney Field in Bothell. Since it hosts two teams, it is one of the most used stadiums in the state, with hundreds of people pouring into it on Friday nights.

But few spectators give much thought as to who “Pop” Keeney was and what he meant to the city.

At least, that’s true for many of the younger spectators. Many of the longtime Bothell citizens can probably recite his biography.

Keeney was born in 1900 to a lumber-yard businessman who later became mayor. By 1920, Keeney began coaching football at Bothell High, and soon after joined the baseball and basketball teams, too. He would end up making the coaching rounds in Longview, Sumner, Anacortes and Kennewick. He had championship teams every place he went.

He picked up the nickname “Pop” in Anacortes because he had four children, and the name stuck.

But as he left to go coach other places, he always came back to Bothell, coaching three separate times before retiring in the late 1940s.

In 1952, the Bothell area honored Keeney, naming the community field in his honor.

After retiring from coaching, Keeney stayed around Bothell and sports, running Wayne Golf Course until he passed away in 1962, the day after Bothell High’s homecoming game in the stadium named in his honor.

Al Haynes was a senior at Bothell High in that homecoming game. While “Pop” Keeney certainly had an impact on so many people in Bothell, he certainly held a special place in Haynes’ heart.

Grandfathers will do that.

“We were pretty close,” said Haynes, “Pop” Keeney’s eldest grandson. “I had a lot of fond memories when I was little. He was always around in the summer. Took us berry picking, almost like a second dad.”

As Haynes matured, so did the activities he shared with his grandfather. By the time Haynes was a sophomore at Bothell High, he was the team’s starting center. And after football games, Haynes would watch a replay of the game with Keeney.

“We’d sit on the rug and he’d replay and would show me everything I done wrong,” Haynes said with a laugh.

In many ways, Haynes — who called his grandfather “Pop” — followed in Keeney’s footsteps. After graduating from Bothell in 1963, Haynes went on to become the principal at Inglemoor High in 1982 through 1992, and then for his alma mater from 1992 until 2003.

The teams he coached for even ran some of the trick plays Keeney was known for.

One of his favorites was “66 OOPS.” Instead of standing behind the center to take the snap like a normal play, the quarterback would “accidentally” go behind the guard. The quarterback would then throw his hands up in confusion, and while the defense had its guard down, the center would snap the ball to the fullback who would take off.

“He was always designing trick plays. He was known for that,” Haynes recalled.

“Probably some stuff that you couldn’t do today.”

Haynes, now 61, still lives in Bothell and goes to as many football games at Pop Keeney Field — both for Bothell and Inglemoor — as he can.

Because he will never forget how it got its name, or who it’s named after.

“You felt a great deal of pride and a sense of ownership,” Haynes said at being at the stadium when it was formally named after “Pop.” “They talk about this being our house, but that was a different, more intense feeling.”