Portland State Magazine Fall 2017

26 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE FALL 2017 Athletics WHEN FORMER Viking football player Tony Beatty ’78 was approached about getting involved with PSU Athletics, he knew exactly what form he wanted that involvement to take. Beatty, who graduated with a degree in psychology and went on to earn a master's degree, is currently senior vice president for SIOR, a commercial real estate firm in Walnut Creek, California. He said he wanted to provide funds for an Arthur Dickson Memorial Scholarship. He had played four years, 1973 to 1976, in the Viking defensive backfield with Dickson, who died in 1998 of a rare stomach cancer. Beatty had greatly admired Dickson, who had had a profound effect on his life, he says. "Art was a competitor. He practiced hard, played hard, didn't complain, always picked up his teammates and never made excuses," says Beatty. The two teammates played under coaching legend Mouse Davis. With Dickson at free safety and Beatty at right cornerback, "needless to say, we communicated every day, and every play on the field. Off the field, Art and I lived in the same (Goose Hollow) apartment complex." He describes Dickson as "a reserved, kind, classy and quiet man who always let his play do the talking. I can remember many a time I was playing man coverage on the outside, only to have Art swoop in and make a flying interception over my head." Dickson still holds the PSU career interceptions record at 29 and his oldest son, Aubre ’98, a KeyBank vice president and senior relationship manager who also serves on PSU's Athletic Director's Board, recalled that was a source of great pride for his father. "He would occasionally talk about some of the big plays he made (and did not make) in his career. And, of course he took a lot of pride in the fact that he was the record holder for interceptions. He would joke that if he had better hands, he would've had 100 because he knocked down a lot and dropped even more," says Dickson, who followed in his father's footsteps into a Viking football uniform. Aubre left the team his redshirt junior season in 1996 due to injuries. Aubre's younger brother Aaron ’09, currently male leadership coordinator for Self Enhancement Inc., had a successful football career at Portland State from 2005 to 2008, choosing the school over several other offers because of family ties. He also recalled his father's pride in the interception record. Honoring football great Arthur Dickson A teammate has funded a scholarship in memory of Arthur Dickson (above and left), who played Viking football from 1973 to 1976 and still holds the career interceptions record.