Widely considered the most successful short-run franchise in the history of the Pacific Northwest, the Auburn Panthers won an astonishing 57-games in a row over 4 years, undefeated all four years in league play and nearly brought en masse, to fill in for the Seattle Seahawks during the NFL players' strike that began after September 20th, 1987 games and lasted 24 days.  Owner Michael Highsmith opted instead to release select players in order to continue Auburn's undefeated season and Northwest Football Alliance championship run.

In 1984, Michael Highsmith, Phil Pompeo and Steve Harshman formed the Auburn Panthers hoping to put a competitive team back on the field almost four years after Harshman left the Pierce County Bengals following a dominant 8-year tenure, that saw the franchise shut down in 1981.  Little did they know what kind of success they were breeding in the Kent/Auburn area at just the right time.  But, that wouldn't be clear during the 1984 season as the Panthers earned the dubious title of "The Luckiest Team" in the NFA.  Beginning the franchise with a 12-6 overtime victory over the Bellevue Express, the Panthers would follow that up three weeks later with anohter victory over the Express by one-point, 31-30 in a game Bellevue blew themselves by missing all five PAT tries during the game.

On September 1st, 1984 the Panthers were forced to take the field without star running back Mike Oliphant, who in just four games including the tight battles with the Express where he scored the franchises' first TD and helped lead the 31-30 come-from-behind victory, got a life-changing phone call.  Ron Simonsen of the University of Puget Sound wanted Oliphant in college and the 21-year old got his second chance thanks to the Panthers.  Oliphant, a GNFA Hall of Famer, lived out every semi-pro players' dream of "making it" which he did.  After becoming an NAIA All-American, the Washington Redskins drafted him with the #66 pick of the third round of the 1988 NFL draft.  Oliphant would play for the Cleveland Browns from 1989-1991 and the Sacramento Gold Miners, as well as in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1995 before retiring.

A new hero would be needed, and there were many to come, including Phil LeRoy who would be called upon to kick a 23-yard field goal in that September 1st game with the West Seattle Warhawks to take the win 10-7.  LeRoy would kick the game winner on Oct 13th to win a 10th straight game 23-20 over the Snohomish-King County Blue Knights.  But, before that game, drama unfolded during the September 15th game with the Clark County Grizzlies.  With the NFA playing under modified NCAA-rules at the time and the Grizzlies down 28-21, a Grizzly receiver hauled in a pass and fell at the Panther 5-yard line before getting up and trotting into the endzone for a touchdown that would make the score 28-27 and a PAT try to follow.  However, an inadvertent whistle was blown by one of the officials as the Grizzly receiver hit the ground.  After much bantering about the rules, the Grizzlies were awarded the ball at the five yard line, 1st and Goal.  Auburn intercepted the ball on the next play stopping the drive and preserving the win.  Then-Commissioner Dick Seuss initially rules the game a 28-28 tie based on the player not being downed by contact, however a PAT was never attempted due to the on-field rulings.  On Monday Michael Highsmith protested Seuss' decision to award a tie stating the NCAA rules clearly state that an inadvertent whistle kills the play at the spot, so the 1st and Goal at the 5-yard line was the appropriate call on the field.  Seuss was forced to reverse his initial decision and the victory stood 28-21 in favor of the Panthers.

The Playoffs and NFA Championship game would be more "luck" it would seem.  Escaping with a 12-6 win over Skagit Valley, the lucky bounces continued in the title game against the Spokane Fury as it took a botched field goal try to preserve the victory.  Coming off the bench, quarterback Kenny Mayne, fresh on the roster from UNLV, sparked the offense to two scoring drives even though one of his passes was picked off and returned for score in the 20-17 Championship win.  Mayne, a future ESPN commentator, had joined the Panthers prior to the playoff win over Skagit Valley.  A west coast title game was worked on that would pit the Panthers against California's San Jose Bandits, but a major sponsor pulled out and San Jose could no longer chip in to pay the Panthers way to California, so the 1984 season ended with the Panthers 12-0 and Northwest Football Alliance champions.  Harry Washington would be named the NFA Most Valuable Player, a title the former Minnesota Viking, Chicago Bear, and San Francisco 49er would win three consecutive seasons from 1984-1986.

The 1985 season would start out with three consecutive shut outs as the Panther defense added run stoppers.  Only Skagit Valley, in a 33-27 overtime loss to Auburn broke double-digits in the scoring column as the Panthers dominated the NFA enroute to a 14-0 season.  This time, the deal with San Jose was made and the Minor Professional West Coast title would be on the line in a November match up.  San Jose could not defend it's home turf, and the Panthers came away with victory number 15 on the season by the score of 14-7, and was now on a 27-game winning streak since the team formed.  Washington rewrote many of the receiving and return game record books in 1985 and earned NFA MVP honors again.  Steve Harshman would resign as head coach after the season, and former Oregon Duck and 4th round 1980 pick of the Seattle Seahawks Terry Dion would take over head coaching reigns for 1986.

Could the Panthers get better in 1986?  NFA opponents hoped not, but that's exactly what happened.  The 1986 Panthers became the first team in Northwest history to score over 600 points in a season while handing out ten defensive shutouts during a 16-0 campaign.  Following a third-consecutive NFA league title, the first-ever Rainier Bowl was played with the Chicago Cowboys coming as midwest representatives in what would be the American Minor League National Championship game.  The Panthers dominated 34-0, carving their name into history and extending the winning streak to 43 games in a row.  The record books were once again updated by Harry Washington and friends, as Washington earned his third nod as NFA Player of the Year.  Future Hall of Famer Mark Madland joined him as and All-NFA selection and one of the leaders of the new-found Panther defense that would not break.  The Panthers rarely needed to punt in 1986, which is great for most players, that is except for a punter.  Riding the pine that year for Auburn was Bryan Barker who had been released by the Seattle Seahawkd. Asking Highsmith for his release to get more punting opportunities, Barker joined the struggling Southside Warhawks for the 1987 season and worked his way to the Denver Broncos, back to the Seahawks before finally getting his break with the Kansas City Chiefs in trainng camp, then as a call up to replace a struggling punter after week three.  Barker kicked his first NFL regular season game against the Cleveland Browns and continued for 16-consecutive seasons in the NFL.  Barker joins Oliphant as Panther alumns who made it to the NFL and are GNFA Hall of Famers, though on paper, their semi-pro contributions may be light, they lived the semi-pro players' dream of the big leagues.

With a National Championship under the belt and a 47-game win streak, Panther owners Highsmith and Doug McArthur were looking for new opportunities as the 1987 season dawned.  That opportunity would take shape in the form of a bid to operate an indoor AFL team to play out of the Tacoma Dome.  The meeting was apparently spawned during a meeting during the AMFLA National Championship when Highsmith and Chicago Cowboys owner Dr. Dino Tattooles met.  Tattooles was also owner of the AFL's Chicago Bruisers, and AFL Original franchise.  The $2.5 million price tag for an AFL franchise was agreed to and Highsmiths' group was awarded first rights to a Tacoma franchise.

Meanwhile, the Panthers pickup up where they left off, Terry Dion stepping down as head coach while former Pierce County Bengal and current Panthers player/coach Ron Baines stepped in as head coach for the 1987 season.  A 26-12 win over the Warhawks was the closest game during the first nine weeks of the season as the Panthers recorded eight blow outs by 27 points or more.  The on September 20th, the NFL players went on strike.  Quarterback Roy Medley would leave for the Buffalo Bills as a replacement player, Dean Perryman, Joe Jackson, Fred Orns and Daryl Baines were called up by the Seattle Seahawks.  The Panthers would once again be crowned NFA Champions, but by the closest margin in almost three years.  Skagit Valley missed by a point in a 7-6 championship game loss.  In preparation for Rainier Bowl II, the NFA All-Stars played the Panthers in November with Auburn winning that game 35-18 for the 57th consecutive on-field victory a Northwest regional record for consecutive wins.  It should be noted that in 1984, a team called the Peninsula Eagles/Pioneers did not get off the ground and the NFA awarded a forfeit victory.  The Sno-King Blue Knights also forfeited their October 17th playoff game in 1987, neither games are considered in the GNFA records as only on-field games played are counted in overall records.

Following the All-Star game, Ron Baines selected a few players from that group to join the Panthers in their game with the San Jose Bandits in Rainier Bowl II.  According to former Panther players interviewed, this created a bit of a rift as Coach Baines felt players from other teams "deserved" a chance to experience a bowl game, while some Panthers felt it would be an unnecessary complication bringing in players who were unfamiliar with each other. 

This issue would come to fruition as the Bandits came in hot and the Panthers came out flat and lost their first and last game as a franchise 21-17 to the Bandits.  Highsmith and McArthur shut down the Panthers in pursuit of their new opportunity and the legendary run for Auburn came to a close.  The Northwest Football Alliance as a league shut down along with the Panthers and the Skagit Valley Raiders.  The Raiders were the top rival to the Panthers playing five one-score and overtime games, a playoff game and meeting for the NFA Championship twice in four seasons.  When it came to the Northwest Football Alliance for Auburn, even going 11-0 all-time versus the Raiders the title always seemded to run through Skagit Valley, and the competition was more often than not, difficult.

Ron Baines would call upon former Bengal owner Ed Bemis and together they would resurrect the Pierce County Bengals as well as form a new league as the Northwest Football League for the 1988 season.  Baines would serve as commissioner numerous times throughout the existence of the NWFL into the mid 2000's as well as operating the 'new' Bengals from 1988 through 2019 and was slated to return in 2020 prior to Covid-19 lockdowns ending the Bengal franchise for good.  Some of the greatest players and coaches passed through the Panther franchise, others got their start and went on to great things with many listed below as members of the GNFA Hall of Fame....Legends of Northwest Minor League Football.

AUBURN PANTHERS - GREATER NORTHWEST FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Bryan Barker Punter 1986	Harry Washington Receiver 1984-1987	Mark Madland Linebacker 1985-1987	Steve Harshman Head Coach 1984-1985	Mike Oliphant Running Back 1984	Trent Hockett Linebacker 1984-1987	Phil Pompeo GM/Coach 1984-1987
Willie Daigle Player/Coach 1986-1987	Mike Lazik Guard - 1987	John Tresch Safety 1984-1986	Steve Matychowiak Linebacker 1985-1987	Ron Baines Player/Coach 1984-1987	Scott Lazor Tackle 1984-1986

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