It was another great season by coach Mike Morrow’s San Diego High Hilltoppers, who won their second Southern Section championship in the last three seasons.
(San Diego also won the team championship in track and field and reached the finals in football, losing, 13-12, to Santa Monica).
The Hillers were 69-16, a .812 winning percentage, since Morrow returned from the war to coaching the Hilltoppers in 1946.
San Diego (26-3) lost to Compton, 3-2, in the finals of the Pomona 2030 Rotary Club tournament but slammed the Tarbabes, 24-0, in the Coast League season. They also lost two games to the powerful Tucson Bears, but were 4-2 against the Arizona club in home-and-home series.
POSTSEASON LACKS
This would be incredible by 21st century standards.
There still was half of the Metropolitan League season remaining when CIF boss Seth Van Patten announced that Grossmont would represent the league in the playoffs.
Grossmont and Point Loma were tied for first with seven games remaining, but the Pointers declined.
“Grossmont seems to be more fortified in the pitching department and could stand the strain of three games in a week, whereas on us the burden might weaken our chances for the Metro flag,” Pointers coach Hilbert Crosthwaite was quoted.
The playoffs would begin before the league season was completed.
Van Patten often found it necessary to fill a bracket while regular-season games still were to be played.
The playoffs held no great attraction to some teams and leagues.
4/16/48
“Under a stifling April sun,” wrote Gene Earl of The San Diego Union, San Diego’s Eddie Simpson singled home John Switi in the ninth inning for an 8-7 triumph over Hoover in Balboa Stadium.
Simpson and Neale Henderson each had three hits for the Hilltoppers and Joe Brown and Don Jordan two apiece.
Bill McColl was the losing pitcher but he kept the Cardinals in the game with three hits, all “hard hit” doubles.
—Art Preston struck out 14 and gave up three hits and Dick Rand socked a three-run home run in Grossmont’s 11-3 win over visiting Oceanside.
—Yoko Takeshita drove in three runs with a tie-breaking eighth-inning double and Eddie Serrano homered as Point Loma outlasted La Jolla, 10–7, despite three hits each by the Vikings’ Charlie Way and Eddie Whitehead.
—Al Hooper, Terry Shaw, and Frank Castro clubbed home runs as newcomer Chula Vista whipped Escondido, 16-9, at Sweetwater. Don Silcock homered for the Cougars.
—Dick Bartz had four hits in five times at bat, drove in four runs, and pitched a three-hitter in Kearny’s 7-5 win over Sweetwater.
—Gene Green was 2 for 5 with a triple and single to lead errorless St. Augustine to an 8-3 win at Brown Military, which erred four times.
4/18/48
Bill McColl pitched Hoover to a 7-4 win over Pasadena and the Cardinals completed a doubleheader sweep, 13-1 over Pasadena Muir as part of Coast League scheduling that sent teams from the North on combined weekend trips.
McColl and Larry Nenna had two hits each and Leroy Darnell drove in four runs in the opener. McColl had two hits and four runs batted in and Bill White gave up three hits in the seven-inning nightcap.
4/19/48
Brown Military made it three straight Southern League victories, 11-9 at Vista.
—Grossmont and Point Loma each improved to 4-1 in the Metropolitan League, the Foothillers 13-4 over Chula Vista and the Pointers 6-3 over Kearny in eight innings.
—Sweetwater, which was behind, 8-1, in the fifth inning, scored its first league win, 15-14 over Escondido. Earl Holbrook singled in Dave Brennan with the winning run in the seventh inning.
4/23/48
San Diego (8-0) clinched the Coast League championship, hammering Pasadena, 9-1, in Balboa Stadium, while Hoover (5-3) was dropping an 11-7 decision at Compton as loop play concluded.
Hoover’s Bill White “was even wilder” than the 50-mile-an-hour winds, walking 11 batters. San Diego’s Andy Stagnaro struck out 14 and walked none.
—Point Loma beat Escondido, 13-1, and Grossmont topped La Jolla, 7-3, to remain tied for first in the Metropolitan loop.
The Foothillers trailed, 3-2, in the eighth inning and mounted two late rallies. The Pointers’ Eddie Serrano took the bite out of the Cougars by allowing only five hits and stroking a pair of doubles.
—Reserve outfielder Huddy McWilliams hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Kearny nipped Oceanside, 8-7.
4/27/48
San Diego collected 12 hits but needed Frank San Filippo’s triple that scored Neale Henderson in the 11th inning to claim a 2-1 win over the Submarine Force at Navy Field.
—Tom Boehlke’s single in the fifth inning was the only hit for Kearny, which dropped a 2-0 decision to the Foothillers’ Art Preston.
—Tom Browning struck out 12 batters in five innings and Mal Vargas hit a grand slam home run in the first inning as Point Loma beat Sweetwater, 13-0, and finished the first round of play with a 6-1 record, tied for first with Grossmont.
5/1/48
San Diego opened a three-game series in Tucson, Arizona, and scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning and then held on for an 8-7 victory.
Frank San Filippo’s 400-foot, three-run home run was the clincher after the Hilltoppers had fallen behind, 7-4, when the Bears scored four runs in the eighth inning.
Ray Irving hurled a scoreless bottom of the ninth for coach Mike Morrow’s visitors before 1,350 persons.
—Outhit, 14-8, visiting Point Loma took advantage of seven Chula Vista errors to score an 11-10, Metropolitan League victory and remain tied for first, matching the 7-1 record of Grossmont, which rolled 1-7 Escondido, 15-4.
5/2/48
Hoover completed a 19-5 season with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Bonita, 12-6 and 5-4. Bill McColl was unavailable to coach Les Cassie’s team as McColl was competing in theall-Coast League track meet at Balboa Stadium.
5/3/48
Home Brown Military won its fourth consecutive Southern League game, 15-5, parlaying 12 hits and seven San Dieguito errors.
Pedro Mesa was 4 for 4, Red Wright doubled and tripled, and Morris (Dude) Hedrick pitched Fallbrook to a 6-2 win against visiting Ramona.
5/7/48
Grossmont put an end to Point Loma’s Metropolitan League hopes, embarrassing the Pointers at home, 8-1. The Foothillers pounded out 15 hits and Art Preston shut down the Pointers on three hits.
Grossmont improved to 9-1 in league play. Point Loma and La Jolla were tied for second, each 7-3.
5/9/48
Two games remained in the Metro League but Grossmont had been informed days earlier by Southern Section boss Seth Van Patten that the Foothillers would meet Brown Military in the first round of the playoffs.
Point Loma, at the time still with a mathematical chance to catch John Hancock’s La Mesa squad and with an earlier, 8-6 win over Grossmont, had informed Van Patten that it would not be party to the postseason.
Metro loop squads over the years often declined postseason invitations.
San Diego High was scheduled to take on Imperial Valley titan Calexico the following day.
5/10/48
Grossmont warmed up for Brown Military with a 6-2 win over Oceanside, while the Cadets beat Julian, 12-3. La Jolla whacked Point Loma, 11-3, to take a one-game lead for second place.
Vikings pitcher Bud Releya set down the Pointers on eight hits and contributed a home run, matched and then some by catcher Charlie Woy’s two home runs.
SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS.
San Diego 19, @Calexico 1
The Hilltoppers led, 8-0, in the fourth inning, when they exploded for 10 runs.
It would be a happy but long ride back over the Laguna mountains for coach Mike Morrow’s team, so the game mercifully was called after both teams scored in the seventh inning.
Don Jordan homered, Frank San Filippo was 3 for 3, and Neale Henderson had two triples and a single to pace the Hillers’ 16-hit attack.
5/13/48
Grossmont 15, @Brown Military 3.
There were two rounds of games left on the Metro schedule but the playoffs got under way with Grossmont knocking off Brown Military of the Southern League, 15-3.
The Cadets took a 3-0 lead on their Pacific Beach diamond in the first inning when Phil Milligan tripled with the bases loaded after a couple singles and a walk.
Grossmont pitcher Art Preston settled down and Preston’s and his teammates’ bats came to life with a 17-hit onslaught as coach John Hancock’s team scored at least one run in the third through seventh innings and two more in the ninth.
Preston doubled and tripled, drove in six runs, and shut out the Cadets over the last eight innings.
5/14/48
Grossmont backed into a tie Metropolitan League championship after sustaining a 10-3 loss to Chula Vista on the Sweetwater diamond while Oceanside eliminated La Jolla, 7-6.
The standings, with one round remaining, showed the Foothillers (10-2) with a two-game lead over the Vikings (8-4).
Far down in the standings, Escondido (2-8) erupted for a 20-6 victory over visiting Sweetwater (1-9).
Assigned game umpires stiffed Point Loma (7-4) and host Kearny (6-5). The arbiters failed to show, probably thinking the game was at Point Loma.
5/15/48
SOUTHERN SECTION QUARTERFINALS
San Diego 12, Grossmont 0, @Lane Field.
About 700 persons were in attendance as coach Mike Morrow’s Hilltoppers continued to drive the opposition into submission, claiming a fourth win over coach John Hancock’s team, following 22-5, 5-1, and 7-6 victories.
San Diego collected only seven hits, but three Grossmont pitchers issued 14 bases on balls, beginning with three in a row followed by Curtis Everett’s single that put starter Art Preston and the Foothillers in a 2-0 hole in the first inning.
The Hilltoppers’ Andy Stagnaro allowed one extra base hit, Preston’s double, and three singles to Jack Graham, among the losers’ seven. Stagnaro teammates Everett and Joe Brown each had two hits.
5/20/48
SOUTHERN SECTION SEMIFINALS
San Diego 5, @Newport Beach Newport Harbor 1.
It was a semifinal game for San Diego but a quarterfinals game for the Sailors. A Newport Harbor victory would have advanced it to the semifinals. San Diego needed one victory to gain the finals.
Such was the peculiar status of the postseason, a time of constant juggling by commissioner Seth Van Patten in search of filling brackets for an event that wasn’t embraced by all of Van Patten’s CIF constituents.
Andy Stagnaro, soon to be named Southern California player of the year, saw his 22-innings scoreless streak end when the Sailors bunched two hits and a couple errors and scored an unearned run in the ninth inning in San Diego’s 5-1 victory.
Frank San Filippo tripled with Joe Brown and Don Jordan on base to give the Hilltoppers a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
San Fillippo homered in the ninth inning for a 5-0 lead after a two-run eighth that featured Don Jordan’s single, which was followed by three walks, an error, and wild pitch.
5/22/48
Arlan King hit two home runs and Ramona, scoring four runs in the bottom of the bottom of the 10th inning, after San Dieguito had taken an 8-5 lead, pulled out a 9-8 victory.
—Halbert Crow’s two triples and 14 additional base hits by Crow’s Grossmont teammates, plus five Kearny errors, allowed the Foothillers to close their season on a winning note, 14-0, and with a 12-2 league record.
—First-year Chula Vista slugged La Jolla, 14-7, and gained a tie for third place, each with an 8-6 record. Point Loma (9-4) was scheduled to play a makeup game with Kearny (7-6) but clinched second with an 11-8 win over Sweetwater.
5/25/48
The umpires showed and the rescheduled game of the May 10 postponement was a 4-2 Point Loma (10-4) victory over Kearny (7-7). Hunter Browning spaced 10 hits and pitched the Pointers’ victory.
5/29/48
Grossmont’s Art Preston hit safely 23 times in 45 at-bats to lead the Metropolitan League with a .511 average. Preston also was the most productive pitcher with an 8-1 record and .889-win percentage.
Twenty-seven players hit at least .300 in league play. The 27th was La Jolla outfielder-first baseman, Bob Skinner, who played 12 seasons and coached or managed in a long major league career.
Skinner had 11 hits in 37 times at bat for a .300 average.
6/5/48
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS, @LANE FIELD
Glendale Hoover 1, San Diego (26-3) 20, @Lane Field.
Described as “lengthy and drab,” the game lasted two hours and 27 minutes and was essentially over when the Hilltoppers took a 5-0 lead in the first inning.
Andy Stagnaro (15-1) struck out nine, gave up four hits, and won his fourth consecutive playoff start.
The Hilltoppers mustered only eight hits, but four errors and the Tornadoes, without star pitcher Warren Hart, out with the flu, suffered as four pitchers issued 15 bases on balls.
San Diego executed a triple steal during a four-run seventh inning.
Tommy Martinez, Dave Jordan and Bob Evert each had two hits before the turnout of about 700 persons at the San Diego Padres’ ball park.
6/22/58
A crowd of 1,258 persons saw a team of all-stars from the Coast League defeat a all-star squad from the Metropolitan League, 14-1, at Lane Field. The contest was sponsored by the Breitbard Athletic Foundation with proceeds to the San Diego Kiwanis Club’s Child Care Fund.
Don Jordan of San Diego High and Robbie Boone of Compton each had three hits for the Coast League team. Boone and Bill Casey of Hoover tripled with the bases loaded to account for 6 runs.
Thanks for this post. It’s great fun reading “ancient” San Diego prep history. I Googled Andy Stagnaro and saw that he passed away earlier this year. It mentioned that he attended Cal on an athletic scholarship. I think he missed playing with Jackie Jensen by a year.
Apparently he went on to a long career as a navigator for tuna boats. In retirement he took walks in Liberty Station and enjoyed lunches with old friends. Thanks for writing, Alan.