Bill Sandback, a transplanted Minnesota hockey player who came West in 1960 and spent a year teaching at Memorial Junior High before becoming coach at Crawford in 1961, was building a dynasty.

The Colts won their third San Diego Section championship in the last four seasons and eventually were named state team of the year by the Cal-Hi Sports newsletter.

We’re not sure when the newsletter anointed Crawford but it had listed state No. 1 teams  as far back as 1899.

Sandback, in retirement and enjoying Friday breakfasts with friends at the D.Z. Akins restaurant in San Diego’s college area, was unaware of the honor until we brought a Cal-High Sports record book to one of the weekly repasts.

“Hey, let me see that,” said the affable coach who left Crawford at the end of the decade and became head coach at Mesa College.

Crawford’s 22-4 record included a 15-0 season for pitcher Bob Boone, who went on to a long career as player, manager, and front-office administrator in major league baseball.

Boone was one of several future professionals and big-leaguers this season, including San Diego pitcher Brent Strom, who still was working as pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

2/18/65

Mount Miguel got one hit, Jim Colesanta’s two-run home run in the first inning, and made that hit stand up in a 4-1 victory over Hilltop.

2/26/65

San Diego, a 6-2 loser to La Jolla in its first game, lost again, 16-6, to visiting Madison despite the Cavers’ Doug Hunt swinging a 4-for-4 bat.

Explanation:  Coach Bernie Flaherty was waiting for Chris Johnson, Brent Strom, Clarence Calvin, Alex Dantzler, and John Meiers, still involved in the Cavers’ basketball team pursuit of a San Diego Section championship.

3/2/65

Ken Henderson hit grand slam home runs in the first and second innings and Crawford walloped Point Loma, 14-0, in a rematch of the 1964 San Diego Section championship game, a 4-3 win for the Colts in eight innings.

“This team comes to play,” said Crawford coach Bill Sandback to Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune.  “The team with the fewest mental errors and hustle will win our league.”

–St. Augustine’s Steve Christopher allowed one hit and outdueled Bernard Linn and Grossmont, 3-1.

3/5/65

Home runs by Billy Bolden and Fred Childs were the difference in Kearny’s 4-0 win over visiting Inglewood Morningside.

–Davey Davis’ three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning turned a 5-3 loss into a 6-5 win for Castle Park against Granite Hills.

–Pitcher Al Salvatierra and catcher Tommy Garrett hit home runs and Lincoln cruised, 12-2, as host Chula Vista committed 11 errors.

–Junior Morton struck out 12, allowed 4 hits, and socked a two-run home run in San Marcos’ 5-4 win over San Dieguito.

3/9/65

Hoover’s Six-foot, four-inch Lloyd Hutchinson hit two, 360-foot home runs and 6-7 pitcher Kenny Bangsburg hit a three-run home run and hurled a 9-5 win over Kearny.

–Dennis Maley and Doug Hunt had three hits each, Louie Panza homered, and San Diego’s 17-hit attack clobbered El Capitan, 16-2.

—Mike Adamson struck out 14 and Point Loma blanked Chula Vista, 2-0.
—Bob Forrester had five hits in Monte Vista’s 5-2 win over Morse.  Charlie Duke hit a grand slam home run in University’s 5-2 win over Marian, and the Sweetwater battery of Victor Gallardo and Jimmy Melillo also went deep in a 4-2 win over Grossmont.

3/12/65

Lefthander Joe Verdon gave up four hits and, aided by catcher Greg Ewald’s two-run single in the sixth inning, beat San Diego, 4-2, in an Eastern League opener.

–Helix nipped Chula Vista, 1-0, in nine innings when Jim Coddington singled and scored on an outfield error.

–Mission Bay’s Don Bair struck out 13 and stopped Clairemont on four hits, 4-2.

–Point Loma, which had scored 8 runs in an 0-4 start, erupted in a Western League opener, 15-1 over La Jolla.

Paul Ehrich gave the Vikings four hits and Roger Esty and Dave Johnson hit home runs.

–Bob Boone’s three-run home run in the first inning was too much for Lincoln in Crawford’s 5-1, Eastern League opener with the guest Hornets.

–Leroy Acebedo homered for Poway’s only hit in the fifth inning, which tied the game, 2-2, and four consecutive walks in the seventh gave the Titans a 3-2, Palomar League win over Carlsbad.

–George Lawton’s three-run home run and Junior Morton’s three-hit pitching was the difference in San Marcos’ 6-0 win over Marian.

–A.J. Moore, Bob Beckman, and Greg Timms had three hits each, George Zorn got 12 Vista Panthers on strikes and gave up three hits in University’s 4-0 win.

3/16/65

Mike Adamson was brilliant, shutting out Mission Bay on three hits for eight innings, but Joel Skinner, with relief in the ninth inning, combined on a no-hitter with Don Bair in Mission Bay’s 1-0 victory.

—San Diego had suffered two of its three losses while awaiting players from the playoff-winning basketball team.

The Cavers evened their Eastern League record with a 3-1 win over Crawford as Brent Strom checked the host Colts on four hits, Chris Johnson doubled home the game’s deciding runs, and Clarence Calvin hit a home run.

3/19/65

Monte Vista raked El Cajon Valley pitchers for four home runs in a 17-7 win.  Jeff McCombs drove in eight runs with two homers and Dan Roberson and Rick McGuffin each added another.

–Helix played its first-ever night game at home against Sweetwater, but the Red Devils’ Terry Williams spoiled the evening with a one-hit, 1-0 shutout.

–Bob Boone hit a home run and gave up two hits as Crawford beat Hoover, 10-1.

3/23/65

A six-run second inning was more than enough as Monte Vista took the Grossmont League lead, 6-0 over Grossmont, which entered the game tied with the Monarchs with a 2-0 record.

Bob Forrester allowed three hits and retired the last 10 Grossmont batters.

–Robbie Childs tripled in three runs in the first inning to halt a Mission Bay pitching run of 16 straight scoreless innings.

Childs and Dusty Quick, who tripled in two runs in the fourth inning, combined for six hits and seven runs batted in as the Vikings won the Western League game, 8-3.

3/26/65

Vista batters struck three home runs, a triple, two doubles, and a total of 13 hits but trailed until a Hank Tenney home run tied the score at seven in the seventh inning.

Two of the Panthers’ six errors, however, led to a fourth unearned run and 8-7 victory for University at Beeson Field.  The Dons (5-1) took over first place in the Avocado League.

–Brandt Crocker tripled in a run in the sixth inning, hit a three-run homer in the seventh, and Madison knocked Mission Bay out of a tie for first place in the Western loop, 4-3.

3/30/65

Helix’ Dave Elstrom checked Monte Vista on three hits and the Highlanders became the first Grossmont League team in five games to defeat Monte Vista, 9-2.

Football quarterback-outfielder Barry Bronk tripled and hit two singles in three times at bat.

–Paul Ehrich, with Mike Adamson coming on in the seventh, combined on a one-hit, 12-inning, 1-0 victory over La Jolla.

The Pointers’ aces struck out 17, allowing only a seventh-inning single by Dusty Quick.  The Vikings’ Jeff McCoy went all the way, losing on Bill Settle’s single that scored Randy Peterson in the 12th.

4/3/65

Rain washed out 16 of 21 games and Crawford’s 9-3 win at the San Diego “swamp,” so described by writer Harlon Bartlett, was the only Eastern League game.

Bob Boone, Jimmy Nettles, and Bob Petretta each had three hits, and Frank Jenkins hit a two-run home run that landed on the adjacent Crosstown, I-5 Freeway, according to Bartlett.

–Chula Vista shaded Mar Vista, 2-1, in eight innings to tie for first place in the Metropolitan League with Hilltop.

–Kearny and Point Loma were tied for first in the Western League after the Komets beat Clairemont, 6-3, and Mission Bay topped Point Loma, 5-2.

4/6/65

Vista’s Matt Taylor (6-0), with help from Tom Heckendorn’s grand slam home run, tamed Fallbrook, 11-1.

–Dirk Van Dyke’s two-hitter stopped Sweetwater, 3-1, as Hilltop held on to its league lead.  Tony Pisciotta pitched a three-hitter and San Diego squeezed St. Augustine, 3-1.

–Poway beat Army-Navy, 1-0, in a battle of two-hitters by the Titans Leroy Acebedo and the Warriors’ Dean Werner.

–Crawford’s Bob Boone hurled a two-hitter and the Colts edged Hoover, 1-0.

4/9/65

Two of 20 scheduled games were played, meaning four of the 40 squads in the San Diego Section braved gale winds and rain.

Mission Bay moved into the Western League lead with a 4-2 win over La Jolla and El Cajon Valley scored a come-from-behind, 4-3 win over Grossmont.

Coach Harry Elliott’s El Cajon Valley Braves are one of the few teams yet to be rained out.

“I’m glad to get these games in,” said Elliott. “I’m trying to rotate a one-man pitching staff, you know”, referring to ace Larry Haggard.  “This way our games won’t be bunched up at the end of the year.”

–As the teams broke for the Lions Tournament, 36 games had been rained out since the season began.

4/12/65

Avocado and Palomar League squads participated in the eight-team, first annual North County Lions Tournament.

San Dieguito’s Rich Zinniger struck out 20 batters and the Mustangs beat Vista, 2-1.  Oceanside’s George Hinds struck out 14 in a 3-0 win over Poway.

Carlsbad decisioned Fallbrook, 4-1, and San Marcos had a bye.

4/13/65

San Dieguito gained finals of the Lions’ North County tournament, 5-0 over San Marcos and Oceanside beat Carlsbad, 10-2, in the other semifinal.

4/20/65

Madison’s Guy Spencer, backed by strong hitting from Greg Gunter, Brandt Crocker, and Dan Whitworth, pitched a no-hit, 5-0 victory over Mission Bay that knocked the Buccaneers out of the Western League lead.

–University’s George Zorn struck out 13 and turned in the day’s second no-hitter, 4-0, over Vista.  The victory was the Dons’ eighth in a row.

–Jimmy Nettles’ run-scoring single in the last of the seventh inning gave Crawford’s Bob Boone a 2-1 victory over St. Augustine’s Steve Christopher.

–El Cajon Valley scored 10 runs in the first inning without hitting the ball out of the infield and took over first place in the Grossmont League with a 12-3 rout of Monte Vista.

Monarchs pitchers walked 14 batters and hit one.  The Braves’ Ralph Hayes walked six consecutive times in the seven innings.

4/21/65

Mike Adamson struck out 17 and pitched Point Loma into the Western League lead, 5-1 over Kearny.

–Jimmy Nettles homered and added three singles in four times up as Crawford drubbed Morse, 10-2.

4/23/65

Brent Strom struck out 14 and gave up two hits in San Diego’s 3-2 win over Hoover.  Clarence Calvin’s single with two strikes and two outs in the seventh scored two runs for the victory.

The Cavers moved to 6-3 in the Eastern League and Hoover fell to 5-4.

–Ron Pietila’s three-hitter and 1-0 win over Hilltop kept Sweetwater in the hunt in the Metropolitan League.

4/27/65

Crawford (10-2) took a 2 ½-game lead with three to play in the Eastern League, 11-5 over San Diego (7-4).

Bob Boone pitched the first five innings for the Colts, who scored seven runs in the first two innings, and won his 11^th game against no losses,

–El Cajon Valley wrapped a tie (up 2 games with 2 to play) for the Grossmont League crown, 1-0 over Helix on Ralph Hayes’ home run over he leftfield wall at Wells Park in the fifth inning.

4/30/65

Crawford (11-2) clinched the Eastern League championship, 3-2, over visiting Hoover.

The Colts’ Gary Shourds pitched a four-hitter and his home run in the fifth inning was the difference. At the end of the day Crawford had a 2 ½-game lead with two to play.

–San Diego clinched a tie for second place and the league’s other playoff berth, 7-3 over St. Augustine.

–El Cajon Valley (8-3) lost a chance to claim the Grossmont league title when El Capitan (2-7) battled to a 9-8 win in eight innings.

–Escondido atoned for an earlier, 25-0 whipping by edging Mount Miguel, 6-5.  Lincoln blasted Morse, 20-8.

5/4/65

Sweetwater (7-3) moved into a first-place tie with Hilltop in the Metropolitan League when Ron Pietila singled and Jim Finnerty homered inside the park to back Victor Gallardo’s four-hit pitching in a 2-0 win over Castle Park.

–Point Loma and Mission Bay, each 10-4, remained tied for first in the Western League.

Mike Adamson struck out 13 and beat Kearny’s Mike Sigman, 1-0, in a battle of one-hit pitchers.

Don Bair of Mission Bay hurled a two-hitter and Craig Sisson drove in both runs in a 2-0 win over La Jolla.

5/7/65

Crawford coach Bill Sandback had confidence that Centerfielder Jimmy Nettles could step in,  so the Colts’ mentor gave ace Bob Boone a day off from pitching duties.  Nettles took the ball and responded with a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over St. Augustine

Nettles struck out nine and walked four and got 10-hit support, including two each from Bob Petretta and Bob Boone.

–Point Loma beat Clairemont, 5-0, and Mission Bay lost to Clairemont, 6-5, to give the Pointers the Western League championship.

–Sweetwater (8-4) backed into the Metropolitan loop title, losing to Mar Vista 5-4, while Chula Vista (7-4-1) edged Hilltop (7-5) for second place.

Back-to-back home runs by Steve King and Greg Mattinson in the seventh inning gave Grossmont (10-3) a 4-3 win over Helix and a share of the Grossmont circuit title.

El Cajon Valley saved a tie with the Foothillers by beating Mount Miguel, 7-3.

–A telephonic vote resulted in Grossmont’s being selected for the Grossmont League’s No. 1 playoff seeding.

5/11/65

Vista clinched a tie for the Avocado League championship and Poway matched that in the Palomar League.

The 12-2 Panthers’ Matt Taylor improved his record to 10-1 and maintained an earned-run average of 0.61 in the 8-1 win over San Dieguito which included a home run by Tom Heckendorn.

Poway beat San Marcos, 14-8, as Jim Quiring had four hits, including a home run and double, and drove in four runs.

STANDINGS

EASTERN LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                            OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Crawford	13	2	.867	—	19	4	.826
San Diego	10	5	.667	2	17	7	.708
Hoover	7	8	.467	6	13	10	.565
Lincoln	7	8	.467	6	12	11	.522
Morse	6	9	.400	7	8	14	.364
St. Augustine	2	13	.133	11	9	15	.375

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                                                                                                        OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	Won	Lost	Pct.
Sweetwater	8	4	.667	—	14	8	.636
Chula Vista	7	4	.636	½	10	10	.500
Hilltop	7	5	.583	1	12	10	.545
Castle Park	5	6	.455	2 ½	10	11	.476
Coronado	5	7	.417	3	12	11	.522
Mar Vista	5	7	.417	3	11	12	.478
Escondido	3	9	.250	5	8	15	.348

AVOCADO LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                                                                                                                       OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Vista	11	1	.917	—	18	4	.818
University	11	1	.917	—	16	5	.762
Oceanside	8	5	.615	3 1/2	14	7	.667
San Dieguito	7	6	.538	4 1/2	10	8	.556
Fallbrook	2	11	.154	9 ½	2	17	.107
Orange Glen	1	13	.071	10 ½	2	15	.118

SOUTHERN LEAGUE

                              LEAGUE                                                                                          OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL.	WON	LOST	Pct.
San Miguel School	3	1	.750	—	7	10	.412
La Jolla Country Day	2	2	.500	1	2	7	.222
San Diego Military	1	3	.250	2	11	4	.733

WESTERN LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                                                                          OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Point Loma	11	4	.733	—	16	8	.667
Mission Bay	10	5	.667	1	12	10	.522
Madison	9	4	.692	2	13	9	.591
Kearny	8	7	.533	3	11	11	.500
La Jolla	5	10	.333	6	7	14	.333
Clairemont	2	13	.133	9	5	17	.227

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

                             LEAGUE                                                                                OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
El Cajon Valley	9	3	.750	—	15	6	.714
Grossmont	9	3	.750	—	12	11	.522
Granite Hills	7	5	.583	2	13	11	.542
Monte Vista	5	7	.417	4	11	11	.500
Helix	5	7	.417	4	10	12	.455
Mount Miguel	4	8	.333	5	8	13	.381
El Capitan	3	9	.250	6	5	16	.238

PALOMAR LEAGUE

                              LEAGUE                                                                              OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Poway	11	2	.846	—	15	6	.714
Carlsbad	9	3	.750	1 1/2	12	5	.707
San Marcos	7	5	.583	3 ½	9	8	.529
Marian	7	6	.538	4	7	11	.388
Army-Navy	2	10	.167	8 1/2	4	10	.286
Ramona	1	11	.083	9 ½	4	13	.235

CLASS AA PLAYOFFS

5/14/65

The eight-team first round went to Eastern and Grossmont League teams.

San Diego’s Brent Strom outdueled Point Loma (16-9) and Mike Adamson, 1-0.  Strom struck out 13 and gave up one hit, while Adamson kept the Cavers hitless until he was forced to retire with a blister on his finger in the sixth inning.

Paul Ehrich, who had eliminated the Cavers in the 1964 playoffs, retired two batters in the sixth after relieving Adamson, but the Cavers got go him in the top of the seventh. Doug Hunt hit a leadoff single, moved up on a ground out by Clarence Calvin and fly ball out by John Meiers, and came home on Dennis Maley’s single.

–Crawford’s Bob Boone yielded only a sixth-inning single to Ron Houston in defeating Mission Bay (12-11), 10-2, and despite five Colts errors.

–A two-run triple by Larry Haggard carried El Cajon Valley past Sweetwater (14-9), 4-2.  Haggard scattered three hits including a home run by Jimmy Melillo.  Ralph Hayes supported Haggard with a home run and triple.

–Home runs by Greg Mattinson and Ralph Naisif were part of a 10-hit Grossmont attack that eliminated Chula Vista (11-11), 13-2.

5/18/65

Crawford’s Bob Boone won his 14^th consecutive game without loss, struck out 10 and shut down Grossmont (13-12), 8-3, in the semifinals.

Grossmont was generous: Three errors, seven walks, a passed ball, and one hit-by-pitcher.

Frank Alfano homered and Frank Jenkins and Paul Kaufman each had two hits for the Colts.

–San Diego’s five-run burst in the sixth inning on run-scoring singles by Mike Marrs and Steve Shepherd and a two-run double by John Meiers pushed the Cavers past El Cajon Valley (15-7), 7-6.

Cavers reliever Brent Strom shut down the Braves in the sixth and seventh innings.

–Matt Taylor ran his record to 11-1 and visiting Vista ousted San Miguel School, 10-0, in the Class A playoffs.

The Panthers collected 15 singles and one extra base hit.  Terry O’Dell was 5 for 5.

5/21/65

AA CHAMPIONSHIP

Crawford (22-4) made it three championships in four years, burying San Diego (19-8), 15-3, at the Marine Corps Depot Beeson Field.

Bob Boone (15-0), making his third start in a week, allowed four hits and the Colts responded with 14, including three-run home runs by Boone, Frank Jenkins, and Greg Werdick.

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP

Tom Heckendorn (9-3) pitched Vista (20-4) to the title, 2-1 over Poway (15-7), which had won in 1962 and ’63, at Palomar College.

Heckendorn gave up three hits, struck out nine and provided a game-winning two-run triple in the fifth inning after the Titans had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 15^th annual Lions baseball tournament began with all eyes on the sky.

Rain had played havoc with the schedule this spring and had a wet and dreary history with the event, actually resulting in cancellation in 1964.

San Diego High, winner of the tournament six times since 1951, was top seed among the 16 Unlimited Division teams, with Monte Vista favored in the 13-team Limited Division.

4/12/65

Tony Pisciotta and Kirk Gurling combined to check Escondido on four hits and top-seed San Diego advanced with a 5-0 victory over Escondido.

Three other ranked squads, Crawford (9-0, Mount Miguel), Hoover (4-0, El Capitan), and Point Loma, (3-1 Lincoln), all moved on in the Unlimited Division.

Hoover’s Greg Verdon pitched a one-hitter.  Crawford’s Bob Boone and Larry Forest scattered three Mount Miguel hits.  Point Loma Paul Ehrich gave up four hits, one a home run to losing pitcher Dennis Webb.

Monte Vista shut out Mission Bay, 5-0. Hilltop scored seven runs in the seventh inning in a 13-1 win over La Jolla. University won its tenth in a row, 3-1 over Mar Vista.

4/13/65

San Diego defeated El Cajon Valley, 4-3, in the morning and came from behind to edge Hoover, 5-4, in the afternoon to gain the championship game against Point Loma, which whipped Clairemont, then turned back Crawford, 1-0.

Trailing, 4-1, in the last of the seventh inning, San Diego got a triple from Clarence Calvin, double from Dennis Maley, bunt single by Louie Panza, pinch-hit single by Lee Wright, Hoover error, and a double steal that stole the win from the stunned Cardinals.

Crawford had 12 base runners, but two were out on plays at the plate, the last which ended the game, and three were cut down at second base, all part of outstanding defensive play by Pointers catcher Tim Faris.

Monte Vista beat Castle Park, 4-2, and Marian, 11-6, to gain the Limited Division championship versus Coronado, which surprised seeded opponents Hilltop, 5-3, and University, 2-1.

4/14/65

Brent Strom was named outstanding player of the tournament, pitching the first four innings and doubling in all of San Diego’s runs in the fifth inning of the 3-2 championship over Point Loma.

The Pointers Mike Adamson walked Dennis Maley and Louie Panza on eight pitches and then yielded an infield single to Steve Shepherd, setting the stage for Strom.

Monte Vista won its second straight Limited title as the game with Coronado was called with one out in the top of the seventh inning when the 12-run rule was activated by a Monarchs run that made the score 13-1.

Lincoln beat Escondido, 12-3, as Dennis Webb hit his second home run of the tournament, and St. Augustine topped Mar Vista, 1-0, for consolation brackets titles.

A promising Class B 660 yards runner in 1964 who bypassed cross-country for football in the fall, Chula Vista junior Tim Danielson ran down defending state champion Mike Ryan and scored a stunning, 20-yard victory in the mile in the 47th state meet, defying the evening heat of Bakersfield.

Danielson’s time of 4:08 was a meet record and fastest ever by an 11^th grader in prep competition.  Tactically, Danielson was perfect.

Ryan, from Santa Clara Wilcox, forced the pace as most observers expected, running :58.4 in the first quarter, 2:01 at the half mile, and 3:04 for the 1320, but it became apparent that Danielson could win if he stayed close.

RYAN GASSED

“I could tell with about 220 yards to go he was getting tired,” Danielson said of Ryan. “I wasn’t really too tired, but that’s about the hardest race I’ve had.”

“I thought Tim had a better chance if the pace was fast like that; he could stay with him and outkick him,” coach Harry Taylor told me.

Danielson’s last lap was a comparatively slow :63, “but he wasn’t all out,” said Taylor.  “He was just following Ryan until the last 150 yards.”

Since late February, when Danielson set a school record of 4:25, he had cut an astonishing 17 seconds off his best time.

NEW EVENT

The two-mile, occasionally run in summer all-comers’ meets or other off-beat competitions, became a staple.

The difference between winning or losing in dual meets went from 52 and a fraction points to 57.

2/23/65

Silas Gross won the 120-yard high hurdles in :15.3, 180 lows in :19.3, and anchored his team to a 1:32.7 victory in Morse’s 78-35 dual meet win over Castle Park.

2/26/65

Lee Damron broke a 26-year-old San Diego High record of 1:59 in the 880-yard run with a 1:58.6 in the Cavers’ 74-51 win at El Capitan.

Jim Brewer broke two minutes for the Hilltoppers in the 1939 Southern Section finals.

–Tim Danielson set a Chula Vista record of 4:25 and Crawford’s Dave Colegrove hurled the shot a record 53-8 ½.  Crawford won, 79-35.

–Arnie Robinson’s 6-foot, 5 ½-inch high jump tied for the fifth highest in County history.  Hoover’s Eddy Hanks cleared 6-9 ¾ and Lyle Hull 6-6 in 1964, Hoover’s Jack Razzeto 6-5 ¾ in 1948, and San Diego’s Bob Logan 6-5 ½ in 1938.

Robinson, who topped 6-5 as a sophomore in 1964, also won the long jump at 22-9 ½ and Morse defeated Mar  Vista and Vista, 76-36-33.

–Pierre Frazier edged Kearny’s Bobby Johnson in a :09.8 100, :22.1 220, and  21-10 long jump, and Hoover won, 71-42.

3/2/65

Byron Olander of Helix ran the 100 in :09.7 and his brother Rick cleared 12-11 ¾ in the pole vault to break the school record of 12-7, set in 1956 by Jim Duea.

Byron also won the 440 in :51.4 as the Highlanders defeated Escondido, 81-32.

3/9/65

Mike Singletary came close to another vintage San Diego High record, racing the 440 in :49.5 as Singletary closed in on Norman Stocks’ record of :49.3 in 1946. San Diego beat Madison, 79-34.

3/12/65

Pierre Frazier won the 100 (:09.8), 180-yard low hurdles (:19.7), long jump (22-3 ½), and anchored Hoover’s 1:32.1 relay win that clinched a 61-52 victory over Point Loma.

Granite Hills’ sophomore George Brown heaved the shot 55 feet, 4 ¾ inches, in a 75-47 win over Monte Vista.  Grossmont’s Ed Speed had set a sophomore record of 56-5 in 1960.

—Hilltop’s Terry Rogers posted the fastest 880 of the season, 1:56.6 but the Lancers dropped an 80-33 decision to Sweetwater.

—Tim Danielson clipped 5 seconds off his Chula Vista mile record with a 4:20 in the Spartans’ 58-55 loss to Oceanside.

3/14/65

Point Loma’s Ron Hawkins hoisted the school record to 13-6 ¾ in the pole vault against Hoover, bettering Bruce Long’s 13-5 in 1962.

3/19/65

Pierre Frazier leaped 24 feet, 5 ½ inches in Hoover’s 94-22 win at St. Augustine, breaking Willie Steele’s school record of 24-3/4 in 1941.

3/20/65

Twenty-eight schools entered the 11^th annual South Bay Relays at Sweetwater.

Helix’ Byron Olander beat San Diego’s Rex Williams and Hoover’s Pierre Frazier in a :09.7 100.  Frazier won the large schools long jump at 23-9 ¾. Helix won that division with 50 points to San Diego’s 39.

–Granite Hills outscored Sweetwater, 41-37 ½, with Madison at 37 to win the medium schools competition.

The Eagles’ Tim Schraeder won the 100 in :10 and George Brown the shot put at 54-6 ½.

–Lincoln ran away with the small schools title with 61 points to La Jolla’s 30.

Mar Vista’s Mike Lemons pole vaulted 14-3 ½ to break the record of 13-5 ¼ by Lincoln’s Vic Montano in 1964.

4/5/65

The meet didn’t come down to the relay, which San Diego won in 1:31.2, and Hoover held on for a 57-56 victory over the Cavers.

Competition originally was scheduled at Hoover but wet grounds forced a postponement and a shift of sites to Balboa Stadium’s new, all-weather track.

A second delay of a couple days was necessary because Hoover did not have suitable shoe spikes for the asphalt (officially Grasstex) layout.

Hoover’s Pierre Frazier was the difference, winning the 100 in :09.8, 220 in :22, and long jump at 23-6.

A 4:29.9 victory in the mile by Don Walker and a first place and third place in that race got the Cardinals over the top. Hoover led, 49-48, entering the next-to-last event.

—Jay Elbel was second in the 220, won the 880 in 1:57.8, and anchored a 1:31.9 relay victory but Madison was short in another 57-56 battle against Mission Bay.

4/6/65

Mount Miguel edged Grossmont, 63-59, coming from a 58-50 deficit late in the day by going 1-2 in the mile and then a foursome of Tom Howard, Dain Demery, Mike Lybrand and John Trask won by 15 yards in a 880 relay school record 1:30.8.

4/17/65

Byron Olander won the 100 in :09.7, ran a :21.1 220 leg on Helix’ eight-man mile relay that set a record of 3:00.2, and a :50.3 anchor in a 3:23.9 four-man mile relay win.

Olander was selected athlete of the meet in the sixth annual San Diego Relays in Balboa Stadium. Lincoln dominated, winning seven events, including :42.9 and 1:28.6 in the 440 and 880 relays.

Chula Vista’s Tim Danielson stepped out of the mile and won the two-mile in 9:26.6.

Athletes vied in seeded (those with leading marks entering the meet) and rated competition.

UNOFFICIAL

Kearny’s Carl Giesser tied with three others at 13-6 in the relays’ pole vault.  Given an extra trial Giesser cleared the height and went on to negotiate 14 feet, 7 ½ inches, a record in the County but not considered because of the fourth attempt at the lower height.

4/20/65

Michael Singletary’s :48.3 quarter mile bettered the County record of :48.5 by Hoover’s Tom Agsten in 1963 but Lincoln won, 67-46.

4/27/65

Rudy Silas would represent Lincoln in the state meet long jump, but he was third to teammates Greg Stewart (23-5) and Barry Brinson (22-11) in the Hornets’ 82-31 win over Crawford.

Kearny’s Carl Giesser officially cleared 14 feet in the pole vault against Mission Bay, which won, 66-47.

4/30/65

Facing East with prevailing winds from the West, Morse’s layout for sprints, hurdles, and some jump competition invited outstanding results in those events, but with an asterisk or disclaimer.

San Diego’s 67-46 victory at the Skyline campus on the last day of the regular season included:

–A :09.9 100 and :21 flat 220 by the Cavers’ 440-yard dash ace Michael Singletary.

–:14.3 in the 120-yard high hurdles by Morse’s Harold Burt and :19.1 in the 180 lows by teammate Jerry Daniels.

–A 23-9 ½ long jump by San Diego’s Doyle Steel, for whom Steel’s 6-4 high jump couldn’t be attributed to the hefty breezes.

Most impressive, non-wind mark of the day probably was Morse’s 1:29.8 victory in the 880-yard relay.

5/7/65

LEAGUE TRIALS

And Finals would be held at the same sites.

EASTERN, @BALBOA STADIUM

Lincoln led all qualifiers with 28, followed by San Diego and Crawford, 17 each, Hoover (15), Morse (13), and St. Augustine (3).

AVOCADO, @SAN DIEGUITO

Vista’s Rick Fox ran his 880 heat in 1:58.8 breaking the record of 2:00.4 by Poage of Oceanside in 1963.

WESTERN, @KEARNY

Point Loma led with 21 qualifiers, followed by Mission Bay (17), Madison and Clairemont, 16 each, La Jolla (14) and Kearny (12).

Frank Heitman of Clairemont logged  the  mile in 4:28.9.

GROSSMONT, @GROSSMONT

Sophomore George Brown hurled the shot 57-10 ½ and El Capitan pole vaulter Andy Steben set a league record of 14 feet, 2 3/8 inches.

Brown’s teammate Arasmus Okware ran :49.7 in the 440.

Dual-meet champion Helix led with 18 qualifiers, with Mount Miguel and El Cajon Valley next at 14 each followed by Grossmont, 13, Granite Hills, 10, El Capitan, 5, and Monte Vista, 3.

METROPOLITAN, @SWEETWATER

The host Red Devils, backed by David Barajas’ 440 (:51.2), and 220 (:23.1) led with 26 qualifiers.

Chula Vista’s Tim Danielson set the pace with a 4:12.8 mile, almost 13 seconds faster than in the school-record 4:25 on Feb. 26.

Joe Brooks, the coach of sophomore star Armando Valencia at El Cajon Valley, said Danielson “can do anything.”

“He’ll make these guys look sick in the state meet,” said Brooks. a former distance runner at San Diego State. “If this kid Ryan (who has run 4:10.4) runs 4:06, Danielson will run 4:04.”

5/14/65

FINALS

WESTERN 

Four league records were set and one tied as Mission Bay outscored Point Loma, 56-53, for the team championship.  La Jolla had 28, Madison 25, Clairemont 18, and Kearny 11.

100—Rick Tauber, Mission Bay, :09.9.

Mile—Jeff Dragila, La Jolla, 4:27.5.

120HH—Dee Hayes, Mission Bay, :14.8.

180LH—Sam Fernandez, Mission Bay, :19.6 (tied).

Two-Mile—Lane Mason, La Jolla, 9:29.9.

EASTERN FINALS

Michael Singletary circled the Balboa Stadium track in :48.5 for one of three meet records.

Lincoln’s Otis Martin logged 9:41.3 in the first-time run two-mile and St. Augustine’s John Lewis turned 4:23 in the mile.

St. Augustine’s Tom Eklund clocked 1:55.6 in the 880 and San Diego overtook Lincoln in a 1:28.8 relay.

Lincoln scored 60 points, Hoover 35, Morse and San Diego 27 each, Crawford 23, and St. Augustine 12.

GROSSMONT 

Rick Heisel of Helix set a 180-yard low hurdles of :20.1 and also won the 120 highs (:15.1). With sprinter Brian Olander sidelined with a muscle pull, the Highlanders needed Heisel’s double.

Helix scored 52 points to 48 by Granite Hills, which emerged as a threat to the city schools in the big meets coming up.

The Eagles’ Tim Schraeder won the sprints in :10 and :21.7 and anchored a 1:30.5 victory in the relay. Arasmus Okware won the 440 in :50.3 and George Brown took the shot put at 57-9 ½.

METROPOLITAN 

Sweetwater ran away with the team title with 55 points to Hilltop’s 31.

David Barajas won the 440 in :50.3 and contributed to a 1:31.3 victory in the 880 relay.  Burte Jackson won the 180-yard low hurdles in :20.4 and long jump at 21-11.  Ward Ring’s :14.9 topped 120 high hurdlers.

Tim Danielson won the mile in 4:13.3 and Hilltop’s Terry Rogers set an 880-yard record of 1:55.2.

PALOMAR 

Carlsbad’s 68 points set the pace, almost doubling that of runner-up Ramona, which had 39.

AVOCADO 

Brent Rowlett’s 1:56.8 880 was the outstanding performance as Oceanside won the team title with 65 points to runner-up Vista’s 45.

Vista’s Dave Funderburk, defending Section champion,  hampered by shin splints and feet soreness late in the season, won the mile in 4:21.9.

5/20/65

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS

Eastern, Grossmont, Avocado, and Southern League qualifiers met in Balboa Stadium, where sophomore Armando Valencia of El Cajon Valley ran a 4:14.7 mile and defeated Dave Funderburk, who ran 4:15.2.

Helix led with nine qualifiers, followed by Granite Hills, 7, Lincoln and Morse, 6 each, Hoover, 5, and San Diego, 3.

5/21/65

Tim Danielson was running to where no San Diego athlete had gone, leaving records smoldering beneath his rapid legs.

The Chula Vista junior qualified with a scorching 4:08.7 in the trials involving entries from the Metropolitan, Palomar, and Avocado League.

5/28/65

Tim Danielson won the mile in 4:09.9, temporarily surrendering the spotlight to Granite Hills, which made history and won the team championship before about 6,200 persons in Balboa Stadium.

The Eagles became the first team not identified as Lincoln or San Diego to win since the Section’s first championship in 1961.

Coach Rudy Friberg’s squad clinched with 26 points when anchorman Tim Schraeder brought the baton home in the 880-yard relay in 1:28.6. George Brown took the shot put at 56-11.

Helix’ Byron Olander was  idle with a muscle pull and out of title contention. Lincoln was second with 23 points, followed by Morse , 22, Helix, 16, Hoover, 12, Point Loma and San Diego, 10 each.

COMPETITION FIERCE

The 880 was the showcase event as the first five finishers ran with marks that had been bettered only five times in area history.

Terry Rogers of Hilltop was the winner in 1:53.2, followed by Joe Gerry, Point Loma, 1:54.7; Tom Eklund, St. Augustine, 1:54.9; Rick Fox, Vista, and Nelson Edwards, Helix, each 1:55.2.

Records:

440—Michael Singletary, San Diego, :48.

Two-Mile—Otis Martin, Lincoln, 9:17.7.

120HH—Harold Burt, Morse, :14.4 (tie).

180LH—Silas Gross, Morse, :19.2 (tie).

6/5/65

STATE TRACK TRIALS, @BAKERSFIELD

Tim Danielson led a group of eight San Diego Section qualifiers in trials of the 47^th CIF State track meet on a 90-degree afternoon at Bakersfield College.

Danielson took the lead on the last lap of his mile heat and won in 4:15.2.  Lincoln high jumper Phillip Shelley tied with 12 others at 6 feet, 4 inches.

Pole vaulters Mike Lemons of Mar Vista (13-3) and El Capitan’s Andy Steben, who took only one jump in four hours and cleared 13-0, also moved on.

Michael Singletary of San Diego was second in :48.9 in one heat of the 440 and El Cajon Valley’s Armando Valencia was second his mile test in 4:16.3.  Bobby Johnson of Kearny was second in a 220 in :21.6 and Lincoln long jumper Rudy Silas tied for fifth at 23-7.

NONQUALIFIERS

120 high hurdlers Harold Burt, Morse, fifth in heat, :14.7; Lincoln’s Ted Scales, seventh in heat, :14.7;

Granite Hills’ Tim Schraeder and John Silva of University, each eighth in 100-yard dash heats in :10.3, Schraeder ninth in :21.7 in 220;

Morse’s Silas Gross (:19.1) and Hoover’s Pierre Frazier (:19.5), fifth and fourth in 180-yard low hurdles;

Hilltop’s Terry Rogers (1:54.6), fourth and Joe Gerry (1:56.2), sixth in 880 heats;

Shot putters George Brown of Granite Hills’ (55-10 ¾) and Dave Helton of Mar Vista (53-4 ½) unplaced;

Lincoln (1:29), sixth and Granite Hills (1:29.4), fourth in 880-yard relay heats;

Discus throwers Johnson, Granite Hills (152-1) and Dave Helton, Mar Vista (144-3), ninth and 12^th.

6/6/65

STATE FINALS

Danielson’s star was soaring. See introduction. 

San Diego’s Mike Singletary struggled in the stretch but gutted up for a 440 second-place :47.6, to the :47.4 of Garden Grove Bolsa Grande’s Randy Julian.

Andy Steben of El Capitan tied for third with three others in the pole vault at 14-1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A  North County dustup was decided in Oceanside’s favor when the Pirates won the Avocado League championship-deciding dual meet at Vista, 61-52.

The event, scheduled at Vista, originally was rained out several weeks before.

The schools, approximately 11 ½ miles and about 20 minutes apart along the State 78 corridor, could not agree on an agreeable makeup date.

I had a Tuesday column in the Evening Tribune called Track Topics and wrote a mostly Oceanside view of what became a neighborhood spat.

“He pulled a big stall and got away with it,” Oceanside coach Tom Shields said of Vista mentor Pepper Lysaker.

“We proposed two different dates, but evidently he had some injuries and wanted to wait until everyone was healthy,” said Shields, who was replaced by Lysaker when Shields left Vista for Oceanside this year.

“We’re in league preliminaries Friday and there’s a CIF rule that states a boy can’t change exponents in the same week,” said Shields.  “If he runs varsity on a Tuesday, he has to run varsity on Friday.”

The Pirates’ coach said he would not ask his Class B boys  to compete on the varsity level when their best chance in the upcoming CIF meets would be in the lower class.

Shields added, “They didn’t call us.  They sent us a post card last week saying today (Tuesday) would be a good day to hold the meet.”

Oceanside athletic director Don Huffman notified Vista honchos that “they had waited too long” to reschedule and that the Pirates were not going to participate. Avocado League bosses overruled Oceanside and declared the meet had to take place on the date of Vista’s choosing.

PANTHERS ALL WET?

Lysaker responded.

“Here’s what happened:  Our track was under water for a month during the rain.  It’s one of the lowest points in the city and everything drains on it.  It was in terrible shape and we just couldn’t run on it.”

“We offered to use our track,” said Shields.

Oceanside and Vista both dropped players into Class B when the teams finally met.

“We were fortunate,” said Shields.  “I think we would have won by the same score anyway. We lost about eight points, but they had to give away points, too.”

San Diego High and Grossmont were kings of the majors and La Jolla ruled the smaller schools. Hal Norris, Charlie Powell, Jerry Wood and Darnes Johnson were names of note.

It was a solid if unspectacular season in the San Diego area, but Norris, the first of a generation of outstanding shot putters at Grossmont under coach Jack Mashin, won the state championship and had a best throw of 58 feet, 2 1/2 inches.

The canny Mashin, always looking for competitive venues for his athletes, agreed to a meet in Los Angeles with the UCLA freshmen and entered younger shot putter Clyde Wetter in the Fresno West Coast Relays.

San Diego High’s Powell was No. 2 to Norris in the weight event but easily was the area’s premier athlete.  He also played baseball, on occasion wearing his flannel uniform and thinclad gear on the same day.

2/24/50

Grossmont won all three divisions, A, B, and C, in the second annual City Relays, a meet in which all field events were scored in aggregate and individual competition was limited to the 120-yard high hurdles and 100-yard dash.

San Diego’s Darnes Johnson won the dash in :10.2 and Jerry Wood of La Jolla set one of five meet records with a :15.1 clocking in the 120 highs.

Grossmont’s Hal Norris, in leading his three-man team to first in the shot put, set a meet record of 56 feet, 8 inches.

Grossmont outscored San Diego, 47-45, in Class A, La Jolla, 54-39, in B, and San Diego 44-34, in Class C.

Eleven schools, from the Coast, Metropolitan, and Southern Prep leagues entered the Balboa Stadium competition.

3/1/50

Hoover and Point Loma each won six events but the Cardinals clinched the 54-50 thriller after taking first and second in the mile, next-to-last event, won by Don Bush in 4:48.9.

–Sweetwater won all but the 440-yard dash and swamped St. Augustine, 90-14.  The Red Devils’ Bill Handle high jumped 6 feet.

3/3/50

Chula Vista opened Metropolitan League dual-meet competition with a 74 ½-29 ½ victory over Coronado and Kenny White set a Spartans record with a shot put of 51-9 3/8.

–Sweetwater beat Escondido, 78 ¼-29 ¾, as Billy Howell cleared 12-3 ¼ for a school record in the pole vault.

–La Jolla whipped Kearny, 72-32, with Jerry Wood doubling in the hurdles (:15.6, :21.5) and Dick Blodgett taking the 880 (2:07).

3/8/50

Charlie Powell put the shot 53-7 ½ and Don (Blackie) Norsworthy ran the mile in 4:45.8 as San Diego won a non-league dual with Point Loma in Balboa Stadium,  71 ½-33 ½.

3/9/50

Chuck Embrey hurled the shot 49-4 ½ in La Jolla’s 67 ½-36 ½ win over Sweetwater. Kearny’s Danny Bain, competing in Class B against Escondido, cleared 6-2 in the high jump, compared to the varsity win at 5-8.

3/11/50

Grossmont’s  Hal Norris set a Long Beach Relays record of 56 feet, 8 inches in the shot put, bettering his 1949 record of 53-8; Chula Vista’s Kenny White was second (51-10 3/4), and Grossmont’s Clyde Wetter fourth (50-0).

Floyd Hanson of Grossmont tied for second in the pole vault at 12-3. Hoover’s Del Teter tied for second at 5-11 in the high jump.

3/15/50

Writer Gardner Morse of The San Diego Union predicted a 52-52 tie in the Metropolitan League showdown between Chula Vista and visiting La Jolla.

It wasn’t close.  Coach Sandy MacLaren’s Vikings won, 66 ½-37 ½, over Forrest Jamieson’s Spartans.

MacLaren surprised when he entered Bill Copnik, who had turned out for baseball, and Jim Ranglos, who was sitting out the spring after playing football and basketball.

Copnik won the high jump at 5-11 ¾ and Ranglos was second at 5-10.  La Jolla’s Ted Christman also was a surprising winner at :10.3 in the 100 and :22.4 in the 220 over favored Walt Bubel.

3/18/50

San Diego schools dominated the 29^th Southern Counties Invitational at Huntington Beach.

San Diego swept to an 18-point victory with 43 1/5 points in the large schools’ division. Grossmont was fourth with 21 1/2 and Hoover seventh with 10 3/5.

LARGE SCHOOLS

Darnes Johnson won a 220-yard dash heat in :22, and contributed a leg to the winning 880-yard relay team (1:31.6).

San Diego’s Herb McClister won a 440 heat in :52.7 and teammate Howard Simpson was first in the broad jump at 22-1/4.

Del Teter of Hoover took the high jump at 6-2 1/8. Floyd Hanson of Grossmont tied for first at 12 feet in the pole vault.

Hal Norris of Grossmont set a meet record of 56 feet ¾ inch in the shot put, topping the 54-8 1/2 by Anaheim’s Jerry Shipkey in 1943, and was followed by San Diego’s Charlie Powell and Norris’ teammate Clyde Wetter.

SMALL SCHOOLS

La Jolla (29), Kearny (28 1/4), and Chula Vista (28) were 1-2-3.  Coronado tied for 11th with 7.

Jerry Wood of La Jolla won the 120-yard high hurdles in :15 and was second in the 180 lows.

John Rushing of Kearny was first in the 180-yard low hurdles in :20.1 and second to a :10.2 100 by Keith Brownsberger of Bonita.

Goodwin of Chula Vista won one of the 880-yard races in 2:06.6.  Danny Bain of Kearny was first in the high jump (6-1 1/2).

La Jolla and Chula Vista tied for first in the 880-yard relay in 1:33.8.

3/23/50

Darnes Johnson won the 100 in :10.5, 220 in :22.8 and provided a leg on the winning relay squad (1:33) that decided the Coast League dual at Grossmont in the Hilltoppers’ favor, 55 ½-48 ½.

3/28/50

John Thomas set a San Diego school record of :20.1 in the 180-yard low hurdles and won the shotput at 48-9 ½, and Howard Simpson won the broad jump (20-9) and tied for first in the high jump (5-10) as San Diego won another Coast League dual on the road, 54-50, at Compton.

3/31/50

Grossmont edged Hoover, 52 1/2 -51 ½, and routed Pasadena Muir, 72 1/2-28 ½. in a triangular meet at Hoover, which beat Muir, 71-33.

Hal Norris set a Grossmont record of 57-10 ½, but the Foothillers clinched the meet when Alan Archard, Charles Miller, Clarence Hill, and Mike Martin won the 880-yard relay in 1:33.

–La Jolla set records and almost shut out visiting Escondido, 98-6.

Chuck Embrey’s 51-7 ½ shot put and Dick Blodgett’s 2:03.5 880 were Vikings varsity records, and Bert Rimmer’s 21-5 broad jump established a Class B standard.

–John Holcomb’s 22-3 ½ broad jump and John Benner’s 12-foot, ¼ inch pole vault set Kearny records in the Komets’ 59-45 loss to visiting Point Loma.

–Sammy Woldsdorf broke the Chula Vista record with his :20.5 in the 180 low hurdles.

4/6/50

Losing 83 ½-29 ½ in Los Angeles to the UCLA freshmen wasn’t unexpected, but Grossmont’s Hal Norris, who would go on to compete in football and track at California-Berkeley, was the day’s standout when he hurled the 16-pound, international-weight shot 49-2.

4/11/50

Hoover topped Compton, 63-41, on the Cardinals’ oval and Bill Heaton set a school record of 12 feet, 7 ½ inches in the pole vault.

Hoover’s Don Bush ran the mile in 4:39.6 and Ron Crotts won the broad jump at 21-9 and the 440 in a reported (later disputed) :50 flat.

4/12/50

Grossmont won 11 of 12 events and defeated visiting Pasadena, 93-11.  Hal Norris reached 55-7 in the shot put and Floyd Hanson cleared 12 feet in the pole vault.

4/14/50 

Hal Norris won the shot put in the Compton Gold Cup Invitational with a 56-foot, 5-inch toss and teammates Clyde Wetter and Ron Humphrey were second and fifth.

The Foothillers were sixth in team scoring with 16 points, behind Long Beach Wilson, the leader with 35 1/2.  Kearny and Point Loma tied for ninth with 8 points each.

Point Loma’s Bob Plant ran 4:36.9 in the mile for second and Hal Sweet ran 2:03.1 in the 880 and was third.

Floyd Hanson of Grossmont was second in the pole vault at 12-6, an event in which Kearny’s John Benner set a school record of 12-3 ¼ and tying for third.

4/19/50

Hoover and San Diego met on the same day, in track and baseball.

San Diego won the dual meet at Hoover, 63 2/3-40 1/3, as Darnes Johnson and John Thomas posted double wins in the 100 and 220 and 120-yard high hurdles and 180 lows, respectively.

Johnson ran a :10.3 100 and a not-timed 220, while Thomas was first in the highs in :15.7 and lows in :20.4.

The days’ best mark was by Hoover’s Ron Crotts, who broad jumped 22-10 ¾.

–No double winners but La Jolla routed Point Loma, 73-31, for the Metropolitan League dual meet championship and added B and C titles along the way.

Jerry Wood ran :15.2 in the 120 high hurdles and Burt Rimmer broad jumped 21-11 for the Vikings’. Connie Broome won the 100 for Point Loma in: :10.2.

4/21/50

The first annual Vista Relays featured athletes from Army-Navy, Brown Military, Fallbrook, Mountain Empire, Oceanside, Ramona, San Dieguito, and host Vista.

Escondido outscored Oceanside, 52-51, for the team championship before a gathering described as “800 shivering fans.”

Best individual mark in a meet that featured team aggregate results was the :10.1 100 by Vista’s Dave Pine.

4/22/50

Chula Vista’s Kenny White won the shot put with a throw of 53 feet, ½ inch, and teammate Tom Timmerman won one of two 440 races in :51.7 at the Chaffey Invitational in Ontario.

The Spartans’ Gerrel Prince reportedly was timed in :51.7 in finishing second in the second 440.

4/25/50

San Diego qualified 20 and Hoover and Grossmont 19 each in Coast League trials at Compton.

–La Jolla sent 17 entries forward and Point Loma and Chula Vista 11 each in

Metropolitan League trials at Balboa Stadium.

Dan Bain of Kearny set a Class B record in the high jump finals at 6 feet, 1 ¾ inches.  Bob Smerdon of La Jolla was notable with a 50-foot effort in the Class C shot put finals.

4/28/50

San Diego High scored 56 points to runner-up Hoover’s 40, followed by the 38 of Compton, and 26 of 1949 champion Grossmont in the Coast League finals, held on a chilly, rain-threatened afternoon in Balboa Stadium.

Pasadena Muir and Pasadena High brought up the rear with 18 and 1, respectively.

Hilltoppers Hal Espy, John Thomas, and the 880 relay team accounted for three of six meet records.

Espy toured the 440 in :51, Thomas the 180-yard low hurdles in :20, and the relay team of Darnes Johnson, Herb McClister, Frank Johnson, and Espy ran 1:30.4.

Other records were set by Grossmont’s Hal Norris, 56-10 shot put, and Floyd Hanson, 12-10 pole vault, and Muir’s Hank Warner :22 220.

–Kenny White bettered the Metropolitan League meet shot put record with a toss of 54-6 ½, eclipsing the 51-4 ½ in 1946 by George Pinnell of La Jolla.

Jerry Wood of La Jolla was timed in :14.7, breaking the mark of :14.8 by La Jolla’s Art Barnard in 1947 and Wood ran a leg on the winning 880-yard relay team that was timed in 1:31.8.

Chuck Engebretson of Oceanside was a double winner in the 100 (:10.1) and 220 (:22.5).

La Jolla won the team championship in the evening competition at Balboa Stadium with 56 ½ points.  Chula Vista had 40 ½, Point Loma 22, Kearny 18, Oceanside16, Coronado 12-1/2, Escondido 8, and Sweetwater 6.

4/29/50

Vista’s Mark Wilson set a Southern Prep League meet record of 4:57.2 in the mile in league finals at Vista.

San Dieguito won the team title with 79 3/4 points to Vista’s 79 and Army-navy’s 71 1/4. Mountain Empire had 19.

5/6/50

As in other CIF sports playoffs, track was in three groups, Northern, Central, and Southern.

Coast League thinclads were competing in the Central Group Divisional at Inglewood.

La Jolla and other Metropolitan League athletes, plus any qualifier from the Southern Prep, was part of the Southern contingent at San Diego State.

Darnes Johnson of San Diego posted career bests of :09.8 in the 100 and :21.4 in the 220 at Inglewood.

Johnson became the fourth Hilltopper to run :09.8, tying the school record jointly held by Jimmy Willson (1929), Mushy Pollock (1933), Glenn Willis (1941) and the third behind Willson and Pollock to run :21.4.

Grossmont shot putter Hal Norris (57-1), San Diego low hurdler John Thomas and quartermiler Hal Espy, and Hoover half milers Milt Hatchell and Phil Selter also won their heats at Inglewood.

Jerry Wood was a double winner at San Diego State, winning his hurdle heats in :14.9 and :20.1 and running a leg as La Jolla won the 880 relay in 1:32.2.

Kenny White of Chula Vista was first with a school record 56 feet, 1 ¾ inches in the shot put.

5/12/50

Grossmont junior Clyde Wetter won the high school shot put in the West Coast Relays at Fresno with a toss of 53 feet, 1 inch.

5/13/50

Glendale outscored San Diego, 34-25, and had 6 qualifiers to the Hilltoppers’ 5 in the Divisional semifinals at Compton.

Darnes Johnson was third to a :09.9 100 by Pasadena Muir’s Hank Warner but Johnson won the 220 in :21.4.

Hal Espy’s :50.7 440 was his best time of the season.

The Hillers’ John Thomas was not listed as qualifying but credited by San Diego High coach Bill Patten with a non-winning :19.5 in the 180 low hurdles. Glendale’s Steve turner set a Southern Section record of :19 flat in the lows.

–La Jolla’s Jerry Wood set the pace with :14.6 in the 120-yard high hurdles and :19.7 in the Southern Group divisional at Riverside Poly. Kenny White of Chula Vista won the shot put at 55-7.

5/20/50

San Diego-area athletes won  only two of 12 events but scored in 11 and their 57 points were almost half the possible 121 in the Southern Section finals at Long Beach Wilson.

Hal Norris of Grossmont won the shot put with a school-record throw of 58-2 ½ and the San Diego relay team of Darnes Johnson, Herb McClister, Frank Johnson, and Hal Espy was first in 1:30.8.

Norris led a 1-2-3 finish by area heavyweights. He was followed by Charlie Powell of San Diego, who was second, and Kenny White of Chula Vista, third.

Espy was second in the 440, won in :51.2, and Ron Crotts of Hoover was second in the broad jump, won by Glendale’s Steve Turner, who had a record jump of 24-6 ¼.  Darnes Johnson was third in the 100-yard dash and 220, which were won in :10 and :22.3.

Jerry Wood of La Jolla was fourth and fifth in both hurdle races.  Malcolm Lewis of Point Loma was fifth and fourth in the hurdles.

Glendale won the team championship with 28 points.  San Diego was second with 20. La Jolla had eight, Grossmont 7, Chula Vista 6, Point Loma 5 ½, Hoover 4, Oceanside 3, Coronado 2, and Kearny 1 ½.

5/28/50

Hal Norris of Grossmont was first in the shot put, with Charlie Powell of San Diego second and Kenny White of Chula Vista fourth in 32^nd state track meet at Hughes Stadium, Sacramento.

Norris’ winning put was 56 feet, 5 ½ inches, below his best of 58-2 1/2, and was followed by the 55-4 of Powell, and 53-8 of White, who was nosed out for third by the 53-11 of Taft’s Leon Patterson.

A San Diego relay quartet of Darnes Johnson, Frank Johnson, Herb McAlister, and Hal Espy was second in the 880-yard relay in 1:29.8.

Los Angeles Jefferson won the relay in 1:28.6 and ran off with the team title with 40 points.  San Diego was fifth with 8.

Dewey (Mike) Morrow ended a remarkable, 20-season run at San Diego High that included 15 Coast League championships and 10 Southern California titles from 1927, excluding the World War II, 1942-45 seasons.

Morrow’s final Hillers team was 17-10 and its .630 winning percentage, excellent by almost any measure, his lowest. Morrow’s overall record against high school teams was 281-49 (.852) and 367-97 (.788) versus all opponents, according to Don King’s Caver Conquest history of San Diego athletics.

Morrow was switching jobs with Les Cassie and figuratively passed Cassie on the way, Cassie becoming coach at the high school and Morrow succeeding Cassie at San Diego Junior College, across Russ Boulevard from the Hillers’ campus.

2/28/50

Frank Sanfillipo and Charlie Powell hit home runs in San Diego’s 7-6 win over La Jolla. SanFillipo’s three-run, 340-foot blast landed in the left-centerfield seats on the East side of Balboa Stadium. Powell’s two-run shot, estimated at 350 feet, came with one man aboard.

3/4/50

Hoover opened the season with a doubleheader sweep at La Jolla, 9-5, and 2-0. Ralph Buckingham allowed one hit in the nine-inning opener; Bert Grigsby scattered eight hits in the seven-inning nightcap.

3/5/50

John Nelson, Bob Stipp, and Dan Baker hit home runs and Kearny essentially took batting practice, bombing visiting Escondido, 21-2. Kearny’s junior varsity beat the Cougars’ JV, 20-0, at Escondido.

–No published score, but word reached that St. Augustine defeated its faculty by one run.

3/9/50

Ray Preston, Dick Priest, and Blain Thomas combined to pitch Grossmont’s 12-0 win over St. Augustine at Golden Hill Playground.

3/11/50

Ralph Buckingham hurled a no-hitter and struck out 13 Chula Vista batters in Hoover’s 5-0 victory. Dick Hartley had two hits, scored two runs, and drove in another.

–La Jolla, backed by Warner Benjamin’s and Tom Tomaiko’s home runs and seven San Diego errors, handed the Hillers their first defeat after five victories, 10-5.

–Mike De Scisciolo’s pinch hit, grand slam home run was the difference in Sweetwater’s 6-2 triumph against visiting St. Augustine.

3/14/50

Grossmont’s Blain Thomas, who transferred in from Norfolk, Virginia, gave up home runs to Bob Stipp and Tom Eggert, but stuck around for a 12-10, complete-game win over Kearny.

—Bert Grigsby struck out 15 and spaced eight hits in Hoover’s 8-5 victory over Point Loma. First baseman Art Bunge got the Cardinals off with a three-run home run in the first inning.

–Four-hit pitching by Clyde Thomas and a 14-hit attack was too much for Chula Vista as San Diego routed the Spartans, 19-2.

3/17/50

A crowd estimated at 4,500 at Lane Field saw the South defeat the North, 5-4, in the second annual Metropolitan League carnival.

The matchups (South teams first) were Chula Vista versus Sweetwater, Escondido versus Oceanside, Kearny versus San Dieguito, and Point Loma versus La Jolla.

The Southern Prep League’s San Dieguito filled in for Coronado, which again did not field a team because there was a lack of a suitable playing facility on the peninsula.

The South’s winning run came in the seventh inning, when Point Loma’s Nat Jones singled and Manny Gomes was safe on an error, Jones advancing to third.

Jones scored when the La Jolla’s third baseman threw wildly to home after fielding Izzy Luz’s grounder.

–Hoover first baseman Chuck Kennedy was 4 for 4 with three singles and a double but it was 10 St. Augustine errors that doomed the Saints to a 12-8 loss.

3/18/50

Point Loma pounded Grossmont, 8-5, and 12-1 in a nonleague doubleheader. Jim Poole scattered seven hits in the opener and Tim Feller and Manny Gomes handcuffed the Foothillers on two hits in the nightcap.

–Bonita High from the Los Angeles area was a stunned guest as Hoover won both ends of a double header at, 22-1, and 12-1.

Ralph Buckingham pitched a two-hitter in the opener. Buckingham was 5 for 9 on the day and Hoover batters had a total of 26 base hits in the two games.

3/20/50

Bob Petty socked two home runs and Hoover bombed Kearny, 13-5.

–La Jolla, backed by 12 Grossmont errors, outscored the Foothillers, 23-8. Vista whacked Fallbrook, 22-1, and San Diego got to Point Loma’s Eddie Serrano and Izzy Luz for a pair of four-run innings in a 12-7 win.

3/21/50

Bob Thorpe wild-pitched in a run in the eighth inning and the Naval Training Center squad defeated San Diego, 3-2, on the sailors’ diamond.

3/24/50

Freshmen Dick Flores and Jim Fletsch homered as St. Augustine won its first game 18-8, at San Dieguito.

–Lou Stills and the so-named Gunner Gundry hit home runs, offsetting Huddy McDowell’s 3-for-4 in Sweetwater’s 9-5 win at Kearny as the Metropolitan League season began.

–Eddie Serrano was 2 for 4, struck out 10, and allowed host Chula Vista four hits in Point Loma’s 7-2 win.

–Escondido topped Oceanside, 8-7, in 10 innings. Cougars pitcher Ben Linares had a no-hitter for seven innings.

3/25/50

Charlie Powell’s two-run home run in the ninth inning won the first game of a doubleheader at Pasadena Muir, 8-6. Powell stole home in the ninth inning of the nightcap and the Hillers completed a sweep, winning, 4-3, at Muir’s neighbor, Pasadena.

3/28/50

Grossmont put a resounding end to San Diego’s 16-game Coast League winning streak, knocking down the Hillers, 14-5, in Balboa Stadium.

The loss, San Diego’s first in Coast League play since 1948, was triggered by a three-run first inning followed by a five-run outburst in the second.

Jay Harris led the Foothillers’ 17-hit attack with a double and three singles. Bob Rand added four singles and Don Lenardi a pair of doubles.

— Warren Goodridge punched five singles in six at-bats as La Jolla ripped Hoover, 8-3.

–Tom Eggert homered and tripled and John Nelson hit for the circuit as Kearny topped St. Augustine, 13-2.

–Kenny Meyers pitched a no-hitter, allowing three base runners and getting support from Tom Oxley (three-run double) and Jack Rosenquist (two-run double) as Vista beat Oceanside, 5-0.

3/30/50

Charlie Powell homered and Frank San Fillipo doubled, driving in four runs, as San Diego took a 5-1 lead. The Cardinals came back to eventually take a 7-5 lead but the Hillers scored two runs in the seventh and one in the top of the ninth to beat Hoover, 8-7.

Ralph Buckingham homered for the Cardinals.

3/31/50

San Diego High was positioned to defend its Pomona 2030 Club championship, which it had won six times since 1935.

(The Hillers won a seventh title in 1933 but forfeited after reports that two Hillers brothers had competed under aliases at a semipro game in El Centro the previous summer.

(CIF honcho Seth Van Patten had brought down the hammer, also taking away the Hilltoppers’ Coast League championship and two playoff wins, plus the opportunity to play Santa Maria for the Southern Section title).

San Diego’s success in the tournament is such that the Hillers twice had retired perpetual trophies, the Carnation Milk bauble in 1938 and the Hollywood Stars’ trophy in 1949.

FIVE OTHER HOPEFULS

Point Loma, Grossmont, La Jolla, Hoover, and Escondido also were in the 32-team field, including Roosevelt and Washington, representing the Los Angeles City Section, which entered for the first time.

4/3/50

Pete Bechtol and Bill Whitson combined to pitch a five-hitter and La Jolla bested Ben Linares and Escondido, 3-2.

Dick Simmons’ infield single in the eighth inning scored Warren Goodridge with the Vikings’ winning run.

–The line for St. Augustine was 1 run, 0 hits, and 8 errors. Grossmont’s Ray Preston hurled the no-hitter but three errors in the seventh inning led to a run for the Saints.

Not to worry.  Grossmont defeated the Saints, 20-1.

–Eddie Serrano struck out 14 and outdueled John Tracy in Point Loma’s 1-0 win at Kearny.

4/4/50

San Diego beat Corona, 13-2, in its first-round game at Pomona and then followed the path of two other San Diego squads.

The Hillers lost their second-round game, 5-3, to Covina and joined Hoover and La Jolla with early trips home.

Hoover beat Anaheim, 12-3, and lost to L.A. Roosevelt, 2-1. La Jolla defeated Santa Ana, 9-4, and lost to Metro League rival Point Loma, 12-10.

The Pointers moved into the championship bracket quarterfinals, while Grossmont and Escondido, losers of first-round games (Grossmont to Santa Barbara, 7-0, and Escondido to Newport Beach Newport Harbor, 5-4) were bounced to the consolation bracket.

4/5/50

Point Loma was ousted by Compton, 6-5, and Escondido by Colton, 10-4, but Grossmont remained alive in the Pomona 2030 Club tournament after beating Corona, 3-2, and Santa Monica, 10-1.

4/6/50

Grossmont outslugged Colton, 9-6, for the consolation bracket title of the Pomona 2030 Club event. Santa Barbara outlasted Compton, 12-11, for the championship.

4/11/50

Tee Bennis had a 5 for 5 day at the plate with a home run, double, and three singles and Charlie Powell homered and tripled. San Diego’s Clyde Thomas took advantage, stopping host Compton, 8-1. Hillers outfielder Bob Stratton completed two double plays by throwing out Compton runners at the plate.

–Home runs by Raul Garcia and Dave Brennan propelled Sweetwater to a victory in the Imperial Valley, 9-7, at El Centro Central.

4/17/50

Hoover evened its Coast League record at 1-1 with a 14-1 rout of Grossmont. Joe Duke and Bob Petty homered for the Cardinals.Ralph Buckingham held the Foothillers to three hits and got a boost when his team scored seven runs in the ninth inning.

4/18/50

Ernest Robles drove in three runs with a home run and two singles and struck out 12 in leading Brown Military to a 5-4, Southern Prep League victory over Ramona.

4/19/50

Charlie Powell’s three-run triple in the first inning wiped out a 2-0 lead, but Hoover stormed back with four runs in the fourth and took a 7-4 victory over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.

Powell arrived in time to start the game in right field after attempting two throws and winning the shot put at 54 feet, 5 inches earlier in the afternoon in the Hillers’ track meet at Hoover.

Bert Grigsby kept the Hillers at a distance and Joe Duke singled twice and Bob Petty and Dick Roberts each had two hits for the Cardinals.

4/20/50

Tony Roe allowed three hits, struck out eight, and the San Diego State Frosh scored a 12-1 victory over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.

–Jerry Mayer had three hits and La Jolla, aided by five Point Loma errors, outlasted the Pointers, 9-7, for its fourth consecutive Metropolitan League win.

–Bob Schertzer’s home runs and three singles by Ron Stewart were pivotal in Chula Vista’s 4-2 win over Escondido.

–Sweetwater, limited to five hits by Ken Meyers, profited from 10 errors to score seven unearned runs and top Oceanside, 11-6.

4/21/50

Grossmont split a doubleheader in Pasadena, defeating Pasadena with a 17-hit attack, 16-7, after losing a Friday game to Muir, 6-5.

Three hits, a walk and error led to three runs by the Mustangs in the bottom of the ninth.

The Foothillers trailed, 2-1, after five innings in the second game but scored three runs each in the sixth and ninth innings and four runs each in the seventh and eighth.

–Bob Warner gave up two hits in the seventh inning but outpitched Jim Poole in San Diego’s 3-0, seven-inning, nonleague victory over Point Loma.

–Hoover won a road doubleheader, shutting out Pasadena Muir, 2-0, and Pasadena, 14-6.

Jerry Woods blanked the Mustangs on five hits in the opener and Jerry Newark and Joe Duke each had two hits to lead a 11-hit attack in the second game.

–San Dieguito topped St. Augustine, 9-8, at Golden Hill Playground as the teams combined for 25 base hits.

4/24/50

Tony Roe was too much again for San Diego High. The San Diego State freshman drove in three runs with a pair of two-base hits and the Aztec’ Frosh scored their second victory over the Hillers, 7-4.

4/25/50

Hoover and Compton each improved to 5-1 and remained tied for first in the Coast League. The Cardinals shellacked Grossmont, 16-2, and the Tarbabes blanked Pasadena Muir, 11-0.

Jack MacKay’s three-run home run and a two-run shot by Bob Petty provided offense for Hoover.

–San Diego defeated Chula Vista, 10-6. Frank San Fillipo homered for the Hillers and Ron Stewart for the Spartans.

4/26/50

Escondido pitchers issued 14 bases on balls, including seven in a five-run second inning, delivering a 12-8 victory to Oceanside.

–George Sullivan’s third hit, a single in the bottom of the ninth, gave Sweetwater a second win over Hoover, 7-6.

4/28/50

San Diego’s 13-1 win over Grossmont elevated the Hillers into second place in the Coast League, thanks to a Hoover doubleheader sweep at Compton.

Ralph Buckingham pitched a 9-2 victory in the opener and singled twice and drove in two runs, abetting Jack MacKay’s two singles and three RBI.

Bob Berry slugged two triples and MacKay and Don Bonatus added a pair of doubles as Bert Grigsby hurled the 10-3 win in the nightcap.

Frank Sanfillipo, Marco Bennis, and Bob Jordan each hit home runs and Jordan scattered nine hits in San Diego’s win at Grossmont.

5/3/50

Vista swamped Ramona, 15-0. Grossmont beat Point Loma, 10-5, and Hoover won a wild, 16-13 victory over Kearny at Linda Vista Recreation center.

Twenty-four hits and 13 errors were part of the Hoover-Kearny contest, in which five pitchers and four catchers participated.

5/5/50

La Jolla held on to first place in the Metropolitan League with a 10-inning, 5-4 win over Sweetwater.

The Vikings’ Warner Benjamin tied the game with a two-run homer run in the bottom of the ninth.

Jerry Meyers walked in the 10^th, advanced to third on Bill Simmons’ double, and scored the winning run on Frank Chalupenik’s single.

–Hoover (8-1) clinched a tie for the Coast League’s final championship, 8-0 over visiting Muir as Ralph Buckingham struck out 17 and shut down the Mustangs on one hit, a single in the ninth inning.

–Charlie Powell’s grand slam home run was the big blow as San Diego (7-2) beat Pasadena, 11-7.

–Jay Harris homered, tripled, and singled, but it wasn’t enough for Grossmont as Compton became the only Coast League visitor to win, 7-6.

5/6/50

Bert Grigsby gave up seven runs, three earned, but Hoover scored a 17-7 win over Pasadena that clinched the Coast League championship for the Cardinals.

Hoover (9-1) finished ahead of San Diego (8-2), which defeated Compton, 4-1, as Bernie Hernandez collected three hits and Clyde Thomas two extra base hits while winning a pitching matchup against future major leaguer Bennie Daniels.

5/13/50

Bill Whitson’s three-hit pitching and Bill Simmons’ three hits paved La Jolla’s 5-0 victory over Chula Vista. The Vikings concluded the Metropolitan League campaign with a 6-0 record.

–Eddie Serrano held Escondido to two hits in Point Loma’s 10-2 victory which clinched second place for the 5-1 Pointers.

5/15/50

A two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning by Santa Ana’s Tom Miller brought the Saints from behind and eliminated Hoover, 2-1, in the CIF Central Group playoffs.

Hoover was the only team from the area to participate in the playoffs. Metropolitan League squads maintained a policy of usually declining.