1965-66: Jacobsen Scores But Helix Wins
Von Jacobsen set the records and Crawford set the pace, but it was defense, played by the champion Helix Highlanders, which narrated the season. “I can’t understand why more teams don’t stress defense,” wondered Bob Speidel, coach of the 23-4 Scots, who parlayed playing without the ball to drive opponents into submission, as witnessed by […]
Read More2018: Hoops Great Arthur (Hambone) Williams, 79
Arthur (Hambone) Williams was 28, out of college for four years but still hoping to get a shot. San Diego sportsman Bob Breitbard had recently been awarded an expansion franchise in the National Basketball Association for the 1967-68 season and Breitbard, after a visit from Merrill Douglas, who was Williams’ coach during Hambone’s two brilliant […]
Read More1974-75: Cavers Rebound After Stunning Loss at Lincoln
Nels Olsen stood at the free throw line, shooting one and one, the crowd screaming, challenging the San Diego High forward to falter in the charged atmosphere and din of the Lincoln gymnasium. San Diego trailed, 68-67. Two seconds remained in the game. Olsen drained the bottom of the net with each free throw attempt. The Cavers […]
Read More1938-39: Coaches On Unlikely Hiatus
Metropolitan League coaches doubled as classroom or physical education teachers, began their school years with football practice in early September, jumped into winter basketball, and followed with baseball or track in the spring. That’s the way it was done at the area’s smaller schools. Year after year. So it was a little surprising when a […]
Read More1937-38: Where’s The Shadow When We Need Him?
Mystery surrounds Hoover’s basketball season. Someone, call the Shadow. The mythical sleuth, introduced to American radio audiences early in the decade, had gained so much popularity that a movie “The Shadow Strikes” was released in 1937. The Shadow‘s alter ego Lamont Cranston, or more important, an enterprising newspaper reporter, would have determined why, after Hoover […]
Read More1936-37: Cardinal B’s Stunned After 48 Wins in Row
Class B teams were not junior varsities and not necessarily inferior to Class A (varsity) clubs. The B designation was based on exponents, which combined height, weight, and age. It was not unusual for seniors to play on B squads. Under Coach Bruce Maxwell, Hoover ruled the B world, many times playing the feature, late […]
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