2015: Bill Van Leeuwen, Star on Aztecs’ Defense
Bill Van Leeuwen, a standout defensive lineman during some of the most successful years of the coach Don Coryell era at San Diego State, passed away June 10 in Wickenburg, Arizona. Van Leeuwen, 66, was an undersized, cat-quick tackle in a 4-3 defensive alignment on the 1968 and ’69 Aztec teams that posted a […]
Read More2015: Morton, Gehring, Sam Edwards
Lance Morton, Rich Gehring, and Sam Edwards are among former San Diego prep athletes who recently passed away. Morton, 81, a founder of the Brigantine Restaurant chain, was a second team all-City Prep League end on the 1951 Point Loma squad that finished with a 6-2 record, losing only to San Diego, 15-6, and La Jolla, […]
Read More1934: The Brothers Nettles
Their story could have been inspiration for “The Grapes of Wrath,” because Bill Nettles and younger twin Wayne lived the life of John Steinbeck’s poor and displaced. Teenagers, age 16, caught in the poverty of Oklahoma’s depression-era Dust Bowl, sought a way out. With the spirit and optimism of youth, the youngsters decided to make their way […]
Read More2015: San Diegans in State Track Top 10 (4)
If the state track meet were tomorrow, instead of in two weeks, San Diego Section girls would have a chance to win possibly three events. The boys, none. In one of the most disappointing seasons in several years, San Diego girls are represented in seven of the 16 events in the state’s top 10 and the […]
Read More2015: Morrison, Dobson Also Step Down
John Carroll’s retirement from Oceanside earlier this year has been followed by the departure of two other, successful, veteran San Diego Section coaches. John Morrison, who took his 18 Francis Parker teams to 18 playoff berths, and Bill Dobson, whose 2011 team tied a Mountain Empire record for most wins in a season, also are […]
Read More1964: Bull Durham…er, Trometter!
Retired after an honored career in the Marine Corps, Robert E. (Bull) Trometter took a high school job. Trometter could employ a figurative steel fist while upholding the meaning of semper fidelis (always faithful, always loyal) as head coach at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot in 1947-48, at Camp Pendleton in 1949, and […]
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