Mike Guardabascio - Football in Long Beach

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2012 by Mike Guardabascio

All rights reserved

First published 2012

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.631.3

print ISBN 978.1.60949.545.9

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For Shar, as always.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

When you put time and energy into a project like this and find it mirrored and doubled by so many friends and like-minded historians, the acknowledgements could easily outpace the rest of the book. First, a heartfelt apology to everyone whos been left outthe author is forgetful, not vindictive.

First and foremost, editor Jerry Roberts and the rest of the team at The History Press were fantastic. Jerry was very patient with me when deadlines needed to be flexible and gave me time to do this book right.

Over two dozen people agreed to sit down and be interviewed for this book, and Im incredibly grateful to have had the chance to speak with them. I was able to talk to every championship coach the city has seen after 1949, and the coach of every Poly CIF champion since Orian Landreths 1930s teams. Thanks to (in no particular order) Dave Levy, Dick DeHaven, Bill Brady, Dave Radford, Don Norford, Don Wallace, Jeff Turley, Jerry Jaso, Jim McCormick, Jim Stangeland, Joe Carlson, Chris Lewis, Chris Kinder, Gene Noji, Raul Lara, Kirk Diego, Shawn Ashley, Terri Spier, Rob Shock, George Daily-Lyles, Jeff Severson, Bob Keisser, Jim Barnett, Dee Andrews, Mike Giers, Marcedes Lewis, Darnell Bing and Larry Reisbig. Your generosity with your time is greatly appreciated, as is the generosity of the dozens of additional athletes and coaches Ive interviewed during my time as a sportswriter.

Thanks also to the chroniclers of this citys history throughout the decades. There isnt room to thank by name all the newspaper and yearbook writers and editors who helped inform my knowledge, but the quality and consistency of the work was shocking.

Individuals at every school were phenomenal. First and foremost, the staff at Poly, from top to bottom, has my gratitude. Principals Joe Carlson and Victor Jarels were very patient with me essentially living on their campus for two months, and Matt Peyton, the schools newspaper advisor, let me use his back room as a private office, even while he was stressing over the impending birth of his son Jacob. The schools librarian, Pamela Oehlman, has my thanks, as do English teachers Judy Haenn, Laura Leaney and Rob Pigott for saying nice things about me ten years ago.

The great Sam Dimas passed away literally hours before I had planned on visiting and interviewing him formally, a loss of knowledge that this book and this city wont fully recover from. The extensive Poly chapter of this volume is dedicated to the memory of Slammin Sammy.

At Long Beach State, sports information director Todd Miles and his staff were fantastic as always, and I appreciate Todd and athletic director Vic Cegles for letting me rummage through their vast media archives. Dedan Brozino allowed me to camp out in his office for a time while researching. Chris Ruiz, Long Beach City Colleges sports information specialist, also has my thanks, as does Dr. Ginny Baxter of the LBCC Foundation, who made space for me and my many stacks of yearbooks.

At St. Anthony, athletic director Brian Walsh not only loaned me one of every yearbook in the history of the school but also helped me carry them to my car. Principal Sandy Blazer at Wilson was very helpful; unfortunately, at that school, too, another legend passed away just before a planned interview. The chapter on the Bruins is dedicated to the memory of Skip Rowland.

At the California Interscholastic Federations Southern Section (CIF-SS) office, historian John Dahlem shared his expertise and allowed me access to their archives, as well as ran off a few hundred pages of very helpful copies. Commissioner Rob Wigod, a proud Long Beach guy, offered a few words of encouragement, as did director of communications Thom Simmons. Thanks to the Long Beach Century Club for giving me hope for the future and a link to our past. The Long Beach Public Library and its librarians and the Long Beach Historical Society and its historians were also helpful.

Long Beach sportswriting legends Jim McCormick and Bob Keisser were both very generous in offering their congratulations and advice. Thanks for that, and thanks to Bob for allowing me access to his records, as well as the Press-Telegrams photo archive.

The helpfulness of the above people would have been futile were it not for the generosity of JJ Fiddler, and Tyler Hendrickson, my fellow sportswriters at the Gazettes in Long Beach. They assisted with research and picked up the slack at the newspaper when I was unavailable, without question or complaint. Thanks also to my boss, Simon Grieve, for the opportunity to cover the next chapters of Long Beach sports history while also making a living, and to my editor, Harry Saltzgaver, for making me look like a professional.

Nothing in my career would have been possible without my Popop and Grandma, who each gave me confidence; my dad, who gave me my first notebook; or my mom, who gave me everything else. My eternal gratitude to Paul and Judy Belknap, who awarded me the Jessica Belknap Memorial Scholarship in their daughters name. Thanks also to my best friend Ryan Thies, his wife Stacy and their son James, who provided me with several much-needed breaks.

A special thanks to my favorite Poly football player of all time, my younger brother, Matt Guardabascio, whose final varsity stat line reads: one false start and one assisted tackle. He was, however, the first student announcer for the team in the modern era, and he transcribed most of the interviews conducted for this book.

Last, and the opposite of least, thanks to my wife, Shar. Despite being a full-time teacher for the first time in her life while I was writing this book, she took the time to make my life easier and to make this book possible, constructing its index, among other chores. I am honored to dedicate this book to her and to the city of Long Beach, our shared love.

INTRODUCTION

For the last 125 years, football in Long Beach has been less of an interest and more of a preoccupation. The city incorporated on February 10, 1888, declaring itself as an official member of a burgeoning Southern California landscape. Just a few months later, the Long Beach Foot Ball Club traveled north on the Southern Pacific to play the Alliance Athletic Club of Los Angeles in what the Long Beach Journal referred to as a match game of foot ball. On April 29, 1888, that group of Long Beach athletes took part in the first football game ever played in Southern California.

A few years later, the citizens of Long Beach dissolved its city status, and it didnt incorporate permanently until 1897. In the intervening years, however, its citizens did not stop playing football. Incorporating into a city was a tricky proposition, but football was a necessity and has remained one for over a hundred years. In a city where murals fade, budgets are slashed and iconic stores are shuttered, football is a tradition that remains undiminished.