AUHS Football Chapters 1-4

THE ANAHEIM COLONISTS An American Football History

Written By Dennis Bateman Foreword by Jim Fassel

(Table of Contents) 1 — Beginnings (1898-1930) 2 — Forging an Identity (1931-1942) 3 — Law of Averages (1943-1949) 4 — A New Era (1950-1956) 5 — Empire Building (1957-1965) 6 — Paths of Glory (1966-1972)

7 — Chasing Legends (1973-1980) 8 — Deeds of Valor (1981-1988) 9 — Pride and Pain (1989-2003) 10 — Hearts and Fortunes (2004-2019)

Andrew William “Bill” Cook, AUHS, Class of 1922; the Freshman student athlete who started the petition that reinstated football as a sport at Anaheim in 1919.

Chapter One

Beginnings : 1898-1930

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ince its discovery over 400 years ago, California has represented a golden dream for many people not only in the United States, but around the world. Acquired in the Mexican-American War of 1848 and spurred on by the Gold Rush a year later, thousands of people flocked to the virtually untainted lands on the west coast of North America. While the promise of gold riches awaited those in the north, still more began to settle to the south, expanding on the colonial towns established by Spanish missionaries, mostly centering around a growing city named Los Angeles.

Germans were just one of the many ethnic groups that began to immigrate to Southern California. One particular group sought to build themselves an industry by starting a vineyard. With their families in tow, these aspiring German vintners set out to establish a new home just west of the Santa Ana River.

They purchased almost 1,200 acres for roughly $2 an acre. When it came time to formally establish their settlement in 1857, it was only natural for the German colonists to name their new colony “Anaheim,” meaning “Home by the (Santa) Ana (River).”

As with all growing cities, the education of youth

became a high priority. Under the direction of California education pioneer James Guinn, a basic school system was formed, eventually offering a selection of advanced courses. However, it would not be until the end of the century that an institution of higher learning would be established in the city.

After protracted debate, the fire-damaged Central School at the corner of Emily and Chartres Streets was repaired to accommodate a new institution named Anaheim Union High School, which opened its doors in October of 1898. Being only the third high school established in Orange County (following Santa Ana in 1889 and Fullerton in 1893), a faculty of three teachers watched over the scholastic pursuits of 17 boys and 22 girls.

However, within the span of only three years, the growing population soon outstripped the space of the Central School building. In February 1901, a school bond measure was approved to build a separate education facility. Built on the south side of Center Street, east of Citron, the new high school building was constructed, complete with a bell tower and a marquee with the name “ANAHEIM HIGH SCHOOL 1901” mounted above the entrance.

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Anaheim footballers playing at the Central School location in 1910. Sophomore Ray Elliott (middle row, far left) would return twelve years later, becoming the first alumni player to return to coach at Anaheim.

Over the next dozen years, the student population nearly tripled, and yet another bond was passed in April of 1911, approving $105,000 to purchase 11 acres on the northwest corner of Center and Citron Streets. In May 1912, the new Anaheim Union High School was dedicated, where it stands to this day.

Student athletics were understandably just one of the many concerns of the community during these formative years. Few records remain of the earliest days, but the local newspaper of the time, the Anaheim Gazette, records the first-ever football game played by the school’s students on November 6, 1900. In it, Anaheim emerged victorious over Fullerton by the score of 2-0.

Certainly, the faculty was highly supportive of student athletics, for principal Fred Ahearn was the game’s referee and Alva Remmel, a science teacher, served as a lineman for the Anaheim team. Later that month, Anaheim would taste defeat for the first time, as Santa Ana dumped them 50-0.

As with all other athletics, the game of football was still in development. Methods of scoring were adjusted, rules were formulated, and revolutionary

concepts, such as the forward pass in 1906, were added. Even then, the game was criticized for its brutal nature, and a commission appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt looked into the harmful side effects of football.

In 1910, Anaheim fielded a team once again. Under the direction of coach Loren Culp, the team played against Los Angeles Military Academy, Whittier, Fullerton, and two games apiece versus Orange and Santa Ana. Led by future USC Trojan Cyril Tipton, Anaheim emerged with a respectable season mark of three wins, two losses, and two ties.

While most of the games were local, the team’s road trips could sometimes turn into colorful adventures. One time, the Anaheim squad had to utilize public streetcars for a game against Whittier. In full uniform going to and from the game, the players shared time and space with the regular commuters.

Eligibility regulations during this time were somewhat ‘relaxed,’ as coach Culp recruited able bodies to fill out his often-undermanned roster.

Sometimes, this so-called ‘importation’ would arrive fresh from the local tavern or drinking saloon.

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The game of football was still experiencing growing pains, and the impact literally hit players the hardest. Numerous injuries plagued the team in 1911, and even Culp’s ‘importation’ provided little relief.

After doling out $1,400 in medical costs ($38,000 in 2020 dollars), it came as no surprise when the Anaheim school board voted to ban the sport as ‘too dangerous.’

For the next seven years, Anaheim would not field a football team. But as the sport continued to gain in popularity and visibility across the nation, interest locally began to return and grow. Still, the board refused to sanction the sport despite a student petition in 1917. The following year, ROTC instructor John Malcolm formed a recreational team, which was key to building up public support. Yet another student petition, this time led by freshman student athlete, Andrew William “Bill” Cook, finally convinced the school board to reinstate the sport for the fall of 1919. It would be then that Anaheim’s annual fall football tradition would truly begin.

Despite the popular support of the student body, only 15 boys would suit up for the season. Of these, only two had ever played organized football of any kind. Utilizing a freshly plowed dirt field on the north end of the school property, the eager charges began to practice under the direction of Virgil Ward, a science teacher on campus. Because most every other school had already set their fall schedule, Anaheim was relegated to playing a second-team practice schedule and would not have a league affiliation.

The official inaugural season of Anaheim football was expected to be rocky. The first round of practice games, which included a pair of 50-point losses to Compton and Orange, gave little reason for hope. However, in the second round of games, the blue-and-gold players acquitted themselves well. After enduring three straight shutouts, Anaheim broke out with a 37-12 win over Fullerton, followed by a 25 -13 victory in a rematch with Compton to finish 3-7.

1920 saw Anaheim become an inaugural member of the Orange (County) League, along with

“The Freshman” In the 1918-1919 school year, only three of the county’s four high schools was playing organized tackle football as a varsity sport (Fullerton, Santa Ana and Orange). Despite growing community & public interest and national popularity, the decisive impetus for restoring football at Anaheim would not come from fans, parents, or faculty, it came directly from the student body itself.

Though only a freshman student, Andrew William “Bill” Cook was already a star athlete on Anaheim’s varsity basketball and track teams. As much of a force off the field as he was on, Cook led a grass roots student petition, making their case directly to the school board to reinstate football as an official varsity sport for the 1919-1920 school year. Cook quickly established himself as one of the team leaders, being one of the team’s only two players who had experience playing organized football before. Though hampered by injuries, Cook was one of the reasons that Anaheim improved its record in each of its first three varsity seasons. Cook became one of the team captains and once even coached the team when the head coach fell ill. After graduation, Cook went on to excel athletically at USC and then became a very successful head football coach at Santa Ana College.

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The 1919 Anaheim High School Football Team. Science teacher Virgil Ward (top row left) was Head Coach during that first season. Student petition leader, Bill Cook, now a Sophomore, is kneeling second from left.

Fullerton, Orange and Santa Ana. Once again, turnout was light in both numbers and size for new head coach Harold Youngman. Unlike his predecessor, Youngman was a bona fide football man, having previously coached the game at Perris High School in Riverside County.

Anaheim opened the season on the road in Los Angeles against Polytechnic High School. With L.A. Poly scoring two quick touchdowns in the opening period and threatening to score a third, inexperienced Anaheim pulled together to make a game of it. A loose ball was picked up by defensive end Harold Shoebridge, who returned the fumble 95 yards for the touchdown, a team record that still stands over a century later. But it was the only score for Anaheim, which lost 14-7.

Citrus High School came to Anaheim for the next game, and the hosts got a 6-0 win, before being blanked themselves 14-0 on the road against Riverside, which had the advantage of playing on a grass

field. Despite the loss, the local boys brought a sizable fan contingent, including at least two dozen spirited girls to cheer them on. One Riverside player was overheard as saying, “You don’t catch the Riverside girls coming out to uphold their colors.”

The final two preseason games were ended in favorable results. Anaheim faced St. Vincent’s College of Los Angeles (now Loyola Marymount University) and defeated them 20-0. Against Compton, the locals sent the Tarbabes home with a 40-0 pasting, Anaheim’s most impressive win up to that point.

Making its Orange League debut, Anaheim’s fortunes were dashed early. Star player Bill Cook suffered a broken arm that knocked him out for the season and Fullerton rolled to a 40-0 win. Anaheim fared little better the next week against Santa Ana, losing 36-0. In the league and season finale, Anaheim rebounded to defeat Orange 20-0, scoring three touchdowns in the first half in coasting to victory and ending 1920 with a 4-4 record.

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Youngman returned the following year, a season of tremendous highs and lows. For the third year, Bill Cook and Al Clayes would star for Anaheim, with Cook being named team captain. Anaheim opened the season in spectacular fashion with a 67-0 rout of Norwalk. Youngman pulled his starters and inserted the backup players following a lackluster effort to open the game. After the second string showed up the first string with three scores, the starting lineup returned to roll up seven more touchdowns. More than a hundred years later, the 67 points scored represent both the highest single-game point total and margin of victory in team history.

The opposite results came the following week against Los Angeles Polytechnic, the defending City League champions. Anaheim lost control of a close game when a Poly defender intercepted a pass for a touchdown to key a 27-0 win for the visitors. Covina then defeated Anaheim 7-0 a week later.

A rematch with Norwalk once again proved successful, with Anaheim winning 62-14. Against Riverside, Anaheim played well in a 19-0 win to close out the preseason.

The Anaheim boys matched up against Santa Ana to start Orange League play and fought through a scoreless first quarter before Santa Ana’s physical advantage overwhelmed Anaheim 55-0. The locals bounced back the next game versus Alhambra with a 34-0 pasting and then topped that effort with a 40-0 win over new Orange League entry Whittier. Al Clayes rushed for three touchdowns in the blowout.

Anaheim then traveled to Orange and fought to a 1414 draw.

The Fullerton game of November 12, 1921 became a day that would live in infamy for the locals.

Bill Cook, the veteran star backfield man, was lost early in the game, and several other mishaps cost Anaheim several dearly needed players. The larger Fullerton squad played Heisman’s Georgia Tech to Anaheim’s Cumberland, winning by the unbelievable score of 109-0, far and away the worst defeat in team and Orange County football history.

Anaheim was able to restore a measure of pride in a rematch with Orange to decide third place in the Orange League. Both Clayes and Cook closed out

their careers with touchdowns as Anaheim won 2513, the win earning the blue and gold the No. 3 slot in the Orange League for the second year in a row, and a winning season (6-4-1) for the first time.

Coach Youngman resigned his position the following Spring. Filling the vacancy was Ray Elliott, fresh from a coaching stint in the Hawaiian Islands.

Elliott was also a 1913 graduate of Anaheim High School, where he had earned a reputation as an outstanding student athlete. Alas, Elliott’s athletic prowess did not translate into coaching success.

With yet another small turnout and the loss of key players to graduation, Anaheim endured its most difficult season yet in 1922. The team scored a meager 27 points for the entire season. Only a 6-0 victory against Tustin prevented a winless record. In the yearbook, Coach Elliott both praised the team for its effort against larger-sized opponents during the 1-6 season, yet decried the players’ lack of focus in scholastics and in practice in his review of the team printed in the annual school yearbook.

Elliott’s tenure at Anaheim was a short-lived one, as he soon transferred to Huntington Beach High School, where he became a teacher and later an administrator. Hired to replace him was A.E. Fitzmorris, who worked to organize prospective players into a disciplined program.

The Colonists, as Anaheim High’s sports teams had officially adopted as their mascot, opened the 1923 season with a 3-0 defeat of a team from Santa Ana Junior College, then trampled Norwalk 26-0.

Anaheim made a long road trip to San Bernardino that ended with a 40-7 loss to close out the preseason.

Anaheim played host to Huntington Beach, and the Oilers went home in defeat 12-6 to open league play. Trailing by six points against Tustin the following week, the Colonists rallied to go on top 14-13, a lead they protected until the game was called on account of darkness.

Although only counting as a practice game, Anaheim topped the north boys from Fullerton 9-7, before meeting Orange in the season finale. A large contingent of fans gathered on Armistice Day to watch the local gridiron battle. A low-flying airplane dropped a football with blue-and-gold streamers on 9

“The Clayes Field Stadium” (1927-2017) contests, the concrete stadium also served as a vehicle for expressing class pride.

Anaheim High’s Clayes Field Stadium served as more than just a place to sit and watch Colonist football games, track meets, graduations, band performances and other events during its 90-year life. Under the steps of the 1000-seat concrete grandstand (built in November 1927 for $13,000) were dressing and storage rooms, lockers, a heating plant for showers and offices for the coaches. Later additions included a batting cage, an indoor shooting range for the school’s rifle team, and eventually, a weight room.

Built under the tenure of Anaheim’s longest serving principal, Joseph A. Clayes (whose son and grandsons became some of Anaheim’s most accomplished student leaders and athletes), the stadium evolved into an iconic structure. It was the only building on campus that survived the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake.

Joseph A. Clayes was Principal of AUHS from 1919 until his sudden death in 1941.

During his 22-year tenure, Principal Clayes oversaw the addition of the school’s first stadium and swimming pool. He over saw the complete reconstruction of the school after being destroyed by the earthquake. Along with the main building, auditorium, gymnasium, and athletic fields, a new swimming pool was constructed in the in the 1940s.

At some point during the stadium’s 90-year history, the tradition of painting the stadium surfaced. An unofficial upper classmen privilege, painting the stadium became such a rite of passage, that any senior class that did not paint the stadium with their class year would rightly have had its spirit questioned. Of course, underclassmen would occasionally transgress and paint over the hard work of the seniors, touting their own class years. If one were not careful, or if they were caught in act, the reaction from senior classmen would be swift and usually result in students scattering into the dead of night. Painting class years in blue and gold on the stadium steps and being a part of the paint crew for these secret evening and night sessions is a favorite memory of many Anaheim grads.

One of the most memorable displays ever painted on the stadium occurred in 1978, after the death of legendary coach, Clare Van Hoorebeke, who was honored by AHS students who painted “STILL A VAN FAN” in his memory. It was not painted over for several years after his death.

Condemned as structurally unsound in the early 2000s, the stadium stood alone for years. Upon learning of its impending demolition, the Class of 1977 slipped in under cover of darkness for one final, glorious Colonist tribute before it was finally torn down in 2017. Farewell, old friend.

Along with serving as a training facility, with generations of Anaheim athletes running up and down the large stadium steps, the concrete grandstands were a place from which Colonist fans cheered on their teams during after-school

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the Orange crowd, but the Panthers dodged the Colonist attack on the field, winning 16-0 and forcing a playoff for the league title. In the rematch, Anaheim was once again defeated by Orange, this time by the score of 21-9 to finish 1923 at 5-3-1.

Although undersized in comparison to their opponents, Anaheim placed four players on the AllOrange County team, three of which were linemen, none of whom weighed more than 155 pounds. One of those was guard Edwin Beebe, who became the first Colonist football player to be named to the prestigious All-Southern California Team.

Football was now beginning to become a key part of the fall semester. Nearly 200 boys tried out for the varsity and lightweight teams for the 1924 season.

No record of preseason games exists, but the Colonists matched their league mark of the previous year.

Anaheim opened its Orange League schedule with a 21-7 win over Huntington Beach. The second league matchup versus Orange was attended by over 3,000 fans at the local field. Giving up a 20-pound advantage per player, the Colonists fought hard, but ultimately were defeated 13-9. Despite losing the league title, Anaheim looked impressive in its final two games, both victories over Garden Grove (34-0) and Tustin (27-6) for a 3-1 season mark. As the program improved, greater things were expected.

However, another drastic change took place before the 1925 season, as Coach Fitzmorris abruptly resigned. The move was made in protest after his wife, who also taught at Anaheim, was dismissed due to declining attendance.

George Hobbs was hired to take over the program, and his first season yielded mixed results as turnout was half the size of previous years. Anaheim fell to Fullerton 26-0 in the Orange League opener.

Two field goals provided the only scoring in a 6-0 win over Huntington Beach. A scoreless tie against Orange was followed by a 13-7 loss to Tustin to close out the 1-2-1 season.

Hobbs returned in 1926 with more games added to the schedule, and the Colonists had a successful year. Opening with consecutive 7-0 wins over Orange and Huntington Beach, Anaheim then routed Garden Grove 27-0 and Brea Olinda 52-0.

In a rematch with the Oilers, the Colonists lost control of the game in the second half in losing 2014. The hopes for an undisputed league title were dashed by Fullerton in a rough 6-0 loss. At season’s end, Anaheim was tied with Fullerton and Huntington Beach for the title.

CIF-Southern Section rules allowed Anaheim to compete in the postseason for the first time in team history. Against Pomona, the Colonists represented themselves well, battling them to a scoreless tie. In the CIF-mandated overtime, both teams played for field position, and it was here that Pomona edged the Colonists by yards and were awarded a 2-0 victory to advance in the Southern California playoffs. Key to Anaheim’s fortunes was the play of running back John Wallin, nicknamed the “Red Grange” of Anaheim High for his outstanding backfield play.

Despite the successful 4-4 record, Hobbs was not retained for the next year. Local ministers, concerned with Hobbs’ penchant for vulgarity, complained to the school board. Hobbs moved on to Alhambra High School, where he would later lead the Moors to several championships. Hired to replace Hobbs for the 1927 season was George Righter, a straight-arrow type who became an active part of the local YMCA and advised the Hi-Y Club (a Christian student organization) on campus. Also notable was the fact that for the first time, Anaheim would play on an actual grass field. The gridiron was located on the north end of the Anaheim High School property, and was named Clayes Field, in honor of principal Joseph A. Clayes, and is still used by Colonist junior level teams more than a hundred years later.

Bolstered by nine returning lettermen, the Colonists roared to a pair of matchups against Long Beach schools. A 6-6 draw versus Wilson was followed by a 16-6 win over Poly.

In the reshuffled Orange League, Anaheim stormed its opponents, beating both Tustin (18-0) and Brea Olinda (25-0) handily, then overcoming Huntington Beach (16-6). Anaheim won its fifth straight game of the season with a 31-2 pasting of Garden Grove, but the win proved costly, as six first-string players were injured.

Once again, the Orange League title would be 11

TWELVE YEARS & SEVEN COACHES Anaheim Union High School football had seven coaches in the first twelve years of the program, with none of them lasting more than two years in the position. These coaches, ranging from erudite academics to curse-happy task masters, took charge of the young men playing an equally young, but popular sport. From the inaugural 1919 season through 1930, these first AUHS football coaches led their teams through thrilling highs and staggering lows as this 12-year-long trial by fire built and prepared the Colonists for a bright long-term future of success that none of them could have ever dreamt of.

VIRGIL WARD (1919)

HAROLD YOUNGMAN (1920-1921)

Coming to Anaheim from Beaumont High School, Ward was a science teacher and also coached the track team. As new to the sport as his team was, his 1919 Anaheim boys won three games, and lost six in the program’s official inaugural season.

A 1913 graduate of Santa Ana High School and football coach at Perris High School, Youngman’s brief two-year tenure saw both Anaheim football’s greatest victory (a 67-0 win over Norwalk), as well as its greatest loss (109-0 to Fullerton). Youngman would later coach at Van Nuys High School.

RAY ELLIOTT (1922)

A.E. FITZMORRIS (1923-1924)

The first Anaheim alumnus to coach (Class of 1913), Elliott left his alma mater after his lone one-win season, becoming a respected teacher and administrator at Huntington Beach High School, where he’s best known for NOT hiring Clare Van Hoorebeke.

Albert Edward Fitzmorris won twice as many games as he lost during back-toback winning seasons as the Colonists Head Coach, but a dispute over his wife’s dismissal at AUHS caused him to resign, leaving for James A. Garfield High School up in Los Angeles.

GEORGE HOBBS (1925-1926)

GEORGE RIGHTER (1927-1928)

The first Anaheim coach to lead the Colonists into the postseason, the hard-driving young Hobbs’ foul mouth ran afoul of local clergymen, sending Hobbs to Alhambra High School, where he then coached the Moors for 21 years, winning 110 games and three CIF Championships.

Previously the coach at Visalia High School, and a World War I veteran, Righter was the winningest coach out of the first seven, with 11 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties in his two seasons as head coach. Righter returned to the Bay Area after leaving AUHS, coaching at Emeryville High School and later becoming an elementary school principal.

BEN CARPENTER (1929-1930) Coming from Redlands where he was a municipal swim instructor, the former Oregon State athletic star had coached football, basketball, and track at Commerce High School in Portland, Oregon. After coaching Anaheim teams for two years, Carpenter resigned as head coach to take a position running community aquatics in the City of Los Angeles.

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settled against Fullerton. The Indians ran up 17 unanswered points in the first quarter, but afterwards, the Colony settled in to make a game of it. Two fourth quarter touchdowns, one on a spectacular 70-yard interception return by Dick Lusk, brought Anaheim close, but not far enough to overcome Fullerton, who would win 17-13 and then go on to win the Southern California football championship. After the 5-1-1 season, team captain Herald Hylton was named AllCounty tackle, as well as being honored as the Orange League Player of the Year.

1928 was built upon the previous year’s successes, and Anaheim recorded a 5-2-2 record, good enough for third place in the Orange League. The Colonists notched league victories over Huntington Beach (14-6), Brea Olinda (16-12), Orange (16-3) and newcomer Excelsior (46-6) but were denied a championship once again by Fullerton in a 41-6 loss.

A non-league matchup against Downey is worth mentioning, as 5,000 cheering onlookers converged on City Park (now Pearson Park) to watch a night game, the first in team history, which was won by Anaheim 30-0. Lights were strung over the field, occasionally getting in the way of flying footballs.

Following the season, the revolving door for Anaheim football coaches swung again. Local merchants, still smarting over the dismissal of George Hobbs, worked up enough support to pressure Coach Righter into resigning.

Hired in his place was Ben Carpenter, a physical education instructor who specialized in track and swimming and was perhaps miscast as a football head man. With only 18 boys suited up for the first practice, the Colonists struggled through the season to a record of 2-5, with one victory over Brea Olinda coming via forfeit. The 1929 squad lacked the cohesiveness and talent level that had helped teams in previous years, and the constant turnover in the coaching staff didn’t make matters any easier.

The 1930 team fared better, going 4-4-1. An undefeated preseason was capped by a 7-7 tie against Redlands, played under the Friday night lights at City Park in front of 4,000 fans. However, Orange League play was disappointing, as Anaheim posted a 2-4 record. After the season, Carpenter resigned from the head coaching position, and once again, the search began for a replacement.

The formative years of Anaheim Colonists football could be described as a mixed bag of highs and lows, the unforgettable combined with the unmentionable.

Even back in those early days, the Anaheim Colonists marched to what would become a familiar drumbeat; too small, too light, at a disadvantage against the bigger, more experienced high school football programs. But greatness is only achieved through perseverance and determination, and it would be through this crucible that a legend would be born.

The early football teams at Anaheim Union High School played on dirt fields on the campus grounds.

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A star student athlete in four sports at Santa Barbara High School and Occidental College, Richard “Dick” Glover was only 23 years old when he was named Anaheim’s head coach in 1931. His energy and innovation as head coach over the next two decades set the bar for future success and would establish expectations for Colonist football teams that are still the standard today.

Chapter Two

Forging an Identity : 1931-1942

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or Anaheim Union High School, the search for a new head football coach proved to be a daunting task to find the right person. When more experienced individuals failed to turn up, the Anaheim Union High School District board looked to youth to grab the reins of the athletic program as Richard Glover was named as head coach of the major varsity sports on June 4, 1931. Only 23 years old, Glover had just graduated from Occidental College, where he had starred for the Tigers in football, basketball, and baseball.

“Four jobs were open in Southern California and 100 guys were looking in 1931 during the depths of The Depression,” said Glover in a 1971 interview with the Santa Ana Register. “I was fortunate that I had some guys (at Anaheim) working for me.”

Glover was a strapping all-around athletic star at both Santa Barbara High School and at Occidental College. As it was standard practice at the time that a varsity head football coach would also helm the varsity basketball and baseball programs as well, Glover’s demonstrated excellence at all three sports made him the ideal candidate. His vigor and enthusiasm helped bring out many young players for each sport, in keeping with a state mandate encouraging participation in athletics. More than 120 young men showed up for football practices in early September 1931.

For the season, Anaheim’s prospects for success were less than favorable. With only two starters re-

turning from the previous year, Glover set out to build up the football program nearly from scratch.

Only five to seven years older than most of his new players, the new coach of the Colonists showed up for practices wearing football pants and often ran plays and personally demonstrated blocking and tackling techniques.

Unlike in previous seasons, Glover loosened previous restrictions and had the varsity team and Bee team practice together, which would allow younger players to compete for starting positions according to their ability, and not just according to grade level.

Edward Kroutil, who had coached the Cee team to an undefeated record the previous year, was elevated to Bee coach and varsity assistant.

While acknowledging that he expected to ‘hoe a tough row,’ Glover asked for the community’s patience in an interview with the Anaheim Bulletin as he worked to lay the foundation of a system which he was confident would result in the building of the hustling, scrappy teams that would compare favorably with the teams Anaheim was bound to face.

In the preseason opener, Anaheim squandered several scoring opportunities which negated a strong defensive effort in a scoreless tie against Oceanside.

This was followed by a 7-0 loss to Excelsior, with the Pilots getting the game’s only touchdown on a blocked Anaheim kick.

The first two Orange League contests proved the 15

In his second season, head coach Dick Glover led the Anaheim Colonists to their first league title in 1932. highlight of Anaheim’s season. After beating Garden Grove 6-0, the Colonists went head-to-head against Orange. In front of a large home crowd, Anaheim went up against the two-time defending league champions, and battled to a scoreless tie. The Colonists followed up that effort with a 20-7 win over Tustin.

Unfortunately, the team’s fortunes took a downward turn in the season’s final act, with a 6-6 tie against Brea Olinda and then a 13-7 loss to Huntington Beach, which was led by a 20-year-old quarterback named Clare “Dusty” Van Hoorebeke. A 38-6 drubbing by Santa Ana finished off Glover’s first campaign at 2-2-3.

Despite the middling results of the previous season, enthusiasm was high for 1932. With an influx of new players and a core of returners who had gained valuable experience, Glover and his charges set out to make history. After a scoreless draw with Excelsior and an 18-0 win over Corona, the Colonists entered league play. Traveling to face Orange, Anaheim overcame critical penalties to break a scoreless tie on running back Foster Cheatham’s touchdown run in the third quarter. It was the only score in the Colony’s 6-0 triumph.

The Colonists followed up that performance with back-to-back shutouts versus Tustin (13-0) and Brea Olinda (12-0). Against the Wildcats, tackle Ray Brown blocked a punt which was recovered by guard Bob Eley for a score. Anaheim then went on the road and blanked Huntington Beach, Newport Harbor, and Escondido. Quarterback Danny Smith scored twice to defeat the Oilers 13-0 and Don Maxson helped beat Escondido 20-0 with a 92-yard interception return for

a touchdown in the Colonists’ eighth straight shutout.

Anaheim was upset by Garden Grove in a shocking 7-0 loss, the only points given up by the Colonists so far in the season. The defeat forced Anaheim into a rematch with Brea Olinda for the Orange League crown. In a hard-fought contest, running back Ralph Comstock’s 13-yard touchdown run provided all the points the Colonists needed to defeat the Wildcats 70 and lay claim to the first outright Orange League title in Anaheim's gridiron history.

With the crown came an invitation for the Colonists to participate in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs. Anaheim traveled to play Whittier and scored on their first drive. However, the host Cardinals shut out the local boys the rest of the way and advanced with a 13-6 victory.

Following the season, coaches and local sportswriters came together to select an All-Orange League team. Halfback and backfield captain Foster Cheatham was joined by co-captain Loren Lukens and Bob Eley at guards and tackle Ray Brown on the first team roster.

Bolstered by the success, Anaheim once again contended for the league title in 1933. After tying Santa Barbara 0-0 and tripping Excelsior 18-0, the Colony opened the Orange League with a 6-0 win over Tustin. Three-year letterman and team captain Benny Davis scored the game’s only points on a 2yard run in the third quarter to beat the Tillers. Davis also scored the Anaheim’s only touchdown the following week against Brea Olinda, but a missed extra point proved crucial, as the Wildcats edged the Colonists 7-6.

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Glover’s men bounced back with a dominating 22-0 win over Huntington Beach. Bill Dolan had an outstanding game, rushing for two touchdowns and blocking two punts to beat the Oilers. Benny Davis accounted for all the scoring in a 14-0 win over the Newport Harbor Sailors, then set a team record by scoring four touchdowns in a 35-0 pasting of Garden Grove. The Colonists ended their season with a 20-6 win over Orange, but due to CIF rule changes, they were not allowed a rematch with Brea Olinda and a chance to play for a playoff berth, although they were mathematically tied for the Orange League title. Ray Brown and Bob Eley repeated as first team all-league selections on the line, and were joined on the first team by Benny Davis at fullback.

Anaheim’s string of success continued into 1934.

After splitting a pair of preseason games, Anaheim’s 11 plunged into league play with a 13-6 win over Brea Olinda, followed by a tough 20-7 defeat of Huntington Beach. The locals then hosted Newport Harbor and sank the Sailors 13-0, with touchdowns by Wally Fee and Gene Morris. Fee also produced a pair of scores in a 40-0 rout of league newcomer Valencia and returned an interception on the first defensive play of a 32-point shutout of Garden Grove.

Orange met Anaheim in a game played at the neutral site of Fullerton High School and left with a 13-0 loss. The Colonists wrapped up their first undefeated league record with a grueling 6-0 win over Tustin. Both offenses were shut out in the game, but defensive back Frank Ochoa stepped in front of a Tiller pass to win the Orange League crown and a berth in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs.

The Colonists traveled up the highway to Pasadena to meet John Muir High School in the famed Rose Bowl. Two big plays, a key interception return, and an 83-yard touchdown run by Muir’s quarterback, cost Anaheim its chance for victory, as the Mustangs won 12-0 to advance in the playoffs. Frank Ochoa, Wally Fee, and tackle Rusty Roquet represented Anaheim on the All-Orange League first team.

The 1935 edition of the Colonist gridders looked to continue the established string of successes. Anaheim shut down visiting Excelsior 7-0 in the opener, then took care of host San Bernardino 13-0. A sevengame regular season shutout streak ended at home against Escondido, but the Colonists roared to a 3212 win at home anyway. Junior quarterback Gene Doherty scored three touchdowns, while Wally Fee and Johnny Ochoa scored one TD each, while the visiting Cougars scored only after Anaheim’s reserves had taken the field.

At the end of the preseason schedule, Anaheim traveled to Riverside and held a 19-13 lead in the 17

fourth quarter when the Bears rallied to tie the score on a long bomb with less than a minute to play. The Colonists avoided defeat when Riverside’s extra point attempt failed but were devastated afterward by the sudden loss of junior Johnny Ochoa, who died the following day after suffering a head injury during the previous night’s game.

After voting to continue onward after the tragedy, the Colonists rolled off five straight victories in Orange League play. Right halfback Wally Fee broke a scoreless tie with a 20-yard TD run in the third quarter in a 6-0 win over Newport Harbor. Team captain Fee was on the loose again the next week against Garden Grove, scoring a team-record touchdown run of 76 yards. Left halfback Harry Tanaka added two touchdowns of his own, one from 60 yards out as the Colonists upended the Argonauts 25-0.

Traveling to Tustin, Anaheim pummeled the host Tillers 39-0. Fee scored the first touchdown while Tanaka, who got the start at quarterback, turned in a brilliant performance by scoring three touchdowns, reversing field several times to elude Tustin defenders on each of his scores. Doherty, who took over Tanaka’s normal spot at left halfback, added a touchdown himself, while fullback Jack Dudley added two touchdowns in the blowout win.

Tanaka and Doherty switched spots again the next week at home against Huntington Beach. But the results were the same as Tanaka again scored a trio of touchdowns in a 21-0 rout of the Oilers. In the final week of the regular season, the Colonists took on Orange. With no score in the second quarter, Anaheim took over on a short field and drove inside the Panther 20. From there, quarterback Gene Doherty rolled out and handed off to Wally Fee on a reverse. Fee then pulled up and fired a pass to end Nolan Beat, who then scampered his way from the 14-yard line into the end zone. Fee and Beat connected again in the third quarter on a 28-yard pass down to the Panther 30. Swarmed by Orange tacklers, Beat suddenly tossed a lateral to fullback Art Schwarting, who took the pigskin the rest of the way to seal a 14-0 victory.

After heavy rain postponed their Orange League showdown with Brea Olinda by four days, the Colonists and the Wildcats battled in a one-game playoff to determine the league champion at Fullerton District Stadium. In the game, a critical fumble in the first quarter set up a Wildcat touchdown, which led Brea Olinda to a 10-0 win. The Colony was dropped to second place in the Orange League, and out of the postseason.

Despite being denied the playoffs at the end of a bittersweet campaign, accolades came for this Anaheim team, which placed Nolan Beat, Wally Fee,

“The Worst Loss” While the 1935 preseason clash between Anaheim and Riverside ended in a 19-19 tie, after the game the Colonists came home and suffered the worst loss in the team’s history. During the second half while attempting to defend his team’s lead, junior Johnny Ochoa (a defensive halfback who also was a backup quarterback) lowered himself to make a tackle and was kicked in the head by a Riverside ballcarrier.

Knocked unconscious, Ochoa was motionless on the ground as play stopped. Coach Glover and staff rushed to the field, including team physician Dr. Harold Neslund. Ochoa came to and was groggy as he was helped from the field. In the moment, Dr. Neslund determined that the injury was not so severe as to call the game to end, so Ochoa sat down on the bench as the remainder of the second half played out.

Although Ochoa was only semiconscious, Dr. Neslund declined to send the boy immediately to a hospital, even though Riverside Community Hospital was located across the street from the stadium where the game had just been played. Instead, Ochoa was allowed to lie down in Johnny Ochoa the flatbed of the equipment truck as the Anaheim caravan began its hour-long trip home to Anaheim.

Upon arrival, Ochoa was found to be unconscious and the 17-year-old junior was taken to Cottage Hospital in nearby Fullerton. Closer examination determined that the youth had suffered a skull fracture and that the injury was causing a cerebral hemorrhage. As his anguished family gathered, Ochoa hung on through the morning until he died at 11:25 a.m. on Saturday, October 12, 1935. It was the first known death related to a game injury in the history of Orange County high school football.

Ochoa was considered energetic and ambitious in both the classroom and on the athletic fields. Having starred for the “B” football team the previous season, Ochoa had already earned a varsity letter as a fleet -footed runner with the track team during his sophomore year.

As their fallen teammate’s body lay in state at Backs, Terry & Campbell Mortuary, the stunned Colonists varsity football squad debated among themselves whether to continue the season. With Coach Glover and Principal Clayes allowing the Anaheim boys to make the decision themselves, ultimately the team voted to keep playing, believing that Johnny would want them to carry on. While that decision was supported by Johnny’s older brothers Joe and Frank, who had previously starred in Anaheim High athletics, some players were forced by their parents to quit the team. Meanwhile, the young Ochoa’s life was memorialized with a final mass at St. Boniface Church and he was buried in Anaheim Cemetery. A coroner’s inquest determined that Ochoa’s death was "an unavoidable accident" and that Dr. Neslund and Coach Dick Glover had made every effort to save the boy’s life following the on-field incident.

To honor his brother’s memory, Frank Ochoa later had a son that he named John in 1949. That John Ochoa would go on to become an outstanding quarterback in his own right and as a senior would lead one of Anaheim High’s all-time greatest squads to the 1966 CIF-SS 4-A Division title game.

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Harry Tanaka and Ikuo Uyeshithe next 36 years. Joining the Colma on the All-Orange League onists in the newly-formed circuit first team. Fee became the first were fellow Orange League rivals Colonist football player to earn Huntington Beach, Newport Harall-league honors in three consecbor and Orange, familiar foe Exutive seasons. celsior of Norwalk and the new Having endured one tragedy, David Starr Jordan High School in the Colony was rocked by anothLong Beach. er devastating blow early in After beating Garden Grove 1936. Eugene Doherty, who was 12-6 to open the preseason, Anaexpected to return as Anaheim’s heim renewed its annual series starting quarterback for what with Fullerton for the first time would have been his senior seasince 1928. The results this time son, tragically took his own life. were similar to where they had left In the fall, Anaheim struggled off before, with the Colonists losearly, losing three of its first four ing by a 20-0 score. games including a stunning 6-0 Christening Sunset League loss to Garden Grove in the play against Excelsior, the Pilots league opener despite outgaining upset the Colony 6-0 on a late the Argos 210 yards to 60. Rallytouchdown, despite nearly 200 ing strongly back, the Colonists In 1937, Jimmie Nunez was the first yards in offense from Anaheim. Dewon convincingly over Newport Colonist to ever be named to the fense put a clamp on the Newport Harbor (19-0), Tustin (20-6), and Harbor Sailors, and the offense put All-CIF Southern Section team.

Huntington Beach (22-0). A 6-6 tie together two scores to beat the Tars with Orange was not enough to negate the earlier loss 12-0. The Colonist defenders also pulled out a 7-0 to the Argonauts, and the Panthers were awarded the win over the host Huntington Beach Oilers. A big league title. With that final draw, Anaheim bade fare- play came in the third quarter, with Huntington Beach well to the Orange League. In postseason honors, end driving and threatening to score. Guard Bill Ross met Ted DeVelbiss, halfback Jim Sakamoto, and tackle the Oiler halfback at the 1-yard line and forced a fumRex Whittemore were first team all-league honorees, ble. In the fourth period, Keith Beebe’s 35-yard interwith Whittemore also named all-county. ception return for a touchdown sealed the victory for The 1937 season saw the dawning of the Sunset Anaheim.

League, where Anaheim would take up residence for Hosting Long Beach Jordan, a long catch-and-

In 1939, the Colonists won their first Sunset League title in varsity football. This is a feat they would repeat 21 times over the next 36 seasons. Anaheim left the Sunset League after the 1973-74 school year.

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Bill Lewis (#48) leads the way for Junior Perkins (#4), aided by blocks by backs Art Shipkey (#36) and Bud Mahoney in Anaheim’s historic 1939 victory against Fullerton, 7-0. run by Jimmie Nunez helped the Colonists dominate the first half with a two-touchdown lead. In the second half, the Panthers came back with two touchdowns of their own, but the successful conversion points put Anaheim on top 14-12. In the season finale, the Colonists gave up 13 unanswered points in the second half against Orange, and the 13-13 draw prevented Anaheim from sharing the league title.

The new alignment was also the first time that the Helms Athletic Foundation released an All-CIFSouthern Section team, as voted by local sportswriters. Senior end Jimmie Nunez, who was voted team MVP as well as first team All-Orange County, was the first Colonist football player to be so honored.

Nunez was also voted a first team All-Sunset League end while fellow Colonist Bill Ross made the cut as a first team guard.

1938 proved to be a major disappointment for the Colonists. A preseason scoreless tie with Fullerton was one of the few highlights as Anaheim went 2-4-2 for the season. The Colony gridders were shut out three times in league play and notched their only victories in league against Huntington Beach (13-0) and Orange (26-6). Guard Neil LeVecke and tackle G.A. Wollenman were Anaheim’s first team All-Sunset League selections.

Though otherwise forgettable, the season was notable for the addition of John Wallin as an assistant coach. Wallin, the former Colonist fullback who was employed at the time as a bus driver and custodian at the school, helped out on the line and would become a fixture at the school for the next 28 years.

The Blue and Gold rebounded in a big way the following season in 1939. Anaheim did not figure to be a major contender for the Sunset League title, and after splitting a pair of preseason games versus Tustin and Whittier, it was difficult to get a fix on their potential.

Anaheim opened up league play on the road against Fullerton. The Indians, being introduced to the Sunset League for the first time, had never lost to the Colonists in a non-preseason contest. A fierce struggle by both defenses made for a scoreless first three quarters of play.

Running back Junior Perkins ignited the Colonists’ fourth quarter charge with a 20-yard scamper at the Fullerton 37. Aided by fullback Art Shipkey and fellow backs Bill Lewis and Bud Mahoney, Perkins picked up another 16 yards, which put Anaheim at the 2-yard line. From there, Perkins took the ball into the end zone himself for the lone touchdown of the game, capping an 11-play, 62-yard drive in which he 20

“THE INDISPENSIBLE MAN” Born in 1907, John Wallin moved to Anaheim as a teenager and excelled in football, baseball and track at Anaheim Union High School, where he was exalted as “The Red Grange of Anaheim High”. He also served as Commissioner of Boys Athletics and was on the newspaper and yearbook staffs before graduating in 1927. Nine years later, Wallin began working at AUHS tending the athletic fields, serving as equipment man and bus driver. In 1938, he returned to the Anaheim Colonists football program when he began aiding Coach Glover. Not long after, Wallin became head varsity baseball coach, a post he held for the next 20 years.

Encouraged by Glover and others to become a teacher, Wallin graduated from Whittier College in 1944 and then was immediately hired at Anaheim High for the physical education department. Six years later, when Glover stepped down as head coach, Wallin was the first person to be offered the chance to take over the program. Wallin declined, and later remarked that it was the best decision he ever made, as Clare Van Hoorebeke was then hired and he made the fortuitous decision to retain Wallin as his lone assistant. For the next 16 seasons, Wallin remained steadfast as Van Hoorebeke’s right arm, guiding Colonist defenses well into the next decade. Throughout his 30 years of service at Anaheim High School coaching football, basketball, and baseball at all levels, Wallin was credited with 30 league championships and numerous additional honors.

A mainstay in the athletic department for 20 years, John Wallin was an enthusiastic booster of Colonist athletics. He was a popular figure at pep rallies, where he proclaimed himself as “The oldest cheerleader in captivity” while leading students in cheering contests as he often vowed that Anaheim teams would “not be outfought!”

In 1966, he then became the athletic director at the new Katella High School in east Anaheim and guided the Knights athletic program to 32 league titles in his seven years there as AD before retiring in 1973.

John Wallin died in 1981 in Anaheim, and was survived by Hulda, his wife of over 50 years, and three sons. Serving as a trusted assistant to both Dick Glover and Clare Van Hoorebeke across four decades, John Wallin not only formed a bridge between two eras, he was truly indispensable to Anaheim High School’s athletic legacy.

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carried the ball on every down. The 7-0 lead would port Harbor (12-0) before interrupting its league be enough as the defense hung tight against the Indi- schedule to play an exhibition against Santa Barbara. ans, holding Fullerton to just one first down and 37 The eventual CIF-Southern Section big schools total yards for the game. champion Dons routed the Colonists 34-0 in a nonThe win was Anaheim’s first over Fullerton league contest. Coach Glover, who was a Santa Barsince 1923, and the Colonists stormed through the bara High School graduate, used his second-string rest of their Sunset League schedule. Perkins stood players through most of the lopsided contest. out again in a 27-13 win over Orange. Anaheim then Resuming their trek through the Sunset League, overcame a stubborn Newport Harbor team 7-0. The the Colonists held off a Long Beach Jordan rally to Colonists suffered a setback the next week in a 26-19 win 19-6. With the local gridders leading by a touchloss to Long Beach Jordan but rebounded with a down, Joe Wollenman blocked a Panther kick which dominating 26-0 win over Huntington Beach. was recovered by Bud Mahoney to silence Jordan’s Closing out the comeback attempt. An1939 regular season aheim then claimed its schedule against second straight Sunset Excelsior, the ColoLeague title by shutny rallied from a 6-0 ting out Huntington halftime deficit Beach 20-0. when team captain The Colonists Cliff Horton took marched on to Covina the ball on the first to meet the Colts in the play of the second CIF-Southern Section half and weaved small schools champithrough the Pilot onship. In front of a defense 65 yards for Bill Lewis, Bud Mahoney, Art Shipkey, and Cliff Horton pose boisterous crowd of the go-ahead touch4,000 fans, Anaheim down. Junior Perkins for a group shot during their 1940 championship season. took control at the beadded an insurance score near the end of the third ginning of the second quarter, when quarterback Bill period to win the game 14-6. Coach Glover was car- Lewis tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to end Jim ried off the field by his players and cheering fans as Betzsold. From there, the Colonists time and again Anaheim celebrated the first Sunset League title in stymied the vaunted Colts attack. team history. It was a precedent that would be Lewis was all over the place against Covina, matched 20 more times in the years ahead. setting up an Earl Williams touchdown with an interWith the Sunset League championship in hand, ception return, then scoring the Colony’s final points Anaheim had earned an automatic entry into the CIF- himself on a 10-yard touchdown run in the third Southern Section football playoffs. However, injuries quarter. Anaheim’s defense held host Covina scorehad taken their toll during the grueling campaign, and less until the game’s final minute in an 18-6 victory. the decision was made to decline the invitation to Lewis, who went on to be named to the All-CIFcontinue the season. Art Shipkey was named an All- SS small schools team, was also named Sunset CIF fullback and was similarly honored on the All- League MVP and was joined on the All-Sunset roster Sunset League first team list, where he was joined by by team captains Edgar Olson (line), Bud Mahoney halfback Bill Lewis and guard Alvin Penhall. The (back) and lineman Joe Wollenman (line).

Colonists had established a precedent in 1939 they Despite heavy graduation losses, the Colonists would make good on in 1940. were once again contenders in 1941. A new tradition A baker’s dozen of lettermen were set to return began, as Anaheim now played its home games at La and deliver on those expectations for the 1940 edition Palma Park under a newly installed lighting system. of Colonists football. After opening with a 13-0 shut- After splitting their two preseason games, the Coloout of Citrus and a scoreless tie versus Santa Ana, nists rolled over their first three league opponents by Excelsior was the first Sunset League opponent. The the combined score of 51-6.

Pilots met defeat 12-0, with both scores coming courIn the next two weeks, the Colonists were frustesy of quarterback Bill Lewis. Fullerton was over- trated on offense, scoring no points against Fullerton come 19-6 on a rain-soaked home field for the sec- and in a nonleague contest with Santa Ana. But ond win. thankfully, the Anaheim defense also pitched shutAnaheim then blanked Orange (34-0) and New- outs. The Colonists resumed course by soundly de22

feating both Long Beach Jordan (25-7) and Newport Harbor (26-7) enroute to winning the Sunset League crown for the third consecutive year.

Anaheim once again received a berth in the CIFSouthern Section small schools title game. But illness and injury had crippled the Colony during the weeks leading to the championship matchup with Colton, and by gametime, the Colonists were no match for the Yellowjackets, who stung Anaheim 27-0. Reaction to the loss was muted, as the game was the only one to be played following the attack on Pearl Harbor that ultimately drew America into World War II. For the first time, Anaheim placed two team members on the All-CIF roster. Senior guard Dick MacDonald and junior blocking back Jerry Shipkey were both named to the third team list. MacDonald and Shipkey were also named first team All-Sunset League, as were center Dick Alden and end Jim Betzsold.

By the fall of 1942, World War II was in full swing, and Anaheim was affected as well. Due to war-

ange notched its first win over Anaheim since 1930, 19-13. Jim Davis caught one touchdown and threw for another in a 12-6 win over Fullerton the following week, and next the Colonists had no trouble with Valencia 19-6.

Anaheim’s season ended for all intents and purposes in the second half of the Long Beach Jordan game. Up 12-6 at the intermission, the Colonists allowed 26 unanswered points to the Panthers, who won going away 32-12.

The next week, Glover endured the worst defeat of his career as the Newport Harbor Tars dethroned the three-time defending Sunset League champions 54-0, the Colonists’ most lopsided defeat in over 20 years. Anaheim was able to finish the season on an up note, defeating Huntington Beach 19-2 to secure third place in the final Sunset League standings.

However, the Colonists were snubbed in postseason accolades as no Anaheim players earned first team honors for 1942.

Following the season, Glover took an indefinite leave of absence and was one of several AUHS faculty members who joined the war effort. After being commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, Glover became a training officer at naval bases in California and Texas.

After 12 years at the helm of the Colonists, Glover had matured from a rambunctious college student athlete into an able head coach, and Anaheim had matured along with him to become one of Orange County’s most respected football programs.

With six league titles, four CIF-Southern Section playoff appearances, a championship and a runner up finish, the Anaheim Colonists had experienced their first era of gridiron greatness.

time considerations, night games were prohibited, and all preseason contests were canceled. In addition, students of Japanese descent, who had been a valuable talent base for the team in recent years, were removed along with their families to forced relocation camps.

These distractions, combined with heavy losses from graduation and injury, had a negative impact on the Colonists’ chances in 1942. Only four lettermen returned from the previous year, and the only starter among them, senior Jerry Shipkey, suffered a broken collarbone early in the season-opening win over Excelsior, and was lost for the season.

Breaking a tie with a last-minute touchdown, Or23

Chapter Three

Law of Averages : 1943-1949

W

ith World War II being fought across both oceans, it was an uncertain time for residents of Anaheim, which like many communities in Southern California, were seeing an influx of people moving in to support the war effort. Young men answered the call of their country, including Colonist students, athletes, and faculty.

For the first time since 1931, Anaheim High School athletics would be without the services of Richard Glover, who was now an officer in the U.S. Navy. Replacing Glover as the Colonists’ mentor for 1943 was Dick Ryan, who previously had coached the Bee team. Ryan, a UCLA graduate, had arrived along with Glover in 1931 and was the popular woodshop instructor on campus.

Once again, preseason games were canceled because of the ongoing war. County sports reporters dismissed the Anaheim boys as “greenies,” and not a potential contender in the Sunset League.

The Colonists opened the season against the two teams favored to vie for the title. At Santa Ana, the Saints suffered a stunning 7-0 upset. Anaheim’s defense frustrated Santa Ana’s offense throughout the game and produced the key play of the contest by forcing a fumble that was recovered on the two-yard line. Backfield captain Jim Davis accounted for the game’s only points by diving over for the touchdown, then kicking the extra point.

The locals traveled to play Excelsior and met their only defeat of the season, losing to the Pilots 140. An interception returned for a touchdown doomed the Colony’s chances early and another touchdown and safety sealed the result. Returning to their home field, Anaheim found its groove beating Orange 26-0, with Gene Menges scoring two touchdowns.

Under the lights of La Palma Park, neighboring rival Fullerton was lit up by an outstanding team effort. Davis ran for a touchdown, then passed to Menges for another. Defense tallied the game’s final score when Ude Bauer blocked a punt that was returned to the end zone by Don Hein to win 20-6.

Davis’ two touchdown passes were enough to outlast a stubborn Huntington Beach squad 13-7. Anaheim then closed out its abbreviated season against Newport Harbor and edged the Tars 7-6. Following a scoreless first half, the Sailors opened with a touchdown to take the lead. The Colonists responded as Jack Lowry tied the score with a 4-yard scoring run, and Davis kicked the deciding extra point.

The Colonists watched the final outcome from the bleachers on Thanksgiving Day, when Santa Ana defeated Excelsior 14-0. The Saints’ win forced a three-way tie for the Sunset League title, and with no playoffs for any of the teams, it gave Anaheim satisfying closure for the season. Team MVP Menges and star end Don Hein both made All-Sunset League, with Hein also named All-CIF Southern Section.

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“The Nisei” When Anaheim vied for its second straight CIF-SS football title in 1941, the championship game was held on the home field of the Colonists on Friday, December 12, just five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and four days after war against Japan had been declared.

The entire country was in shock, including the City of Anaheim. As the reality of America joining a world at war made everything uncertain, the CIF Finals game would continue as scheduled. Leading the Colonists on the field was one of its captains, Jack Fujii, an All-Sunset League left guard for the Colonists.

Jack Fujii (line captain), with his teammates, Bob Phillips (backfield captain) and Dick MacDonald (MVP) were the Anaheim ended up losing the title game to Colton, 27-0, but it is unknown if the war leaders of the team that reached the 1941 CIF Finals.

affected the team’s performance. Many of the young men on the field that day who wore the blue and gold on the gridiron would soon trade those uniforms in for Navy blue and Army and Marine green, and for others, their lives would never be the same again. While his teammates enjoyed what was left of their senior year, preparing to volunteer or be drafted, Jack Fujii (born in Los Angeles on January 13, 1923) would not have that choice, as he and his family were forcibly evacuated from their home when Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942 made the internment of civilians of Japanese heritage the law of the land.

Fujii was one of five Japanese American players on the 1941 varsity roster. Six players of Japanese descent were on the Bee team that year, and five more on the Cee team. From the 1920s, Japanese Americans on Colonist football rosters were a regular sight, and the Nisei (the American-born generation of Japanese immigrant parents) formed a vital pool of talent at Anaheim Union High School. The interment was sudden and abrupt, as all American citizens of Japanese descent were hastily evacuated to relocation camps, primarily at the Poston War Relocation Center near Yuma, Arizona. While some were able to place their affairs in order with trusted local friends, far too many families lost their property, businesses, or both. Though some interned families would come back to Anaheim, many did not, and the Japanese American community never regained its pre-war presence in the City of Anaheim or at Old AU. Sadly, Jack Fujii was one of those Colonists who never returned to Anaheim. After serving in the Army during World War II, Fujii relocated to New York, where he lived the rest of his life, passing away on October 10, 2002.

(L to R) Harry Tanaka and co-team captain Ikuo “Truck” Uyeshima were two time All-Orange League linemen in 1934 and 1935. Jim Sakamoto was also co-team captain in addition to being an All-Orange League back in 1936.

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Head coach Dick Ryan with his 1943 Sunset League Champion team captains, Jim Davis (45), Gene Menges (33), and Don Hein (47).

ton (8-6) and Huntington Beach (7-0). End Bill Kellogg came up with key plays in both games, scoring a safety for the deciding points against the Indians, then catching the game’s only touchdown versus the Oilers.

Anaheim came out strong against Newport Harbor, with a quartet of gridders scoring in the 26-13 victory. The Colonists played just well enough to beat Orange 14-7 in the regular season ender. Fullback Bill Koontz, halfback Ed Ochoa, and tackle Don Martinson led the way for Anaheim’s fourth straight win and each was selected to the All-Sunset League 1st team as Old AU claimed a 7-1 record.

For the 1944 season, Ryan returned to coach the lower levels (and would continue to remain at Anaheim as a teacher and later as a vice principal) and a new coach was recruited. Harold Hopkins, who arrived at Anaheim to take Ryan’s place as woodshop instructor, also succeeded Ryan after spending the two previous years as head coach at rival Orange.

With only one returning starter from the previous season, the Colonists suffered a down year, winning only two out of seven games. Disappointing efforts plagued them in the two preseason games against Tustin (0-13) and Long Beach Jordan (6-21). In league play, the Colonists improved, but still could not overcome either Newport Harbor (0-7) or Santa Ana (6-20).

The four-game losing streak finally was broken against Orange, whom the Anaheim squad shut out 28-0. Vincent Mazza scored twice, with Don Liebhart adding one more. The next week against Huntington Beach, Mazza scored again along with Bill Trimble to lead the Colonists over the Oilers 13-6. But hopes for a positive end to the season were dashed in a 20-6 loss to Fullerton. Guard Don Bauer and end John Heying were both first team All-Sunset honorees.

“Our record that season reflected more on the players we had than the coaching,” recalled lineman Dave Hernandez.

Fortunes would change in 1945, as the inexperienced and undisciplined charges who stumbled through the previous year blossomed into a fast and aggressive squad. Improvement was immediately apparent, as the hammer was dropped on Valencia (416), where five different Colonist players scored touchdowns. Victories over Tustin (20-0) and Glendale Hoover (19-13) closed out a perfect preseason, the first for the Colonists in 10 years.

However, Santa Ana wrecked the Colonists’ bid for the Sunset title with a convincing 19-7 win in the league opener. Anaheim overcame its own sluggishness and mistake-laden play to turn back both Fuller-

Like many of his former players, Coach Glover also answered the nation’s call to duty during World War II, serving as an officer in the US Navy. After serving in several training commands during the war, Glover and his family returned to their home in Anaheim in 1946 where he resumed his duties as football coach and athletic director.

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“World War II” Anaheim head coach Richard Glover was one of several AUHS faculty members who volunteered for military service and received his call-up from the U.S. Navy in 1943. As a teacher and coach, Glover’s training skills were highly sought after, and he was sent to a fast-track officer training course in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Upon completion and being commissioned as a naval training officer, Lieutenant Glover was assigned to the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Monterey, California. Later in the war, Glover was reassigned to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he remained until the end of the war in the Pacific. Receiving his honorable discharge in 1946, he was back at Anaheim High School in time for the spring sports season, during which he began coaching the swim program.

Many of the young men who had followed Glover into battle on the football field also answered their country’s call to arms. Junior Perkins volunteered for service in the Navy and was an eyewitness to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Serving aboard the destroyer U.S.S. Shaw, Perkins narrowly escaped death when enemy dive bombers blasted his ship as it lay in a floating drydock. Bill Lewis and Bud Mahoney were others who served in the Navy during World War II. AHS Class of 1934 graduate John Liekhus was working at the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach when war broke out, and though he was regarded as an essential civilian worker, he nonetheless volunteered to join the U.S. Army Air Forces. On November 2, 1944, 1st Lt. Liekhus took off in his B-17 Flying Fortress for a mission over Germany. He and his crew were shot down over enemy territory. His body was not recovered until 2017. John Minogue (Class of 1937) also joined the U.S. Army Air Forces and served as a gunnery officer in the European Theatre. On August 1, 1943, Minogue took part in Operation Tidal Wave, a mission to destroy Axis fuel supply lines in Rumania. On board as a combat observer, Lt. Minogue’s B-24 Liberator was shot down as it made a low-level bombing run. Though he was observed to have bailed out, his body was never recovered.

Nolan Beat (Class of 1936) joined the U.S. Marine Corps shortly after graduating from USC in 1942. Commissioned as an aviation officer, Beat saw action in the Battle of Okinawa and went on to a distinguished 36-year military career, during which he also served in Korea and Vietnam.

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Though the win marked the end of a near perfect season, it also marked the end of Hopkins’ tenure as Anaheim’s head football coach. Richard Glover, who had completed his wartime service and had already returned to Anaheim’s athletic staff, was ready to resume his position as head coach. Hopkins would move on to become athletic director and varsity football head coach at Pomona, where he would lead the Red Devils to a CIF championship three years later.

fore a record home crowd at La Palma Park, was decided by Carmichael, who scored both Anaheim’s only touchdown and the extra point.

Playing for a chance at the league crown, Anaheim battled Downey in the season finale. The scoreless deadlock was broken in the final minutes, as Bill Kellogg scored on a long touchdown pass to win 7-0.

But the Colonists, who were 5-1 in league play, were edged by the Oilers, who finished at 4-0-2, for the

1946 team Glover inherited a solid team for 1946, and the Colonists were again major factors in the Sunset League race. In the preseason, Anaheim won by a little over Corona (2-0) and by a lot over Colton (210) before fighting St. Anthony to a 7-7 draw.

As in the previous year, title hopes rested on the opening Sunset League contest. Huntington Beach, mounting its strongest team in years, beat Anaheim for the first time in 15 tries by the score of 7-0. Five times, the eventual CIF-SS Major Division semifinalists turned back Anaheim from inside the 20-yard line.

Stung by the defeat, the Colonists roared through their next three opponents to get back into the league race. Bill Koontz scored twice to lead a 19-7 victory over Orange. For Homecoming, Anaheim tore through Fullerton 25-0, as Maurice Carmichael notched a pair of touchdowns, with another pair coming courtesy of Bill Kellogg and Tom O’Brien. Carmichael and O’Brien would score again to account for a 13-0 pasting of the Newport Harbor Sailors.

Hosting defending CIF champion Santa Ana, the Colonists edged the Saints 7-6. The game, played be-

coveted berth in CIF competition. Koontz and Martinson repeated as first team All-Sunset Leaguers, as well as Marvin Bates at guard and Bill Kellogg at end.

The Colony gridders of 1947 bore only a faint resemblance to their champion predecessors, and Glover’s squad posted the worst record for the Blue & Gold in 25 years, falling to a dreadful 1-6-1 mark.

Shut out in their two preseason losses to Corona and St. Anthony, Anaheim opened Sunset League play on its lone high note of the year. A 25-0 blowout of the Downey Vikings was followed by a 6-6 tie against Huntington Beach. From there, it was a downhill run for the Colonists, who lost four straight games to close the season. No Anaheim players made the All-Sunset League first team roster.

1948 showed only slightly better improvement.

Anaheim’s preseason prospects looked good, with convincing wins over Laguna Beach (25-0) and Colton (31-6). In the Sunset circuit opener, the Colonists were outmatched by Santa Ana 27-6 and squandered opportunities in a 13-12 loss to Downey.

Huntington Beach met defeat 14-7, but from 29

The Colonist’s success on the field in the mid-to-late 1940s was as different as day… and night. Under head coaches Dick Ryan, Harold Hopkins, and Richard Glover, Anaheims’ record during this period was 30-23-1. there the Glovermen endured back-to-back losses to Orange (19-12) and eventual league champion Fullerton (32-13) before shutting down Newport Harbor 140) in the season’s final contest. A 2-4 league record gave Anaheim a mediocre fifth place spot in the Sunset League. Guard Bob Hilton was the lone Colonist named first team All-Sunset League for that season.

The Colonists logged similar results in 1949, going 4-5. Four losses in the first six games put Anaheim behind early. A close game against Newport Harbor was broken wide open in the third quarter when the Sailors scored four touchdowns, one each coming on an interception and a blocked punt. Two Colony fourth quarter scores were not enough as Anaheim lost its league opener 37-20. Another close contest was lost in a disastrous second half against Santa Ana, as the Saints scored three times to put away the Colonists 25-6.

Homecoming was a welcome event off the field, as well as on, as the Anaheim boys downed Downey 28-6. Senior halfback Larrye Weaver scored three touchdowns to lead the win. Weaver added an encore with three touchdowns the following week in a 26-20 win over Orange to bring the Colonists to a .500 record. Over 9,000 fans witnessed the season finale, a dreadful 33-point shutout against Fullerton, which left the Colonists at 4-5 and in fifth place in the Sunset

League. Larrye Weaver represented Anaheim on the all-league first team roster.

By now, Anaheim as a city was beginning to grow as part of the post-war boom, and population figures predicted that the school’s student population would double within the next 10 years. Faced with the added pressure of maintaining a high-profile athletic department, Glover made the decision to step down, submitting his resignation as head football coach at a district board meeting on May 9, 1950.

Since arriving as a green college graduate nearly 20 years earlier, Richard Glover had nurtured the Anaheim football program through its growing stages to its first period of sustained success. Although Anaheim’s players would never be bigger or more physically talented than others, winners were made. The work ethic instilled by Glover, along with the contributions of the other head coaches of this period, Harold Hopkins and Dick Ryan, and assistants like Ralph Kingsbury, John Wallin, and others.

As Colonists football had grown, Glover had grown along with it. Now, the time had come to step aside, and point toward the future. Though Glover would continue on as athletic director, his era at the helm of the Colonists football program was at an end.

But a foundation was now laid, upon which a football empire would be built.

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“The Transition”

Once Dick Glover announced that he was stepping down as head coach, AUHS principal and district superintendent Paul Demaree received plenty of interest in the position and narrowed down the field to a baker’s dozen of candidates with one group set to interview during the weekly school district board meeting on Wednesday, while the other group would follow on during a special Saturday session. One candidate would be singled out early, though not quite for his qualifications.

Clare Van Hoorebeke had just come off getting turned down for the head coaching job at his alma mater Huntington Beach. His application papers found their way to Anaheim and two weeks later, a fortuitous choice would be made.

Glover, remaining as Athletic Director was bemused when he first laid eyes on the candidate who wanted to be his successor. Van walked in confidently with a cigar in hand. Because he had a long journey back home to Arizona ahead of him, Paul Demaree and the board decided to interview Van Hoorebeke first. For the next 90 minutes, the assistant from North Phoenix laid out his vision for the ideal football program that he was ready to shape. Demaree and the other trustees, including A.H. Shipkey, who’d had two sons star for the Colonists, took a keen interest in the 39-year-old Van Hoorebeke. After bidding farewells, Van Hoorebeke ushered himself out and walked toward his car. Demaree soon caught up with him and tipped his hand to the first candidate.

“He said, ‘Now here’s six more guys here to be interviewed and six more Saturday morning. You go home and talk this over with your wife, because the job’s yours if you want it,’” Van Hoorebeke said.

Pondering this turn of events, Van Hoorebeke returned home and spoke with his beloved Viola, now six months pregnant with their second child. The answer was yes, and the Van Hoorebeke family began to make preparations. They stayed through the summer tending to affairs, as Van ran the local swim program for Phoenix Parks & Recreation. But by the end of August, he was ready to start a new chapter back in California, in Orange County, and at Anaheim. And it was the start of so many things…

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Chapter Four

A New Era : 1950-1956

J

ust before Labor Day 1950, Clare Van Hoorebeke arrived in Anaheim and was ready to take charge of the Colonists football program. Born in Riverside and orphaned at an early age, Van Hoorebeke grew up in Huntington Beach under the care of his grandparents, who were only occasionally able to rein in his incorrigible behavior. Not a particularly impressive student, Van Hoorebeke matriculated to Huntington Beach High School in the fall of 1926. He did little to distinguish himself there either in the classroom or on the athletic fields and dropped out at some point during his freshman year.

It seemed that the young Van Hoorebeke was destined to become an anonymous driller working in the town’s many oil fields, were it not for the intercession of Harry “Cap” Sheue, then a biology teacher and the school’s football coach. He continued to reach out to the young man, and eventually convinced him to return to school at the age of 20. This time, Van Hoorebeke enjoyed success as a quarterback for the Oilers, while also playing varsity basketball and baseball. He continued such activities until he turned 21 years old (CIF rules then allowed student athletes to reach that age limit), and then was convinced by Sheue to stay in school, while also coaching lower level sports until he graduated in 1934.

Van Hoorebeke found his athletic talent in demand by Arizona State Teacher’s College (now Arizona State University), where he played on the foot-

ball team and served as a co-captain as a senior before graduating in 1938. He then took his first teaching job the following year at North High School in Phoenix, and then was married the year after that.

With the onset of World War II, Van Hoorebeke volunteered for service as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He first served as the assistant commandant of cadets at Marfa Army Air Field in Texas and later trained as a gunnery officer for B-29s in Sioux City, Iowa, but World War II ended just before he was due to deploy to Okinawa for his first combat mission.

In early 1946, Van Hoorebeke returned to his teaching position at North High School, but by 1949, as he had one daughter ailing with hay fever and another on the way, Van Hoorebeke looked to return to Huntington Beach and its oceanside climate. But after being turned down for the job at Huntington Beach High School, Van Hoorebeke made himself a candidate for the Anaheim job, and the process went much more favorably.

Van Hoorebeke accepted the position and made preparations to move his family back to California. The Anaheim High School student newspaper Anoranco heralded his hire, noting that he was expected to favor the “T” formation in football, while also coming to coach swimming and water polo.

Not intent on building from scratch, the Colonists’ new mentor inherited John Wallin as line coach, while Glover remained to coach the Cee level 33

team. Wallin, who had been Glover’s longtime assistant coach and was the first person to be offered the Anaheim head coaching position, had turned down the head coaching position. He would later say that turning down the job was one of the smartest decisions of his life.

With Van Hoorebeke and Wallin running the varsity team, it was time to mold the players into a unified squad. With only a handful of seniors returning, Coach Van’s ability to turn a new page in the program was enhanced. Eager to being a new chapter, the young Anaheim players responded to the change in coaching.

“His first comment to any of us was, ‘Well, I don’t know any of you’,” said Bill Miller, who was a junior tackle. “For a lot of us, myself included, that was a relief.”

Early on in that first meeting, Van Hoorebeke made it clear that he intended to run vigorous and disciplined practice and that he would demand that his players be in top physical shape. He warned that he would not put up with any of his players getting caught smoking, emphasizing his point with the Dutch Master cigar that was either in his mouth or in his hand (he explained that as an adult, he was allowed to smoke).

Practice sessions were longer, more focused, and intense than they had been under his predecessor.

Coach Van Hoorebeke stressed discipline and fundamentals. Players had to get used to not taking water breaks unless given permission to do so. In this early days, it was not uncommon for Van himself to get into the mix when he deemed it to be appropriate.

“One thing I remember vividly was that he didn’t like the way I blocked as a tackle, so he lined up opposite me on the line (I had pads and a helmet on),” said junior tackle Jim Holve. “He had another coach call the cadence and blocked me with no pads or anything. He had the sharpest elbows in the business!! I got the point.”

A change in the Anaheim air was readily apparent once the fall season began. The Colonists were impressive in back-to-back preseason shutouts on the road against Bell Gardens (25-0) and Citrus (24-0).

However, the new coach’s first game at La Palma Park would also prove to be his first loss, as Covina trampled Anaheim 25-6 in the final exhibition contest.

Van Hoorebeke’s first foray into Sunset League waters would begin with a port call to his alma mater, Huntington Beach. Anaheim’s boys blasted the Oilers 26-0, a result that, oddly enough, is conspicuously absent from the Oilers’ 1950-51 yearbook.

The next week against Fullerton, the locals fought

38-year old Clare Van Hoorebeke, a first-time Varsity Head Coach, quickly got to work at Anaheim when he arrived at the Colony in August of 1950. hard, but fell to the eventual league champions 19-12.

Hopes for the playoffs were quashed in a 35-13 defeat at the hands of Newport Harbor.

Now at 3-3 and with nothing left to lose, the Colonists throttled Santa Ana 36-0 for their first home victory of the season. Ending the year on the road against Orange, Van Hoorebeke and his men came home with a 26-19 win to secure third place in the Sunset League, the Colonists’ highest finish in five seasons.

Van Hoorebeke, or “Van” as he quickly came to be known, now with his first year as a head coach behind him, looked for ways to improve his team’s chances of winning in the competitive Sunset League.

He expanded his staff by promoting assistant coach Bill Hicks to varsity.

Going into the 1951 season, a deal was worked out for Anaheim to begin an annual preseason series with Redlands, well-established as a football powerhouse in San Bernardino County. For the next 28 years, the Colonists and Terriers would square off.

In a highly contested inaugural matchup, Redlands edged Anaheim 7-6. Chaffey was also added to the schedule, and the Colonists suffered a 23-6 mauling at the hands of the Tigers.

34

Anaheim performed well in its first win of the season, 19-6 against Citrus, and appeared to have victory in hand towards the end of their final exhibition contest against Covina. However, the Colts snatched the game away with two touchdowns in the final two minutes to give Van Hoorebeke and his team a 12-7 defeat, and an unimpressive 1-3 record going into league play.

Opening the Sunset slate at the Santa Ana Bowl, the Colonists abused the host Saints 26-0, then dumped Huntington Beach 20-7 at La Palma Park to set the stage for a showdown with four-time defending league champion Fullerton. On the road in front of 6,000 spectators, the underdog Colonists upset the Indians 13-7. Van’s men struggled to a 14-6 win over Newport Harbor, but then righted themselves for the

playoff experience, acquitted themselves well but ultimately lost to the Vikings 20-12. Gene Geselle, a stalwart on the line, was named All-CIF, joining fellow linemen Dan Berg and Al Clayes Jr.. Halfbacks Ira Webber and sophomore Aaron Peralta were also named among the league’s best.

The 1952 Colonists traveled near and far for their quartet of preseason matchups and seemed to stumble every which way. Redlands (26-6), Chaffey (18-0), Citrus (19-0) and Las Vegas (26-13) each had their way with Van Hoorebeke’s charges, giving the Anaheim headmaster what would be the worst losing streak of his career.

Anaheim laid to rest that dreadful preseason with a rally in Sunset League action. A 13-7 upset of Newport Harbor was followed by a 20-13 win over

Colonist halfback Don Leigh runs against Newport Harbor. Anaheim won 40-13 on their way to their third straight Sunset League title. league finale, a 40-0 peeling of Orange. That triumph Santa Ana. The Colonists then met the top two conclinched a 5-0 record, Anaheim’s first sweep of the tenders for the Sunset crown. Huntington Beach Sunset League since 1940, and first outright league fought Anahi to a 6-6 draw, as did revenge-minded title since 1941.

Fullerton 13-13. In the league ender, fullback Jim With the title came an automatic invitation to Roberts led the team to a 12-0 win over Orange, the CIF postseason tournament. Facing Santa Monica which clinched at least a share of the Sunset League in the first round, the Colonists, though lacking in title. With a 3-0-2 record in Sunset play, the right to 35

In 1954, fiery team captain Mickey Gouyd led the Colonists to a 10-1 record and a fourth straight Sunset League title. The Colonists advanced to the CIF Quarterfinals. enter CIF competition came down to a coin flip with co-champion Fullerton. Fortune favored the Indians that day, and Anaheim stayed home for the playoffs.

Halfback Aaron Peralta, defensive end Dean Philpott and Roberts led the All-Sunset League postseason honors.

For 1953, Philpott shifted to play more running back the following year, as Anaheim continued its climb to prominence. The Colonists were dominant in two preseason contests and were narrowly defeated in two others. In the season opener, highly ranked Redlands scored with 15 seconds remaining to win a 7-0 struggle. Anaheim came back to beat Citrus 23-13 and El Rancho 33-12 before losing on the road to Las Vegas 14-7 on the game’s final play.

Backfield captain Mickey Gouyd tied a team record with four touchdowns to win on the road against Huntington Beach 28-7. Once again, Fullerton

was a formidable obstacle to Anaheim’s chances for the league championship. But Van’s undersized men battled the Indians to a scoreless tie in the fourth quarter. Gouyd provided the heroics with an offensive drive where he scored to put the Colonists on top.

Roy Weaver added another touchdown to make the final score 13-0. Next up, Newport Harbor proved to be no match for Anaheim’s boys, who shellacked the Sailors 40-13 and in the league finale at Santa Ana, the “Vanmen” won convincingly 19-6 to win their third straight Sunset League title.

After drawing a first-round bye in the CIFSouthern Section’s Central Division, the Colony traveled south to meet San Diego. The host Cavemen were heavily favored in the quarterfinal matchup, but Anaheim played dominant football in a 21-7 win. Defending champion Santa Monica awaited in the semifinal round, and looked every bit the part, scoring 36

twice in the first a 40-13 blowout. five minutes. The The beatings underdog locals would continue struck back with in routs of Huntwo touchdowns of tington Beach their own to even (28-0) and Orthe score at 14-14 ange (20-7) going into where Gouyd halftime. tallied three The two more touchteams each scored downs, including once in the second one from 75 half and when the yards out. The final gun sounded, defense shut the score was deaddown both oppolocked at 21-21. nents, allowing The CIF did not the only touchprovide for an down to the Panovertime period, thers on the final even in playoff play of the games, and their game. bylaws determined Once again, the that the team that Colonists took accumulated the on Fullerton bemost first downs fore another recwould advance to ord crowd. Anathe next round. The heim came up on Vikings edged the the big end of a Colonists in that 27-14 win, and category 15-14 and with a 40-20 vicwent on to win tory over Newtheir second port Harbor, the straight Central Colony lay The incomparable Mickey Flynn, two-time CIF Player of the Year Division title. The claim to another “First Down Rule” Sunset League (1955 and 1956) “The Galloping Ghost of La Palma Park” would bedevil Van crown. The vicHoorebeke’s teams for years afterward. Philpott end- tory not only was a team-record ninth in a row, it also ed his Anaheim career by being named All-CIF, as was a ticket for a trip to play the Covina Colts in the did guard Tom Berg.

CIF playoffs.

Gouyd returned to captain the team in 1954, During the practice week leading up the CIF while another change was made to the coaching staff. playoff opener, word got around to the Anaheim Brant Cowser replaced Hicks as end coach and would coaching staff that Covina was purposely watering end up becoming a fixture in Anaheim High athletics down the turf at Mt. San Antonio College in order to for the next 30 years. slow down the Colonists’ speedy backfield of Gouyd, On the field, the Colonists gave coach Van Leroy Weaver, and rookie sophomore Mickey Flynn.

Hoorebeke his first undefeated preseason. After a 12- Undaunted, Van Hoorebeke and Wallin drove around 6 squeaker against Redlands, the Vanmen roared midnight to the Mt. SAC campus in Walnut to investhrough Leuzinger 36-0 in a game where eight differ- tigate the field’s condition. Alas, the rumor turned out ent Anaheim players scored. Citrus was also trampled to be false, as the turf was dry.

33-7, and visiting Las Vegas was overwhelmed by The issue became a moot point because the the Colonists’ running game 28-18. game, originally set for the night of Saturday, NoSanta Ana served as pavement on the road to vember 27, was postponed after the field was inuna fourth consecutive Sunset League title, as Mickey dated with a thick fog. Bumped to Monday afternoon Gouyd scored three of the six touchdowns totaled on at Covina High School, the Colonist raced through 37

the Colts 35-6 to enter the quarterfinals.

Hosting Hoover of Glendale at Fullerton District Stadium, Anaheim claimed the early lead when Mickey Flynn’s 30-yard scamper set up a touchdown run by Mickey Gouyd from three yards out. The Tornadoes tied the score later in the first period, but the Colonists surged ahead in the second quarter when Paul Grover threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to end Verne Weaver. With Anaheim up 13-7, Grover came

State Freeway was completed, which now ran directly through Anaheim. In addition, renowned animator and filmmaker Walt Disney had developed 150 acres between Katella Avenue and Ball Road into what would become Disneyland, soon to become the world’s most popular amusement park.

However, the biggest thing going down in Anaheim were the Friday night lights at La Palma Park.

Thousands of fans packed the stands surrounding the

The 1955 Colonists ran to an undefeated 11-0-1 record and the CIF Semifinals. The 20-20 tie went to the San Diego Cavemen because they had more first downs, a rule that would thwart several Anaheim teams. out to kick the extra point. But the Hoover defenders crashed through the Colonist line and blocked the attempt. Worse than the missed conversion, Grover lay on the ground in agony with a broken leg that ended his night. Without their field general, Anaheim’s offensive attack sputtered. Meanwhile, the Tornadoes, led by eventual CIF Player of the Year John Hangartner at quarterback, gained strength and rode to victory with three touchdowns in the second half. The 27-13 loss put an end to Anaheim’s undefeated season.

Guard LeRoy Heitman was named to the AllCIF list along with Grover and Gouyd, with the latter two also being named Prep All-Americans.

By September 1955, World War II had ended 10 years previously, and Anaheim was one of the leading cities in the postwar economic boom. The community was now fast outgrowing its farming roots and shifting to industry.

Also, by this time, construction of the Golden

baseball diamond, while even more filled in the temporary bleachers that surrounded the playing field.

It seemed things couldn’t be better for the Colonists of 1955, but Van Hoorebeke and his coaching staff were primed for even higher goals. Bob Hager was added to the staff with the specific duty to scout games. Scouting, while somewhat common on the professional and collegiate levels, was practiced by few if any high schools in the state of California.

While prep level scouting was a rarity, filming games was virtually unheard of. Yet Van and his coaches took the opportunity to add that valuable intelligence into their team’s preparation each week.

“We were scouting down south, and we saw this gentleman filming at the game. I asked him if he could make a copy for us and he said, ‘Sure, if you pay for it.’ We went home with the film that night and spent the next week picking apart their strategy,” Hager recalled.

38

One off-field addireturned a punt 58 yards tion in 1955 to the Anafor the Colony’s final heim athletic staff proscore. duced enduring benefits The Sunset slate for Van Hoorebeke and was interrupted by an his team. William “Bud” exhibition game against Fassel, who had been the Santa Monica. Defense football team’s manager came up big, as defenwhile a student at Anasive back Don Penfield heim High, now returned and linebacker Joe Avias the official equipment tia led a charge that shut manager for the athletic out the Vikings for the department. In addition to first time in nearly 10 supplying athletic gear for years. In the second young Colonist athletes in quarter, the Colonists’ all sports, Fassel was a defense stiffened when constant source of encourthreatened and twice agement and motivation “SaMoHi” was turned for Anaheim players for away to keep the game years to come. scoreless at halftime.

Another key addiIn the third quarter, tion in the offseason was Anaheim got on the the transfer of Don Abscoreboard as Joe Avitia bott, who had been an allrambled for a touchleague lineman while down from 15 yards out. playing for Oxnard High Later in the game and School. Still, with only starting at their own 4one returning starter, the yard line, quarterback Colonists were difficult to George Dena handed the figure as the 1955 season ball to Flynn, who sped approached. by tackle Gene Morford Opening again and up the sideline for a In 1954, fiery team captain Mickey Gouyd led the versus Redlands the Coloteam-record 96-yard nists trailed the favored touchdown run to help Colonists to a 10-1 record to the CIF Quarterfinals.

Terriers 16-7 in the third secure the Colonists 14quarter. Returning junior halfback Mickey Flynn, 0 triumph, which avenged their CIF playoff loss from who had shown flashes of brilliance as a spot player two years earlier. the previous year as a sophomore, burst into the spotAnaheim was consistently dominated in a 26light with an electrifying 78-yard touchdown run, 6 win over Huntington Beach, as Penfield stood out which propelled the locals to a 20-16 upset. on offense with two touchdowns. The following Traveling to Las Vegas the next week, Ana- week, Orange was crushed 28-13. Four times early, heim was ready to shrug off the long bus ride to play the Vanmen struck and by the second quarter, Van the Wildcats. On the opening kickoff, Flynn dis- had retired his starting contingent. played his heroics by running the ball back 75 yards Once again, the Colonists found themselves for a touchdown. From there, the two formidable de- knocking on neighboring Fullerton’s door, asking for fenses worked each other. In the fourth quarter, the the keys to a league title. The Indians pushed around Colony defenders hung tough, turning back a pair of their guests in the first half, but as 105 yards in Wildcat goal-line scoring threats to preserve a 14-7 Fullerton penalties began to mount, the Colonists dug victory. in for a 27-2 win. Lineman Ted Dinkler scored the An expanded Sunset League schedule awaited play of the day by grabbing an Indian fumble and the Colonists upon their return to Southern California rambling 20 yards to the end zone. With the league and the Vanmen wasted little time initiating new title in tow, Anaheim notched its second straight permember Garden Grove 28-0. Santa Ana was next to fect regular season by outclassing Newport Harbor 27 be dispensed with, by the score of 32-7. Dick Grover -6. Mickey Flynn got the Colonists on board early 39

1956 saw the Anaheim Colonists blast through their schedule on the way to the CIF Championship game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against Downey. with a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown. The junior phenom scored twice more to clinch the win and a fifth straight Sunset League title.

Though Anaheim was designated as the host for the first playoff game for a highly anticipated showdown with Mt. Carmel, demand forced the game to be shifted away from La Palma Park to LeBard Stadium on the campus of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. The formidable Crusaders possessed a front line that averaged over 200 pounds, which was 36 pounds more per man than their Colonist counterparts.

In addition, the visitors sported the backfield tandem of twin brothers Marlin and Mike McKeever, who earlier in the season had been featured in a Sports Illustrated cover story. The mere presence of the Crusader players on the OCC stadium field during pregame warmups put a quake into the local squad.

“There were dressed in white and coming down the ramp, and we just sort of stopped our pregame activities and watched; it was kind of intimidating,” said Mickey Flynn. “But John Wallin comes up to me and says, ‘We’ve got to go into the locker room. You know we can just slip out of here and onto the bus and no one will ever know that we were here.’

We were nervous but laughed and it helped to break the tension a little bit.”

In the first quarter, Mt. Carmel proved unstoppable and cruised to an early 14-0 lead. It was all the diminutive Colonists could do to try to keep up. On offense, Anaheim’s explosive backfield was stymied by fumbles and other miscues and the frustration was clearly mounting. The standout play of guard Don

Abbott on both sides of the line was one of the few bright spots of the first half.

“I slammed my helmet to the ground and said, ‘If I can knock the hell out of these guys, you sure as hell can run past them!’,” said the hardened brawler from Oxnard.

With four minutes remaining in the second quarter, a glimmer of hope shined to give Anaheim a chance to salvage the season. A crushing hit by end Gary Frederick knocked the ball loose and from his linebacker position, Joe Avitia scooped it up and carried it 40 yards to bring the Colonists to within seven points at the half.

In the locker room, the coaching staff counseled their charges on the first half strategy. But what coach Van Hoorebeke had prepared caught his players completely by surprise.

“Coach Van turned on this reel-to-reel tape player, and suddenly we were hearing voices. They were some of our schoolmates, teachers, a couple of local merchants, it was incredible,” Flynn said. “All of them were giving us encouragement, telling us how proud they were.”

Inspired and determined, the Colonists completely turned the tables on their guests. Flynn ripped off a 75-yard touchdown, the first of four second half scores with Avitia, Don Penfield and Dick Grover all crossing the goal line. The Anaheim defense refused to yield even one more point, stuffing the doubleaction McKeever attack. The stunning 33-14 win sent shockwaves throughout the entire CIF-Southern Section, proving that Anaheim could go toe-to-toe with the big boys in the large schools Central Division.

32

“The House that Flynn Built”

As the Anaheim Colonists football grew in local and regional renown, it was only fitting that the team should have a venue befitting its increasingly large profile in both Orange County and Southern California. Nowhere was the overwhelming interest demonstrated more vividly than Friday nights at La Palma Park. Built as a New Deal Works Progress Administration project in 1939, La Palma Park had regularly hosted minor league baseball as well as Anaheim football games regularly since World War II. With each passing season, attendance began to swell for Anaheim football. The concrete grandstands that cradled the baseball diamond (on the southwest corner of the gridiron in football configuration) could hold a maximum of 700 fans, and even temporary bleachers that extended out along the fence on La Palma Avenue were barely adequate during the regular season.

This problem became especially acute when it came to playoff time. The cramped confines along with the customarily poor field lighting forced Anaheim to seek alternate accommodations. Despite being the home team during the 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1955 playoffs, the Colonists never hosted a CIF-Southern Section postseason matchup in Anaheim itself, instead having to rent out either Fullerton District Stadium, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, and even Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

Local boosters, the Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees, Coach Van Hoorebeke and fans pulled together to press the Anaheim City Council to meet this urgent need. Various plans were considered until the winning proposal called for a new steel graded stadium would be placed at an angle along the terminus of Los Angeles Street that formed the northern boundary. In January of 1956, the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company was awarded a contract worth $138,560 to construct high rise steel-deck bleachers that would run from goal line to goal line and be able to hold 7,084 seats. Temporary bleachers would be set on the opposite side. During the 50s and 60s, this is where the raucous Colonist student body would cheer their team. Eventually, these temporary grandstands would be designated for visitors.

The original contract stipulated that construction would be completed by Sept. 1, well in time for the highly anticipated 1956 football season. But various delays hampered the start of the project and it was not until mid-July that ground was broken on site, and a race against time ensued for the next nine weeks. But ultimately cooperation prevailed and grandstands were completed just in time for the Colonists’ home opener against Redlands.

On Friday, September 21, 1956, local dignitaries held a ceremony just off the field at halftime where the new stadium as well as a scoreboard donated by the local Kwikset Locks company were dedicated. Thousands of eager Anaheim fans crowded the bleachers to capacity, creating a sight that would be repeated many times over the next couple decades.

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Taking the freeway to Pasadena for the quarterfinal round, the Colonists made quick roadkill out of the host Glendale Dynamiters at the Rose Bowl.

Mickey Flynn continued to establish his reputation as Southern California’s most explosive running back, galloping 81 yards to open the scoring fest. In summation, the Colonists won 27-13 and the Anaheim backfield totaled 415 yards on the ground.

Because of another expected record crowd, the Colonists traveled to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach to host San Diego in the semifinal round. The Cavemen, who were led by All-CIF end Deron Johnson looked every bit the part of the eventual CIF champions in rolling to a 20-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. But the Colonists had a bright star of their own, as Mickey Flynn broke loose again to bring the Colony back. Having scored from 67 yards out in the first quarter for Anaheim’s initial score, Flynn opened the fourth quarter with an identical 67-yard scoring scamper. The extra point attempt was blocked, a factor which would become all too crucial at game’s end.

A combined drive of Flynn, fullback Avitia and quarterback George Dena pounded through the Cavemen until Flynn scored his final touchdown from three yards out to knot the score at 20. The game ended with Anaheim driving for a go-ahead score. The CIF’s First Down Rule was applied again, coming down in San Diego’s favor 17 to 14, despite the fact that the Colonist had amassed over 100 more yards in total offense. Mickey Flynn’s superhuman 244-yard rushing day set a team record, and the exhausted Anaheim halfback was helped to his feet by two San Diego players.

For the second time in three seasons, a technicality had denied Anaheim the right to continue its march to gridiron glory. Though not defeated, the Vanmen returned home frustrated. As the bus pulled near the Anaheim High School gymnasium, the players were treated to an incredible sight, as hundreds of fans had gathered to cheer their heroes in their return home.

Abbott, Avitia and Flynn placed on the AllCIF team. Flynn, who had rushed for a team-record 1,592 yards on just 100 carries, was named the CIF Player of the Year. In addition, Anaheim dominated the All-Sunset League teams with 15 selections in total.

Despite averaging less than 10 carries per game, Flynn, now dubbed the ‘Galloping Ghost of La Palma Park,’ staked a reputation as perhaps the most feared running back in the entire state.

“When Van came to me and told me I was named Player of the Year, I felt that I’d be wearing a

giant bulls-eye for the next year,” Flynn recalled.

Although the returning Flynn’s reputation was impressive in of itself, the Anaheim Colonists had hit the big time. The Vanmen, supported for years by an enthusiastic local community, had now captured the fancy of prep football fans across Southern California.

“One time, I was taking my girlfriend for lunch and while we’re waiting in my car for our order, a bunch of kids came and surrounded us. They wanted my autograph, or anything I could give them.

It was crazy,” remembered George Dena.

With the burgeoning crowds at home forcing the team to alternate venues to accommodate them, a campaign was begun by coach Van Hoorebeke and athletic director Dick Glover to expand seating at La Palma Park. After quick consideration, the board voted to approve funding to build a permanent 7,000plus capacity grandstand along the north side of the park running parallel to Los Angeles Street (now Anaheim Boulevard). The gridiron would run the length of the new grandstand instead of following the first base line, while the infield stands cradling the baseball diamond would no longer be utilized and would be replaced by temporary bleachers that would straddle second base.

1956 opened up against Redlands, and as in most years, the road trip would be a stiff test. The Colonists, who benefited from a large stable of experienced returnees including Flynn and Avitia, battled the Terriers to a scoreless tie. As the fourth quarter began to wind down, the Colonists cleared away the cobwebs as Mickey Flynn broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown to give the Vanmen a 6-0 win. Hosting Las Vegas the next week, fullback Jerry Lipshin shared the spotlight with Flynn as he scored twice in a 19-0 victory over the Wildcats.

Once again surveying their Sunset League domain, Anaheim opened play against Newport Harbor. After the Sailors notched an early lead, the locals came alive as four different players scored touchdowns in a 38-20 win.

The hapless Huntington Beach Oilers were treated to a double dose of Van Hoorebeke’s whipping potion the next week. Mickey Flynn and Don Penfield split time at halfback and scored two touchdowns apiece and reserve halfback Bob McPhillips scored two more TDs in the fourth quarter as the Vanmen trounced their mentor’s alma mater 42-13.

Anaheim then blasted new league entry La Habra with a 54-7 win, as five players scored touchdowns in the Colonists’ biggest margin of victory in 35 years.

Anaheim, now riding a 30-game unbeaten streak in the Sunset League, finally moved into the 32

Mickey Flynn amd teammates surround Coach Van Hoorebeke after winning their sixth straight Sunset League crown. The Vanmen also set a new mark by remaining unbeaten in 35 straight league games. newly-renovated stadium at La Palma Park. Appropriately, the Santa Ana Saints were on hand for the christening of the new field. 7,200 raucous fans were witnesses to the baptism, as the Anaheim rushing attack poured it on the Saints 41-14. Both Flynn and McPhillips scored twice to lead the rout.

Sometimes overshadowed by the offense’s brilliant statistics was the dominating defensive unit.

Once again led by Avitia at linebacker and returning all-league linemen Gary Frederick and Gene Morford, the Blue Blanket defense beat their opponents into submission, allowing only one first half touchdown all season, and once the offense piled up points, would often coast the second half utilizing reserves.

Both sides of the Anaheim attack were at the top of their game in consecutive whippings of Garden

Grove and Orange. Even though star halfback Flynn was injured in the 44-0 rout of the Argonauts, the Colonists still trampled the winless Panthers in typical Flynn-like fashion 50-7.

The Fullerton Indians stood as the lone remaining obstacle to a sixth straight Sunset League title. With Flynn still nursing a bad ankle, backup Bill Mauerhan answered the call by scoring the first touchdown. Scores by end Frederick and halfback McPhillips sealed the win 21-7, with the Indians held from scoring until the game’s final seconds.

Eager to bounce back from last year’s controversial playoff ouster, the Colonists lay in wait at La Palma Park for their CIF opener versus visiting Compton. The Tarbabes could not find their way out of Anaheim’s briar patch before being blasted 32-7.

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Flynn returned to action in the quarterfinal round against another Hoover High School, this one from San Diego. The halfback phenom scored two touchdowns of 57 and 20 yards before sitting out the second half. By then, the damage was done as the Colonists surged to the semifinal with a 34-6 win over the Cardinals.

Back in the semifinal round, the Colonists were rematched with Redlands, whom they had vanquished in the season opener by a single score. The contest held at the Orange Bowl in San Bernardino was a high-scoring affair this time, but the Anaheim boys brought more big guns to put down the Terriers 42-20.

With the win, the mighty Colonists made way to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to meet unde-

feated Downey for the football championship of Southern California.

In the week leading up to the CIF titanic, the Colonist gridders, already local heroes, were feted with pep rallies, downtown parades and numerous other community activities. A couple of days before the game was to be played, the team was hosted at a buffet banquet. When morning arrived, the coaches discovered to their horror that a significant portion of their players had become seriously ill.

“Chicken was served that night, and I think that every boy who went back for seconds got sick,” recalled Mickey Flynn. “Also, a flu bug was going around that may have contributed as well.”

Preparations were kept to a minimum the rest of the week to allow the players to recuperate. Still,

Coach Van Hoorebeke with his star backs: Joe Avitia and Mickey Flynn as they received post-season honors.

So valued were their contributions on the 1955 and 1956 teams that Van chose to retire both their jersey numbers, #24 and #25. Mickey and Joe were the first Colonists football players to ever be so honored.

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the Colonists were not at 100 percent as the team loaded up in buses to head for Los Angeles.

Crowds from all over the Southland were now converging on the Coliseum. Only four ticket gates had been opened, and lines literally stretched for miles around. The matchup, heralded as a clash between Mickey Flynn and the Vikings’ equally respected running back Randy Meadows, created a heavy dose of hype for football fans everywhere.

Overwhelmed by the fan interest, CIF officials asked Anaheim coach Clare Van Hoorebeke and Downey coach Dick Hill if they could postpone the kickoff from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Both coaches agreed as fans continued to stream in, but even as the new kickoff time came and went, the fans continued to pour in with no end in sight.

Locks were broken on extra gates and thousands more fans entered. Ushers held up baskets and asked people to throw in money for admission, as it was the only way to handle the crowd. Attendance was registered officially at 41,883, which is the highest recorded attendance ever for a CIF football game.

However, many that were there estimated the crowd as being much higher.

In the first quarter, Mickey Flynn, who had not gone back for a second helping of chicken earlier in the week, scored on a 62-yard touchdown run.

Shortly after, Meadows matched that with a 69-yard TD score. Both teams played hard throughout as the Coliseum crowd was covered in a thin layer of fog. In the fourth quarter, both Flynn and Meadows scored for their respective teams, and the final gun sounded with the two teams tied at 13-13. The CIF had in-

formed both teams that in the event of a tie game at regulation, the CIF First Down Rule would not apply, and both the Colonists and Vikings would be awarded a co-championship.

Although the press trumpeted the praises of honoring the two unbeaten squads with a shared title, most any player would say otherwise.

“It wasn’t a bad feeling, but it wasn’t a great feeling, either,” said Flynn. “When you play, you play to win. What does a tie prove?”

Anaheim was able to come out on top in at least one category. A coin flip decided which team would be able to take home the CIF championship trophy, and it was won by the Colonists.

The 1950s were a booming decade, and Orange County was at the forefront of the sweeping changes that the country was experiencing at that time. High school football, once considered a pleasant afternoon distraction, was now a huge community institution.

Thousands of fans crammed into La Palma Park regularly, and newspapers from all around Southern California were giving Anaheim exclusive coverage. The football eyes of the county and all of the Southland were now trained on Anaheim.

In only seven seasons, Clare Van Hoorebeke, aided by a loyal staff and gutsy, determined young men, had now established themselves as the premier prep football program around. The Colonists had journeyed to the top of the football mountain, and upon surveying their conquered territory, the only sensation felt was a thirst for more challenges and more championships.

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