1960-61: Laurel & Hardy Could Not Top This
Evening Tribune writer Roger Conlee said the Grossmont-Helix game was more a circus carnival (of errors), with everything but a pie-throwing contest.
Conlee covered the Metropolitan League Southern Division contest that attracted about 1,200 persons to Grossmont’s “ancient, creaky arena.”
Taking them one at a time:
–The game started at 8:45 p.m. after a longer-than-usual junior varsity preliminary. The gymnasium was overflowing by 7:15 p.m.
–The lead changed 12 times in the first half.
–Officials made conflicting foul calls three times in the first half. Unable to agree, the zebras each time ordered a jump ball.
–Play temporarily was halted when a puddle of water appeared on the floor.
–The gymnasium public address announcer pleaded with the crowd to be quiet during the shooting of free throws.
The announcement came during the shooting of a free throw.
–Twenty-one fouls were called on plays that involved driving to the basket. None of the fouls were for charging on the player with the ball.
–Seven timeouts were called in the fourth quarter. The eight-minute session of playing time began at 9:47 p.m. and did not end until 10:31 p.m.
–Spectators, restless after sitting for almost two hours-plus, engaged in three separate fights in the stands, all broken up quickly.
–Fourteen free throws were attempted in the frenzied, final three minutes.
–Officials attempted to quiet the crowd with no success when the game entered its final 1:55.
“That the scoreboard clock didn’t work and time had to be called out from the scorer’s table seemed to fit in perfectly, Conlee concluded.
Oh, the game. Helix took a 28-27 lead in the third quarter and hung on to win, 51-49. Ed Vitale had 16 points for the Highlanders and Neil McClellan 15 for the Foothillers.
CARDINALS FLY AGAIN
Nick Barkett was the fifth of five guards on Hoover’s 26-2 squad of 1959-60, but he moved to forward this season and led the Cardinals to another Eastern League championship and to the inaugural CIF San Diego AA title.
“He lived at Muni Gym with (John) Bocko all summer,” said Coach Charlie Hampton, acknowledging Barkett’s commitment and reference to just-graduated Cardinals star John Bocko.
Barkett joined a lineup that included only one starter from 1959-60, guard Dave Morehead. Dave Sickels, a 6-6 center had seen limited action.
The Cardinals’ record for the last two seasons was 50-5. The only defeats for this year’s 24-3 squad was 65-60 in an early-season encounter at Hilltop, 63-59 in a stunning upset by Kearny, and 36-30 in a ragged contest at Lincoln.
Barkett was joined in the starting lineup by 6-1 Morehead, 6-foot junior guard Rick Potter, the 6-6 Sickels, and 6-2 Rich Keely, a junior varsity graduate who came within two points of the school record when he had 34 points in a December game against Glendale Hoover.
Barkett had 24 points in a 66-53 win over Point Loma in the regular season and 20 in the AA championship, a virtual repeat of the first game, Hoover winning, 66-54.
LINCOLN FOILED
Hoover enjoyed its usual late-game dominance of Lincoln, overcoming a 37-35 halftime deficit to win the Kiwanis Tournament, 55-51, the fifth Cardinals victory by four points or less in the last four years over their South 49th Street rival.
Lincoln felt good when it took a 30-22 halftime lead in the teams’ first league meeting, but the Cardinals outscored the Hornets, 21-7, in the fourth quarter for a 59-48 win.
“This may be the best basketball ‘team’ I’ve had,” said Coach Charlie Hampton. “They may not be the best players, but as a team they can’t be beat.”
CLAIREMONT BLOWS
Leading Point Loma, 35-34, with 11 seconds left in the game and in possession of the ball, Clairemont liked its chances.
But the Chiefs’ Joe Michael launched a shot that Point Loma’s Joe Soares rebounded, and got the ball to Dave Elliott, who was fouled.
Elliott made two free throws for a 36-35 victory and the Western League championship before a capacity crowd of 1,800 at Point Loma.
“I don’t know why (Michael) took the shot,” said Clairemont coach Dick Eiler. “The poor kid is crying his eyes out about it. It was just one of those things.”
T’D OFF
Leading Hilltop, 44-43, Escondido was assessed a technical foul when a substitute did not report properly. Robbie Hewitt then sank a free throw to tie the game and Tom Lee scored seconds later for a 46-44 Hilltop victory.
After much discussion, the T was upheld.
Escondido coach Don Hegerle argued with officials that the official scorer was not an adult and did not wear a jersey or shirt that indicated his position at the table.
“There was some question about it all right,” said Lancers coach Paul Pruett, “but we got our share of bad breaks, too. We’ll take the victory.”
| NAME | TEAM | GAMES | POINTS | AVERAGE |
| John Fairchild | San Dieguito | 26 | 428 | 16.5 |
| Charlie Schneider | Hilltop | 26 | 416 | 16.0 |
| Brian Ross | El Capitan | 21 | 393 | 18.7 |
| Bob Hoss | El Cajon Valley | 22 | 374 | 17.0 |
| Dennis Henry | Kearny | 25 | 367 | 14.7 |
| Nick Barkett | Hoover | 27 | 356 | 13.2 |
| Robbie Hewitt | Hilltop | 26 | 339 | 13.0 |
| Steve Ojetti | Lincoln | 24 | 327 | 13.7 |
| Ed Vitale | Helix | 23 | 319 | 13.9 |
| Larry Meek | Escondido | 22 | 318 | 14.4 |
| Don Sada | Point Loma | 25 | 317 | 12.7 |
| Paul Hagen | Helix | 26 | 312 | 12.0 |
| Joe Soares | Point Loma | 25 | 300 | 12.0 |
HIGHS
Army-Navy’s Bill Froehling had the season’s highest individual point total, 47, on 23 baskets and one free throw. as the Warriors also scored the most points in a 91-47 win over San Diego Military.
Froehling’s total tied Fallbrook’s Paul Lockridge for the fourth highest in San Diego County History.
Lockridge’s 47 came in a 90-31 win over Brown Military in 1950-51. St. Augustine’s Tom Shaules, with 60- and 53-point outbursts in 1957-58, ranks first and second.
El Capitan outscored El Cajon Valley, 77-75, the teams’ combined 152 leading the County.
San Diego Military served up the lowest, outscored by University, 59-14.
SMOKING
Al Catlin was a starter for three straight seasons at Lincoln and one of the school’s all-time top players, an accolade later to be duplicated at San Diego City College and San Diego State.
Catlin, in a stunning turn of events, was forced to learn how to shoot from his opposite hand this season because he was wearing a cast on his right arm.
The 6-foot, 2-inch forward unknowingly played his entire junior season with a broken bone in his right wrist, an injury sustained in the 1959 football season.
Catlin had experienced continual discomfort, finally forcing a visit to a physician who discovered the injury. The Hornets’ senior remained the area’s best rebounder and was a more-than-adequate shot maker on a contending squad.
Like many of his generation Catlin took up smoking, a habit he says he never indulged on the school campus. Someone, Catlin believes a member of the Lincoln faculty, saw Catlin smoking at the Campus Drive-In Theater on El Cajon Boulevard.
The faculty snitch reported what he saw to Lincoln coach Warren Barritt, who summarily cut Catlin from the squad.
“Steve Ojetti and I both used to smoke a cigarette before a home game,” Catlin remembered years later. “It wasn’t a crime, but I got called into Barritt’s office and he told me I was off the team for disciplinary reasons.”
Despite the loss of Catlin, Lincoln rallied behind Ojetti’s 27 points and walloped Crawford, 75-60, to secure the Eastern League’s second playoff spot in the final regular-season game.
PLAYOFFS
Two divisions and 16 teams comprised the one-week posteason.
CLASS A
John Fairchild and San Dieguito couldn’t get a seat at the Class AA table (search 1960-61: “Where’s Aretha? Mustangs Want Respect”), so they rolled to the Class A title, capping a 25-1 season with victories of 73-57 over El Cajon Valley (8-14), 66-53 over Kearny (13-11), which had eliminated University (13-11), 43-38, and 54-46 over Sweetwater (11-12).
Ramona, 21-1 in the regular season behind the scoring thrusts of Allen Brown and Mike Walters, was up against schools much larger, even though the Bulldogs were in the small schools class.
Ramona was beaten in the first round, 50-47, by Sweetwater, which got to the finals after a 48-46 win over Vista (12-8).
Vista had advanced with a 46-45 win over St. Augustine (4-17), fueled by the temper of the Saints’ Hugh (Hudge) McConnell, who threw a ball into the stands at Vista after a foul call with three seconds remaining in the game.
The Panthers’ Fred Boyer converted the resulting personal and technical foul free throws, giving Vista the come-from-behind victory.
CLASS AA
Lincoln (17-8) topped Grossmont (12-9), 46-45, in the first round but was eliminated in the semifinals as Point Loma (15-10) won a wild, 66-60 struggle at Lincoln. Pointer Joe Soares’ 24 points offset a 34-point performance by Steve Ojetti. Point Loma earlier eliminated Escondido (13-10), 61-44.
Hoover avenged an early-season loss with a 56-49 win over Hilltop in the semifinals after dismissing Chula Vista (10-11), 63-34. Hilltop (20-6) had polished off Clairemont (12-11), 71-48.
JUMP SHOTS
San Diego’s 10-14 record was the Cavemen’s poorest since the 1933-34 team was 6-9 and the ’34-35 squad was 6-8…Hoover coach Charlie Hampton said Glendale Hoover had the tallest high school lineup he ever saw: 6-foot, 4-inch and 6-3 guards, 6-2 and 6-5 forwards, and 6-5 center…Kearny presented a front line of 6-7 Doug Ogilvie, 6-5 Lon Swank, and 6-3 Elliott Reaves…Hilltop and Escondido each reached the semifinals of the Chino Tournament, losing to Anaheim Western, 56-51, and Chino, 58-46, respectively…San Dieguito topped Ramona, 58-47, for the Kiwanis Tournament Limited Division title…the Hoover-Lincoln Unlimited final was played in San Diego State’s Men’s Gym… Ventura whipped Helix, 80-47, for consolation honors at Fillmore…Fritz Ziegenfuss set a Crawford record with 28 points in a season-opening, 73-57 win over El Cajon Valley…La Jolla’s Chet Guthrie set a school record with 35 points in one game…until the playoffs, Hilltop was 2-0 against Hoover…the Lancers also beat the Cardinals, 53-52, in Pepsi Summer League competition at Muni Gym….
