1940 Track: No State Meet For Contending Hilltoppers
San Diego High, which would have had four entries plus its relay team, opted not to participate in the 26th state meet at Visalia High, a 300-mile jaunt from the Border city.
The Hilltoppers were nosed out of the Southern Section championship (below) but would have been one of the teams vying for the championship and had won the title as recently as 1938.
Instead, many of the Hilltoppers, Hoover Cardinals and some Metro athletes competed in the Amateur Athletic Union meet of the Southern California region in Balboa Stadium.
Finances were cited as the reason for not going to the state meet as the city, state, and nation still were feeling effects of the Great Depression.
Money was tight.
3/3/40
San Diego High coach Ed Ruffa and the 138 candidates for positions on the Class A, B, and C teams anxiously awaited the annual Interclass Meet scheduled over the next two days.
Rain and the midget auto racing season forced a delay. The midgets, usually occupying the stadium calendar until early February since 1937, would leave the dirt oval in need of a resurfacing to accommodate the thinclads.
3/5/40
Resurfacing and repair of the track did not take place, nor did the interclass meet. A peevish coach Ed Ruffa told Charles Byrne of The San Diego Union that the Hillers may have to wait until competing in the Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach March 16.
3/6/40
Hoover shot putter George Brown, whose son George III would be a third-place medalist in the 1967 state meet and with a career best of 64 feet, 3 ½ inches for Granite Hills, set a school record of 50-1¼ in the Cardinals’ interclass meet.
Brown bettered the mark of 49-8 by Phil Krutzsch in 1937.
3/8/40
Sebastian Arguello won the 120-yard low hurdles, was third in the 440, and first with a throw of 47-5 in the shot put as Sweetwater opened Metropolitan League competition and winning the 880-yard relay in 1:38 for a 56-48 win over Point Loma.
—Escondido won the 880 relay to come from behind and edge Oceanside, 53-51, and Grossmont topped Coronado, 64 1/3-39 2/3, in other Metro openers.
3/14/40
La Jolla’s Don Latham won the Class B 660-yard race in 1:28.9 in the Vikings’ dual meet with Coronado, breaking a Metro League record of 1:30.3 by a Sweetwater runner in 1936.
3/15/40
Hoover defeated Point Loma, 82-22, in a nonleague meet in which the Cardinals’ best performers were held out because they were scheduled to participate in the Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach the next day.
—Sweetwater set a school record of 1:37 in an 880 relay that was the difference in a 53-51 win over Oceanside. Grossmont topped Escondido, 62-42.
3/16/40
Bill Rainey won the hop, step, and jump at 42 feet, 9 inches, and San Diego High won the 880-yard relay in 1:32.2 in the Southern Counties’ Invitational at Huntington Beach High. Ollie Fletcher was one of 12 high jumpers who cleared 6 feet. Coronado’s Minoru Hatada won the minor division broad jump at 20-1 ½.
Compton won the major division team title with 28 points to 23 ½ for San Diego. Hoover had 8 1/2.
3/29/40
David James etched his name in Grossmont lore when he scored 16 ¼ points, the maximum possible, in the Foothillers’ 64-40 win over Sweetwater.
James won the 120 low hurdles in :14.2, the broad jump at 21-1, the 70-yard highs in :09.8, and anchored coach Jack Mashin’s Foothillers, 3-0 in league competition, to a 1:36.2 victory in the 880 relay.
4/1/40
The San Diego Relays were delayed another week because of the soggy Balboa Stadium track.
4/5/40
Long Beach Poly won the team title in the third annual San Diego Relays in Balboa Stadium with 47 points, followed by Hoover with 39 and San Diego, 21.
Hoover, led by the school record, 51-foot, 11 ½-inch toss by George Brown, set a meet record of 139-4 7/8 in the three-man shot put aggregate. Ted Jacobs and Forrest Brown (no relation) were George Brown’s wingmen.
Don Smalley replaced an ailing Lou Barrera and teamed with Ed Pohl, Bob Klicka and Bob Estavillo to win the 440 relay in 44.2 and 880 relay in 1:32.5.
—Chuck Beckwith of San Dieguito covered the 100 and 220 in :10.1 and :22.9 and the Mustangs defeated Fallbrook, 82-22.
—David James won three events, 70-yard high hurdles (09.7), 120-yard lows (:13.5), and broad jump (21-3 ¾) and Grossmont (4-0) moved closer to the Metro League dual-meet title with a 70-34 win over Point Loma.
4/9/41
The second annual City Schools relays in Balboa Stadium included one team of Hoover and La Jolla and another of San Diego and Point Loma.
The competitors engaged in a 22-event carnival with point totals in aggregate in each running and field event. Hoover-La Jolla won, 88-85.
Highlight was the final event, in which eight athletes put on football uniforms and carried the ball in a 440-yard relay.
Hoover’s Jim Morgan anchored his team to victory after San Diego anchorman Bob Estavillo juggled a handoff.
Best individual marks were the 12-5 pole vault by Hoover’s Rodney Cole and the 12-3 by the Cardinals’ Bob O’Keefe.
4/12/40
San Diego scored a surprisingly easy, 75 ½-46 ½ dual-meet showdown victory over Hoover, the Hillers winning 10 of the 14 events and tying for first in two others.
Bob Estavillo raced to :10.1 and :22.2 victories in the 100 and 220 and anchored a 1:31 win in the 880 relay. Bill Rainey broad jumped 22-1 and hopped, stepped, and jumped 44-7.
Rainey set a school record in the second event and bettered the meet record of 43-2 1/2 in 1938 by Hoover’s Bob Beckus.
Rodney Cole of Hoover and Calvin Gibson of San Diego each cleared 12-5 in the pole vault to better the meet record of 11-10 1/3 by Elmer Siegel of Hoover in 1933.
Hoover’s other victories were George Brown’s 49-3/4 shot put and Frank Huennekens’ 2:02.2 880. Jack Kaiser cleared 5-11 in the high jump to tie Doug Merrill of San Diego.
—Marcus Alonzo of Sweetwater won the 100-yard race in :10.4 but lost a 220 for the first time this season, to Fritz Sanderson of Coronado, in :23.2. Alonzo caught and passed Sanderson on the anchor leg of the 880-yard relay, giving Sweetwater a 54-50 victory.
—George (Pard) Graves broad jumped 21-6 and won the 100 (:10.4) and 220 (:24) in Point Loma’s 81-23 defeat of La Jolla.
—Grossmont edged Oceanside, 55-49, when the Pirates forfeited the 880 relay after their leadoff man false started twice and was disqualified. Ray Whitcomb broad jumped 21-9 and David James ran :13.4 in the120-yard low hurdles, both Foothillers school records.
4/20/40
San Diego won all but two events and beat Long Beach Poly, 81 2/3-40 1/3, to clinch the Coast League championship.
Lou Barrera won the 100 in :10 and tied teammate Bob Estavillo in a :22.6 220 and ran the leadoff leg of the Hilltoppers’ 1:30.0 victory in the 880 relay.
Alex Krooskos of San Diego doubled, 48-3 in the shot put and 130-6 in the discus. Al Salmon won the mile in 4:37.1 and Calvin Gibson pole vaulted 12-7.
4/26/40
San Diego won a telegraphic meet with Tucson High of Arizona, 64-49, after results were tabulated this week. Grossmont (6-0) clinched the Metro League dual championship, 60-44, over La Jolla.
4/30/41
Coast League Class B and C finals will be May 3 at Hoover, while Varsity athletes in the three-school alignment of Hoover, San Diego, and Long Beach Poly, will meet May 4 at Poly.
—Instead of champions in each class, points would be combined in all classes, winner-take-all.
5/2/40
Three meet records were set in Class A as San Dieguito ran away with the team championship in the Southern League finals at Ramona.
Chuck Beckwith of San Dieguito reportedly set a record of :10.2 in the 100-yard dash, won the 220 in :24 and ran a leg for the Mustangs’ record-setting 880-yard relay (1:36.5).
The Mustangs scored 96 points to runner-up Vista’s 23, but the Panthers dominated Class B with 80 points to San Dieguito’s 33 ½ and Class C, 60 to the Mustangs’ 36.
—About 260 athletes from the seven city and suburban schools, a.k.a. Metropolitan League, would hear the starter’s pistol at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow with preliminary events at San Diego State that will lead to finals in running and Class A field events at 1:30 p.m.
Dual meet champion Grossmont led with 55 entries in the 3 classes. Point Loma and Escondido were next with 47 each.
5/3/40
COAST LEAGUE FINALS, @LONG BEACH POLY
San Diego outscored Long Beach Poly, 85 1/6-46, but the Jackrabbits were declared Coast League champions by the combined A, B, and C score of 139 ½-132. Hoover trailed in Class A with 20 5/6 and had a combined 95 ½.
San Diego’s team of Lou Barrera, Bob Klicka, Ed Pohl, and Bob Estavillo won the 880-yard relay in 1:30.6 to give San Diego a 132-131 ½ lead, but the discus had not been completed and Poly throwers finished 1-2 for eight winning points.
Bill Rainey was a double winner for the Hilltoppers with a 21-10 ¾ broad jump and 43-foot hop, step, and jump. Al Salmon won the mile in 4:39.8, Bob Klicka the 440 in :51.9, and Lou Barrera the 220 in :22.2.
Hoover shotputter George Brown was first with a throw of 49-7 for Hoover’s only outright win. Three San Diego (2) and Hoover (1) pole vaulters tied at 11 feet, 6 inches.
—Grossmont’s David James won a hurdles race, the broad jump, tied for second in the high jump, and anchored the Foothillers to victory in the 880-yard relay.
James scored 12 3/4 of the champion La Mesans’ 30 1/8 points that clinched the Metropolitan League team title at San Diego State. Oceanside was second with 28 ½. Sweetwater was third with 28.
5/7/40
What was described as the Group V SCIF qualifying meet, better known as the CIF Divisional, will bring together athletes from the Metropolitan, Imperial Valley, and Southern leagues, plus San Diego and Hoover from the Coast, May 11 at San Diego State.
San Diego High was expected to compete for the Southern California Class A title and the B squad of Hoover, coached by Lawrence Carr, will have 13 entries in the Divisional.
One of the favored Cardinals, Frank Huennekens in the 660, was the 1939 Southern California champion in the Class C 660.
5/11/40
CIF DIVISIONAL, @SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego High qualified eight entries in nine events at the Group V Divisional at San Diego State and Calvin Gibson finished an impressive day for the Hilltoppers by clearing 12 feet, 7 1/8 inches in the pole vault.
Gibson’s was at least one of the top three marks in Southern California, as was the 1:30.5 time in the 880 relay, completed by Hilltoppers Lou Barrera, Bob Klicka, Ed Pohl, and Bob Estavillo.
Barrera won the 100-yard dash in :10.1 and 220 in :22.2. Bill Rainey was first in the broad jump at 22 feet, ½ inch, and hop, step, and jump at 44-5 ¼.
Hoover’s Jim Morgan surprised with a :51.9 victory in the 440 and George Brown led shot putters at 50 feet, 2 inches. Most impressive was the Cardinals’ Frank Huenneken’s 1:24.6, one-tenth second off the CIF Class B 660 record.
CIF honcho Seth Van Patten was to compare the best marks from the five divisionals to determine which nine entries would be invited to next week’s finals.
5/18/40
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS, @LOS ANGELES COLISEUM
San Diego scored in seven of 13 events and was leading in the race for the team championship until the final inch of the 880-yard relay.
Compton won with 21 ½ points to the Hillers’ 19 1/3. Santa Monica was third with 18.
Bob Smyser of the Los Angeles Times captured the moment in the meet’s final race, which began under threatening skies after rain begin to fall minutes earlier in the Class C relay:
“The baton-passing event was a real thriller. Compton and San Diego kept together until the anchor lap, when the Hillers’ Bob Estavillo spurted six yards away from Jim Jenkins. Jenkins, however, slowly closed the gap. He was a couple yards behind as they hit the stretch.
“Estavillo held on gamely and it appeared that he was going to stay in front. But with 10 yards to go the Tarbabe ace bundled himself together and blasted across the line a scant inch ahead of his foe.”
Perhaps with some theater, Jenkins collapsed at the end of the race and was carried off the track, according to the Times’ report.
The Hillers’ foursome of Lou Barrera, Bob Klicka, Ed Pohl, and Estavillo were timed in a school record, 1:29.5, same clocking for winning Compton.
Had San Diego won the relay it would have finished with 21 1/3 points and Compton with 20 ½.
Barrera was fourth in the 100 and third in the 220, won by Huntington Beach’s Eddie Morris in :09.9 and :21.6.
Ed Pohl was third in the 220 low hurdles, won by Jack Shoup of Long Beach Jordan in :24.4. Al Salmon was second in the mile, won by Gil Webb of Redlands in 4:31. Calvin Gibson cleared 12 feet to tie for fifth in the pole vault behind the winning 13-0 by Paul Corwin of Burbank.
Bill Rainey was third at 21-11 ½ in the broad jump, won by Jack Shoup at 22-8 ¾, but Rainey was unplaced in the hop, and jump, won by Laughner of Long Beach Wilson at 45-11 ½.
Rainey’s best jump during the season was 44-7 ½, which would have been good for third place.
CARR’S CARDINALS
Coach Lawrence Carr’s Class B team ran away with the team title, scoring 27 ½ points to runner-up Glendale’s 18, and Long Beach Wilson’s 13.
Frank Huennekens, who won the Class C 660 in 1939, was first in 1:25.2. Ray Richards won the 1320 in 3:17.6. Jack Kaiser was first in the high jump at 5 feet, 11 inches.
The Cardinals’ Chuck Blackburn was third to a winning :10.1 100 and third to a winning :22.6 220. Rodney Cole tied for second in the pole vault at 11-9. Ted Jacobs was third in the shot put at 50-5 1/8.
Hoover was third in the 660 relay, in which Long Beach Wilson set a record of 1:07.4, breaking the mark of 1:07.6 by Los Angeles Garfield in 1934.