The hand shake was a vise grip.
I first shook that hand in September, 1964, when Eddie Olsen was hired to manage the Billiard Den, a trendy, new watering hole and pool parlor at 58th Street and El Cajon Blvd.
I last saw Eddie months before he passed recently at age 89 and the handshake had not lost any of its strength. That was a reflection of Olsen, direct, sometimes blunt, but always honest.
He left with a legion of friends from an almost lifetime of baseball.
ORGINALLY A PADRE
Olsen was in the game from as a pre-teen serving as a ball boy and bat boy and working in the clubhouse for the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres.
He played baseball for coach Walt Harvey at La Jolla High and earned all-Southern California second team honors as a first baseman and occasional pitcher. The 1953 Vikings ousted San Diego High for the City Prep League championship and advanced to the CIF finals, bowing to Compton, 5-2, and posting a 24-4 record.
Eddie played professional baseball for seven years and served a stint in the Marine Corps before going into coaching, first at Morse High, then as head coach for nine seasons at El Capitan High.
Olsen moved in 1982 to Grossmont College, where his teams posted a 516-373-7 record in 22 seasons before he retired in 2004. He was inducted into the California Community College Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2008.
Luppino also had the record for most points scored in a single season of 166 in 1954. The record stood until 1971 when both Terry Metcalf and Lydell Mitchell each had 174.
Great stat, Alan. Thank you.
Saw the picture of Art Luppino and in brought back memories.
He was a teacher at Oceanside High for years and was a spotter in the press box for many OHS home games.
I never knew his background and if memory serves he played football at the University of Arizona.
Steve Scholfield Oceanside Blade-Tribune
Hello, Smooth Paving. I talked to Luppino many years ago. He was living near Dallas. I did not know that after college he returned to Oceanside. Led nation in rushing at U of A. All the best, Paving.