Roderick Robinson, already enrolled at the University of Georgia, became the third Lincoln athlete to win Cal-Hi Sports’ Mr. Football award after leading the Hornets to the state Division I championship and the San Diego Section in scoring.

Robinson had the academic credits and graduated early from high school not long after the Hornets’ 33-28 win in the championship game against Concord De La Salle. His 39 touchdowns and 234 points in the 13-1 season gave Robinson a comfortable edge over Francis Parker’s runner-up, Chris Williams, who had 204 points.

Lincoln’s Wally Henry also won the Mr. Football award in 1972 and Marcus Allen earned the honor in 1977.

Allen played quarterback and safety and was the star on a 12-0-1 team, culminating with a five-touchdown performance in a 34-6 championship win over Kearny.  Henry scored 132 points for a 9-3 Hornets squad, which lost to Sweetwater, 22-12, in the title game.

The leading individual scorers for 2022 and past years are listed on the Football/Top Performances/Annual Individual Scorers page. The Alltime Top Scorers list is here.

San Diego Section No. 1-ranked St. Augustine and  No. 4 San Ysidro go national this week, traveling to Western Massachusetts for  games in the Spalding HoopHall event at Springfield College.

The Saints will meet Max Preps‘ No. 2 team in Connecticut, Manchester East Catholic (7-0 in reported games), at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Cougars (8-7) take on Miami Christopher Columbus (13-3), Max’s No. 1 in Florida, at 7:30 p.m.

Times are Eastern.

Coach Mike Haupt’s Saints chilled last week, save for a Tuesday evening, 75-59 win over La Costa Canyon.  The Saints have what appears to be no more than a light, Eastern League  exercise tonight against  Patrick Henry  (3-11).

Defensively-challenged San Ysidro has allowed at least 90 points in five of its last six games, including a 100-89 loss to Carlsbad last week after leading, 71-63, at the end of three quarters. The Cougars meet 10-7 Bonita Vista  in a Metro Mesa battle Wednesday.

What price travel?  St. Augustine and San Ysidro will fly approximately 2,900 miles through three time zones.  Manchester East Catholic has a 32-mile hike up Interstate 91 and Miami Columbus will log about 1,400 miles.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 6 poll:
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
First-place votes in parenthesis. Last entries in columns indicate previous rank.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.

#	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREV	MAX-PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	St. Augustine	14-3 (19)	190	1	5/5	6/7
2	Carlsbad	14-4	169	2	52/61	Bubble/Bubble
3	Mater Dei	15-3	134	4	58/77	NR/NR
4	San Ysidro	8-7	115	3	113/105	Bubble/23
5	Mission Bay	13-5	105	5	121/130	NR/NR
6	Torrey Pines	12-5	99	6	67/59	NR/NR
7	Montgomery	14-3	88	7	80/99	NR/NR
8	Santa Fe Christian	13-3	54	8	88/90	NR/NR
9	El Camino	12-4	34	10	102/110	NR/NR
10	Lincoln	15-2	21	NR	156	NR/NR

Others receiving votes

La Costa Canyon (8-7, 15 points), San Diego (11-5, 12), Otay Ranch (11-6, 4), Coronado (15-5, 2) Del Norte (8-5, 10), Victory Christian (11-5, 2), West Hills (15-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Supremant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.
• Max-Preps.

San Diego Section No. 1-ranked St. Augustine and  No. 4 San Ysidro go national this week, traveling to Western Massachusetts for a  games in the Spalding HoopHall event at Springfield College.

The Saints will meet Max Preps‘ No. 2 team in Connecticut, Manchester East Catholic (7-0 in reported games), at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Cougars (8-7) take on Miami Christopher Columbus (13-3), Max Preps‘ No. 1 in Florida, at 7:30 p.m.

Times are Eastern.

Coach Mike Haupt’s Saints chilled last week, save for a Tuesday evening, 75-59 win over La Costa Canyon.  The Saints have what appears to be no more than a light, Eastern League  exercise tonight against  Patrick Henry  (3-11).

Defensively-challenged San Ysidro plays 10-7 Bonita Vista in a Metro Mesa game Wednesday and has allowed at least 90 points in five of its last six games, including a 100-89 loss last week to Carlsbad after leading, 71-63, at the end of three quarters.

What price travel? St. Augustine and San Ysidro will fly through three time zones and about 2,900 miles to their contests.  East Catholic has a 32-mile hike up Interstate 91 and Miami Columbus will log 1,414 miles.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 6 poll:
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
First-place votes in parenthesis. Last entries in columns indicate previous rank.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.

#	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREV	MAX-PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	St. Augustine	14-3 (19)	190	1	5/5	6/7
2	Carlsbad	14-4	169	2	52/61	Bubble/Bubble
3	Mater Dei	15-3	134	4	58/77	NR/NR
4	San Ysidro	8-7	115	3	113/105	Bubble/23
5	Mission Bay	13-5	105	5	121/130	NR/NR
6	Torrey Pines	12-5	99	6	67/59	NR/NR
7	Montgomery	14-3	88	7	80/99	NR/NR
8	Santa Fe Christian	13-3	54	8	88/90	NR/NR
9	El Camino	12-4	34	10	102/110	NR/NR
10	Lincoln	15-2	21	NR	156	NR/NR

Others receiving votes

La Costa Canyon (8-7, 15 points), San Diego (11-5, 12), Otay Ranch (11-6, 4), Coronado (15-5, 2) Del Norte (8-5, 10), Victory Christian (11-5, 2), West Hills (15-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Supremant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.
• Max-Preps.

Exhausted from a week of travel and tip-ins at numerous venues and in numerous events, San Diego Section teams now gear for league play and some “classics”, such as on Martin Luther King weekend later this month.

So busy and so competitive was last week, today’s Union-Tribune poll revealed a seldom-seen jockeying for position.  Only St. Augustine, which lost 71-65, to powerful St. John’s of Washington D.C.,  in finals of the 32nd Torrey Pines Classic, retained its No. 1 ranking.

The second  through 10th teams sat in different slots last week.

St. Augustine, No. 5  statewide in Max Preps and No. 7 by Cal-Hi Sports, takes on newly-anointed and visiting No. 9 La Costa Canyon, far down the list, according to Max Preps and out of sight by Cal-Hi Sports, in a potential trap game  Tuesday night.

(La Costa Canyon led the Saints, 45-43, in the third quarter, but St. Augustine pulled away for a 75-59 victory).

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 5 poll:
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
First-place votes in parenthesis. Last entries in columns indicate previous rank.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.

#	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREV	MAX-PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	St. Augustine	12-3 (19)	190	1	5/7	7/10
2	Carlsbad	14-3	149	4	45/33	NR
3	San Ysidro	7-6	134	2	71/91	23/21
4	Mater Dei	12-3	111	7	76/130	NR
5	Mission Bay	12-5	109	3	81/73	NR
6	Torrey Pines	10-5	108	5	59/27	NR
7	Montgomery	12-3	92	6	95/94	NR
8	Santa Fe Christian	11-3	52	9	91/155	NR
9	La Costa Canyon	8-6	33	NR	106	NR
10	El Camino	10-4	18	NR	124	NR

Others receiving votes

San Diego (10-4, 17 points), Otay Ranch (10-5, 13), Lincoln (13-2, 10), Del Norte (8-5, 10), Victory Christian (9-3, 3) Mission Hills (10-5, 1) Coronado (11-4, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Supremant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.
• Max-Preps.

Always striving for higher, faster, further, San Diego -area track and field competitors delivered a bevy of outstanding marks and a consensus that Lincoln, in its fourth season, could become the Southern California team champion, following San Diego’s 1957 championship.

The Hornets didn’t make it, their season ending in disappointment.  Lincoln’s troubles in the Southern Section finals at El Monte’s Arroyo High School are told below.

COLTS QUICKLY GET A KICK

Crawford, a first-year school in East San Diego, took a large parcel of students from nearby Hoover.

One of those students, football-track athlete Arnold Tripp, had shown promise the year before as a sophomore at Hoover, so much that Cardinals track coach Raleigh Holt visited the Tripp family and entreated Arnold and his parents that he stay at Hoover.

Crawford would open in the fall of 1957 with students in grades 10 and 11.  Holt believed Tripp resided in an optional enrollment area.

Tripp apparently liked the idea of being on the ground floor and building a new tradition.  He opted for Crawford, depriving Holt and Hoover of two sub-10-seconds sprinters (Tripp and Larry Fischer) who would help keep the Cardinals among the elite programs.

4/8/58

Eight City Prep League meets were postponed during a rainy March and school bosses considered making them up with triangular meets or canceling as the calendar moved into the second half of the season.

4/12/58

Three El cajon Valley runners  scored 13 1/2 points to finish seventh as a team in the 32nd Chaffey Invitational in Ontario. Jack Hudson was first and no-relation Bill Hudson third in one of the mile races, with Hudson’s 4:27.1 best of the evening.

Wendell Maize was second in 1:59.2 to the 1:58.2 of a Norwalk Excelsior runner in one of the 880-yard races.

4/15/58

Kearny’s George Williams broad jumped 24 feet and won the 440 in :51.8, and teammate Ed Buchanan won the 100-yard dash in :09.9 and 220 in :21.8, and then made up about 15 yards on the anchor leg to deliver a 1:30.3 victory in the 880-yard relay.

Outstanding performances, but the Komets didn’t come close at San Diego.  The Cavemen won, 61-43, their eighth City Prep League win against no losses.

Coach Birt Slater’s team, with no real stars but deep and resourceful, won 7 of 12 events, including double hurdles victories by Thurman Pringle (:15.3, :19.9) and a County-leading 6-foot, 4-inch high jump by Andrew Willis.

—George Clause won the 100 in :10 and 220 in :22.6 for St. Augustine but Mission Bay was a 73-31 winner.

—Helix’ Bill Ernest doubled in :09.9 and :22.6 but Chula Vista, behind school-record performances by Oakley Ostrander (22-6 ½ broad jump) and Art Johnson (:15.5 120-yard high hurdles), was a 67 1/3-36 1/3 winner.

4/18/58

Arnold Tripp was a triple winner but Crawford dropped a 54 1/3-47 1/3 decision to Mission Bay.  Tripp won the 100 (:10.2) and 220 (22.2) and the broad jump (21 feet, ½ inch).

—Jay Dunn of Chula Vista set a school record of :50.4 in the 440 and El Cajon Valley’s Jack Hudson ran the 880 in 1:58, fastest of the season.

–Walter Williamson broad jumped 22-11 ¾ as San Diego defeated Hoover, 68-36, and closed the dual-meet season with a 9-0 record.

4/25/58

Lincoln clinched second place in the CPL, 53 5/6-50 1/6, at Kearny, despite Ed Buchanan’s :09.6 100, :21.3 in the 220, and come-from-behind anchor leg in the relay, when Buchanan ran down the Hornets’ Charlie Meekins and the Komets hit the tape in 1:29.5.

4/28/58

CITY PREP LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

San Diego outflanked Lincoln and Kearny with 14 qualifiers to the Hornets’ nine, and the Komets’ seven.

Lincoln’s Albert Groff (:15.3, :20.1), Bill Hultz (:15.2, :20.4), and Ronnie Grey (:15.3, :19.9) won all six hurdles heats.

METROPOLITAN @GROSSMONT

El Cajon Valley’s Wendell Maize ran the 880 in 2:00.0 and teammates Jack Hudson and no-relation Bill Hudson won mile heats in 4:32.3 and 4:44.6.

AVOCADO @ESCONDIDO

Dennis (Swede) Grimaud of Coronado was pleased with a :22.2 heat victory in the 220 and disappointed after his winning, :10.5 time in a heat of the 100.

Meet officials then discovered that the race had been inaccurately measured and was 105 yards.

5/2/58

CITY PREP LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Lincoln had lost the dual meet to San Diego, 52 ½-51 ½, but the Hornets won a tight race for the team title, outscoring the Cavemen, 40-37 3/5.  Kearny had 26 ½.

Ed Buchanan of Kearny set a meet record of :09.7 in the 100 and won the 220 in :21.6.

Bill Hultz of Lincoln set a meet record of :14.3 in the 120-yard high hurdles.

Hultz’ teammate Ronnie Grey was second in the highs in :14.5 (Albert [Grasshopper] Groff made it a Hornets sweep, third in :14.7) and won the 180-yard low hurdles in :19.3.

Grey was on a team with Charlie Meekins, Hultz, and Russ Boehmke which ran the 880-yard relay in 1:28.6, fastest of the season in Southern California.

Mission Bay’s Pat Shea put the shot 55 feet, 9 ¼ inches, second longest toss by an athlete from within the San Diego city limits.  Charlie Powell of San Diego went 57-9 ¼ in 1951.

METROPOLITAN, @GROSSMONT

Grossmont scored 56 points, edging El Cajon Valley, which had 54 ½, followed by Helix, 25. The Foothillers won six events, including the 880-yard relay in 1:31.1.

Bill Ernest was a double winner in the 100 (:10.2) and 220 (:22.5) for Helix.

–Host  Escondido won the Avocado League with 38 points to Oceanside’s 32 ½. Army-Navy had 63 points and Mountain Empire 50 5/6 in the Southern Prep.

5/9/58

Qualifiers from the City Prep, Metropolitan, Avocado, Southern Prep, Imperial Valley, Orange, and Sunset leagues, latter two from  Orange County, prepared for the Southern Section Divisional meet at San Diego State.

5/10/58

Lincoln positioned itself as a contender for the team championship when the Hornets qualified seven plus a relay team for the semifinals in the Divisional at blustery San Diego State.

Bill Hultz (:14.6, :19.3) won his hurdle heats and Ronnie Grey was second in the high hurdles and won a race in :19.2 in the lows.  Charlie Meekins ran a season-best :50.7 in the 440 and the Hornets clocked 1:29.3 to win one of the 880 relay heats, with San Diego (1:30.2) taking the other.

Ed Buchanan of Kearny doubled in a :09.8 100 and :21.7 220 and Crawford’s Arnold Tripp won his heats in :10.1 and :21.9. Tripp also led broad jumpers with a career best 23-9 ¼.

5/17/58

Action moved to the Divisional semifinal at Huntington Beach and Lincoln continued to stake a bid for the team championship.  Other San Diego athletes also came up strong.

Bill Hultz topped teammate Ronnie Grey in the 120-yard high hurdles in :14.3 and Grey led Hultz to the finish line in :19.1 in the 180 lows.  Unheralded Orlee West of Kearny, also qualified, second in his heat in :19.5.

Helix’ Bill Ernest and Crawford’s Arnold Tripp ran 1-2 in a 100 heat in :09.8 and Ed Buchanan won the other 100 in :09.8.  Tripp qualified in the broad jump, third at 23-3 ½.

Lincoln coach Dick Coxe withdrew Charlie Meekins from the  440 after Meekins tied for second, so Meekins could concentrate as leadoff man in the relay the following week.  Lincoln’s 1:29.5 was fastest of the day. San Diego won the second race in 1:30.

5/24/58

Lincoln’s bid for a team championship did not get off to a good start and would not get better at Arroyo High in El Monte.

Ronnie Grey was spiked on his hand during the 120-yard high hurdles, first running event of the day.  Grey finished a non-scoring sixth.

Grey, looked strong and was closing fast, almost even with Pasadena Muir’s George (Jo Jo) Williams and leader Bennie Sankey of Compton Centennial in the 180-yard lows, when Grey stumbled and fell at the next-to-last hurdle.

“I looked over at that old boy ahead of me (Sankey) and said to myself, ‘I’ve got you now’, then wham, I hit the hurdle,” Grey said to Paul Cour of the Evening Tribune.

“I was overstriding when I fell,” Grey said.  “I never had this trouble in the lows before, but this was tough race.  It just wasn’t my day.”

The Hornets, one of the favorites in the 880-yard relay, fell far behind after legs by Meekins and Grey.

Hultz ran a terrific third leg but anchor Russ Boehme was mired in traffic and the Hornets finished fifth in a photo finish with Compton and Pasadena Muir, according to results in the Los Angeles Times.

The Special Dispatch from El Monte to The San Diego Union was garbled but listed San Diego fifth.  The Evening Tribune  declared the Cavers fifth.

The Times reported there would be a film review for third,  fourth and fifth places between Muir, Compton, and Lincoln.

San Diego’s team of Richard (Prime) McClendon, Willie Jordan, Charles (Sugar Jet) Davis, and Chuck Johnson ran their best race, 1:28.5, after twice losing to the Hornets during the season.

A loss to San Diego would be the final insult for Lincoln before a crowd of 4,000 on this warm afternoon.

No results were published or if an actual review took place, but Muir, thanks to Mel Clipper’s great anchor leg, officially became third and the Mustangs would be the final Southern Section representative in that event in the state meet.

The winner was Long Beach Poly (1:27.9) with Glendale Hoover second and Compton fourth.

–El Cajon Valley’s Jack Hudson, a slight but tough 110-pound junior, was second in the mile in 4:24.5, behind the 4:22.1 of Compton’s Woody Covington.

—Bill Ernest of Helix was runner-up  in the 100 in :09.8, ahead of Kearny’s Ed Buchanan, and behind the :09.7 of  Muir’s Mel Clipper.

—Buchanan was third in :21.2 in the 220, edged by Crawford’s Arnold Tripp, whose :21.1 followed Clipper’s :20.6 national record on the Arroyo High straightaway, with Bill Ernest fifth.

—Tripp was fourth in the broad jump at 22-11 ¾ in an event won by Steve Rogers of Brawley at 24-6 ½.

—Kearny’s Orlee West, running in the shadow of the Lincoln hurdlers all season, got up for fourth in the 180 lows, won by Compton Centennial’s Bennie Sankey in a wind-aided :18.8. West’s time was :19, a tick behind the third-place :18.9 by Lincoln’s Bill Hultz.

—Grossmont’s Roger Olander cleared a personal best 13-5 ¾ for second place  in the pole vault behind the 13-9 1/4 by Glendale Hoover’s John Rose.

BEES AND CEES STAND OUT

Chula Vista’s Jay Dunn was timed in 1:20.8 in the B 660-yard run, bettering the record set a week before by an Ontario Chaffey runner, who clocked 1:21.6.

—Point Loma’s Cecil Scott broad-jumped 22-3 ¼, breaking the Class C record of 22-1, set in 1950.

—Hoover’s Larry Fischer was a double winner, setting a school record of :09.9 in the 100, and his :21.4 in the 220 was a Southern Section Class B and school record.  The Cardinals’ Clyde Yakel ran :21.6 in a Divisional meet at Glendale in 1937.  Lincoln’s Louie Tucker was fifth in the 100.

—Kenny Tucker of Lincoln Tucker won the B broad jump at 23-3 ¼.  Claudell Howard of Kearny was second.

—San Diego High won the B 660-yard relay in 1:06.8.

—Benny Lewis of San Diego won the Class C 100 in :10.1 and was second to a :17.7 180 by Brady of Ontario Chaffey.

—Dunn of Point Loma bettered the Class C 660 record of 1:24.8 but his 1:24.6 was second to the 1:24.3 by McNeill of Compton Centennial.

—Schuerman of Chula Vista tied for first in the B high jump at 6 feet.

5/31/58

40^TH STATE TRACK MEET, @LONG BEACH VETERANS’ STADIUM

None of San Diego’s six entrants in the morning-afternoon 40^th state track meet at Long Beach Veterans’ Stadium captured a gold medal.

Jack Hudson of El Cajon Valley ran second in the mile to Compton’s Woody Covington, as he did in the previous week’s Southern Section meet at El Monte Arroyo.

Covington was timed in 4:23.7, Hudson in 4:26.7 for the San Diego area’s highest finish.

—Lincoln’s Bill Hultz was third in the 180-yard low hurdles in :19.1 to winner East Bakersfield’s Dave Douglas in :19.  Hultz’ qualifying time in the morning was :19.7.

—Hultz, the Southern Section winner at :14.3 in the 120-yard highs, was last after banging into the first, third and final hurdle. He had qualified in the morning in :14.4.

—Ed Buchanan of Kearny was fifth in :10 in the 100 after qualifying fourth in his trial in the same time. Helix’ Bill Ernest also qualified fourth in :10 but was sixth in the finals. First place was :09.6 by sophomore Hubie Watson of Los Angeles Jordan.

—Buchanan’s :21.2 was third fastest in the trials and Arnold Tripp of Crawford was fifth in :21.4.  Buchanan was fifth in the final in :21.4 and Tripp seventh.  First was :20.7 by Pasadena Muir’s Mel Clipper.

—Grossmont’s Roger Olander was out of the money in the pole vault. Fifth place was 13 feet, 1 inch.

TRIALS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	PLACE	FOURTH
120 HH	Bill Hultz	Lincoln	4th	:14.4
100	Ed Buchanan	Kearny	4th, tie	:10
	Bill Ernest	Helix	4th, tie	:10
220	Buchanan		3rd	:21.2
	Arnold Tripp	Crawford	5th	:21.4
180LH	Hultz		3rd, tie	:19.7

FINALS

100	Ed Buchanan	Kearny	5th	10.0
	Bill Ernest	Helix	6th	—
220	Buchanan		5th	:21.4
	Arnold Tripp	Crawford	7th	—
120HH	Bill Hultz	Lincoln	8th	—
180LH	Hultz		3rd	:19.1
Mile	Jack Hudson	El Cajon Valley	2nd	4:26.7
Pole Vault	Roger Olander	Grossmont	8th	—

Another great San Diego High team?  Or a very good San Diego team that had punished mostly mediocre opponents?

The Cavemen, 23-1 and one of the favorites for a Southern Section championship, were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the playoffs at Long Beach Poly, a team with a 20-3 record but had not participated in the playoffs since 1934.

The Cavers’ exit, after 17 straight wins, signaled the end to a season, in which four other San Diego squads were ushered out of the playoffs in the first round.

There were many outstanding baseball players in San Diego County, but apparently not enough competition for the legendary local power.

The loss to Poly, which was eliminated in the next round, was hugely disappointing but coach Les Cassie could look forward to the 1959 campaign, as at least five members of his starting lineup, including Iva Tucker, Sam Edwards, Ezell Singleton, Paul Runge, and Willie McCloud, would return to try again the following year.

3/31/58

Eight of nine City Prep League entries advanced on the first day of the eighth Lions Tournament at Navy Field and other venues.

–Mission Bay defeated Inglewood, 3-1, breaking a tie in the eighth inning when Jerry Dinsmore doubled home Andy Cribbs, who had singled.  Cribbs held the Sentinels to three hits.

–Lincoln beat Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 1-0, on five-hit pitching by Nelson Kahn. Louie Hughley scored on a squeeze play in the fifth inning for the only run.

–Mount Miguel’s P.D. (Pete) Jernigan struck out nine and had two hits.  Jernigan also walked 19 batters and hurled three wild pitches, but San Diego needed three runs in the seventh inning to put away the Matadors, 12-9.

Hoover dropped a 1-0 decision to Hawthorne for the only loss by a CPL team.

4/1/58

Rain wiped out the entire Lions Club program and forced canceled of the rest of the tournament.

4/8/58

Ezell Singleton walked 13 and hit a batter but allowed only four hits and San Diego moved into second place in the CPL with a 7-1 win over Mission Bay.

—Sweetwater led Kearny, 13-0, after three innings and went on to a 19-1 victory.
4/9/58

Sammy Owens’ single in the fifth inning was the only hit allowed by Gene Fleming in Point Loma’s 4-0 victory, which was the Pointers’ fourth against no losses in league play.

4/10/58

St. Augustine’s George Luna hit two home runs, but Crawford’s Buddy Hunter doubled in two runs in the extra, eighth inning and Crawford won the nonleague contest, 9-8.

—Grossmont, 4-4 in practice games and starting one senior, three juniors, four sophomores, and one freshman, opened Metropolitan League play at home with a 5-3 win over Chula Vista.

Foothillers starter Larry Shuck and reliever John Andreas stranded 11 Spartans base runners.

Andreas came on in the ninth inning when the Spartans loaded the bases with two outs and struck out Bill Foley.

—Tom Dennison was 4 for 4 and Helix stopped El Cajon Valley (8-3) in another opener.  Ron Palermo homered for the Highlanders and scored the winning run on a fielder’s choice in the ninth inning.

4/11/58

Point Loma’s 7-2 win at Mission Bay kept the Pointers in first place with a 5-0 record in the CPL and dealt the early, front-running Buccaneers a third straight loss.

John Rebelo kept the Bucs in check on six hits and Larry Willette helped break a 1-1 deadlock in the sixth inning when Willette’s lead-off double was followed by a series of seemingly “I’ve-Got-It-No-You-Take-It” responses by the hosts.

A bunt by Point Loma’s Ray Hermans rolled fair for a hit.  Billy Fontana walked to load the bases.  Jim Bradford walked and Roger Soares dribbled another base hit down the third base line.  Don Smallwood executed a squeeze bunt for a run and pitcher Bill McCormick balked. Terry Love’s sacrifice fly scored Soares with a fifth run and 6-1 lead.

—Iva Tucker gave up a second-inning single to Bill Helming and San Diego scored in every inning but the seventh, including 10 in the fourth, and buried La Jolla, 22-0.

4/14/58

Point Loma went to 6-0 in the CPL and won its 10th game in a row, overpowering youthful Crawford, 8-1, on the Pointers’ diamond as John Rebelo, Gene Fleming, and Billy Fontana allowed two hits.

Fontana had three hits and Ray Hermans and Larry Willette two each.

4/15/58

Point Loma beat La Jolla, 7-2, and San Diego kept pace, overcoming a 4-0 Hoover lead to win, 7-4, propelled by Willie McCloud’s grand slam home run and clinched on run-scoring singles by Ezell Singleton and Paul Runge.

–John Wible’s two-hitter bested Fred Olmsted in a 2-0 duel between pitchers who also were basketball stars, Wible for Helix and Olmsted for Chula Vista.

–Sammy Owens tripled and Tom Goddard pitched St. Augustine to a 4-0 win over Kearny.

–Home runs by Bobby Jordan and Roger Miller led Sweetwater to an 8-5 win over El Cajon Valley, which got home runs from Bill Christianson and Larry Hancock.

4/16/58

Dick Carey led off the game with a home run and Bill Lewin also homered, but Lincoln had to go 10 innings to beat Kearny, 4-3, when Komets pitcher Bob Jesse walked in the winning run.

4/18/58

Ron Palermo’s two-run home run in the sixth inning was the decisive blow in Helix’ 4-2 win over guest Sweetwater, giving coach Dick Gorrie’s Metropolitan League defending champions a 3-0 loop record.

—El Cajon Valley knocked Grossmont out of a share of first place tie with Helix, 6-4, at Grossmont.

John Solomon came on in the second inning for the Braves and kept the Foothillers at a distance for the last seven-plus innings, a stint that included working out of bases-loaded jams in the second and fourth.

4/22/58

San Diego coach Les Cassie surprised when he bypassed right hander Ezell Singleton for lefthander Iva Tucker for the starting pitcher assignment against Point Loma.

Tucker gave up a three-run home run to Billy Fontana that scored Larry Willette and Ray Hermans in the third inning.

At that point the Cavers led, 4-3, and they went on to a 9-3 win to tie their hosts for first place in the CPL.

Paul Runge’s triple with the bases loaded wrapped the victory and Tucker went the distance, giving up four hits and hitting safely twice in two times at bat.

–Jerry Dinsmore hit two home runs and drove in four to back the no-hit pitching of Andy Cribbs as Mission Bay defeated Crawford, 12-0.

–Nelson Kahn struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced and Lincoln shut out Hoover, 8-0.

–St. Augustine’s Fred Najera had a no-hitter into the sixth inning and then gave up three hits but still pitched a 4-0 victory Sweetwater.

4/25/58

San Diego took over first place in the CPL, as Point Loma was idle and falling a half-game behind.

The Cavers, behind Iva Tucker’s grand slam home run, a three-run shot by John Frabotta, and two-hit pitching by Ezell Singleton, shut out Lincoln, 10-0.

–Bill Lucas and Pete Jernigan hit home runs and Mount Miguel rose up from the Metropolitan League cellar to whip Helix, 13-5.  The losing Highlanders fell into a first-place tie in the Metro with Sweetwater.

4/28/58

Sweetwater improved to 4-1 and took a half-game lead in the Metropolitan loop behind Bob Jordan’s four-hitter which blanked Chula Vista, 4-0.

5/1/58

The sixteen-game City Prep League schedule was down to five and San Diego and Point Loma were tied with 10-1 records.

—Point Loma drew even with the idle Cavemen with a 3-2 victory over Kearny.

—Grossmont moved into a tie for first place with Sweetwater, each at 4-2, when Phil Groce went all the way for a 13-inning, 1-0 win over Chula Vista.

Sophomore Fred Olmsted hurled 12 2/3 innings for the Spartans, relieved by Dave Petersen.

5/2/58

San Diego was alone in first place again after an 11-2 win at Crawford.

—Mar Vista scored a run in the 13^th inning to win at Vista, 2-1.

5/6/58

The day would come when first-year Crawford was a power, but those days seemed far off after the Colts took a 22-0 shellacking from visiting Point Loma.

There was no 11-run mercy rule in effect and Pointers bats made maximum use of 11 hits.  Larry Willette, Billy Fontana, and Ted Faris hit home runs and John Rebello cuffed the Colts on two hits.

–Iva Tucker pitched a two-hitter and San Diego profited from 16 bases on balls in an 8-0 win over St. Augustine.

Three walks loaded the bases in the fifth inning and Sam Edwards followed with a triple.  Another walk later in the inning preceded a two-run double by John Hutchinson.

–Helix’ Bill Whalen shutout Chula Vista on six hits, 4-0.

–Grossmont and Sweetwater stayed tied for first in the Metropolitan League, the Foothillers defeating Mount Miguel, 12-9, and the Red Devils topping El Cajon Valley, 8-4.

5/8/58

Harold Bell’s one-hit pitching and pair of singles was enough or Fallbrook to defeat San Dieguito, 6-3, in the Avocado League.

5/9/58

Billy Fontana had three singles and a double and his Point Loma teammates bunted safely six times in an 8-2 win over St. Augustine.

San Diego moved closer to the City Prep League championship, 6-4 over Mission Bay despite Buccaneers coach Ernie Beck’s pitching Andy Cribbs and Dave McCormick in alternate innings.

The Cavers’ Sam Edwards had four hits, including a double and triple.

5/13/58

San Diego clinched the City Prep League championship with a 14-0 win over La Jolla, a winless-in-league squad the Cavemen had roughed up, 26-0, in the first round.

—Point Loma dropped an eight-inning, 2-1 decision to Mission Bay and was mathematically eliminated.

The Pointers scored in the last of the

seventh inning to tie but the Bucs punched over a run in the top of the eighth.

—Oceanside bombed Carlsbad, 22-2, and remained a game ahead of Escondido in the Avocado League. A makeup game with San Dieguito was forfeited, improving Oceanside’s record to 11-3.

–Grossmont earned a tie for the Metropolitan loop crown with a 6-4 win over Sweetwater.

STANDINGS

CITY PREP LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	P’CT.	GAMES BEHIND LEADER
San Diego	15	1	.938	—
Point Loma	13	3	.813	2
Mission Bay	10	6	.625	5
Hoover	9	7	.563	6
St. Augustine	8	8	.500	7
Crawford	7	9	.438	8
Lincoln	6	10	.375	9
Kearny	4	12	.250	11
La Jolla	0	16	.000	15

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	PCT.	GBL
Grossmont	8	2	.800	—
Helix	6	4	.600	2
Sweetwater	6	4	.600	2
Mount Miguel	5	5	.500	3
Chula Vista	3	7	.300	5
El Cajon Valley	2	8	.200	6

AVOCADO LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	PCT.	GBL
Oceanside	12	2	.857	—
Escondido	11	3	.786	1
Mar Vista	10	4	.714	2
Vista	7	7	.500	5
Coronado	6	8	.429	6
Fallbrook	4	10	.286	8
San Dieguito	3	11	.214	9
Carlsbad	2	12	.157	10

5/19/58

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

A scheduled Central Group playoff between Helix and Sweetwater at Chula Vista to determine the Metropolitan League’s No. 2 team was canceled when the CIF placed both teams in the Southern Section playoffs.

MAJOR DIVISION

FIRST ROUND

5/20/58

San Diego 9, @Newport Beach Newport Harbor 3.

The Tartars were a perplexing opponent.  They lost their first 10 games, including two in the Sunset League, and then won 10 in a row.

Lefthander Iva Tucker won his 10^th game of the season against no defeats as the Cavemen, trailing, 2-0, slammed six runs across the plate in the third inning and three in the fourth.

John Frabotta walked with two out in the third, followed by Sam Edwards’ single, Ezell Singleton’s double, walks to Henry Gardner and Paul Runge, and another single by Willie McCloud.

Tucker gave up eight hits and walked four and struck out seven.

Point Loma 0, Anaheim 5, @Anaheim La Palma Park.

Two Colonists pitchers combined to stop the Pointers with a no-hitter.

Helix 1, @Ontario Chaffey 9.

Larry Maxie, the Southern Section player of the year in 1957 who would earn the honor again, struck out 17 and held the Highlanders to three hits.

Grossmont 1, Colton 4, @Riverside.

The Foothillers clung to a 1-0 lead until the Yellowjackets’ John Doty hit a grand slam home run in the eighth inning.

Sweetwater 2, @Long Beach St. Anthony 16.

The host Saints raked 20 hits and improved their record to 20-0.

SOUTHERN GROUP

Oceanside 8, @Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos 0.

The Pirates outhit the first-year Pocos, 10-3.

SECOND ROUND

San Diego 11, Long Beach St. Anthony 9, @Beeson Field.

The Saints (21-1) scored three runs on one hit in the first inning and two more in the second before the Cavemen unloaded with seven runs in the second on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot diamond.

Willie McCloud started the San Diego rally with a home run over the left-centerfield wall with two outs in the second inning.

John Frabotta followed McCloud by reaching first base on an error, then Archie Walker singled, Augie Bregante singled, Iva Tucker walked, Sam Edwards singled, and Ezell Singleton homered.

Tucker took to the mound in the fifth inning and starter Singleton moved to centerfield and made what writer Jim Mulligan described as “three heart-stopping catches”.

Singleton’s last was a diving stab of a line drive by future St. Augustine athlete Al Roman.  Singleton then fired to second to double up Rom Casaga and end the game.

The Saints out hit the Cavers, 12-6.

5/27/58

San Diego 1, Long Beach Poly 5, @Long Beach Blair Field.

Jeff King allowed a run on a wild pitch in the first inning and then shut the door on the Cavemen, giving up four hits as the Jackrabbits (21-3) shot down the Cavers’ 19-game winning streak and brought an end to a 23-2 season.

Poly, in the postseason for the first time since 1934, handed Iva Tucker his first loss after 11 victories.