Dewey J. (Mike) Morrow, a University of California at Berkeley graduate from Montana, returned from the war to San Diego High and coached the Hilltoppers to his eighth CIF Southern Section championship in Morrow’s 16 seasons and first since 1939.

Writer Norrie West of the Evening Tribune said of Morrow’s return:

“Not a soul will deny that Mike has baseball ‘know-how’, but fundamentally it’s the never-say-die spirit this lean master infuses into his team that seems to give them that extra something.”

West was fond of repeating one of Morrow’s favorite maxims.  “Every afternoon in Balboa Stadium you can hear Mike bawl in his foghorn voice: “’Run it out—maybe he’ll throw it away!’”

The Hilltoppers always got the message behind the words.

Morrow’s ace lefthanded pitcher Gene Richardson, who posted a 14-1 record, was the Southern Section player of the year.

Catcher Jerry Dahms, who also doubled as a shot putter on Bill Patten’s track team, led the Hillers with a .376 batting average.

3/6/46

The Martinez All-Stars defeated pitcher Gene Richardson and San Diego High, 3-2, in Balboa Stadium.  The win evened the series between the Hillers and former preps from the area at two wins apiece.

3/8/46

Bill Dugan homered and San Diego won a practice game at Point Loma, 10-4.

3/12/46

Ragged was the word for these preseason games.  Point Loma won, 15-11, at La Jolla as the teams combined for 16 errors.  Eight errors were recorded in St. Augustine’s 7-6 loss at Grossmont.

3/14/46

The Point Loma varsity topped the visiting San Diego junior varsity, 11-5, behind the four-hit pitching of Joe Medina.  It was the Hilltopper youngsters’ first game.

3/15/46

La Jolla’s Bud Relyea gave up an unearned run in the second inning and hurled a no-hitter in a 9-1 victory over guest St. Augustine.

3/20/46

San Diego defeated the Vick’s Nationals team, 10-8. Point Loma rapped St. Augustine, 12-3, and Sweetwater knocked off El Centro Central, 14-3.

3/22/46

Joe Medina scattered three hits and survived five errors, and Point Loma won a six-inning, nonleague game, 8-6, against Victory League opponent and host Sweetwater.

3/27/46

La Jolla stopped host Escondido on three hits, 7-5, behind the pitching of Bud Relyea, Cyril Guthridge, and Dan Butcher.

3/28/46

Pitchers John Brown, Jerry Dahms, and Pete Corona combined to limit visiting  Sweetwater to three hits in San Diego’s 8-3 victory.

–Hoover’s Ken Clary struck out 14 and set down visiting Point Loma and Pointers ace Joe Medina, 4-2.

–Grossmont at La Jolla was postponed because of wet grounds.

4/4/46

Hoover collected three hits and Grossmont botched its way to seven errors and dropped a 10-4 decision to the visiting Cardinals.

–San Diego and Hoover remained the Victory’s League’s only undefeated teams, each 2-0, when the Hilltoppers rocked La Jolla, 14-3.

The Hillers piled 14 hits and John Brown cuffed the Vikings on two hits.

–Joe Medina struck out 14 batters and Point Loma, with a four-run eighth inning, edged Sweetwater, 5-4.

4/5/46

Gene Richardson gave up four hits and pitched San Diego High to a 6-2 win at Fullerton. The Hillers’ John Verdusco doubled and singled twice.

–Hoover lost the first of a three-game series at Santa Barbara, 5-3.

4/6/46

Hoover collected 19 hits and restricted Santa Barbara to six as the Cardinals swept a double header, 8-2, and 15-8.

John Hedquist gave up three hits in the opener and contributed with a two-run home run. Ken Clary and Roy

Wayne each added a triple.

Clary allowed only three hits and collected three hits in the nightcap, but did not receive sterling defense. The Cardinals threatened to compromise things with four errors.

4/11/46

Joe Correia’s three-run home run and solo shot by Joe Medina presented Point Loma a 4-0 lead in the first two innings at San Diego.

The Hillers erupted for eight runs in the third inning and rolled, 18-4.

–Hoover slugged 16 hits and drubbed La Jolla, 17-2, at Horace Mann playground.

–Tony Castro homered and pitched Sweetwater to a 7-2 victory over Grossmont’s Art Preston.

4/15/46

San Diego, Hoover, and Point Loma represented the area in the 13^th Pomona 20-30 Club tournament.

Coach Mike Morrow’s top-seed Hilltoppers, winners in six of the nine previous years in which San Diego High teams entered, were in the 32-team field for the first time since 1941.

—San Diego defeated Anaheim, 9-4, in the morning and Pasadena, 7-6, in the afternoon.  Hoover edged Santa Monica, 5-4, and returned with a 4-2 win over Point Loma in a contest that went two extra innings.

(Point Loma had won its first-round game, 10-8, over Azusa Citrus).

—Ken Clary and Jack McColl homered in Hoover’s opener.  Winning relief pitcher Harvey Jones drove in Roy Wayne with the winning run and the Cardinals clinched the second game with a successful squeeze play in the ninth inning.

4/16/46

Hoover got four-hit, shutout pitching from John Hedquist in a 5-0 quarterfinals victory over Covina and earned a trip to the Pomona 20-30 Club finals with a 7-4 triumph over Santa Barbara.

San Diego was eliminated in the morning quarterfinals by El Monte, 3-1. The Lions lost in the semifinals, 4-0, to Orange, which qualified to meet Hoover.

—La Jolla’s Bud Relyea struck out 18 and allowed only a scratch single in a 7-0 home victory over Escondido.

4/17/46

Ken Clary scattered six hits and weathered a three-run, ninth-inning by Orange as Hoover claimed the Pomona 20-30 Club championship, 5-3.

Roy Wayne’s 2-for-5 performance at the plate, led the Cardinals, who took a 2-0 lead in the third inning and scored single runs in the fifth, seventh, and eighth.

4/23/46

They would play for the Victory League championship later in the week, but Hoover and San Diego warmed up, the Cavers winning a nonleague contest in Balboa Stadium, 16-9.

Bobby King’s double with the bases loaded helped the Hillers to a 5-0 lead in the third inning.  Hoover scored six in the eighth inning after reliever Pete Corona walked six batters.  The Hillers recovered with five in the bottom of the eighth.

4/25/46

Anticipation resulted in the Hoover-San Diego Victory League title decider being switched to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot diamond.

–Joe Correia was 3 for 4 and hit a home run in Point Loma’s 11-6 victory against the Hoover junior varsity in a game slowed by 13 combined errors.

4/26/46

Gene Richardson did not allow a runner to reach third base and San Diego clinched a tie for the Victory League championship, 4-0, over Hoover at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

Ken Clary gave up six hits including a two-run double to Chuck San Fillippo in the second inning and John Brown’s run-scoring triple that followed Fred Flores’ single in the eighth.

—Ralph Silva’s triple scored pitcher Don Larsen with the winning run as Point Loma beat Grossmont, 6-5, in 10 innings.

—Visiting La Jolla’s Bud Relyea gave up only three hits, but Sweetwater’s Tony Castro allowed two and the Red Devils earned a 4-0 win.

4/29/46

Paul Kaneyuki’s triple followed Joe Henning’s single and Point Loma outlasted the San Diego junior varsity, 4-3, in 15 innings on the Pointers’ field.

4/30/46                                                                                                                  

Ken Clary pitched and hit Hoover to a 5-3 win over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.   Clary kept the Hilltoppers at a distance for the first five innings, then moved to right field and homered, finishing the day 3 for 4.

San Diego won the three-game series, 2 games to 1, after outscoring the Cardinals, 16-9, and 4-0, with only the shutout counting in Victory League standings.

–Grossmont’s Bobby Lamp tripled in 2 runs in the seventh inning and pitched the Foothillers to a 3-2 win over visiting Calexico.

5/1/46                                                                                                  

San Diego won the Victory League championship on the road, with Gene Richardson outpitching Grossmont’s Art Preston, 5-4.

Richardson’s triple climaxed a five-run fifth inning that overcame the Foothillers’ four-run lead.

Preston gave up only three hits but coach John Hancock’s team committed five errors.

5/2/46

—Hoover, Sweetwater, and Point Loma tied for second behind San Diego in the Victory League final standings, each with a 3-2 record.

—Sweetwater surprised Hoover, 9-7, at Horace Mann Playground, and Point Loma, behind Don Larsen’s two-hit pitching, won at La Jolla, 27-2…yes, 27-2.

VICTORY LEAGUE STANDINGS

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GAMES BEHIND
San Diego	5-0	1.000	—
Point Loma	3-2	.600	2
Sweetwater	3-2	.600	2
Hoover	3-2	.600	2
Grossmont	1-4	.200	4
La Jolla	0-5	.000	5

5/4/46

John Verdusco hit a grand slam home run and Bobby King a solo shot leading San Diego to a 12-5 win over Long Beach Wilson in Balboa Stadium.

John Brown pitched the first seven innings and Gene Richardson the final two for the Hillers.

5/8/46

Brown Military was not a welcome guest at Julian, where the Cadets hammered the Eagles, 35-6, in a Southern Section Group 12 game mercifully called after seven innings.

Brown’s score almost doubled its hits, 18.  Julian committed five errors and two pitchers walked many, unnumbered amount of batters.

5/9/46

As part of a four-day road soiree  leading to a three-game series in Tucson, the Hillers opened Southern California playoff competition with a 24-3 win at El Centro Central.

5/10/46

An overflow crowd estimated at 3,000 persons saw Tucson High beat John Brown and the San Diego Hilltoppers, 3-0, in the Arizona city.

Brown gave up only four hits but walked seven as the Bears scored single runs in the first, second, and eighth innings.

5/11/46

Gene Richardson walked no one, struck out 13, and gave up four hits as San Diego evened its series in Tucson, 7-1, and then completed a double header sweep in the afternoon, 10-6.

The defeats reportedly were the first for the Bears in three years.

Charles Norman was the winning pitcher and catcher Jerry Dahms and first baseman John Brown each was 3 for 5.

5/16/46

San Diego’s second-round CIF playoff with Orange was moved to Lane Field so that a Reserve Officer Training Corps review could be conducted in Balboa Stadium.

5/17/46

Gene Richardson struck out 19 and Richardson and eight of his teammates contributed at least one hit in a 12-hit attack as San Diego blanked the Orange Panthers, 6-0, in a second-round playoff.

Richardson, John Brown, and John Verdusco each had two hits.

5/24/46

The Hillers moved on to the CIF finals with a 9-2 win over Pasadena at Lane Field.  The Bullpups entered the game with a 16-2 record and were led by future major league outfielder and San Diego Padres manager Dick Williams.

Gene Richardson struck out 16 and added two hits and scored two runs as San Diego overcame a 2-0 Pasadena lead with three runs in the fifth inning and followed with two each in the sixth, seventh, and eighth.

5/29/46

Inglewood, 20-8 coming in, was no match for San Diego’s 17-hit attack in an 18-0 rout of the Sentinels in the championship game at Lane Field.

The Hilltoppers scored 4 runs in the third inning and seven in the fourth.

An infield single by Teruto Kaneka in the seventh inning was the only base hit allowed by Gene Richardson, who struck out 19.

The Hillers rapped 15 singles and two doubles (John Verdusco, Charles Norman) and concluded their season with a 24-7 record.

Fred Pierce was 4 for 5 and Charlie Coffee 3 for 3 to lead the San Diego attack.

San Diego batsmen, when the game was out of hand, switched.  Righthanded hitters became lefthanded hitters and vice versa.

San Diego’s surprising, late-season ride on the left arm of pitcher Brent Strom resulted in the Cavers’ first major championship since they won the Southern Section title in 1952.

And it was to be the Cavers’ last, ending a run that began with a state championship in 1918.

Changing demographics, new schools, new neighborhoods, revised enrollment borders, and a continually growing population, finally caught up with the Cavers in the early ‘sixties.

There were more teams and more players to challenge  a program that became legendary after the arrival of coach Dewey (Mike) Morrow in 1927, during the Roaring ’20s, before prohibition.

Morrow was 281-49 (.852) against high school teams and 86-48 with four ties (.638) against collegiate, semi-pro, and professional squads from 1927-50.

Morrow’s overall record was 367-97-4 (.788) with 10 Southern Section championships and many league and tournament titles when he left the Hilltoppers and moved to San Diego Junior College in 1951.

Les Cassie, who switched positions with Morrow, was the Hillers’ coach from 1951-59 and won one Southern California crown.

Cassie went into administration after a decade in which his teams were 217-33 (.868) against all opponents.

Jerry Dahms was 70-26 from 1960-63 and Bernie Flaherty 51-22 from 1964 through this season, Flaherty’s last as he  was moving to San Diego City College.

Coaching records courtesy Don King’s Caver Conquest.

COLTS CORRAL TITLES

Crawford, the team San Diego defeated this year, was one example of  the city’s growth and movement, having opened on 55^th Street in East San Diego in 1958, less than two miles from Hoover’s 44th Street campus.

The Colts had become the premier franchise, winning 10 section titles since 1960 in basketball (1), baseball (3), football (1), golf (1), and gymnastics (4).

Baseball coach Bill Sandback, who came to Crawford in 1961, was 88-32 (.733) with 3 wins in 4 title games.

5/7/66

Final regular-season standings in the seven San Diego Section leagues, including 42 teams.  GB=Games Behind:

EASTERN

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GB	OVERALL
Crawford	10-4	.714	—	16-5
San Diego	10-5	.667	½	14-8
Lincoln	9-6	.600	1 ½	15-8
St. Augustine	8-6	.571	2	11-10
Hoover	4-10	.286	6	8-13
Morse	2-12	.143	8	4-17

WESTERN

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GB	OVERALL
Kearny	10-5	.667	—	16-8
Clairemont	10-5	.667	—	14-8
Madison	10-5	.667	—	13-10
Mission Bay	8-7	.533	2	12-11
Point Loma	7-8	.467	3	10-12
La Jolla	0-15	.000	10	0-22

METROPOLITAN

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GB	OVERALL
Hilltop	8-3	.727	—	14-9
Escondido	7-4	.636	1/2	14-6
Chula Vista	6-6	.500	2 ½	13-11
Sweetwater	6-6	.500	2 ½	9-12
Coronado	5-7	.417	3 ½	9-11
Castle Park	4-8	.333	4 ½	12-12
Mar Vista	4-8	.333	4 ½	8-12

GROSSMONT

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GB	OVERALL
Grossmont	12-2	.857	—	15-5
Helix	10-4	.714	2	16-8
El Capitan	7-6	.538	4 ½	9-10
Monte Vista	7-7	.500	5	11-11
Mount Miguel	5-9	.357	7	11-12
Santana	5-9	.357	7	9-13
Granite Hills	5-9	.357	7	9-14
El Cajon Valley	4-9	.308	7 ½	7-17

AVOCADO

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GB	OVERALL
Oceanside	11-4	.733	—	12-10
Orange Glen	8-7	.533	3	10-9
University	7-8	.456	4	13-9
Fallbrook	7-8	.456	4	9-12
San Dieguito	6-9	.400	5	8-14
Vista	6-9	.400	5	8-12

PALOMAR

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GB	OVERALL
Poway	11-4	.733	—	16-5
Marian	10-5	.667	1	14-8
Carlsbad	9-6	.600	2	12-8
San Marcos	7-8	.467	4	11-12
Ramona	6-9	.400	5	7-15
Army-Navy	2-13	.133	9	2-16

 SOUTHERN PREP

TEAM	WL	PCT.	GB	OVERALL
San Miguel	5-1	.833	—	13-7
La Jolla Country Day	3-3	.500	2	7-7
San Diego Military	1-5	.167	4	2-10

5/10/66

Western League bosses, faced with choosing between 3 teams,  Kearny, Clairemont, and Madison, each with a 10-5 record, for two postseason invitations, opted for a playoff, or “play-in” game, at Mesa College following a  contentious meeting and vote.

The bosses picked coach Ernie Beck’s Clairemont Chieftains as the Western’s No. 1 squad and forced Madison to play another game with Kearny, although the Warhawks held a 2-1 advantage in regular-season games with the Komets.

LIONS TOURNAMENT ROUT

A Western League insider told Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune that the thinking of the bosses probably was influenced by Kearny’s 10-0 win over Madison in the Lions Tournament.

“I feel we earned the playoffs,” Madison coach Bob Bacon offered after the 2-0 victory over Jack Taylor’s Komets.

“We honored the league ruling even though many in the Madison baseball community questioned the ruling,” said Bacon. “We played it with no questions asked.”

A Kearny error on Bob Nunley’s slicing double in the first inning resulted in Greg Gunter’s scoring and a 405-foot triple to the base of the centerfield fence by Greg McElroy in the fourth inning turned into a faux home run when the Komets juggled the relay.

5/13/66

2-A PLAYOFFS

The Metropolitan League, considered by many of the local cognoscenti as being inferior to the two city leagues, wanted some respect.

Especially after Chula Vista had won the Lions Tournament but was third in regular-season standings to Hilltop and Escondido.

Hilltop knocked out Madison, 2-1, and Escondido topped Clairemont, 10-5, in first-round (quarterfinals) games.

Clinging to a one-run lead, Hilltop weathered a Madison threat in the seventh inning, when the Warhawks (13-11) loaded the bases with two outs.

Terry Davis hit a line drive between third base and shortstop that was speared by a diving Ed Saffer to end the game.

Hilltop scored twice in the bottom of the first inning on singles by Ward Lannom and Ray Sorenson, a sacrifice, and an outfield error. Jerry Peik’s single in the fourth  put Madison on the scoreboard.

The Lancers’ Jeff Klibbe allowed four hits in outdueling the Warhawks’ Mike Raney, who gave up three hits.

—“Our big test is San Diego and I think we have a real good chance,” said Grossmont coach Jerry Lewis. “If we beat San Diego we’ll go all the way.”

San Diego eliminated The Foothillers (15-6), 8-4, as Brent Strom made his ninth consecutive start, bettering the presumed record for a city league pitcher. San Diego’s Dick Floberg made eight straight starts in 1957.

Strom gave up early home runs to Cal Meier and Bernard Linn. The Cavers won by scoring four runs in the top of the seventh inning.

—Dan Gabbard hit two doubles and drove in three runs and Gil Pumar added three singles and a run batted in as visiting Escondido rapped three Clairemont (14-9) pitchers for 15 hits.

—Paul Kaufman homered and Ed Ramage (13-2) kept Helix (16-9) at bay, allowing two hits as Crawford advanced, 2-1, at Wells Park in El Cajon.

1-A PLAYOFFS SEMIFINALS

The Palomar League’s Poway defeated the Southern Prep League’s San Miguel School (13-8), 9-5, after falling behind the National City club, 5-0, at Palomar College.

Jerry Carpenter, who gave up 4 runs in the first inning, struck out 12, including 5 of the Knights’ last six hitters.  Jack Ashby and Mike Ward each had three hits for the Titans.

Poway advanced to the championship against Avocado League winner Oceanside, which was byed into the finals.

5/17/66

2-A SEMIFINALS

“If he can brush his teeth (and floss) he’ll be in there Friday (in the championship game against Crawford),” said San Diego coach Bernie Flaherty.

Strong-armed lefthander Brent Strom (14-3), making his 10^th consecutive start for the Cavers, won a 14-inning duel with Escondido’s Tom Johnson (10-3), 1-0, at Beeson Field on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

“I’ll be pitching, don’t worry,” said Strom of the upcoming championship game . “There’s nothing to save yourself for now.”

Strom,  7-3 over the 10-game stretch, fought off the 15-7 Cougars, who threatened in the third, fourth, fifth, 10^th, and 14th innings.

Strom got out of trouble by striking out 20 and walking two while allowing 11 hits.

The Cavers, who loaded the bases in the ninth and 10^th innings, finally won when Johnny Williams doubled home Dale Davis in the bottom of the 14^th.

“On paper these kids have no right to win,” a grinning Flaherty said of his team, “but they don’t read so well.”

—Crawford gained the finals for the third consecutive year as Ed Ramage (14-2) set down Hilltop, 5-1, at Beeson Field and dealt the loss to Don Klibbe (9-5).

Ramage retired 13 of the last 14 Lancers, allowing only a walk to Don Chew in the sixth.  Tim McClure’s two-run homer in the third inning followed a shaky Hilltop defense that contributed to three Colts runs in the first two innings.

2-A CHAMPIONSHIP

5/20/66

Brent Strom was working on a no-hitter and 4-0 lead entering the sixth inning, when Crawford scored three runs on four hits.

The Colts had momentum and recent history on their side, but Strom recovered to complete a 4-3 victory and earn San Diego’s first championship since a Southern Section title in 1952.

The loss was Crawford’s first in the finals after three consecutive championships and a 12-0 post-season record.

Ed Ramage (14-3) was the losing pitcher to the 15-3 Strom.  Third baseman John Meiers supported Strom with a two-run home run and single.  Johnny Williams also had two hits.

San Diego finished the season with a 17-8 record, Crawford with 18-6.

1-A FINALS

Oceanside (13-10), coached by football legend-to-be Herb Meyer, defeated Poway (16-6), 3-1, after losing twice to the Titans in previous finals.

The 1-A division playoffs were between Avocado, Palomar, and Southern Prep League champions.

See additional narrative, 1966 Baseball I, by searching “Recent Posts”.>

On March 21 the Hoover student body announced a fund-raising drive for a new baseball facility, Ted Williams Field, in honor of the January, 1937,  graduate and major league baseball Hall of Fame inductee.

For years the Cardinals played home games in the school’s football stadium, with a rightfield fence, beyond the track,  a Little League-dimensioned 185 feet from home plate.

Hoover coach Jerry Bartow  sometimes was  accused of tailoring the distance of a faux left field, where it was said a cab ride was necessary to the distant fence facing Monroe Avenue.

Low hurdles borrowed from the practicing track team served as the left field “fence”, the distance from home plate adjusted to the offensive prowess of an opponent by moving the hurdles back and forward, according to some observers.

Home runs in right field had to be north of a tall wooden post  overlooking the press box and stadium seating.

Leftfield at the proposed Ted Williams will be 300 feet from home plate, 409 to center, and 323 to right.

A goal of $25,000 to build the facility next to the boys’ gymnasium and facing 46th Street was announced by vice principal Les Cassie, a teammate of Williams’ at Hoover; Williams’ close friend and Hoover alum Bob Breitbard of the Breitbard Athletic Foundation, and student Bill Finley, the school’s commissioner general.

3/2/66

Writer Harlon Bartlett described the weather as “better suited for the Central New England dog sled races” and that Grossmont coach Jerry Lewis was “bundled up to the size of Yogi Bear and huddled beside a heater in the dugout.”

Plus, Lewis’ centerfielder had a broken jaw from a motor scooter accident, pitcher Bernard Linn was temporarily ineligible, and the flu had visited Lewis and two starters.

The coach shook off the chilly, cloudy weather, but the Foothillers (1-0-1) couldn’t shake St. Augustine (0-1-1) as the teams battled to a nine-inning, 2-2 tie.

—Andy Morgan’s grand slam home run in the first inning propelled Hoover, playing its last season on the football field, to a 13-2 win over El Capitan.

—Luther Espy allowed four hits and Al Salvatierra hit a grand slam home run in the first inning of Lincoln’s 9-0 shutout of Chula Vista.

—Steve Bell drove in seven runs with two home runs, including a grand slam as Kearny beat Hilltop, 10-2.

—Steve Wyer clubbed a grand slam as La Jolla Country Day routed the Santana freshmen, 15-1.

3/9/66

“We don’t have any big stars and that’s the best thing that could happen to us,” said coach Robert (Bull) Trometter of University, which improved to 5-0 with a 5-1 win over Monte Vista.

—Crawford also was 5-0 after Larry Forest’s three-hitter and second shutout of the season stopped Helix, 3-0.

—Brien Bickerton homered and doubled, driving in three runs, and gave up two hits in five innings before Larry Falls mopped up Santana’s 7-0 win over Oceanside.

—Lincoln (4-0) beat host Clairemont, 4-1, behind Luther Espy’s 10-strikeout, four-hit pitching.

Hornets coach Bob Ganger did not want to hear that his team, often touted but never finishing higher than third, would be favored in the Eastern League.

“Don’t mention it,” Ganger said, frowning at Harlon Bartlett’s suggestion.

3/11/66

San Diego (4-2) won its Eastern League opener at home, 1-0, over 5-1 Crawford as Brent Strom struck out eight, doubled for one of the Cavers’ three hits, and was credited with four assists and two putouts in the field.

—Craig Brewer’s home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Hilltop a 2-1 win over Mount Miguel.

—University, now with a County-leading 6-0 record, struggled 10 innings before edging Vista, 5-4.

3/15/66

Santana’s first-year Sultans (4-3) rode with 6-foot, 3-inch, 170-pound sophomore lefthander Brian Bickerton to a one-hit, 3-0 win over Helix (2-4) in a Grossmont League opener.

—Mount Miguel’s Bill Lockhart also hurled a one-hitter in a 3-0 win over Granite Hills.

—Rick Dixon’s three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning was the difference in Clairemont’s 9-6 victory over La Jolla in the Western League lid-lifter.

–University bumped its record to 7-0 with an Avocado League-opening-game, 4-2 decision over Orange Glen.

3/18/66

“We don’t have a bonehead on the club; we’re going to have a lot of fun this year,” said St. Augustine coach Bill Whittaker.

The Saints’ 2-1 victory over Hoover, behind Jim Addesso’s three-hit pitching, marked the first time in five years they had beaten the Cardinals and San Diego in the same week.

—After winning four Grossmont League championships from 1960-64, El Capitan was 5-16 in ’65 after the arrival of neighboring Santana.

“We would have had (Brian) Bickerton and (Dennis) Forrester,” Vaqueros coach Art Preston noted of the two Santana stars.

El Cap survived a two-hour, 45-minute, 17-hit, 23-walk (by both teams) struggle with Mount Miguel, winning, 12-9, and improved to 3-4.

An infield throwing error broke an 8-8 tie in the sixth inning and the Vaqueros scored three more in the seventh.

3/25/66

George Zorn gave up three hits and University won its 10^th in a row without defeat, 6-2 over Fallbrook.

—Madison (6-4) moved into a tie with Kearny for first place at 4-1 in the Western League after a 7-4 win over the Komets.

Bob Nunley had a three-run triple and sophomore Greg McElroy three hits for the Warhawks.

—Brent Strom pitched a six-hitter and hit a two-run home run and San Diego beat Hoover, 5-2.  Steve Shepherd added a two-run homer for the Cavers.

—Frank Alfano, Bob Petretta, and Danny Coronado hit home runs and Crawford beat Lincoln, 9-4.

3/29/66

George Gregoroff fought off several University threats and pitched Vista to a 2-0 victory over the 10-1 Dons, who still led the Avocado League with a 5-1 record, ahead of four others’ 3-3.

—Don Bair struck out 12 and limited Point Loma to two hits and Mission Bay edged Point Loma, 1-0.

3/30/66

In announcing pairings for the 32-team, 16^th annual Lions, tournament bosses said first-round games will be played at Navy Field No’s. 1 and 2, Clairemont, Mount Miguel, Kearny, and San Diego High.

Six teams, plus San Bernardino San Gorgonio, will compete in the second North County Lions tournament with games at Oceanside Recreation Park and MiraCosta College.

4/1/66

Point Loma scored two runs in the last of the seventh inning to edge Madison, 6-5.

The Pointers were 4-3 and in a three-way tie for first with Madison and Kearny in the Western League.

“Every time I tell the kids we’ve got to win this one, we win it,” said Pointers coach Kermeen (Punky) Fristrom.  We do a good job when we have to win.”

Except on Tuesdays.  The peninsula squad is 1-4 on that date and 6-1 on others.

—Craig Tepel hit two home runs and drove in five and Jake Molina hit a three-run homer in Clairemont’s 12-6 win over La Jolla.

—Crawford and Hoover were deadlocked, 7-7, after nine innings.  The game would be replayed only if a playoff berth were at stake.

—Oceanside won its fourth in a row, 4-3 over Vista behind William Rodriguez’ three-hitter, which followed a no-hitter in Rodriguez’ last start versus San Dieguito.

—Marian took over the Palomar League lead, 9-7 against San Marcos. Poway and Carlsbad battled through 11 scoreless innings and then called it a day.

4/4/66

Ed Ramage scattered six hits and top-seeded Crawford took advantage of four Madison errors and defeated the Warhawks, 7-1, in the opening round of the Lions Tournament.

—Defending champion San Diego rode a grand slam home run by Steve Shepherd to knock off El Cajon Valley, 8-5.

—Chula Vista moved to an Unlimited Division quarterfinals contest against Crawford on Gordy Mitchell’s one-hitter, which shut out Grossmont, 1-0.

—Eight games produced 75 runs in the Limited Division, highlighted by an 18-hit attack and 13-2 win for Monte Vista over San Miguel School.

—Scott Martensen’s home run in the ninth inning gave Vista a 2-1victory over Fallbrook.

—San Marcos beat Poway, 6-1; San Gorgonio nipped Oceanside, 2-0, and San Dieguito’s three runs in the seventh inning were the difference in a 5-4 triumph over Poway.

4/5/66

San Dieguito did not lift a glove and gained finals of the North County Lions event.

San Marcos forfeited, 9-0, to the Mustangs, who will meet San Bernardino San Gorgonio, which advanced with an 8-7, eight-inning win over Vista.

–Oceanside edged Fallbrook, 2-1, and Poway beat Carlsbad, 5-4, in consolation games.

–The city’s two big ones, Crawford and San Diego met their matches.

Helix defeated Crawford, 1-0, and Chula Vista ousted San Diego, 5-2, in Unlimited Lions play, but St. Augustine upheld urban pride with a 1-0 win over Monte Vista in the Limited Division.

–Mike Odom’s three-hitter gave Chula Vista their morning quarterfinals victory and Bob Kennedy’s Spartans came back in the afternoon to beat Lincoln, 5-3, in eight innings and gain the finals of the 16th annual Lions Tournament.

–Helix defeated Mount Miguel, 9-5, in the semifinals to assure a Grossmont-Metropolitan League final.

4/7/66

Bob Kennedy, who had brought Chula Vista teams to the Lions Tournament since 1957, earned his first Unlimited Division championship, 2-1, over Helix at Navy Field.

Dave Gregg singled, Ken Ohlendorf sacrificed Gregg to second, then walks to John Pickrel and Roger Gregg loaded the bases in the sixth inning.

What followed was typical considering the Spartans’ reputation of good field, good pitch, no hit. Bill Cherico and Doug Craig executed consecutive squeeze bunts, scoring two runs.

“I had a pretty good idea that would be the only way we’d score,” Kennedy told the Evening Tribune’s Harlon Bartlett.

–Castle Park had a 3-0 lead but bowed to El Centro Central, 4-3, in the Limited Division championship.  Kearny won the Unlimited consolation crown, its first since 1954, 5-1, over Escondido. It was Hilltop 3, Coronado 1 in the Limited consolation final.

–San Bernardino San Gorgonio shut out San Marcos, 8-0, for the North County Lions title.  Poway nudged Oceanside, 5-2, for the consolation trophy.

4/12/66

Crawford was 5-2 and San Diego, Lincoln, and St. Augustine 5-3 after Eastern League teams returned to action following the Lions Tournament.

San Diego tightened the race when it beat Lincoln, 4-1, on Paul Dunn’s three-run home run.  Brent Strom stopped the Hornets on four hits.

—Crawford bombed Morse, 9-3, and St. Augustine beat Hoover, 5-1 on Skip Redondo’s three-hitter.

—Another three-hitter, by Kearny’s Mike Sigman, checked Point Loma, 8-2.  Mission Bay continued La Jolla’s misery, 5-2, for the winless Vikings’ 15^th loss in a row.

—Grossmont, 6-1 in the Grossmont League, let leads of 4-0 and 7-4 disappear before nosing out El Cajon Valley, 8-7.

—Mike Westphalin faced 22 hitters, one over the maximum, allowed one hit, struck out 11 and didn’t issue a walk in Granite Hills’ 3-0 win over Santana.

4/15/66

Crawford coach Bill Sandback was not a happy camper.

On what could have been a double play, St. Augustine’s Tom Spence slid into second base with arms high.

Second baseman Danny Coronado’s throw to first was deflected by Spence’s  extended limb, allowing Steve Ferrari to score in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 3-2 victory.

Sandback claimed interference.

“The base umpire said he didn’t see the play,” Sandback said.  “The plate umpire said it wasn’t  his play to call.  I hate to get beat on a call like that.”

“We got a break today and we’ll take it,” said Saints coach Bill Whittaker.

—Oceanside’s sixth straight win, 7-3 over Orange Glen, combined with University’s fourth straight loss, 2-1 to San Dieguito, put the Pirates in first place in the Avocado League with a 6-3 record.

4/19/66

“I like our chances with five (games) to go and two (games) ahead,” said Kearny coach Jack Taylor after a 4-1, Western League win over Madison.

“We play our last four games at home,” said Madison coach Bob Bacon. “If they lose one between now and when they come to our school, look out.”

Kearny is 14-5 overall and 8-2 in league, Madison 9-9 and 6-4.

The teams were to meet in the regular-season finale May 6.

4/22/66

on-Dan Gabbard’s two run home run in the top of the seventh inning was the difference in Escondido’s 5-3 win over Chula Vista and tightened the Metropolitan League race.

Chula Vista is 5-3 and Escondido and Hilltop are each 5-3-1.

—Fundamental orifices were flexing in the Western League, where Kearny’s lead was cut to one game when Kent Shearer singled in the winning run in a three-run sixth inning to give Clairemont a 5-4 win over the Komets.

—Marian sophomore Steve Bajo’s one-hitter stopped Poway, 1-0, and kept the Crusaders in a first place tie in the Palomar League with Carlsbad, which rolled with Louie Montanez’ one-hitter over Army-Navy, 8-0.

–Lincoln moved into a tie for first place in the Eastern with St. Augustine after a 6-1 win over the Saints and a Crawford loss, 4-3, to lefthander Brent Strom and San Diego.

4/26/66

Brent Strom’s fifth start in five games kept San Diego alive in the Eastern League, 5-0 over leading St. Augustine.

—Crawford kept pace, 1-0 against Hoover, and Lincoln hammered Morse, 9-2.

—Kearny, with home runs by Craig Wittler and Mike Dugan, beat Mission Bay and Madison stayed alive in the Western with a 10-inning, 3-2 win over Point Loma behind Greg Gunter’s walk-off single and Mike Raney’s six-hit pitching.

Raney struck out 10 and helped his cause with a double, single, and two runs scored.

—Chula Vista stayed percentage points ahead of Hilltop and Escondido in the Metropolitan as Gordy Mitchell’s four-hitter stopped Coronado, 3-0.

—Don Brunham’s three hitter beat San Diego Military, 1-0, and moved San Miguel School closer to the Southern Prep League title.

4/29/66

Bernard Linn’s season 10^th victory, 5-2 over Mount Miguel, allowed Grossmont to keep pace with Helix each with a 10-2 record in the Grossmont League.

—Ed Ramage won his 10^th game against two losses as Crawford (8-4) took over first in the Eastern with a 9-0 shutout of Morse.

See additional narrative,1966 Baseball II, by searching “Recent Posts”.

Bill Sandback, a transplanted Minnesota hockey player who came West in 1960 and spent a year teaching at Memorial Junior High before becoming coach at Crawford in 1961, was building a dynasty.

The Colts won their third San Diego Section championship in the last four seasons and eventually were named state team of the year by the Cal-Hi Sports newsletter.

We’re not sure when the newsletter anointed Crawford but it had listed state No. 1 teams  as far back as 1899.

Sandback, in retirement and enjoying Friday breakfasts with friends at the D.Z. Akins restaurant in San Diego’s college area, was unaware of the honor until we brought a Cal-High Sports record book to one of the weekly repasts.

“Hey, let me see that,” said the affable coach who left Crawford at the end of the decade and became head coach at Mesa College.

Crawford’s 22-4 record included a 15-0 season for pitcher Bob Boone, who went on to a long career as player, manager, and front-office administrator in major league baseball.

Boone was one of several future professionals and big-leaguers this season, including San Diego pitcher Brent Strom, who still was working as pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

2/18/65

Mount Miguel got one hit, Jim Colesanta’s two-run home run in the first inning, and made that hit stand up in a 4-1 victory over Hilltop.

2/26/65

San Diego, a 6-2 loser to La Jolla in its first game, lost again, 16-6, to visiting Madison despite the Cavers’ Doug Hunt swinging a 4-for-4 bat.

Explanation:  Coach Bernie Flaherty was waiting for Chris Johnson, Brent Strom, Clarence Calvin, Alex Dantzler, and John Meiers, still involved in the Cavers’ basketball team pursuit of a San Diego Section championship.

3/2/65

Ken Henderson hit grand slam home runs in the first and second innings and Crawford walloped Point Loma, 14-0, in a rematch of the 1964 San Diego Section championship game, a 4-3 win for the Colts in eight innings.

“This team comes to play,” said Crawford coach Bill Sandback to Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune.  “The team with the fewest mental errors and hustle will win our league.”

–St. Augustine’s Steve Christopher allowed one hit and outdueled Bernard Linn and Grossmont, 3-1.

3/5/65

Home runs by Billy Bolden and Fred Childs were the difference in Kearny’s 4-0 win over visiting Inglewood Morningside.

–Davey Davis’ three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning turned a 5-3 loss into a 6-5 win for Castle Park against Granite Hills.

–Pitcher Al Salvatierra and catcher Tommy Garrett hit home runs and Lincoln cruised, 12-2, as host Chula Vista committed 11 errors.

–Junior Morton struck out 12, allowed 4 hits, and socked a two-run home run in San Marcos’ 5-4 win over San Dieguito.

3/9/65

Hoover’s Six-foot, four-inch Lloyd Hutchinson hit two, 360-foot home runs and 6-7 pitcher Kenny Bangsburg hit a three-run home run and hurled a 9-5 win over Kearny.

–Dennis Maley and Doug Hunt had three hits each, Louie Panza homered, and San Diego’s 17-hit attack clobbered El Capitan, 16-2.

—Mike Adamson struck out 14 and Point Loma blanked Chula Vista, 2-0.
—Bob Forrester had five hits in Monte Vista’s 5-2 win over Morse.  Charlie Duke hit a grand slam home run in University’s 5-2 win over Marian, and the Sweetwater battery of Victor Gallardo and Jimmy Melillo also went deep in a 4-2 win over Grossmont.

3/12/65

Lefthander Joe Verdon gave up four hits and, aided by catcher Greg Ewald’s two-run single in the sixth inning, beat San Diego, 4-2, in an Eastern League opener.

–Helix nipped Chula Vista, 1-0, in nine innings when Jim Coddington singled and scored on an outfield error.

–Mission Bay’s Don Bair struck out 13 and stopped Clairemont on four hits, 4-2.

–Point Loma, which had scored 8 runs in an 0-4 start, erupted in a Western League opener, 15-1 over La Jolla.

Paul Ehrich gave the Vikings four hits and Roger Esty and Dave Johnson hit home runs.

–Bob Boone’s three-run home run in the first inning was too much for Lincoln in Crawford’s 5-1, Eastern League opener with the guest Hornets.

–Leroy Acebedo homered for Poway’s only hit in the fifth inning, which tied the game, 2-2, and four consecutive walks in the seventh gave the Titans a 3-2, Palomar League win over Carlsbad.

–George Lawton’s three-run home run and Junior Morton’s three-hit pitching was the difference in San Marcos’ 6-0 win over Marian.

–A.J. Moore, Bob Beckman, and Greg Timms had three hits each, George Zorn got 12 Vista Panthers on strikes and gave up three hits in University’s 4-0 win.

3/16/65

Mike Adamson was brilliant, shutting out Mission Bay on three hits for eight innings, but Joel Skinner, with relief in the ninth inning, combined on a no-hitter with Don Bair in Mission Bay’s 1-0 victory.

—San Diego had suffered two of its three losses while awaiting players from the playoff-winning basketball team.

The Cavers evened their Eastern League record with a 3-1 win over Crawford as Brent Strom checked the host Colts on four hits, Chris Johnson doubled home the game’s deciding runs, and Clarence Calvin hit a home run.

3/19/65

Monte Vista raked El Cajon Valley pitchers for four home runs in a 17-7 win.  Jeff McCombs drove in eight runs with two homers and Dan Roberson and Rick McGuffin each added another.

–Helix played its first-ever night game at home against Sweetwater, but the Red Devils’ Terry Williams spoiled the evening with a one-hit, 1-0 shutout.

–Bob Boone hit a home run and gave up two hits as Crawford beat Hoover, 10-1.

3/23/65

A six-run second inning was more than enough as Monte Vista took the Grossmont League lead, 6-0 over Grossmont, which entered the game tied with the Monarchs with a 2-0 record.

Bob Forrester allowed three hits and retired the last 10 Grossmont batters.

–Robbie Childs tripled in three runs in the first inning to halt a Mission Bay pitching run of 16 straight scoreless innings.

Childs and Dusty Quick, who tripled in two runs in the fourth inning, combined for six hits and seven runs batted in as the Vikings won the Western League game, 8-3.

3/26/65

Vista batters struck three home runs, a triple, two doubles, and a total of 13 hits but trailed until a Hank Tenney home run tied the score at seven in the seventh inning.

Two of the Panthers’ six errors, however, led to a fourth unearned run and 8-7 victory for University at Beeson Field.  The Dons (5-1) took over first place in the Avocado League.

–Brandt Crocker tripled in a run in the sixth inning, hit a three-run homer in the seventh, and Madison knocked Mission Bay out of a tie for first place in the Western loop, 4-3.

3/30/65

Helix’ Dave Elstrom checked Monte Vista on three hits and the Highlanders became the first Grossmont League team in five games to defeat Monte Vista, 9-2.

Football quarterback-outfielder Barry Bronk tripled and hit two singles in three times at bat.

–Paul Ehrich, with Mike Adamson coming on in the seventh, combined on a one-hit, 12-inning, 1-0 victory over La Jolla.

The Pointers’ aces struck out 17, allowing only a seventh-inning single by Dusty Quick.  The Vikings’ Jeff McCoy went all the way, losing on Bill Settle’s single that scored Randy Peterson in the 12th.

4/3/65

Rain washed out 16 of 21 games and Crawford’s 9-3 win at the San Diego “swamp,” so described by writer Harlon Bartlett, was the only Eastern League game.

Bob Boone, Jimmy Nettles, and Bob Petretta each had three hits, and Frank Jenkins hit a two-run home run that landed on the adjacent Crosstown, I-5 Freeway, according to Bartlett.

–Chula Vista shaded Mar Vista, 2-1, in eight innings to tie for first place in the Metropolitan League with Hilltop.

–Kearny and Point Loma were tied for first in the Western League after the Komets beat Clairemont, 6-3, and Mission Bay topped Point Loma, 5-2.

4/6/65

Vista’s Matt Taylor (6-0), with help from Tom Heckendorn’s grand slam home run, tamed Fallbrook, 11-1.

–Dirk Van Dyke’s two-hitter stopped Sweetwater, 3-1, as Hilltop held on to its league lead.  Tony Pisciotta pitched a three-hitter and San Diego squeezed St. Augustine, 3-1.

–Poway beat Army-Navy, 1-0, in a battle of two-hitters by the Titans Leroy Acebedo and the Warriors’ Dean Werner.

–Crawford’s Bob Boone hurled a two-hitter and the Colts edged Hoover, 1-0.

4/9/65

Two of 20 scheduled games were played, meaning four of the 40 squads in the San Diego Section braved gale winds and rain.

Mission Bay moved into the Western League lead with a 4-2 win over La Jolla and El Cajon Valley scored a come-from-behind, 4-3 win over Grossmont.

Coach Harry Elliott’s El Cajon Valley Braves are one of the few teams yet to be rained out.

“I’m glad to get these games in,” said Elliott. “I’m trying to rotate a one-man pitching staff, you know”, referring to ace Larry Haggard.  “This way our games won’t be bunched up at the end of the year.”

–As the teams broke for the Lions Tournament, 36 games had been rained out since the season began.

4/12/65

Avocado and Palomar League squads participated in the eight-team, first annual North County Lions Tournament.

San Dieguito’s Rich Zinniger struck out 20 batters and the Mustangs beat Vista, 2-1.  Oceanside’s George Hinds struck out 14 in a 3-0 win over Poway.

Carlsbad decisioned Fallbrook, 4-1, and San Marcos had a bye.

4/13/65

San Dieguito gained finals of the Lions’ North County tournament, 5-0 over San Marcos and Oceanside beat Carlsbad, 10-2, in the other semifinal.

4/20/65

Madison’s Guy Spencer, backed by strong hitting from Greg Gunter, Brandt Crocker, and Dan Whitworth, pitched a no-hit, 5-0 victory over Mission Bay that knocked the Buccaneers out of the Western League lead.

–University’s George Zorn struck out 13 and turned in the day’s second no-hitter, 4-0, over Vista.  The victory was the Dons’ eighth in a row.

–Jimmy Nettles’ run-scoring single in the last of the seventh inning gave Crawford’s Bob Boone a 2-1 victory over St. Augustine’s Steve Christopher.

–El Cajon Valley scored 10 runs in the first inning without hitting the ball out of the infield and took over first place in the Grossmont League with a 12-3 rout of Monte Vista.

Monarchs pitchers walked 14 batters and hit one.  The Braves’ Ralph Hayes walked six consecutive times in the seven innings.

4/21/65

Mike Adamson struck out 17 and pitched Point Loma into the Western League lead, 5-1 over Kearny.

–Jimmy Nettles homered and added three singles in four times up as Crawford drubbed Morse, 10-2.

4/23/65

Brent Strom struck out 14 and gave up two hits in San Diego’s 3-2 win over Hoover.  Clarence Calvin’s single with two strikes and two outs in the seventh scored two runs for the victory.

The Cavers moved to 6-3 in the Eastern League and Hoover fell to 5-4.

–Ron Pietila’s three-hitter and 1-0 win over Hilltop kept Sweetwater in the hunt in the Metropolitan League.

4/27/65

Crawford (10-2) took a 2 ½-game lead with three to play in the Eastern League, 11-5 over San Diego (7-4).

Bob Boone pitched the first five innings for the Colts, who scored seven runs in the first two innings, and won his 11^th game against no losses,

–El Cajon Valley wrapped a tie (up 2 games with 2 to play) for the Grossmont League crown, 1-0 over Helix on Ralph Hayes’ home run over he leftfield wall at Wells Park in the fifth inning.

4/30/65

Crawford (11-2) clinched the Eastern League championship, 3-2, over visiting Hoover.

The Colts’ Gary Shourds pitched a four-hitter and his home run in the fifth inning was the difference. At the end of the day Crawford had a 2 ½-game lead with two to play.

–San Diego clinched a tie for second place and the league’s other playoff berth, 7-3 over St. Augustine.

–El Cajon Valley (8-3) lost a chance to claim the Grossmont league title when El Capitan (2-7) battled to a 9-8 win in eight innings.

–Escondido atoned for an earlier, 25-0 whipping by edging Mount Miguel, 6-5.  Lincoln blasted Morse, 20-8.

5/4/65

Sweetwater (7-3) moved into a first-place tie with Hilltop in the Metropolitan League when Ron Pietila singled and Jim Finnerty homered inside the park to back Victor Gallardo’s four-hit pitching in a 2-0 win over Castle Park.

–Point Loma and Mission Bay, each 10-4, remained tied for first in the Western League.

Mike Adamson struck out 13 and beat Kearny’s Mike Sigman, 1-0, in a battle of one-hit pitchers.

Don Bair of Mission Bay hurled a two-hitter and Craig Sisson drove in both runs in a 2-0 win over La Jolla.

5/7/65

Crawford coach Bill Sandback had confidence that Centerfielder Jimmy Nettles could step in,  so the Colts’ mentor gave ace Bob Boone a day off from pitching duties.  Nettles took the ball and responded with a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over St. Augustine

Nettles struck out nine and walked four and got 10-hit support, including two each from Bob Petretta and Bob Boone.

–Point Loma beat Clairemont, 5-0, and Mission Bay lost to Clairemont, 6-5, to give the Pointers the Western League championship.

–Sweetwater (8-4) backed into the Metropolitan loop title, losing to Mar Vista 5-4, while Chula Vista (7-4-1) edged Hilltop (7-5) for second place.

Back-to-back home runs by Steve King and Greg Mattinson in the seventh inning gave Grossmont (10-3) a 4-3 win over Helix and a share of the Grossmont circuit title.

El Cajon Valley saved a tie with the Foothillers by beating Mount Miguel, 7-3.

–A telephonic vote resulted in Grossmont’s being selected for the Grossmont League’s No. 1 playoff seeding.

5/11/65

Vista clinched a tie for the Avocado League championship and Poway matched that in the Palomar League.

The 12-2 Panthers’ Matt Taylor improved his record to 10-1 and maintained an earned-run average of 0.61 in the 8-1 win over San Dieguito which included a home run by Tom Heckendorn.

Poway beat San Marcos, 14-8, as Jim Quiring had four hits, including a home run and double, and drove in four runs.

STANDINGS

EASTERN LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                            OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Crawford	13	2	.867	—	19	4	.826
San Diego	10	5	.667	2	17	7	.708
Hoover	7	8	.467	6	13	10	.565
Lincoln	7	8	.467	6	12	11	.522
Morse	6	9	.400	7	8	14	.364
St. Augustine	2	13	.133	11	9	15	.375

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                                                                                                        OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	Won	Lost	Pct.
Sweetwater	8	4	.667	—	14	8	.636
Chula Vista	7	4	.636	½	10	10	.500
Hilltop	7	5	.583	1	12	10	.545
Castle Park	5	6	.455	2 ½	10	11	.476
Coronado	5	7	.417	3	12	11	.522
Mar Vista	5	7	.417	3	11	12	.478
Escondido	3	9	.250	5	8	15	.348

AVOCADO LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                                                                                                                       OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Vista	11	1	.917	—	18	4	.818
University	11	1	.917	—	16	5	.762
Oceanside	8	5	.615	3 1/2	14	7	.667
San Dieguito	7	6	.538	4 1/2	10	8	.556
Fallbrook	2	11	.154	9 ½	2	17	.107
Orange Glen	1	13	.071	10 ½	2	15	.118

SOUTHERN LEAGUE

                              LEAGUE                                                                                          OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL.	WON	LOST	Pct.
San Miguel School	3	1	.750	—	7	10	.412
La Jolla Country Day	2	2	.500	1	2	7	.222
San Diego Military	1	3	.250	2	11	4	.733

WESTERN LEAGUE

LEAGUE                                                                                          OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Point Loma	11	4	.733	—	16	8	.667
Mission Bay	10	5	.667	1	12	10	.522
Madison	9	4	.692	2	13	9	.591
Kearny	8	7	.533	3	11	11	.500
La Jolla	5	10	.333	6	7	14	.333
Clairemont	2	13	.133	9	5	17	.227

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

                             LEAGUE                                                                                OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
El Cajon Valley	9	3	.750	—	15	6	.714
Grossmont	9	3	.750	—	12	11	.522
Granite Hills	7	5	.583	2	13	11	.542
Monte Vista	5	7	.417	4	11	11	.500
Helix	5	7	.417	4	10	12	.455
Mount Miguel	4	8	.333	5	8	13	.381
El Capitan	3	9	.250	6	5	16	.238

PALOMAR LEAGUE

                              LEAGUE                                                                              OVERALL

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GBL	WON	LOST	Pct.
Poway	11	2	.846	—	15	6	.714
Carlsbad	9	3	.750	1 1/2	12	5	.707
San Marcos	7	5	.583	3 ½	9	8	.529
Marian	7	6	.538	4	7	11	.388
Army-Navy	2	10	.167	8 1/2	4	10	.286
Ramona	1	11	.083	9 ½	4	13	.235

CLASS AA PLAYOFFS

5/14/65

The eight-team first round went to Eastern and Grossmont League teams.

San Diego’s Brent Strom outdueled Point Loma (16-9) and Mike Adamson, 1-0.  Strom struck out 13 and gave up one hit, while Adamson kept the Cavers hitless until he was forced to retire with a blister on his finger in the sixth inning.

Paul Ehrich, who had eliminated the Cavers in the 1964 playoffs, retired two batters in the sixth after relieving Adamson, but the Cavers got go him in the top of the seventh. Doug Hunt hit a leadoff single, moved up on a ground out by Clarence Calvin and fly ball out by John Meiers, and came home on Dennis Maley’s single.

–Crawford’s Bob Boone yielded only a sixth-inning single to Ron Houston in defeating Mission Bay (12-11), 10-2, and despite five Colts errors.

–A two-run triple by Larry Haggard carried El Cajon Valley past Sweetwater (14-9), 4-2.  Haggard scattered three hits including a home run by Jimmy Melillo.  Ralph Hayes supported Haggard with a home run and triple.

–Home runs by Greg Mattinson and Ralph Naisif were part of a 10-hit Grossmont attack that eliminated Chula Vista (11-11), 13-2.

5/18/65

Crawford’s Bob Boone won his 14^th consecutive game without loss, struck out 10 and shut down Grossmont (13-12), 8-3, in the semifinals.

Grossmont was generous: Three errors, seven walks, a passed ball, and one hit-by-pitcher.

Frank Alfano homered and Frank Jenkins and Paul Kaufman each had two hits for the Colts.

–San Diego’s five-run burst in the sixth inning on run-scoring singles by Mike Marrs and Steve Shepherd and a two-run double by John Meiers pushed the Cavers past El Cajon Valley (15-7), 7-6.

Cavers reliever Brent Strom shut down the Braves in the sixth and seventh innings.

–Matt Taylor ran his record to 11-1 and visiting Vista ousted San Miguel School, 10-0, in the Class A playoffs.

The Panthers collected 15 singles and one extra base hit.  Terry O’Dell was 5 for 5.

5/21/65

AA CHAMPIONSHIP

Crawford (22-4) made it three championships in four years, burying San Diego (19-8), 15-3, at the Marine Corps Depot Beeson Field.

Bob Boone (15-0), making his third start in a week, allowed four hits and the Colts responded with 14, including three-run home runs by Boone, Frank Jenkins, and Greg Werdick.

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP

Tom Heckendorn (9-3) pitched Vista (20-4) to the title, 2-1 over Poway (15-7), which had won in 1962 and ’63, at Palomar College.

Heckendorn gave up three hits, struck out nine and provided a game-winning two-run triple in the fifth inning after the Titans had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 15^th annual Lions baseball tournament began with all eyes on the sky.

Rain had played havoc with the schedule this spring and had a wet and dreary history with the event, actually resulting in cancellation in 1964.

San Diego High, winner of the tournament six times since 1951, was top seed among the 16 Unlimited Division teams, with Monte Vista favored in the 13-team Limited Division.

4/12/65

Tony Pisciotta and Kirk Gurling combined to check Escondido on four hits and top-seed San Diego advanced with a 5-0 victory over Escondido.

Three other ranked squads, Crawford (9-0, Mount Miguel), Hoover (4-0, El Capitan), and Point Loma, (3-1 Lincoln), all moved on in the Unlimited Division.

Hoover’s Greg Verdon pitched a one-hitter.  Crawford’s Bob Boone and Larry Forest scattered three Mount Miguel hits.  Point Loma Paul Ehrich gave up four hits, one a home run to losing pitcher Dennis Webb.

Monte Vista shut out Mission Bay, 5-0. Hilltop scored seven runs in the seventh inning in a 13-1 win over La Jolla. University won its tenth in a row, 3-1 over Mar Vista.

4/13/65

San Diego defeated El Cajon Valley, 4-3, in the morning and came from behind to edge Hoover, 5-4, in the afternoon to gain the championship game against Point Loma, which whipped Clairemont, then turned back Crawford, 1-0.

Trailing, 4-1, in the last of the seventh inning, San Diego got a triple from Clarence Calvin, double from Dennis Maley, bunt single by Louie Panza, pinch-hit single by Lee Wright, Hoover error, and a double steal that stole the win from the stunned Cardinals.

Crawford had 12 base runners, but two were out on plays at the plate, the last which ended the game, and three were cut down at second base, all part of outstanding defensive play by Pointers catcher Tim Faris.

Monte Vista beat Castle Park, 4-2, and Marian, 11-6, to gain the Limited Division championship versus Coronado, which surprised seeded opponents Hilltop, 5-3, and University, 2-1.

4/14/65

Brent Strom was named outstanding player of the tournament, pitching the first four innings and doubling in all of San Diego’s runs in the fifth inning of the 3-2 championship over Point Loma.

The Pointers Mike Adamson walked Dennis Maley and Louie Panza on eight pitches and then yielded an infield single to Steve Shepherd, setting the stage for Strom.

Monte Vista won its second straight Limited title as the game with Coronado was called with one out in the top of the seventh inning when the 12-run rule was activated by a Monarchs run that made the score 13-1.

Lincoln beat Escondido, 12-3, as Dennis Webb hit his second home run of the tournament, and St. Augustine topped Mar Vista, 1-0, for consolation brackets titles.

Dewey (Mike) Morrow ended a remarkable, 20-season run at San Diego High that included 15 Coast League championships and 10 Southern California titles from 1927, excluding the World War II, 1942-45 seasons.

Morrow’s final Hillers team was 17-10 and its .630 winning percentage, excellent by almost any measure, his lowest. Morrow’s overall record against high school teams was 281-49 (.852) and 367-97 (.788) versus all opponents, according to Don King’s Caver Conquest history of San Diego athletics.

Morrow was switching jobs with Les Cassie and figuratively passed Cassie on the way, Cassie becoming coach at the high school and Morrow succeeding Cassie at San Diego Junior College, across Russ Boulevard from the Hillers’ campus.

2/28/50

Frank Sanfillipo and Charlie Powell hit home runs in San Diego’s 7-6 win over La Jolla. SanFillipo’s three-run, 340-foot blast landed in the left-centerfield seats on the East side of Balboa Stadium. Powell’s two-run shot, estimated at 350 feet, came with one man aboard.

3/4/50

Hoover opened the season with a doubleheader sweep at La Jolla, 9-5, and 2-0. Ralph Buckingham allowed one hit in the nine-inning opener; Bert Grigsby scattered eight hits in the seven-inning nightcap.

3/5/50

John Nelson, Bob Stipp, and Dan Baker hit home runs and Kearny essentially took batting practice, bombing visiting Escondido, 21-2. Kearny’s junior varsity beat the Cougars’ JV, 20-0, at Escondido.

–No published score, but word reached that St. Augustine defeated its faculty by one run.

3/9/50

Ray Preston, Dick Priest, and Blain Thomas combined to pitch Grossmont’s 12-0 win over St. Augustine at Golden Hill Playground.

3/11/50

Ralph Buckingham hurled a no-hitter and struck out 13 Chula Vista batters in Hoover’s 5-0 victory. Dick Hartley had two hits, scored two runs, and drove in another.

–La Jolla, backed by Warner Benjamin’s and Tom Tomaiko’s home runs and seven San Diego errors, handed the Hillers their first defeat after five victories, 10-5.

–Mike De Scisciolo’s pinch hit, grand slam home run was the difference in Sweetwater’s 6-2 triumph against visiting St. Augustine.

3/14/50

Grossmont’s Blain Thomas, who transferred in from Norfolk, Virginia, gave up home runs to Bob Stipp and Tom Eggert, but stuck around for a 12-10, complete-game win over Kearny.

—Bert Grigsby struck out 15 and spaced eight hits in Hoover’s 8-5 victory over Point Loma. First baseman Art Bunge got the Cardinals off with a three-run home run in the first inning.

–Four-hit pitching by Clyde Thomas and a 14-hit attack was too much for Chula Vista as San Diego routed the Spartans, 19-2.

3/17/50

A crowd estimated at 4,500 at Lane Field saw the South defeat the North, 5-4, in the second annual Metropolitan League carnival.

The matchups (South teams first) were Chula Vista versus Sweetwater, Escondido versus Oceanside, Kearny versus San Dieguito, and Point Loma versus La Jolla.

The Southern Prep League’s San Dieguito filled in for Coronado, which again did not field a team because there was a lack of a suitable playing facility on the peninsula.

The South’s winning run came in the seventh inning, when Point Loma’s Nat Jones singled and Manny Gomes was safe on an error, Jones advancing to third.

Jones scored when the La Jolla’s third baseman threw wildly to home after fielding Izzy Luz’s grounder.

–Hoover first baseman Chuck Kennedy was 4 for 4 with three singles and a double but it was 10 St. Augustine errors that doomed the Saints to a 12-8 loss.

3/18/50

Point Loma pounded Grossmont, 8-5, and 12-1 in a nonleague doubleheader. Jim Poole scattered seven hits in the opener and Tim Feller and Manny Gomes handcuffed the Foothillers on two hits in the nightcap.

–Bonita High from the Los Angeles area was a stunned guest as Hoover won both ends of a double header at, 22-1, and 12-1.

Ralph Buckingham pitched a two-hitter in the opener. Buckingham was 5 for 9 on the day and Hoover batters had a total of 26 base hits in the two games.

3/20/50

Bob Petty socked two home runs and Hoover bombed Kearny, 13-5.

–La Jolla, backed by 12 Grossmont errors, outscored the Foothillers, 23-8. Vista whacked Fallbrook, 22-1, and San Diego got to Point Loma’s Eddie Serrano and Izzy Luz for a pair of four-run innings in a 12-7 win.

3/21/50

Bob Thorpe wild-pitched in a run in the eighth inning and the Naval Training Center squad defeated San Diego, 3-2, on the sailors’ diamond.

3/24/50

Freshmen Dick Flores and Jim Fletsch homered as St. Augustine won its first game 18-8, at San Dieguito.

–Lou Stills and the so-named Gunner Gundry hit home runs, offsetting Huddy McDowell’s 3-for-4 in Sweetwater’s 9-5 win at Kearny as the Metropolitan League season began.

–Eddie Serrano was 2 for 4, struck out 10, and allowed host Chula Vista four hits in Point Loma’s 7-2 win.

–Escondido topped Oceanside, 8-7, in 10 innings. Cougars pitcher Ben Linares had a no-hitter for seven innings.

3/25/50

Charlie Powell’s two-run home run in the ninth inning won the first game of a doubleheader at Pasadena Muir, 8-6. Powell stole home in the ninth inning of the nightcap and the Hillers completed a sweep, winning, 4-3, at Muir’s neighbor, Pasadena.

3/28/50

Grossmont put a resounding end to San Diego’s 16-game Coast League winning streak, knocking down the Hillers, 14-5, in Balboa Stadium.

The loss, San Diego’s first in Coast League play since 1948, was triggered by a three-run first inning followed by a five-run outburst in the second.

Jay Harris led the Foothillers’ 17-hit attack with a double and three singles. Bob Rand added four singles and Don Lenardi a pair of doubles.

— Warren Goodridge punched five singles in six at-bats as La Jolla ripped Hoover, 8-3.

–Tom Eggert homered and tripled and John Nelson hit for the circuit as Kearny topped St. Augustine, 13-2.

–Kenny Meyers pitched a no-hitter, allowing three base runners and getting support from Tom Oxley (three-run double) and Jack Rosenquist (two-run double) as Vista beat Oceanside, 5-0.

3/30/50

Charlie Powell homered and Frank San Fillipo doubled, driving in four runs, as San Diego took a 5-1 lead. The Cardinals came back to eventually take a 7-5 lead but the Hillers scored two runs in the seventh and one in the top of the ninth to beat Hoover, 8-7.

Ralph Buckingham homered for the Cardinals.

3/31/50

San Diego High was positioned to defend its Pomona 2030 Club championship, which it had won six times since 1935.

(The Hillers won a seventh title in 1933 but forfeited after reports that two Hillers brothers had competed under aliases at a semipro game in El Centro the previous summer.

(CIF honcho Seth Van Patten had brought down the hammer, also taking away the Hilltoppers’ Coast League championship and two playoff wins, plus the opportunity to play Santa Maria for the Southern Section title).

San Diego’s success in the tournament is such that the Hillers twice had retired perpetual trophies, the Carnation Milk bauble in 1938 and the Hollywood Stars’ trophy in 1949.

FIVE OTHER HOPEFULS

Point Loma, Grossmont, La Jolla, Hoover, and Escondido also were in the 32-team field, including Roosevelt and Washington, representing the Los Angeles City Section, which entered for the first time.

4/3/50

Pete Bechtol and Bill Whitson combined to pitch a five-hitter and La Jolla bested Ben Linares and Escondido, 3-2.

Dick Simmons’ infield single in the eighth inning scored Warren Goodridge with the Vikings’ winning run.

–The line for St. Augustine was 1 run, 0 hits, and 8 errors. Grossmont’s Ray Preston hurled the no-hitter but three errors in the seventh inning led to a run for the Saints.

Not to worry.  Grossmont defeated the Saints, 20-1.

–Eddie Serrano struck out 14 and outdueled John Tracy in Point Loma’s 1-0 win at Kearny.

4/4/50

San Diego beat Corona, 13-2, in its first-round game at Pomona and then followed the path of two other San Diego squads.

The Hillers lost their second-round game, 5-3, to Covina and joined Hoover and La Jolla with early trips home.

Hoover beat Anaheim, 12-3, and lost to L.A. Roosevelt, 2-1. La Jolla defeated Santa Ana, 9-4, and lost to Metro League rival Point Loma, 12-10.

The Pointers moved into the championship bracket quarterfinals, while Grossmont and Escondido, losers of first-round games (Grossmont to Santa Barbara, 7-0, and Escondido to Newport Beach Newport Harbor, 5-4) were bounced to the consolation bracket.

4/5/50

Point Loma was ousted by Compton, 6-5, and Escondido by Colton, 10-4, but Grossmont remained alive in the Pomona 2030 Club tournament after beating Corona, 3-2, and Santa Monica, 10-1.

4/6/50

Grossmont outslugged Colton, 9-6, for the consolation bracket title of the Pomona 2030 Club event. Santa Barbara outlasted Compton, 12-11, for the championship.

4/11/50

Tee Bennis had a 5 for 5 day at the plate with a home run, double, and three singles and Charlie Powell homered and tripled. San Diego’s Clyde Thomas took advantage, stopping host Compton, 8-1. Hillers outfielder Bob Stratton completed two double plays by throwing out Compton runners at the plate.

–Home runs by Raul Garcia and Dave Brennan propelled Sweetwater to a victory in the Imperial Valley, 9-7, at El Centro Central.

4/17/50

Hoover evened its Coast League record at 1-1 with a 14-1 rout of Grossmont. Joe Duke and Bob Petty homered for the Cardinals.Ralph Buckingham held the Foothillers to three hits and got a boost when his team scored seven runs in the ninth inning.

4/18/50

Ernest Robles drove in three runs with a home run and two singles and struck out 12 in leading Brown Military to a 5-4, Southern Prep League victory over Ramona.

4/19/50

Charlie Powell’s three-run triple in the first inning wiped out a 2-0 lead, but Hoover stormed back with four runs in the fourth and took a 7-4 victory over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.

Powell arrived in time to start the game in right field after attempting two throws and winning the shot put at 54 feet, 5 inches earlier in the afternoon in the Hillers’ track meet at Hoover.

Bert Grigsby kept the Hillers at a distance and Joe Duke singled twice and Bob Petty and Dick Roberts each had two hits for the Cardinals.

4/20/50

Tony Roe allowed three hits, struck out eight, and the San Diego State Frosh scored a 12-1 victory over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.

–Jerry Mayer had three hits and La Jolla, aided by five Point Loma errors, outlasted the Pointers, 9-7, for its fourth consecutive Metropolitan League win.

–Bob Schertzer’s home runs and three singles by Ron Stewart were pivotal in Chula Vista’s 4-2 win over Escondido.

–Sweetwater, limited to five hits by Ken Meyers, profited from 10 errors to score seven unearned runs and top Oceanside, 11-6.

4/21/50

Grossmont split a doubleheader in Pasadena, defeating Pasadena with a 17-hit attack, 16-7, after losing a Friday game to Muir, 6-5.

Three hits, a walk and error led to three runs by the Mustangs in the bottom of the ninth.

The Foothillers trailed, 2-1, after five innings in the second game but scored three runs each in the sixth and ninth innings and four runs each in the seventh and eighth.

–Bob Warner gave up two hits in the seventh inning but outpitched Jim Poole in San Diego’s 3-0, seven-inning, nonleague victory over Point Loma.

–Hoover won a road doubleheader, shutting out Pasadena Muir, 2-0, and Pasadena, 14-6.

Jerry Woods blanked the Mustangs on five hits in the opener and Jerry Newark and Joe Duke each had two hits to lead a 11-hit attack in the second game.

–San Dieguito topped St. Augustine, 9-8, at Golden Hill Playground as the teams combined for 25 base hits.

4/24/50

Tony Roe was too much again for San Diego High. The San Diego State freshman drove in three runs with a pair of two-base hits and the Aztec’ Frosh scored their second victory over the Hillers, 7-4.

4/25/50

Hoover and Compton each improved to 5-1 and remained tied for first in the Coast League. The Cardinals shellacked Grossmont, 16-2, and the Tarbabes blanked Pasadena Muir, 11-0.

Jack MacKay’s three-run home run and a two-run shot by Bob Petty provided offense for Hoover.

–San Diego defeated Chula Vista, 10-6. Frank San Fillipo homered for the Hillers and Ron Stewart for the Spartans.

4/26/50

Escondido pitchers issued 14 bases on balls, including seven in a five-run second inning, delivering a 12-8 victory to Oceanside.

–George Sullivan’s third hit, a single in the bottom of the ninth, gave Sweetwater a second win over Hoover, 7-6.

4/28/50

San Diego’s 13-1 win over Grossmont elevated the Hillers into second place in the Coast League, thanks to a Hoover doubleheader sweep at Compton.

Ralph Buckingham pitched a 9-2 victory in the opener and singled twice and drove in two runs, abetting Jack MacKay’s two singles and three RBI.

Bob Berry slugged two triples and MacKay and Don Bonatus added a pair of doubles as Bert Grigsby hurled the 10-3 win in the nightcap.

Frank Sanfillipo, Marco Bennis, and Bob Jordan each hit home runs and Jordan scattered nine hits in San Diego’s win at Grossmont.

5/3/50

Vista swamped Ramona, 15-0. Grossmont beat Point Loma, 10-5, and Hoover won a wild, 16-13 victory over Kearny at Linda Vista Recreation center.

Twenty-four hits and 13 errors were part of the Hoover-Kearny contest, in which five pitchers and four catchers participated.

5/5/50

La Jolla held on to first place in the Metropolitan League with a 10-inning, 5-4 win over Sweetwater.

The Vikings’ Warner Benjamin tied the game with a two-run homer run in the bottom of the ninth.

Jerry Meyers walked in the 10^th, advanced to third on Bill Simmons’ double, and scored the winning run on Frank Chalupenik’s single.

–Hoover (8-1) clinched a tie for the Coast League’s final championship, 8-0 over visiting Muir as Ralph Buckingham struck out 17 and shut down the Mustangs on one hit, a single in the ninth inning.

–Charlie Powell’s grand slam home run was the big blow as San Diego (7-2) beat Pasadena, 11-7.

–Jay Harris homered, tripled, and singled, but it wasn’t enough for Grossmont as Compton became the only Coast League visitor to win, 7-6.

5/6/50

Bert Grigsby gave up seven runs, three earned, but Hoover scored a 17-7 win over Pasadena that clinched the Coast League championship for the Cardinals.

Hoover (9-1) finished ahead of San Diego (8-2), which defeated Compton, 4-1, as Bernie Hernandez collected three hits and Clyde Thomas two extra base hits while winning a pitching matchup against future major leaguer Bennie Daniels.

5/13/50

Bill Whitson’s three-hit pitching and Bill Simmons’ three hits paved La Jolla’s 5-0 victory over Chula Vista. The Vikings concluded the Metropolitan League campaign with a 6-0 record.

–Eddie Serrano held Escondido to two hits in Point Loma’s 10-2 victory which clinched second place for the 5-1 Pointers.

5/15/50

A two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning by Santa Ana’s Tom Miller brought the Saints from behind and eliminated Hoover, 2-1, in the CIF Central Group playoffs.

Hoover was the only team from the area to participate in the playoffs. Metropolitan League squads maintained a policy of usually declining.