1959-60: Pointers Prevail After Others Falter
San Diego was leaving the Southern Section at the end of the school year but was going out with an unprecedented show of force. Hoover was ranked No. 1 and Helix No. 2 in seeding for the 32-team major playoffs. Glendale, beaten by both Hoover and San Diego, was seeded fourth. Hoover’s undefeated regular season […]
Read More1959-60: Hoover Comes Up Short at Finish Line
Seldom was a defeat as disappointing as that which knocked out Hoover in the semifinals of San Diego’s swansong in the CIF Southern Section playoffs. The Cardinals sustained a numbing, 39-34 loss to Anaheim in the round of four in a season when they were unbeaten for 26* straight games. Coach Charlie Hampton had returned […]
Read More2017: John Williams, Played on Great Hoover Team
Name Hoover’s starting five in 1959-60 and Johnny (Bo) Williams probably would be the fifth to come to mind. But Williams, a 6-foot, 1-inch guard, was an effective offensive player (269 points in 27 games) and outstanding defender for arguably the finest San Diego-area team before Bill Walton and Helix arrived a decade later. Williams, […]
Read More1967-68: Mount Miguel on Mountain Top
They have been cast in the 6-foot, 11-inch shadow of Bill Walton and Helix’ 33-0 team of 1969-70. History has overlooked the Mount Miguel clubs that dominated the Grossmont League and San Diego Section in the late 1960s. The Matadors were 25-6 in 1966-67 and 32-0 this season. But coach Dick Ridgway’s squad did not […]
Read More1956-57: A Red Devils Reset
Who would have thought a team that started the season with a 1-8 record and finished 10-10 would be celebrated? Hats off to the Sweetwater Red Devils. An eighth loss in nine games was where coach Wells Gorman’s team stood on January 6, 1957, after a 55-50, Metropolitan League, opening-game loss at Helix. But that […]
Read More1955-56: Islanders Square Account
Coronado paid an old debt. Hoover’s playoff advance was halted at the foul line. Merrill Douglas ended a great run at San Diego High. Lincoln showed that patience had virtue. —John Kovac was a football coach who happened to come along at the right basketball time at Coronado. The dour Kovac without prompting often recalled […]
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