| Cruisin' the Past |
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| Cruisin’ the Past by Ed Dooley |
Fall Sports
By the time September rolled around each year, most of us were ready for summer
vacation to end and school to begin. True, we were not anxious to hit the books again, but
we were ready for the end of Tucson’s hot season and monsoons, we had begun to grow
tired of lazy summer days and weary of summer jobs, we missed seeing our friends, and we
especially looked forward to the return of a full social schedule offered by Catalina High
School.
For many of us, the main attraction of each new school year was the return of fall sports.
Perhaps because Catalina was so new, or perhaps because this was the 1950s, there was
a strong sense of camaraderie in the student body and attachment to the school, but
nothing brought us together like a good – and winning – athletic contest. We were not
fanatical fans like those found in other western states, but we came very close.
As elsewhere, the king of fall sports was football. This was true not just because it was
becoming the “national sport” – supplanting baseball – but because it drew the largest and
most enthusiastic crowds (2000 spectators turned out to watch the opening game of 1959
between CHS and Salpointe). Friday nights found the football stands filled with enthusiastic
backers hungry for victory and glory for the Blue and the White. Football was the major
contest for bragging rights among schools, it featured colorful marching bands at halftime, it
drew the serious attention of local newspapers, and it was played under lights in the
invigorating cool desert evenings. And if one was not all that keen on football, there was
often the draw of a mixer in the CHS cafeteria after the game, or gatherings for pizza at
Casa Molina, or parties at private homes.
More than with any other sport, save perhaps basketball, the stars of the football team were
the “heroes” of the school and the “big men on campus.” A roster of the Trojan squad
typically was a virtual who’s who of men of the school. Altogether, there were 39 players on
the team, and their names and photos can be seen in THE TORCH. Among the leaders in
our senior year were Dave Berg, Mike Dietz, Bob Gaylord, Jim Nichols, Rick Parrish, Jeff
Shofner, Tom Kosser, Frank Lochner, Ed McGlothin, Tom Kenan, Don Hawk, and Neal
Genda. What is most significant about many of these athletes is that they excelled in a
number of sports, and most of our best athletes were also outstanding students. Many
went on to have successful careers: for example, among the leading players, one became a
physician, two school teachers, one a veterinarian, two lawyers, one an international
businessman, one a securities banker, one a computer specialist, and one a physical
therapist.
Trojan football was always exciting, if only occasionally successful. The record in 1958 was
four wins and six losses, while in 1959 it was two wins and eight losses. Because so many
of the senior players were small that year, it was necessary to bring up heavier linemen
from the junior varsity and freshman squads, so we had a young and inexperienced team.
But losing seasons did not dampen the enthusiasm of the spectators, however, nor did it
discourage our outstanding coaches, Head Coach Ken Pearson and Assistant Coaches
Ben Davis and Bill Kiser.
Of course, football was not the only fall sport. The Catalina cross country team started out
slowly that year but improved as the year progressed, capturing fifth place at the end of the
season in the state tournament that included 19 schools. Sports writers, who were always
looking for some catchy alternative description for athletes, seemed to delight in coining
labels for this team, including “thinclads,” in reference to their light-weight uniforms,
“harriers,” as in dogs used to hunt rabbits, and the more prosaic “distancemen.” In days
before modern running shoes and energy drinks, these young men ran punishing distances
over desert terrain along North Pontatoc Road in flimsy shoes called “flats” which provided
no cushioning and little support against dreaded shinsplints and other injuries. There was
also, in those days, a mistaken idea that a runner should not drink much before a race or
during a race, which made dehydration a potential problem. Twenty determined young men
competed in this sport, without the morale-building benefit of large numbers of spectators
and cheerleaders, including standouts senior Tee Cook and sophomore John Donner.
Other lettermen were Bob Hinkle, George Cooper, Dusty Davison, Dave Fithian, Charlie
Fowler, Rick Haller, Jim Moore, and Harold Slavens.
In those years, tennis was the only interscholastic sport open to women. In 1959-60, this
team included 20 women, including Judy Allen, Kris Born, Mary Ellen Dietz, Molly Poole,
Susie Salant. However, through the Girls Athletic Association, Catalina offered a full
intramural sports program that featured women’s competition with other schools and
included gymnastics, basketball, trampoline, volleyball, archery, hockey, bowling, softball,
and golf.
Speaking of women’s teams, for sheer physical energy one could hardly match Catalina’s
cheerleaders and pom-pom girls. They led cheers and kept spirits up at games, pep
assemblies, and at halftimes. They were not only among the prettiest girls in the school but
were accomplished athletes who could rival many of the moves of our gymnasts. The line-
up included Diana Smith, Susie Landon, Kay Ziedler, Toni Roberts, Kathy Graf, Brenda
Morris, Emily Kittle, and Andi Bacal for the cheerleaders, and Pam Byrd, Toby Hyman,
Klaire Koffman, Nancy Helm, Linda Salant, Darlene Hansen, Diane Jeffries, Jill Dykeman,
Cindy Monroe, Leslie Lieber, Penny Bowman, and Lucy Richardson for the pom-pom girls.
It’s impossible to think back on those athletic contests without recalling the fight songs and
school songs heard in the gym or in the football bleachers. Some were very specific such
as “Tip Off the Center” and “We Got the Coach,” but most were more general, including “A
Little Pep,” “Catalina,” “Blue and White,” and “Victory,” the last of which asked the
searching question “Are we in it?” and reassuringly concluded with the answer “Yes! Yes!
Yes!”
And on that note, an article on fall sports would not be complete without a tribute to the
Catalina High School Band. In marching formation, this organization of nearly 85 musicians
played at each home football game, regardless of the weather, and at basketball games.
They could also switch gears and give concerts at the Fine Arts Festival and compete in
the All State Band competition. Many of them were also members of Catalina’s outstanding
50-member orchestra.
Several sports began at the end of the first semester and ran well into the second. These
included basketball, wrestling, and rifle. These will be covered in a future column on spring
sports, which far outnumbered the fall lineup of sports at CHS. For October’s column,
however, I plan to focus on after-game activities. To do this, I will need your help. Please
email me your recollections of things we did after football and basketball games.
By the time September rolled around each year, most of us were ready for summer
vacation to end and school to begin. True, we were not anxious to hit the books again, but
we were ready for the end of Tucson’s hot season and monsoons, we had begun to grow
tired of lazy summer days and weary of summer jobs, we missed seeing our friends, and we
especially looked forward to the return of a full social schedule offered by Catalina High
School.
For many of us, the main attraction of each new school year was the return of fall sports.
Perhaps because Catalina was so new, or perhaps because this was the 1950s, there was
a strong sense of camaraderie in the student body and attachment to the school, but
nothing brought us together like a good – and winning – athletic contest. We were not
fanatical fans like those found in other western states, but we came very close.
As elsewhere, the king of fall sports was football. This was true not just because it was
becoming the “national sport” – supplanting baseball – but because it drew the largest and
most enthusiastic crowds (2000 spectators turned out to watch the opening game of 1959
between CHS and Salpointe). Friday nights found the football stands filled with enthusiastic
backers hungry for victory and glory for the Blue and the White. Football was the major
contest for bragging rights among schools, it featured colorful marching bands at halftime, it
drew the serious attention of local newspapers, and it was played under lights in the
invigorating cool desert evenings. And if one was not all that keen on football, there was
often the draw of a mixer in the CHS cafeteria after the game, or gatherings for pizza at
Casa Molina, or parties at private homes.
More than with any other sport, save perhaps basketball, the stars of the football team were
the “heroes” of the school and the “big men on campus.” A roster of the Trojan squad
typically was a virtual who’s who of men of the school. Altogether, there were 39 players on
the team, and their names and photos can be seen in THE TORCH. Among the leaders in
our senior year were Dave Berg, Mike Dietz, Bob Gaylord, Jim Nichols, Rick Parrish, Jeff
Shofner, Tom Kosser, Frank Lochner, Ed McGlothin, Tom Kenan, Don Hawk, and Neal
Genda. What is most significant about many of these athletes is that they excelled in a
number of sports, and most of our best athletes were also outstanding students. Many
went on to have successful careers: for example, among the leading players, one became a
physician, two school teachers, one a veterinarian, two lawyers, one an international
businessman, one a securities banker, one a computer specialist, and one a physical
therapist.
Trojan football was always exciting, if only occasionally successful. The record in 1958 was
four wins and six losses, while in 1959 it was two wins and eight losses. Because so many
of the senior players were small that year, it was necessary to bring up heavier linemen
from the junior varsity and freshman squads, so we had a young and inexperienced team.
But losing seasons did not dampen the enthusiasm of the spectators, however, nor did it
discourage our outstanding coaches, Head Coach Ken Pearson and Assistant Coaches
Ben Davis and Bill Kiser.
Of course, football was not the only fall sport. The Catalina cross country team started out
slowly that year but improved as the year progressed, capturing fifth place at the end of the
season in the state tournament that included 19 schools. Sports writers, who were always
looking for some catchy alternative description for athletes, seemed to delight in coining
labels for this team, including “thinclads,” in reference to their light-weight uniforms,
“harriers,” as in dogs used to hunt rabbits, and the more prosaic “distancemen.” In days
before modern running shoes and energy drinks, these young men ran punishing distances
over desert terrain along North Pontatoc Road in flimsy shoes called “flats” which provided
no cushioning and little support against dreaded shinsplints and other injuries. There was
also, in those days, a mistaken idea that a runner should not drink much before a race or
during a race, which made dehydration a potential problem. Twenty determined young men
competed in this sport, without the morale-building benefit of large numbers of spectators
and cheerleaders, including standouts senior Tee Cook and sophomore John Donner.
Other lettermen were Bob Hinkle, George Cooper, Dusty Davison, Dave Fithian, Charlie
Fowler, Rick Haller, Jim Moore, and Harold Slavens.
In those years, tennis was the only interscholastic sport open to women. In 1959-60, this
team included 20 women, including Judy Allen, Kris Born, Mary Ellen Dietz, Molly Poole,
Susie Salant. However, through the Girls Athletic Association, Catalina offered a full
intramural sports program that featured women’s competition with other schools and
included gymnastics, basketball, trampoline, volleyball, archery, hockey, bowling, softball,
and golf.
Speaking of women’s teams, for sheer physical energy one could hardly match Catalina’s
cheerleaders and pom-pom girls. They led cheers and kept spirits up at games, pep
assemblies, and at halftimes. They were not only among the prettiest girls in the school but
were accomplished athletes who could rival many of the moves of our gymnasts. The line-
up included Diana Smith, Susie Landon, Kay Ziedler, Toni Roberts, Kathy Graf, Brenda
Morris, Emily Kittle, and Andi Bacal for the cheerleaders, and Pam Byrd, Toby Hyman,
Klaire Koffman, Nancy Helm, Linda Salant, Darlene Hansen, Diane Jeffries, Jill Dykeman,
Cindy Monroe, Leslie Lieber, Penny Bowman, and Lucy Richardson for the pom-pom girls.
It’s impossible to think back on those athletic contests without recalling the fight songs and
school songs heard in the gym or in the football bleachers. Some were very specific such
as “Tip Off the Center” and “We Got the Coach,” but most were more general, including “A
Little Pep,” “Catalina,” “Blue and White,” and “Victory,” the last of which asked the
searching question “Are we in it?” and reassuringly concluded with the answer “Yes! Yes!
Yes!”
And on that note, an article on fall sports would not be complete without a tribute to the
Catalina High School Band. In marching formation, this organization of nearly 85 musicians
played at each home football game, regardless of the weather, and at basketball games.
They could also switch gears and give concerts at the Fine Arts Festival and compete in
the All State Band competition. Many of them were also members of Catalina’s outstanding
50-member orchestra.
Several sports began at the end of the first semester and ran well into the second. These
included basketball, wrestling, and rifle. These will be covered in a future column on spring
sports, which far outnumbered the fall lineup of sports at CHS. For October’s column,
however, I plan to focus on after-game activities. To do this, I will need your help. Please
email me your recollections of things we did after football and basketball games.
