| Cruisin' the Past |
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| Cruisin’ the Past by Ed Dooley |
Spring Sports
Ah, springtime in Tucson: brilliant blue skies, moderate temperatures, blooming
desert plants, and the sounds of bats hitting baseballs, spikes churning up cinder
tracks, and tennis balls bouncing off rackets! At Catalina High School, springtime
always ushered in an impressive number of spring sports that flourished in Tucson’s
desert climate.
Some of these sports began their seasons at the end of first semester and
continued into second semester, finishing their competitions before spring actually
began, but I’ll include them in this article because most of their events took place in
the spring semester. Most important was basketball, with a season running from
December through February. This was one of Catalina’s premier teams, the source
of great excitement and pride for the school, and the Trojans ended the 1959-60
season as AA Division Four champions. The team’s coach, Bill
Kemmeries, was one of the most popular teachers at CHS, one of
the best-known coaches, and the unwitting founder of the “Fun
Club.” The basketball team, during our senior year, included some
of the most popular and talented athletes in the school: Joel
Guerrero, Mike Storey, Carl Ferguson, Don Carbiener, Dave Berg,
Neal Genda, Tim O’Hara, Jim Landis, Buddy Doolen, Steve Miles
(who had a 10-point average per game), Jamie Foster, Harry
Cornelius, Alan Head, Jerry Knapp, Mike Cook, Mike Fry, and
Dan Breck, known as “Watusi” because of his 6”-6” height. Some
were so multitalented that they played key positions on other athletic
teams at the school as well.
Basketball games brought an excitement to CHS that was hard to match, even by
football games. Perhaps this was because the games were held in the gymnasium
where spectators, led by pretty cheerleaders, pom-pom girls, and song leaders,
gave rousing cheers or sang the school fight song. And then there was the rhythmic
and deafening stamping of feet on the wooden bleachers of the gym to accompany
the cheers. “We’re from Catalina and couldn’t be prouder!” was the cry, and the
sound level made it convincing to all.
Another sport that took place at the end of winter was wrestling.
The CHS team was large, with over fifty members. Led by head
coach Jack Segurson and freshman coach Ev Nicholson, the team
participated in matches held from December through the start of
February. Known as “mat men” and “grapplers,” they preferred the
nickname “Aggies,” because they had adopted the style of the
Oklahoma Aggies. In 1959-60 the squad compiled the best record
in its history, finishing its season with six wins and three losses, and
it placed seventh in the state tournament. Several members of the
team, seniors in 1959-60, were standouts, including Jim Dainty,
Dave Murphy, Dave Rowe, Bill Tucker, and the popular Jeff Shofner,
now deceased. Jeff was an example of one of those athletes who
could do it all: he played football, soccer, and basketball, ran track,
wrestled, and swam. In addition to all this, Jeff was in the National
Honor Society.
The leading spring sport, of course, was baseball. Coach Cliff
Myrick’s team had an impressive year in 1959-60, finishing the
season with a 12-8 record and placing 3rd in the city and 4th in AA
standing. Among its accomplishments that year, the Trojan nine
beat the heavily favored University of Arizona freshmen “Wildkittens,
” 8-3, in the third game of the season. Seniors on the team were
Joel Guerrero, Jim Nichols, Bob Jacobs, Gary Lawson, and Dave
Berg. In the CHS-UA game, Nichols and Berg were the leading
batters. Three CHS players made the Arizona Daily Star all-city
team: Joel Guerrero, Jim Nichols, and Dave Berg. Guerrero finished
the season as Catalina’s batting King with a .400 mark for 22 hits in
55 trips to the plate. Jim Nichols led in extra bases and RBIs.
From March through May, all eyes were on the track and field men
of the Trojan track team, referred to in sports columns as “thinclads.”
Given the time of the year that the track meets were held, and given
the attractive setting of the CHS track, these contests were always
festive events. Led by Coach Gale Bell, the team made it to the state
AA championship, though it did not place. Senior standouts on the
squad included sprinters Tom Kenan and Tom Kosser; distance
runners Tee Cook, John Donner, and Bob Hinkle; high jumpers Dan
Breck and Bud Doolen; pole vaulters Don Hawk, Bob Svob and
Steve Patzman; shot putter Bill Kolb; and discus men Frank Castil
de Oro and Kirk Thompson. Track gave us many exciting moments,
including Bob Hinkle’s triple feat: he set a new school record in the
440 yard dash in 1960, and then proceeded to break his own record
two more times in the same season. Bob Svob consistently broke
records for the pole vault. A closely related team was the cross-country
squad, where seniors like Tee Cook, Steve Patzman, Bob Hinkle, Dan Breck, and
Charles Fowler were outstanding runners in this grueling competition. The team
closed its season with a 2-4 record. In the state meet, Catalina placed fifth.
Catalina’s gymnastics team, in 1959-60, was the defending
state champion gymnastics team. Under the guidance of coach “Ritt”
Rittenhouse, the team did well during its season, but it lost some of
its top performers to injuries at the end and failed to retain the state
gymnastics crown at the State AA championships, held in May 1960.
Nevertheless, it placed a strong third.
And that most springtime sport of all, tennis, fielded a youthful
men’s team that succeeded a 1959 team that had compiled a 17-2
won-loss record. Not to be outdone, Coach Keith Meenan’s 1960
team compiled a 16-2 record. The team, just two years old, gained
the honor of being the school’s winningest team. Tennis was the
only interscholastic women’s sport at CHS. It had twenty-three
members, including seniors July Allen and Kris Born.
Rounding out the spring sports roster of teams were the rifle team
(the only co-ed team at the school, which included Senior Connie
McMillan, a member of the National Honor Society), led by coach
Ed Kuhn; the golf team, led by Coach William Paterson; and the
swim team, led by Coach Jack Segurson.
Sports were a vital part of the Catalina high school experience, but
few lost sight of the main goal of a high school education. During the
1959-60 school year, the Trumpeteer sports staff featured short articles on many of
Catalina’s talented athletes. These short pieces typically summarized the person’s
athletic accomplishments, but also went on to describe their other interests and
plans for the future. In every case, the featured athlete stated his plans for college
and a career to follow. Many looked forward to becoming doctors, lawyers,
businessmen, religious leaders, or military officers, to name a few of the
professions. And, fifty years later, as we look over the record of this remarkable
class of 1960, we find that most of these athletes achieved their goals.
Ah, springtime in Tucson: brilliant blue skies, moderate temperatures, blooming
desert plants, and the sounds of bats hitting baseballs, spikes churning up cinder
tracks, and tennis balls bouncing off rackets! At Catalina High School, springtime
always ushered in an impressive number of spring sports that flourished in Tucson’s
desert climate.
Some of these sports began their seasons at the end of first semester and
continued into second semester, finishing their competitions before spring actually
began, but I’ll include them in this article because most of their events took place in
the spring semester. Most important was basketball, with a season running from
December through February. This was one of Catalina’s premier teams, the source
of great excitement and pride for the school, and the Trojans ended the 1959-60
season as AA Division Four champions. The team’s coach, Bill
Kemmeries, was one of the most popular teachers at CHS, one of
the best-known coaches, and the unwitting founder of the “Fun
Club.” The basketball team, during our senior year, included some
of the most popular and talented athletes in the school: Joel
Guerrero, Mike Storey, Carl Ferguson, Don Carbiener, Dave Berg,
Neal Genda, Tim O’Hara, Jim Landis, Buddy Doolen, Steve Miles
(who had a 10-point average per game), Jamie Foster, Harry
Cornelius, Alan Head, Jerry Knapp, Mike Cook, Mike Fry, and
Dan Breck, known as “Watusi” because of his 6”-6” height. Some
were so multitalented that they played key positions on other athletic
teams at the school as well.
Basketball games brought an excitement to CHS that was hard to match, even by
football games. Perhaps this was because the games were held in the gymnasium
where spectators, led by pretty cheerleaders, pom-pom girls, and song leaders,
gave rousing cheers or sang the school fight song. And then there was the rhythmic
and deafening stamping of feet on the wooden bleachers of the gym to accompany
the cheers. “We’re from Catalina and couldn’t be prouder!” was the cry, and the
sound level made it convincing to all.
Another sport that took place at the end of winter was wrestling.
The CHS team was large, with over fifty members. Led by head
coach Jack Segurson and freshman coach Ev Nicholson, the team
participated in matches held from December through the start of
February. Known as “mat men” and “grapplers,” they preferred the
nickname “Aggies,” because they had adopted the style of the
Oklahoma Aggies. In 1959-60 the squad compiled the best record
in its history, finishing its season with six wins and three losses, and
it placed seventh in the state tournament. Several members of the
team, seniors in 1959-60, were standouts, including Jim Dainty,
Dave Murphy, Dave Rowe, Bill Tucker, and the popular Jeff Shofner,
now deceased. Jeff was an example of one of those athletes who
could do it all: he played football, soccer, and basketball, ran track,
wrestled, and swam. In addition to all this, Jeff was in the National
Honor Society.
The leading spring sport, of course, was baseball. Coach Cliff
Myrick’s team had an impressive year in 1959-60, finishing the
season with a 12-8 record and placing 3rd in the city and 4th in AA
standing. Among its accomplishments that year, the Trojan nine
beat the heavily favored University of Arizona freshmen “Wildkittens,
” 8-3, in the third game of the season. Seniors on the team were
Joel Guerrero, Jim Nichols, Bob Jacobs, Gary Lawson, and Dave
Berg. In the CHS-UA game, Nichols and Berg were the leading
batters. Three CHS players made the Arizona Daily Star all-city
team: Joel Guerrero, Jim Nichols, and Dave Berg. Guerrero finished
the season as Catalina’s batting King with a .400 mark for 22 hits in
55 trips to the plate. Jim Nichols led in extra bases and RBIs.
From March through May, all eyes were on the track and field men
of the Trojan track team, referred to in sports columns as “thinclads.”
Given the time of the year that the track meets were held, and given
the attractive setting of the CHS track, these contests were always
festive events. Led by Coach Gale Bell, the team made it to the state
AA championship, though it did not place. Senior standouts on the
squad included sprinters Tom Kenan and Tom Kosser; distance
runners Tee Cook, John Donner, and Bob Hinkle; high jumpers Dan
Breck and Bud Doolen; pole vaulters Don Hawk, Bob Svob and
Steve Patzman; shot putter Bill Kolb; and discus men Frank Castil
de Oro and Kirk Thompson. Track gave us many exciting moments,
including Bob Hinkle’s triple feat: he set a new school record in the
440 yard dash in 1960, and then proceeded to break his own record
two more times in the same season. Bob Svob consistently broke
records for the pole vault. A closely related team was the cross-country
squad, where seniors like Tee Cook, Steve Patzman, Bob Hinkle, Dan Breck, and
Charles Fowler were outstanding runners in this grueling competition. The team
closed its season with a 2-4 record. In the state meet, Catalina placed fifth.
Catalina’s gymnastics team, in 1959-60, was the defending
state champion gymnastics team. Under the guidance of coach “Ritt”
Rittenhouse, the team did well during its season, but it lost some of
its top performers to injuries at the end and failed to retain the state
gymnastics crown at the State AA championships, held in May 1960.
Nevertheless, it placed a strong third.
And that most springtime sport of all, tennis, fielded a youthful
men’s team that succeeded a 1959 team that had compiled a 17-2
won-loss record. Not to be outdone, Coach Keith Meenan’s 1960
team compiled a 16-2 record. The team, just two years old, gained
the honor of being the school’s winningest team. Tennis was the
only interscholastic women’s sport at CHS. It had twenty-three
members, including seniors July Allen and Kris Born.
Rounding out the spring sports roster of teams were the rifle team
(the only co-ed team at the school, which included Senior Connie
McMillan, a member of the National Honor Society), led by coach
Ed Kuhn; the golf team, led by Coach William Paterson; and the
swim team, led by Coach Jack Segurson.
Sports were a vital part of the Catalina high school experience, but
few lost sight of the main goal of a high school education. During the
1959-60 school year, the Trumpeteer sports staff featured short articles on many of
Catalina’s talented athletes. These short pieces typically summarized the person’s
athletic accomplishments, but also went on to describe their other interests and
plans for the future. In every case, the featured athlete stated his plans for college
and a career to follow. Many looked forward to becoming doctors, lawyers,
businessmen, religious leaders, or military officers, to name a few of the
professions. And, fifty years later, as we look over the record of this remarkable
class of 1960, we find that most of these athletes achieved their goals.
| Coach Kemmeries |
| Coach Segurson |
| Coach Nicholson |
| Coach Myrick |
| Coach Bell |
| Coach Rittenhouse |
| Meenan |