Blake did start at qb in '80' and '81'. He's not related by blood to big Mike Smith, but I do believe he had an older brother named Mac who was also a quarterback/kicker(punter)for the years around '78' and '79'. (Dan) Blake had the scratch golf game not to take anything away from Mike. Heck, Mike was listed at 6'9 as a junior Blake was a true pure quarterback all his life. Mike followed right along in his footsteps taking longer strides and resetting most of Blakes records. An amazing span of 3 years. 3 leagues and a CIF Title. Not too bad thanks Oly.

Haden spent all 4 years at Amat. He made the JV football and basketball as a freshman, but got hurt in the first football game and sat out the football season. He played varsity in both as a sophomore, and actually helped the Lancers to the basketball CIF semifinals in '69.

Prior to his senior year, his family moved to Northern California and Pat stayed behind and lived with the McKays to finish his high school career.

Hey Joe,

How many years did Haden play at Amat?

Went to the Amat game, just to back and the guys did alright pulling it out 14 to 13 on a last minute stand.

Rios ran about 70 and looked pretty good, but they called it back. I am sure he had a chat with teh lineman who had the holding call.

I had not been back in the the school in a long time and it was fun.

Anyone from Amat know why the website has a different set of coaches for the frosh? I thought I say Taylor and Parker, but the updated 2008 website has some other guys.

Back to work

Just curious.

- J

J-rab,

Great catch!

I remember reading Kilmers name as a letterman in *basketball* at UCLA (he was a CIF Player of the Year in hoops) along with playing QB and tailback on the football team. If he was as good in baseball, could HE be best all-time?

whitey - was HE world-class?

How about Kilmer from Citrus High School, now defunct or Citrus CC.

- J

You know I love that Edgewood topic.

I remember Mike Powell (Edgewood) vs. Cecil Fielder (Nogales) in Basketball.

Pat Haden is the ONLY male SGV high school athlete in the Nation High School Football Hall of Fame. USA Today wasn't around in 1970 but Pat Haden may have been their guy if they were.

A few years back CalHisports.com named their "100 greatest male athletes" in the states history, selected on their high school career achievements.

There are THREE from the Trib's SGV (that was for you Don!:?) Pat Haden(Amat), Glenn Davis(Bonita), and Mike Powell(Edgewood)

A notable omission is NBA Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell, because it was based in *high school* career only. I had a conversation with Frank Robinson at an event and when he was high school teammates with Russell he said that he, Vada Pinson, and Curt Flood (all teammates in HS - how about that for an all-time great school) wouldn't throw Russell the ball because his hands were so bad and the only time they'd let Russell shoot was off a rebound - and only if THEY weren't open to throw it back to!

Here's that list:

Stephen Abas (James Logan, Union City) Wrestling
Marcus Allen (Lincoln, San Diego) Football
Willie Banks (Oceanside) Track
Lee Barnes (Hollywood) Track
Dick Bass (Vallejo) Football
Matt Biondi (Campolindo, Moraga) Swimming
Barry Bonds (Sierra, San mateo) Baseball
Bobby Bonds (Poly, Riverside) baseball
Tom Brady (Serra, San Mateo) Football
George Brett (El Segundo) Baseball
Don Budge (University, Oakland) Tennis
Jeff Burroughs (Wilson, Long Beach) Baseball
Billy Casper (Bonita Vista, Chula Vista) Golf
Gary Carter (Sunny Hills, Fullerton) Baseball
Bill Cartwright (Elk Grove) Basketball
Glen Davis ( Bonita, La Verne) Football
Willie Davis (Roosevelt, Los Angeles) Baseball
Charlie Dumas (Compton) Track
Henry Ellard (Hoover, Fresno) Football
John Elway (Granada Hills) Football
Lee Evans (Overfelt, San Jose) Track
Tom Fears (Manual Arts, Los Angeles) Football
Mike Garrett (Roosevelt, Los Angeles) Football
Tony Gonzalez (Huntington Beach) Football
Mel Gray (Montgomery, Santa Rosa) Football
Brian Goodell (Mission Viejo) Swimming
Gail Goodrich (Poly, Sun Valley) Basketball
Tony Gwynn (Poly, Long Beach) Baseball
Pat Haden (Bishop Amat, La Puente) Football
Ricky Henderson (Oakland Tech) Baseball
Jim Hines (McClymonds, Oakland) Track
Bud Houser (Oxnard) Track
Jackie Jensen (Oakland Tech) Football/Baseball
John Henry Johnson (Pittsburg) Football
Kevin Johnson (Sacramento) Basketball
Rafer Johnson (Kinsburg) Track
Walter Johnson (Fullerton) Baseball
Mort Kaer (Red Bluff) Football/Track
Meb Keflezighi (San Diego) Track/XCountry
Jason Kidd (St. Joseph, Alameda) Basketball
Billy Kilmer (Citrus, Azusa) Football
Karch Kiraly (Santa Barbara) Volleyball
Jack Kramer (Montebello) Tennis
Sammy Lee (Franklin, Los Angeles) Diving
Bob Lemon (Wilson, Long Beach) Baseball
Steve Lewis (American, Fremont) Track
James Lofton (Washington, Los Angeles) Football
Ronnie Lott (Esienhower, Rialto) Football
Greg Louganis (Valhalla, El Cajon) Diving
Hank Luisetti (Galileo, San Francisco) Basketball
Bob Mathias (Tulare) Track
Eddie Mathews (Santa Barbara) Baseball
Ollie Matson (Washington, San Francisco) Football
Scott McGregor (El Segundo) Baseball
Hugh McElhenny (Washington, Los Angeles) Football
Phil Mickelson (University, San Diego) Golf
Johnny Miller (Lincoln, San Francisco) Golf
Reggie Miller (Poly, Riverside) Basketball
Pablo Morales (Bellarmine, San Jose) Swimming
Don Mosebar (Mt. Whitney, Visalia) Football
Anthony Munoz ((Chaffey, Ontario) Football
Harold "Brick" Muller (Oakland Tech) Multi-Sport
Parry O'Brien (Santa Monica) Track
Charley Paddock (Pasadena) Track
Andre Phillips (Silver Creek, San Jose) Track
Jim Pollard (Oakland Tech) Basketball
Mike Powell (Edgewood, West Covina) Track
Jim Plunkett (James Lick, San Jose) Football
Dennis Ralston (Bakersfield) Tennis
Frank Robinson (McClymonds, Oakland) Baseball
Jackie Robinson (Muir, Pasadena) Baseball. Multi-Sports
Ralph Rose (Healdsburg) Track
Bret Saberhagen (Cleveland, Reseda) Baseball
Roy Saari (El Segundo) Swimming/Water Polo
Pete Sampras (Palos Verdes, PV Estates) Tennis
Felix Sanchez (University City, San Diego) Track
Junior Seau (Oceanside) Football
Don Schollander (Santa Clara) Swimming
Dave Schultz (Palo Alto) Wrestling
Mark Schultz (Paolo Alto) Wrestling
Bill Sharman (Porterville) Basketball
Tim Shaw (Wilson, Long Beach) Swimming
Paul Silas (McClymonds, Oakland) Basketball
Stan Smith (Pasadena) Tennis
Tommie Smith (Lemmore) Track
Duke Snider (Compton) Baseball
Mark Spitz (Santa Clara) Swimming
Darryl Strawberry (Crenshaw, Los Angeles) Baseball
Lynn Swann (Serra, San Mateo) Football
Bill Walton (Helix, La Mesa) Basketball
Quincy Watts (Taft, Woodland Hills) Track
David Wells (Point Loma, San Diego) Baseball
Paul Westphal (Aviation, Redondo Beach) Basketball
Charles White (San Fernando) Football
Ricky Williams (Henry, San Diego) Football
Ted Williams (Hover, San Diego) Baseball
Paul Wilson (Warren, Downey) Track
Tiger Woods (Western, Anaheim) Golf
Eric Wynalda (Westlake, Westlake Village) Soccer
Robin Yount (Taft, Woodland Hills) Baseball

Joe Amat

Sean Cody did get the USA Today vote as the top HS athlete in the country his senior year, aside from Smith and Cody, any other SGV athletes voted number one in the country by either USA Today or Dial?

Mike Smith was by far one of the best athletes the San Gabriel Valley ever produced.

Football games were not close in the fall of 82'.

He had a coach who put him in a situation to succeed. (A throwing offense)

He played for a school where winning was "expected".

etc. etc. etc.

Sorry, I still say if there are only 300-400 players in the world in the worlds best league - that makes you world class.

And we started the discussion with "who was the best *high school* athlete from the SGV. Using the Tribs circulation area, I said Mike Smith (not an Amat guy, mind you
... just for future reference!:?)

From the Clipper website:
"...Smith attended Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, where he set CIF football records for yardage, attempts, completions, and the single-game record for TDs (8) as a quarterback on the way to the CIF championship. That year he was chosen the
*****National Male High School Athlete of the Year by the Dial Corporation, after being First Team All-American in football, basketball and volleyball."****

Anybody else in the valley ever fit that bill?

ConqAlum, & Conq79,
I was pretty sure it was Tom Bates & now you guy's have confirmed it. It was the 1977 Big 5 title game, It was my senior year, I went to go see the game because St Paul had an excellent cornerback that season named Chuck Willig who had 12 interceptions in that season alone, since I also played cornerback for Pioneer HS which was just down the street, I wanted to see
this phenom play corner for the big boys.
Chuck Willig got another interception in that title game, and as I said earlier, I believe St. Paul was ahead at the half, but it was Tom Bates who stole the show and led Los Altos to the victory, I always remembered his name cause he made that much of an impact on the game, so that play where he stole the pitch & ran for a td. must have been one of his big plays. I'm sure he must have got the game MVP award.

attn, joe amat, Michael Smith, was 6 ' 8 according to NBA.com and he palyed for 6 teams in the league, never averaging more than 6 per game, he just might have been as good as Tim Kempton, he was not a defensive man of note, nor a rebounder, just a flat out set-up jump shooter, and according to the american volleyball association, he was not invited to try out for the us olympic team,still an excellent all-around HS athlete.but not world-class by any stretch, you're the 12th man on the team for crying out loud, the token white guy if you will

re: glenn davis, he played only 2 years in the nfl, gained 616 yards and 4tds, avg 4.1 yeards per carry, not exactly records that people are still chasing, by the way he was out of the NFL after the '51 season, so his knee injury in Hollywood in '53 didn't end his career, you can lok it up at NFL.com

Maybe ??? Maybe ???? maybe???...Joey....there goes the "walking on water" trick. You ARE human after all.

What..... no Easter Bunny either?????

79er (and whitey),

Maybe I over did it with the term "world class". But Smith received a D1 scholarship in football, played D1 volleyball in college (apparently invited to the Olympic team - that competes against *the rest of the world*), and got *paid* in the NBA (there's only 300 of those players in the world - "world class"... maybe.

Plus, he competes in pro-am golf tourneys and is considered one of the better "non-pros" at the events. Ask a friend.

Don - no doubt about Jackie
(if we count Pasadena !:?)

Conq79

Ahh, thanks for the details.

I was all of 13 years old in 1977. My best friends older brother (Bob White) was on one of the 1970's champ. LA teams. He backed up Binky at rb, and played special teams. Thought it was 1973/Crespi, but gotta check to be sure...

Whitey, it is true, Smiths NBA career was less than stellar, I remember hearing somewhere that Auerbach wished he had picked Vladi Divac instead of Smith when he had the chance.

But that does not take away from his near flawless performance at the HS level.

Mike Smith did play volleyball at BYU his freshmen year, the BYU team was sanctioned at the time. That was his major reason for not continuing with volleyball. He was also invited to try out for the U.S. Olympic team. Must not have been that poor of a volleyball player. He got his scholarship in football at BYU. He was a three sport player his freshmen year at BYU (Football, Basketball, and Volleyball).

Don even more remarkable is the story of how he dropped off the Heisman at the Lobby in a paper bag> i Believe, and the receptionist just took the award. NO FAN FARE NO NADA!

Seems Mr. Davis, and I use that term with respect, thought he might as well give it to the school seeing as it might be nice for the school, kids and community.

Remarkable Athlete but even a more Remarkable Man.

Thanks for the kind words.

Bet you would like my first runner up too: Glenn Davis from Bonita High School
13 Varsity letters at Bonita, All American at West Point, won the Maxwell and Heisman trophies, and was the 1946 Associated Press Athlete of the year.

Had he not blown up a knee making a Hollywood movie in '53, they'd probably still be trying to break his NFL records. BTW, they have his Heisman in the BoHi lobby. Drop by sometime and have a look, it's a cool piece of history.

Don I LOVE your posts and actually look forward to your insight on difficult issues and honestly just about any issue. Truth be told. But now you've totally lost my respect and admiration. This is one of the reasons the blog is what it is. I know you'll agree. Bare with me.

Here the blog ask a simple question. Who's the best SV athele of all time? And what do you do? Ignore the myopic present. Disallow for any "I know him" juice. Squash any,"I went to school with him" street cred. Diminish any hope for oneupsmanship to current bloggers. And generally force bloggers to step back and acknowledge their lack of historical perspective.

What kind of man are you Don? Try and keep up willya? The question on the service requires some delicate analysis and begs an answer the driveby artists can sink their teeth into. Was that too difficult a nuance for you Donny?

Again with the conversation ender. Jackie Robinson. My God Don.

Hope it put a smile on your face Don. That was clutch! Long live #42! By the wya his brother wasn't too bad either. Thsoe parents most have been pretty special.

See now I swore it was Cleo, but I am getting old or older.

The picture I remember in the combined CIF finals he had a thin athletic build buy that looked like he was 6'1 about 175, but could run. He kind of reminds me of Amat's Price but just a bit bigger.

I think the year LA beat St. Paul they lost league to West Covina and beat West Covina in teh semis. The Sierra was very tough then and very comparible if not better than the Angelus League.

conq79, mike smith was the 10th man or lower all five years in the nba, don't forget tim kempton played 12 years, mostly with the suns and he's more famous for being Digger Phelps son-in-law, Smith was never a good golfwer, I've seen him play and to give him "world class status" on anything more than BB is a joke,even BB is a stretch...know that someone has brought Jackie Robinsons name, I'll second that motion!

“So Don... best SGV athlete of all-time?
Posted by: Joe Amat”

Joe,

You guys know my SGV is bigger than the Trib's ... my vote ... Jackie Robinson.

Muir High School, Pasadena JC, UCLA

whitey,

Why don't you read what you wrote. That's just crazy, "his best sport was BB and his game still didn't translate to the NBA, Celtics? I believe,...... but still an excellent HS athlete" The guy played in the NBA for five years. Must of translated better than most being that he played in the NBA for 5 years.

"tall guys have a very hard time with their stroke being consistent", because he is 6'9" his golf game has to be inconsistent.

The guy broke records that still stand almost 20 years latter. You talk about what Tanner might have done and what Smith had done.

ConqAlum,

I remember that play real well, it wasn't a home game it was a playoff game (Championship) at Anaheim Stadium against St. Paul. I have a great story about that play. I was out drinking with a friend and we started talking to a guy that was sitting next to us. He also was a starting quarterback at St. Paul and went on to a D1 college. I told him the story about that play in the championship game at Anaheim Stadium. He looked at me and replied back, “That quarterback was my brother”.

Jastrab

His name was Tom Bates (#7 same as Blake Smith), and he played both ways. I most remember him at DB.

The one play that sticks in my mind was when LA was playing against an option team at home(can't remember what team) who ran an option play (northbound) to the visitor side, and Tom, running full blast, ran in between the QB, and RB, and took the option pitch in stride the other way for a TD from about mid-field.

One of the most incredible plays I've seen on any level.

Wonder if Despain has some old 8mm of that game...

joe amat, mike smith was not a "world class" athlete in 1 sport let alone 3 or 4, he was a very good HS volleyball player, cuz he was 6' 9 not all that skilled, he never played against the beach schools, which is the measure of HS volleyball, and I've heard and seen a few guys who can hit it a mile in golf, but tall guys have a very hard time with their stroke being consistent, ask Mark McGwire about that at 6'5 only, and for FB his footwork,mechanics and long,slow delivery needed so much work after the HS level, his best sport was BB and his game still didn't translate to the NBA, Celtics? I believe,...... but still an excellent HS athlete, however I believe Tanner was better than him in HS and yes he would have been the 100,200 champ in the Angelus league, along with his accomplishments in FB, baseball and BB

I was pretty sure that Randy's name would come up. Phenomenal athlete.SGV POY in Football. Played guard and jumped center. Had about 40 against Carson. Walked him in baseball and it was a triple. Probably would have been the 100 and 200 champion if he could have run track too. Bad blowout of the knee at USC - before Kerlanan/Jobe were working miracles and he was never the same. Most who claim I'm an Amat homer would expect him to by my choice as best ever.

BUT...

I have to go with Mike Smith from Los Altos. "The King" wrote about football and we know he played in the NBA in basketball, but some say back then that volleyball was his best sport and if I remember played ALL THREE at BYU for a while. What might be as amazing is, a colleague of mine used to work in the golf industry and says the Smith could be on the tour in golf and can hit it a mile. World class athlete in 3 (maybe 4 sports)

Ironically Los Altos came to little Tate Duff gym and played the Lancers when Smith and Tanner were opponents. Late in the game, Smith got frustrated got ejected and the Lancers went on to win. So Tanner got the best of him that night.... but Smith still gets the nod in my book.

whitey,

Yes, thank you that was they guy. When they still had the East West (Shrine Game) I thought he started ahead of Paul, but I was too young at the time to remember.

- J

Randy Tanner has to be up there as he was All Angelus league in three sports his sophomore year. I remember he broke some kids neck against Rowland his freshman year who tried to tackle him low.

I should have said one brother at South Hills and Damien. South Hills played well, but St. Paul had a great team that year.

I believe the name is Cleo Bates, but I thought he was a RB.

I had one brother that played St. Paul in he semi finals for St. Paul and another at Damien that same year. I remember the CIF finals program fondly that year and there as a picture of Cleo.

justrab, Mike Nyden was the QB at azusa and he was the tribunes first team QB on the all valley team over McDonald, Nyden got exactly zero offers and could not even start at Citrus, I believe he hung it ip after 1 season, and McDonald played at SC and for the Browns and Dallas, so even in the 70's the mono-colored rag(trib) was way off base! and for Joe Amat, how about Randy Tanner as the best 3 sport athlete in the SGV

So Don... best SGV athlete of all-time?

Dan, I do not recall, but I have some sources so I might look it up. The thing I remember most about that game was our punter, Andy Ayala consistently hit 50 and 60 yard punts burying the Swordsmen deep in their own territory. They were never really allowed to get any traction.

Conq76,
I was at that Big Five Championship game with St.Paul vs Los Altos, didn't you have a reciever named Tom Bates? [I think that was his name] I believe he was #7 he stood out in my mind,cause he had a couple of TD's in that game, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe St Paul was winning at the half, then Los Altos made a second Half come back.

Blake Smith was Mack Smith's brother if I remember correctly. And Mack Smith was the awesome kicker for Los Altos and drove a great car with the license plate "TOE 7" Wow, fun reading the article today----blast from the past!

Fred,

Jim sure had a few big errors in that piece. I know the younger crowd may not care, but in the off season or perhaps now you guys should do something on legend valley athletes 60, 70, 80, 90, 2000 for the guys who may not have made it, but were great HS players.

Names that come to mind (forget about valley powers, just names)

Amat Johnny Johnson (I think he ran a guy into a poll at Pius the X)

Northview Johan Koenig (huge lineman in the 70’s)

Royal Oak Running back “Stone” was his last name

Azusa had a quarter back that was higher ranked that Amat’s Paul McDonald, but I don’t know were he went post HS

Sierra Vista has some running backs with like 4,000 yards rushing in the 80’s or 90s (one season)

West Covina – Winford “Wimpy” Roberson

Covina - Mike Haynes (I think that was his name) actually played pro

Bonita (the old one) Gordon Duval FB

You get the picture, but here are a lot of guys that contribute that may not have gone on to stardom or had their careers cut short that some of us remember.

- J

After reading these comments, I don't what to believe in this article.

Amat will rebuild and might beat your team someday. Until the they will be ranked in the top 3.

Dreamers

Why not let a few "old men" enjoy some memories! LOL

I bet you enjoy knocking toddlers off of their tricycles!

HS football, if it gets in your blood, don't go away easily, talk to me in 30 years and let me know if these days don't hold any value to you.

Could be! LOL!Looking forward to your pick, I really do not have one because I have seen far too few SGV area athletes, just those primarily from LA.

Way back when, I think I recall that the only prominent pro athlete from the La Puente-Heights area was Andy Etchebarren who went to La Puente and played for the Baltimore Orioles.

Until Hertel got drafted, I think only Alan Foster was the only LA alum to play pro, with the Dodgers in the late 60's.

The only "powers" around here right now are Charter Oak and South Hills. By powers I mean they have the best chance at taking CIF. But San Dimas?? When did this happen? They win ONE game against a lowly Los Altos squad and are all of a sudden a power? I know SD is excited about the win but that's just ridiculous. Ask anyone in the SGV living outside San Dimas and they won't even mention SD as a program to be reckon with. Win a few more games before you think your team is legit. Last year Los Altos started 3-0 and ended up missing the playoffs due to injury. Anything can happen so lets not get ahead of ourselves.

dreamer-the reality is that amat would absolutely destroy SD, kick the crap out of CO, and beat SH. ask their coaches.

Why does every topic have to be about the 1718's when Amat was great??? Who cares??? Current events!! I don't care about McGwire and how tall he is or the Wolfpack. That day is long gone. What about this Friday night??? If Amat loses we will hear about the 1980's. When The Beastie Boys were actually boys, driving without a seat belt wasn't against the law and oh yeah, Amat was great! Hell, even the Raiders were good then!! Amat can play anyone they want and they are still just an ok team. Even though Amat recruits from just about anywhere. They would lose to Charter Oak, South Hills(who don't recruit,Right?...Yeaah). If Gladstone were to play D1 schools, would that make them great?? Nop, just a dumb idea because all their good players would be beat up by the time league starts! Kinda like DR two years ago, LA last year. But hey, they played tough pre-season games! Gotta hand it to them! right! If Mt.Sac is the best JC football team in the country, I don't think they need to play USC to prove it!!! Give it a rest dreamers! The SGV has three power house teams. CO,SH,SD the rest still need to prove themselves and they might. Until then, relaxxxx!

76er,

a few days back we were talking about this same stuff. "The King" comes to us for research!:?)

I asked who everyone thought was the best athlete ever in the SGV?

I'll give my answer at the end of the night.

Voters?

er, I meant to say that the two Smith QB's were not related! LOL!

ConqAlum

That threw me also, I did not recall the Smith brothers being related.

Mike Smith may have been 6'9", but how can you forget the No. 1 rated QB in the country when he was a Senior Dan McGwire (Mark's younger brother). OK, Claremont isn't in the SGV, but he mentioned CIF and "possibly ever" and Dan won CIF two years at Claremont and went on to be the tallest QB ever in the NFL. He also could have played basketball or baseball (or could have punted for a living) but he loved football and could throw the ball on target 80 yards. All of us on the team had X's across our chests after practice and he would often knock receivers over on short passes. Dan was the best 6"9" QB ever!

sciarra, did not win the Heisman and Amat was already playing in CIF championship games 3 times in the 60's Gary Walker,Adrian Young and others, maybe the so-called king is senile! first freeeeeedie finds the guru(coach high-me the waterboy and now this guy)

Couple notes:

Blake Smith started varsity in 1980 & 1981 (not 1979).

Blake Smith was NOT related to Mike Smith.

Sciarra did not win the heisman.

Fred,
I love this historical stuff. I only moved to the SGV about 4 years ago and I've submersed myself in local prep football. I came from a community with a prep football program that has won more state championships than any other school in history. Football is king there, and with excellent programs like LA and BA, football is clearly growing in the SGV. I'm so impressed with the level of local talent and coaching. I hope the SGV and the student athletes who live there will embrace the idea of dynasty creation. It is good for the schools, the players, the families, the community, and football! Great article!

I love it! Now that's some history for ya. 6 foot 9 QB!? Wow that's still unheard of in today's game imagine back then? And the article didn't even talk about Los Altos success in the 90's and 2000's. Coach Gano started right where Despain left off. Arguably two of the greatest coaches ever in the SGV.
Los Altos Pride!

Wow, great stuff, sure brings back some memories for me. I know it would be impossible for every detail to be mentioned in an article such as this, but I feel a mention of the John Hill Conqueror squad that beat St. Paul for the first ever Big 5 Championship is warranted. Hill never got the same accolades as did many of his fellpw QB's of the era, but he also was the starting Middle Line-backer and was probably the toughest of the bunch of them.

I played with Randy Hertel in JAAF and in one practice I intercepted one of his passes and he made the tackle on me. It was the hardest hit I took all season!