Long Overdue: The winningest coach in SGV history, Los Altos' Dwayne DeSpain, will finally be inducted into the CIF Hall of Fame
By Jim McConnell, Staff Writer
This month, former Los Altos High School football coach Dwayne DeSpain will be inducted into the CIF Hall of Fame. It's an honor long overdue. DeSpain's credentials speak for themselves. More than 30 years in education. Over 200 coaching wins. Nineteen consecutive winning seasons. Ten league titles. Seven CIF-Southern Section titles.
In last week's column, it was pointed out El Rancho was the most successful area football program in the 1960's. Well, Los Altos holds that honor in the 1970's and 1980's.
The Conquerors' winning ways were all the more remarkable when you realize they competed in the Sierra League, at that time one of the top football leagues in the state. When you're playing and beating the likes of West Covina, South Hills and Wilson, you know you're good.
No question, DeSpain belongs in the company of the CIF's elite coaches.
Beyond the CIF honor, it occurs to this columnist that Los Altos High and Hacienda La Puente School District officials could do more to recognize DeSpain's remarkable accomplishments.
The football stadium at Los Altos is named in honor of Pat Mauch, the school's longtime athletic director and a legendary mover and shaker in the CIF-Southern Section. That is as it should be.
But it seems to me that the football field could be named in honor of DeSpain. It's been more than 10 years since he retired, but it still seems odd to go to a Conquerors game and not see him prowling the sideline.
Dwayne DeSpain Field. It's got a nice ring to it.
The e-mails and phone calls are still coming in on the mythical All-Valley playoffs. In the wake of last week's column, I'm sure Dennis Morrison is walking around somewhere feeling like one lucky man. Not only did the 1966 El Rancho team "win" the playoff, I managed to promote Morrison all the way from the junior varsity to star of the game.
For the record, and once and for all, Rick Pope was the starting quarterback for the 1966 Dons. Morrison was the quarterback for the 1968 Dons, which also reached the CIF 4A finals (they tied St Paul, 20-20).
Conclusive proof comes from a high-tech source. Do a search on YouTube for the 1966 El Rancho CIF championship game and you will find footage of Pope in action. (He's No. 10.) Several readers, including El Rancho alums Efrain Soto and Brad Fielder, brought this to my attention.
Several others called or wrote to ask about Ernie Johnson, longtime El Rancho coach. I am happy to report Ernie still is with us and doing quite well, thank you. He continues to follow football, although as a UCLA alumnus he must have suffered through the Bruins' recent losses to Stanford and Oregon.
Maybe Johnson can pass along some plays to Rick Neuheisel. Shoot, maybe Ernie can dig up his old UCLA playbook and Neuheisel can convert his offense to Red Sanders' Single Wing. Desperate times, desperate measures ...
Speaking of my favorite coaches, got a call the other day from Les Clemmer, who was the first baseball coach in Baldwin Park High School history back in 1951. (The late Bob Musick was the school's first football coach).
Les started his coaching career at Covina High, but said he decided to make the jump from Covina to Baldwin Park when he figured out six of the nine starters on his 1950 Covina baseball team actually lived in Baldwin Park.
"Historically, many of Covina High's best athletes hailed from Baldy put a dent in the Covina athletic program," Clemmer said. "Don't think Covina High was ever the same once Baldwin Park High opened."
At Baldwin Park, one of Clemmer's early stars was Jim Conroy, who went on to play football and baseball at USC.
Clemmer remembers that, in 1954, Conroy pitched a perfect game against El Rancho. Remarkably, in 1955 the Braves' Dennis McLaughlin duplicated the feat, also against El Rancho.
McLaughlin later coached the 1971 Bishop Amat football team to the CIF-SS 4A Division title.
The 1954 Baldwin Park baseball team is staging a reunion in Riverside on Saturday. Will Clemmer be there?
"Try to stop me!" he said.
jim.mcconnell@sgvn.com
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I was head cheerleader when Coach DeSpain caught his 200th win -- in the fall of 1990.
Well deserved for a great man, great coach, great father.
Congratulations!
Getting back to the subject at hand, let us give credit where credit is due! Thanks AD Garcia for coming up with the idea of renaming the Pat Mauch field in honor of DeSpain. It's a great idea and certainly does have a great ring to it. It's ironic that Robledo would not mention where this idea came from....and for the record Felipe Aguilar is doing a great job! LA coaches are awesome!
It was my great honor and privilege to attend LA from 1972-76 and I was being brought to Conqueror games all through Junior High as well. I never played for Coach Despain as my brothers did however, I have always felt his professionalism on campus was an example to all students. He always saw to it that his players conducted themselves with a "little class" on campus and saved their aggression for the field.
I don't think he gets enough credit for being an innovator. Many of his offensive schemes would be heralded as "genius" a decade or so later when Bill Walsh introduced what was called the "West Coast" offense to the NFL. Los Altos' offense under Despain featured many of the complicated blocking and passing schemes Walsh used with Montana and company.
Despain's utilization of men in motion, short slant passes and passes to trailing backs, forced oppossing defenses to try and cover a multitude of potential weapons. He and his staff, including legendary Coach Lyle Olsen, always believed they could teach, and that their kids could learn, what was, at the time, some very sophisticated concepts and strategies.
He ran a "Pro-Set" but it was superbly balanced with the likes of Rob Hertel, (USC QB), Dennis Sproul, (Arizona State) and Randy Hertel, (Rice), distributing the ball to backs like Binky Benton, Mike Hill, Danny Tinejero and Matt Aney while at the same time throwing the ball down the field to some tough, talented receivers.
Congratulations Coach Despain! Your induction is certainly deserved!
Hey Fred,
After Lou Farrar, who is the longest tenured coach in the SGV. I think it's Maggorie at WC. I think he has Bogan beat by a couple of years. LA FAN lighten up. Rome wasn't built in a day.
SGV430 Ouuut!
Day 3
IF LA DOES NOT WIN THIS FRIDAY.
FELIPE SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY FIRED!!!
YOUR SERVE FELIPE.
Coach DeSpain,
You made San Gabriel Valley football what it is today. Thank you for your dedication and your fire. You are now Legend and rightfully so...SGV FOOTBALL 4-EVA!!!!!!!!
SGV430,
Pretty sure the next longest tenured coach is Bogan. Yes?
Long overdue indeed. Those are some impressive numbers, good for him finally getting the recognition.
LA Alum,
I can't say that I've seen an LA game for a few years now. I used to go to quite a few. I do think it's hard to find good young coaches. Remember Felipe is very young to be a head coach especially at LA where the fans are remembering the glory days of DeSpain. I would love to see the kid succeed. Besides who else are they going to get. There aren't to many teaching jobs out there for these coaches. I also think that loyality or lack of loyality is more a sign of the times. Everytime a kid or his parents get their feelings hurt they transfer or threaten to anyway. Not very many coaches stay in one place for 30+ years anymore either. Once Lou Farrar at CO decides to retire, who is the next longest tenured coach in the SGV? I think it may be Maggorie at WC.
Bates, Aney, Risser, Williams, Hill played against all of em' back in the day.
SGV430 Ouuuut!
SGV For 30 Years,
My point isn't the recuriting, my point is the loyality to the program. At the first sign of trouble Gano jumped ship. Now Felipe and staff sorry but they can't coach their way out of a paper bag with a big hole in the other end. Felipe and staff need to go.
You sure did go into the past with Bates I went to school with him in the late 70's.
LA Alum,
What do you mean by what they have done to this program. DeSpain was a great coach who got the best out of his players don't get me wrong. But LA was one of the first schools to start getting transfers from out of their area. And that goes clear back to the 70's when they were winning CIF championships through the 80's. Hacienda Heights had a great mix of athletes but they also sprinkled in a few from other schools to. Williams, Jastrab, Washington, Bates, just to name a few. Of course someone had to coach those players and his staff did a great job of that, but lets not make it seem like Gano was the one who started it. Felipe still gets a pass from me but we should see something by next year.
SGV Ouuuut!
What I think is funny from the fantasy playoff series is now we find out that El Rancho apparently used a player from the JVs that wasn't on the varsity playoff roster in the mythical championship game. So to quote someone from an earlier "fantasy post"...
El Rancho Forfeits for Using Ineligible Player!!!!
Amat - 2
El Rancho -0
seriously.. props to "the King" for bringing a historical perspective to the SGV.
and props to DeSpain... a real SGV legend.
Hey Freddie what's up?
Somebody needs to proofread old Jimmy's columns here. The thread is about Despain's CIF induction, and accomplishments, and then the actual column spends more time on the inane Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Bowl from last month. (not good)
Did Jimmy take his meds this morning?
DeSpain is LA tradition. What Gano and Felipe have done to this program is embarrassing.
Congratulations Coach DeSpain.