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1961

The Tridents only went to mid February and had many other weeks missing this year. Sentinel write ups were found for varsity basketball and baseball, tennis and golf. Other sports are lacking in information.

Due to a state CIF rule not widely known, the Cardlet football team had to forfeit their first two wins this year because of a state rule against athletes being members in unauthorized outside clubs. Some members of the team were disqualified from playing in the remaining games and the team lost the games they played in. The Varsity also lost some players later in the season.

Coaches: Bill Wood, varsity football. Dewey Tompkins assistant football and Doug Severin assistant football and junior varsity basketball. Tex Ronning, lightweight football coach and assistant Todd Likins also wrestling coach. Bob Nicolaisen, junior varsity football. Jim Simpson, lightweight basketball and C and D basketball. Eade Jordon, tennis. Tony Foster, golf. Al Wright track and cross country. Ron Walters, junior varsity baseball. Bill Dodge, basketball and baseball.

1961
FOOTBALL Practice games: Campbell 6-18, Stagg 7-25, Bellarmine 6-20, Watsonville 13-18 and Camden 22-7. Practice record 1-4. League: Monterey 6-13, Salinas 34-19, North Salinas 21-13 and Watsonville 6-7. League record 2-2, third place. Season record 3-6.
Watsonville and Monterey were co-champions with 3-1 records..

Some time offensive starters: ends, Ron Bengston, Byron Shields, Dan Hungerford and Anthony Tomasso; tackles, Ray Lowry, Lee Curtiss and Steve Winters; guards, Brad Elliot, captain Ron Lowe; center, Brian Owen; quarterback, Bob Lockwood and Joe Pappas; backs, MVP, Bruce Mc Pherson, Jim Kowal, Bruce Buckner, Sophomore Rick Simmons, Sophomore Mike Torbert, Jim “Tex” Fullen and Dave Foster.

Defensive players in the line were Bill Burja, Ken Gregg, Fred Hibbard, Anthony Tomasso, Ron Bengston, Lane Zachary, Eric Taylor and Bob Small. Defensive backs: Harry Smedley.
Two way players: Bruce McPherson, Ray Lowry, sophomore Mark Schultz, Lee Curtiss, Bryon Shields, Brian Owen and Wally Walker. Other players were Jan Graff, Richard Bartle, Gordon Smith, Ed Dalbesio, Jim Ritchey and Larry Eaton.

Four thousand fans were on hand for the first game of the season a 6-18 loss against Campbell high with its number one quarterback Graig Morton, (who later was a star at Cal and played professionally.) He almost single handedly did an overhaul job on the Redbirds. He passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns. In the third quarter, quarterback Bob Lockwood engineered a 75 yard march in 11 plays finished off by Jim Fullen. It all began with Ken Gregg’s recovery of a Buc fumble. A rugged defensive line was a Santa Cruz strong point made up of Anthony Tomasso, Bill Burja, Ken Gregg, Fred Hibbard and Ron Bengston. The tenacity of this group was directly responsible for at least two interceptions by Bruce McPherson and Wally Walker. Senior Bruce McPherson, who went both ways and sophomore defensive back Bruce Buckner turned in good games. Campbell out gained the Cards 344 to 172. Passing stats were Bob Lockwood completed 5 passes out of 9 for 53 yards and one interception. Joe Pappas completed 3 out of 9 passes for 23 yards. Rushing yards were Fullen 39, Foster 33, Walker 26, Lockwood 6 and McPherson 4. Pass receiving yards were Walker 43, McPherson 21, Hungerford 9 and Fullen 3.

Stagg of Stockton beat the Cards 25-7. The Cards lone score came early in the third quarter, when Bruce Buckner the Cards’ bright sophomore quarterback prospect kept the ball on the option play and raced 63 yards for the score. Buckner made a beautiful fake of a lateral to the halfback as he slipped around left end. He then cut across field and put the throttle to the floorboard. He was never touched as raced down the west sideline. Jim Fullen punched over right tackle for the extra point. The Cards out gained Stagg 295 to 166. Rushing yards were Fullen 72, Buckner 54, Walker 39, Kowal 25, Foster 17 and McPherson 14. Passing stats were Buckner 2 completions out of 8 attempts for 40 yards with 2 interceptions. Lockwood no completions out of 3 attempts and one interception. Pappas one completion out of 2 attempts for 20 yards. Dave Foster did a good job at fullback and Wally Walker was improved at halfback.

The Cards won a worthless battle of statistics again in a 6-20 loss to Bellarmine. The Cards out gained Bellarmine 313 yards to 215. The Cards scored their lone TD in the fourth quarter when Joey Pappas completed four out of seven passes to led the team to pay dirt. Pappas hit Walker for 11, McPherson for 12 and Foster for 10. Walker ran for 4 and Foster boomed into the end zone.
With 12 seconds left in the first half Pappas passed to Wally Walker and then heaved a 49 yarder to Bruce McPherson, who was caught at the seven as the half ended. Another opportunity came when McPherson intercepted a pass on the Bell 33 and returned it to the 28, but the short drive was stopped on the 11. Ron Lowe and Lee Curtiss were opening holes for the backs. Ron Bengston, Bill Burja, Lowry, Zachary, Buckner and McPherson looked good on defense. The team is improving and looks much better than its record. Coach Wood, “The offensive line whipped them up front, but our errors nullified the good work.” Bellarmine has already beaten Watsonville 20-6 and Salinas 45-6. Pappas completed 6 of 9 attempts for 107 yards. Rushing leaders were Walker 91, Fullen 74, Foster 25 and Kowal 20. Pass receiving were McPherson 72, Walker 25 and Foster 10.

Watsonville downs Cards in practice game 13-18. Penalty nullifies Cards’ score in closing minutes. The Cards tinkered with the idea of a game winning touchdown for 18 frantic minutes, but never did legally. A penalty flag took away a TD run of five yards by Wally Walker in the fourth quarter. In a surprise move junior quarterback Joe Pappas became the starter this game. The Cats fumbled nine times, losing four. SC compensated by giving up 87 yards in penalties with one costing a TD. SC took over on their own 23 and in eight plays scored. Wing back Walker made most of the yardage on the drive. Fullen carried for the final 5 yards. Walker scored the extra point. Watsonville scored to make it 6-6. The Cards next drove 51 yards in 12 plays. Fullen again ran it in. In the last drive that led to Walkers TD being called back was set up on a fumble recovery by Lane Zackary.
Pappas completed 8 of 17 pass attempts for 125 yards. Top rushers were Fullen 95, Walker 65 and Foster 10. Pass receivers were Walker 61, Fullen 50 and McPherson 14.

There is a football saying that “football games are won up front” did not take the Cards loss to Monterey 6-13 into consideration. The SC husky forward wall did an admirable job of containing Monterey’s vaunted speedsters for all, but two times when they made long runs to score. (One of the threesome, Jim Colletto went on to be a college football head coach). The Cardinal ground attack gained 62 yards to Monterey’s 125. The Cards went on an all out aerial attack in the fourth quarter going for a score with 1:10 left in the game. Two big plays were a 30 yards Pappas to McPherson pass and another pass to Kowal for 37 yards. McPherson scored on another pass. With 30 seconds remaining Bill Burja recovered a fumble on the fifty yard line. A pass sailed through the hands of a Card receiver for a possible TD, but it was not to be. The Cards never gave up. Praise was given the defensive line with Burja and Lowe especially mentioned. An injury to fine blocking fullback Dave Foster hurt the running game. Sophomore Mark Schultz just up from the JV’s and playing in his first varsity game played well on offense and did an outstanding job as a defensive wingback. Pappas completed 6 of 19 attempts passing for 114 yards. Top rushers were Kowal 20, McPherson and Lockwood 23 apiece. Pass receivers were McPherson 83, Kowal 37 and Schultz 11.

Revamped locals grind out team 34-19 win over defending champs Salinas, who beat them for the title. SC still has chance at CCAL crown this year. The Cards before 1500 exuberant fans exploded behind a pair of unsung senior halfbacks, Jim Kowal and Bruce McPherson, who combined with the arm of Joey Pappas, carried the team to their first victory after five frustrating weekends. The Redbirds scored once in the first and second quarters, twice in the third and capped with a clincher in the final period. It was a great victory, not only because it ended a losing streak, but because of the team effort. Two first stringers were dropped from the team for belonging to an illegal organization, which is required by CIF rules and two more who where injured in the Monterey game. The Cards wasted no time in scoring as they marched 80 yards in six plays. Sophomore fullback Mark Schultz found a king sized hole over left guard to go the final eight yards for the score. Pappas ran in the extra point. The big plays in this drive were a 26 run by Kowal and a 43 yard pass from Pappas to end Dan Hungerford. After a bad Salinas punt the Cards started from the Salinas 35 yard line and in six plays scored on a 16 yard pass from Pappas to McPherson, who scored three of the Cards TD’s. The half ended SC 13-7. SC took the opening kick off of the second half and marched 67 yards with sophomore back Rich Simmons going the final nine yards. Pappas ran in the extra point. Salinas scored making it SC 20-13. All four running backs turned in solid gainers and Pappas hit two crucial passes, before McPherson boomed over on a one yard plunge to cap a 58 yard drive. Byron Shields recovered a fumble on the Salinas 25. Eight plays later Pappas hit McPherson on the two from where he loped over. Simmons ran in the extra point to make the score SC 34-19. This final drive was sparked by some fine running by Mike Torbert, a sophomore transfer who showed great potential. On defense Harry Smedley, Bryon Shields and Brian Owen did fine jobs on the wings. Up the middle Bill Burja was outstanding and not far behind were Fred Hibberd, Ellis Zackary and Lee Curtiss. The victory was outstanding because of how the Cards have not quit in the face of adversity. The Cards out gained the Cowboys 328 to 235. Pappas completed 6 of 15 passes for 111 yards. Top rushers were Kowal 87 yards, Schultz 43, McPherson 38, Torbert 15 and Simmons 19. Pass receiving yards were McPherson 35, Hungerford 43, Kowal 26 and Torbert 7.

SC overcomes first half 7-0 deficit to win 22-7 over Camden. The first Card score came when Camden fumbled a punt and McPherson recovered on the Camden 29. Seven plays later Pappas passed 8 yards to McPherson for a score. Simmons scampered over left tackle for the extra point to tie the score 7-7. Next Bob Small blocked a punt out of the end zone for two points to put SC up 9-7. On the next Camden attempt to punt a bad pass form center allowed Kowal to get into make the tackle of the punter on the Camden 13. Pappas finished off the short drive with a one yard sneak. McPherson ran the extra point in to make the score 16-7. Bruce Buckner intercepted a pass and ran it back to the Camden 40. It took nine plays for the score with Schultz powering over the last yard. The extra point run was unsuccessful by Pappas. Final score 22-7 Defensive players praised were Bill Burja and Ellis Zachary and on offense Pappas, McPherson and Simmons, who was called a comer.

Cards squeak by North Salinas 21-12 before 1200 fans to tie for the league lead. Quarterback Joey Pappas riddled the Viking pass defense with timely aerials and halfback Bruce McPherson tallied all three touchdowns. With one game remaining, Watsonville, Monterey and SC are tied with 2-1 records and one less team will be in the hunt after next week as the Cats and Cards meet next week to finish the season. North Salinas scored first in the second quarter on a four play 64 yard drive. SC then took only four plays to tie the score. McPherson gained 16 yards, Schultz picked up 6, Pappas picked up his own fumble and gained a yard to the 37. Then Pappas threw a 20 yard pass to McPherson, who finished the next 17 giving a tackler the old dipsy do and another a hip to reach the end zone. Sophomore Rich Simmons swept end to tie the score 7-7. The next score came on a Pappas heave of over 50 yards in the air to McPherson, who had to pull a defender into the end zone to complete a 74 yard pass play. Simmons again ran in for the extra point, putting the Cards up 14-7. In the third quarter North Salinas scored, but Byron Shields and Fred Hibberd put on a big rush to block the extra point. Making the score SC 14-13. The final score started with a 18 yard pass to McPherson, a Jim Kowal run for 7, a 23 yard pass to end Dan Hungerford, Pappas for 6 on a quarterback keeper, sophomore fullback Mark Schultz ripped off six yards in two carries and McPherson cut inside end to go into the end zone standing up. Kowal slanted off right tackle for the extra point. Those receiving praise were running backs Kowal and McPherson and the left side of the offensive line, Hungerford and tackle Ray Lowry. On defense Burja, Hibberd, sophomore Eric Taylor and Bob Lockwood in his first game in this role turned in good games. The Cards out gained the Vikings 412 to 267 yards. Pappas completed 6 of 11 passes attempted. Top rushers were McPherson 68, Kowal 59 and Schultz 57.

Rugged Wildcat defense proves too much for valiant Cards before 4000 fans, the largest crowd of the season. This win puts the Cats in a tie with Monterey for the CCAL crown. In the third quarter the Cards marched 55 yards for their only score, The big play of the sequence came with a fourth and three situation on the Watsonville 23 yard line. Halfback Bruce McPherson, on a sweep around left end faked out a pair of defenders and then cut to his left to out race the defenders and sprint the rest of the way untouched. He carried the ball for 45 of the 55 yards during the drive. The Cards had two tries for the extra point due to a Cat penalty, but were stopped short both times to lose 6-7. SC had 8 seniors to the Cats 26. Still the younger Cards took the loss hard. This was the Cats first title since 1955. Previous to this time the Cats had beaten the Cards 18 out of 20 times.

Cards Grab Stats Bout with foes. The Cards out gained their opponents 2358 to 2099. Jim Fullen, who only played the first two games led the runners with 279 yards only five yards ahead of senior, Bruce McPherson, who also was the top pass catcher and the top scorer. Joe Pappas led the passers with 816 yards on 49 completions in 108 attempts for a 45.8 average.

Individual rushing by number of carries, total yards, average per carry and total points scored.
CA TY AV SCO
Fullen 55 279 5.0 19
McPherson 48 274 5.7 56
Kowal 65 253 3.9 1
Walker 47 219 4.6 1
Schultz 27 112 4.1 12
Foster 31 93 3.0 6
Simmons 13 74 5.7 10
Buckner 8 65 8.1 6
Lockwood 18 30 1.6 0
Torbert 11 28 2.5 0
Pappas 27 5 0.2 8

Receiving yards were McPherson 488, Walker 161, Hungerford 95, Kowal 100, Schultz 38, Fullen 53, Foster 10, Torbert 7 and Simmons 7.

In addition to Pappas’ 816 yards passing, Lockwood had 70 yards and Buckner 40.

Lane Zachary was voted the most inspirational player on the varsity football team.

Bruce McPherson was selected ALL CCAL and was voted MVP by his teammates. Ron Lowe was ALL CCAL and was voted team captain.

LIGHTWEIGHT FOOTBALL Practice games: Campbell 13-13, Willow Glen 13-6, Monterey 6-28, Watsonville 0-26. Practice record 1-2-1. League: Monterey 7-41, Salinas 19-6, North Salinas 7-12, Watsonville 0-31. League record 1-3. Season 2-5-1.

Starters for some games: ends, Mike Gagne and Rick Wilkins; tackles Tom Knapp and
Charles Perry; guards, Mike Oliveri , Frank Fujimura; center, Ron Vitzian; quarterback, Dave Garbe; backs, Bob Jeffrey, Veldon McCray and Ron Miyoko.

Other players were: Ken Wallace, Vince Lacariere, Dennis Lowell, Mike Gagne, Robert Robinson, Fred Pfyffer, John Bowen, Al Ferrell, Steve Mondini, Mike Oliveri, Jean Stronse, Tom Martindale, John Franklin, Jay Graham, John Morgan, Guy Waller, Bill Faler, David Bell, Don Swan, Charles Perry, Bob Jeffery. Bob Kohen, Dave Parker, Bob Corders, John McCombs, Joe Williams, Ron Dryden, Phil McCrae, Craig Lunt, Arnett Austin, Grover Quimby, Tom Berger, Dave Young, Tom Knapp, Bill Thuringer, Rick Wilkins, Larry Kissin, Mazzerino and Dan Singer.

In the 13-13 tie with Campbell in the first game, the Cardlets scored first when Fred Pfyffer connected with Rick Wilkins. It climaxed a 51 yard drive led by a 27 yard run by Mazzerino’s 27 yard run. The last score was made by Steve Mondini on a four yard plunge. Pfyffer tossed to Wilkins for the PAT.

In the second practice game of the year, a win over Willow Glen 13-6, the Cardlets scoring was done by Alvin Ferrell and Bob Jeffrey. Quarterback Fred Pfyffer swept right end for the only point after. Steve Mondini ran over, through and around anyone in his way to gain a total of 75 yards in 10 carries.

Starting line up for the 19-6 win over Salinas was at ends: Rick Wilkins and Bill Thuringer; tackles: Tom Knapp and Tom Martindale; guards: Mike Olivieri and Frank Fujimara; center: Ron Vitzian; quarterback: Dave Garbe; backs: Bob Jeffery, Dave Bell and Ron Miyoka.

From coach Hilding Ronning: It was a rough and bumpy road for the Cardlets this year. The Cardlets were in there fighting all the way while winning only two games and tying one. They’ll have to wait ‘til next year to revenge their last place finish.

Ron Miyoda was voted most valuable player and Frank Fujimura most inspirational player.

Ron Vitzian was ALL CCAL

JV FOOTBALL UNDEFEATED LEAGUE CHAMPS 4-0
Practice games: Monterey 13-27, Holy Cross 13-7, Watsonville 19-13, Palma 13-13. Practice record 2-1-1. League Monterey 13-0, Salinas 26-14, North Salinas forfeit, 6-0, and Watsonville 53-20. League record 4-0 for the league title. Season record 6-1-1.

Against Holy Cross varsity in a 13-7 win, Dennis McNeely played an impressive game at fullback and defensive tackle drew praise from his coach. Mc Neely scored the first touchdown with a 30 yard off tackle run. Rich Simmons pushed across the extra point.

Against Palma Jim Skinner was something of the miniature Alan Ameche, the hard driving fullback of the Miami Dolphins, as he turned on the gas for touchdown scampers of three and 19 yards.

In the Salinas game a 28-14 win, the starting backfield was led by quarterback Bob Pederson. Rich Simmons, Dennis McNeely and Randy Smiley rounded out the backfield.

North Salinas forfeited their game as many of their players had to move up to the varsity due to injuries leaving the team short of qualified players.

From coach Doug Severin: The JV football team had a very successful year winning 6, losing 1 and tying 1. The Varsity will profit from these boy’s ability. These boys will be fighting for jobs on the Varsity next year.

No team members listed in Trident or Cardinal.

CROSS COUNTRY
At the CCAL meet both the varsity and JV teams ended up toward the end of the line, but the coach was highly pleased with their performances. The varsity was hampered with injuries to key men Tim Mealiffe and Marshall White and Roy Clark of the JV team. Most of the runners improved their times over what they did in a big meet at King City a few weeks before. For the varsity Russ Flora, Jim Rix, Gary Partlow and Don Sletton all improved their time by 20 to 25 seconds. Vic Epperly bettered his time by over a minute. Other Card runners were Rick Elliot, Jim Clark, Bernie Harold, Robert Ryman, James Cox, Brock Elliott, and Buddy Bates.

Members of the JV team were John Carney, John Stocker, John Hinson, Dave McDonald and John Reed.

BASKETBALL Practice games: Bellarmine 52-55, Dads Club; Salinas 39-36, Camden 47-45, North Salinas 54-68 for second place. San Luis Obispo 58-60, Buchser 53-44, 46-36, Del Mar 53-54, 75-59; Andrew Hill 48-45, Santa Clara 63-41, Los Gatos 52-30, Foothill College reserves 57-61 (not counted on the record). Practice record 8-4. League: Monterey 53-48 a big upset of the champions in the first game. Second game 54-68; Salinas 50-52, 65-48; North Salinas 57-58, 63-68; Watsonville 54-55, 65-60. There were two one point losses and a two pointer. League record 3-5, fourth place. League standings with games won and lost in league and for the season: Monterey 7-1, 13-5; North Salinas 5-3, 17-3; Watsonville 4-4, 9-6,; Santa Cruz 3-5, 11-9; Salinas 1-7, 6-13. Season record 11-9.

The team: forwards, Last years second team All CCAL player, 6’3” Steve Smith; 5’11” Rich Bascou; 5’11” Gale Yount; 5’11” Don Gerig and 6’1” Joe Pappas. Centers, 6’4” Ron Bengston and 6’ 2” Byron Shields. Guards, returning starter and this years defensive leader and second offensive threat, 5’11” Al McCommon; 6’ Mike Heren, 5’11” Bruce Buckner, 5’11” Bob Rauen and 6’ sophomore Dave Runnells. Smith and McCommon were the only returnees from last years team. Managers Bob Warne and Buddy Bates.

Santa Cruz Quintet Displays Intermittent Brilliant Spells. Inexperience Hurts In Opener Loss To Bellarmine 52-55. Junior, Steve Smith picked off 10 rebounds and had six assists and topped the scoring with 22 points. The Cards scored on 18 of their 43 attempts for an excellent 43 percent, but the Bells were able to get 10 more rebound shots than the Cards. Mike Heren brought down four rebounds. Al McCommon intercepted five passes. The coach said “ part of the problem was the first game jitters and being tired from long hard practices prior to the game, which is my fault.” The Cards were tired was definitely shown as many of the passes that went awry were just a little out of the receiver’s reach or the receivers did not have that extra spurt to get to the ball. At the end of the season, Bellarmine was ranked twenty-fifth in Northern California by the San Francisco Chronicle. Scoring: Gerig 7, Yount 3, Smith 22, Heren 3, McCommon 11, Bengston 2, Bascou 2, Runnells 2 and Rauen 0.

Dec. 10. Cards Cold; Free throws Decide Tilt. In the first game of the Santa Cruz Invitational, the Cards beat Salinas 39-36. The Cardinals had many opportunities to score as most of the shots were from close in, but were only able to convert on 12 of 54 attempts for a 22 percent average. The Cards scored 15 points from the foul line. Man for man the locals were much the better unit, but just as the Cards looked as though they would pull away, they let down and Salinas would hustle back into contention. The largest lead was eight points. At halftime the Cards led 14-13 and at the end of the third quarter 25-23. With 30 seconds left and the score 37-35, Don Gerig hit a jumper to put the Cards up 39-35. The Cards won the boards 31-22 with Smith picking off 18. Scoring: Smith 12, McCommon 9, Gerig 7, Heren 4, Bengston 2, Yount 2, Runnells 2 and Bascou 1.

Dec 11. The second game of the Santa Cruz Invitational was a tight affair with a tall Camden team. Smith put the Cards ahead with a rebound shot to win 47-45. The defensive work of McCommon, has been excellent. His close guarding of his opponent limiting their scoring opportunities. SC was ahead 24-20 at intermission and maintained a slight margin until Camden went ahead by one 41-40 with 5:30 left in the first quarter. From there, the score was knotted thrice, SC led twice and Camden led twice in the even struggle. Smith scored 21 points and McCommon, who fouled out in the third stanza had 11. In defense of McCommon, we must say that his defensive work in both games has puts him in delicate situations, especially with the officials, who called a couple on him that were quite questionable. Smith collected eight of the Cards 17 rebounds to Camden’s 21. The Cards hit 18 shots in 46 tries for 39 percent, top shooting in anybody’s record book for high school. Scoring: Smith 21, Gerig 5, Bengston 2, Heren 0, McCommon 11, Yount 0, Runnells 1 and Bascou 7.

Dec. 11. Viking Five Beats Cardinals 68-54. SC won the rooter’s trophy, but lost the basketball game. The young Cardinals fell to a superior North Salinas team at the Civic Auditorium at the fifth annual Santa Cruz Invitational. North Salinas had to beat two of the best teams in the tournament to get to the finals and beat SC. North Salinas, short on reserves, field five competent cagers, who would good enough for any prep team in Northern California. North Salinas 5-6 guard, who was All CCAL last year did everything for the Vikings was named the tourneys MVP. The game started off like it would be a close one, the Vikes holding a 11-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, the rolled to a 32-22 lead at halftime, the increased it to 52-36 at the end of the third. A valiant SC attempted to catch up. The Cards tried but couldn’t make it despite a late fourth quarter rally. SC played its poorest game of the tourney. The Cards threw passes away and missed passes that cost them opportunities to score. Smith led the Cards in scoring with 23 and rebounding with 14. The Cards got off more shots than North Salinas but made only 17 of 60 for a 28 percent average. Scoring: Smith 23, Gerig 2, Bengston 2, Bascou 6, McCommon 14, Heren 2, Yount 2, Rauen 2, Buckner 1, Runnells, Shields, Criswell and Pappas 0.

Steve Smith was selected a ALL DADS CLUB TOURNAMENT player.

Cards Down Los Gatos 52-30. For the first time in five games, it looked like the Redbirds might have an offense. The Cards were extremely “hot handed” during the first 16 minutes sinking 14 of 27 shots for 52 percent average. For the entire contest they made 22 of 49 shots for 45 percent. The score against Los Gatos was 44-18 at half and the reserves played practically the whole second half. The Card defense, aided by some poor shooting, held the losers without a field goal for 11 minutes in the second half. McCommon and Heren combined to hold All Santa Clara Valley forward Wanless to three field goals. Sophomore Dave Runnells impressed with his ball handling and offensive moves, while Bob Rauen and Gale Yount rebounded well. Sophomore Bruce Buckner got a starting call. Scoring: Smith 11, Gerig 8, Bascou 8, McCommon 12, Buckner 2, Bengston 2, Yount 5, Runnells 4, Heren, Shields, Rauen and Pappas 0.

Sentinel column comment. Santa Cruz have a definite advantage going for them when they tackle Monterey in the CCAL opener. The Cards work on the floor as a team unit, notwithstanding any individual’s own personal ability. Man to man Monterey has the best players in the league.

Headline: SC Cagers Overcome Nine Point Deficit; Open CCAL Competition With Happy Note. Beat Monterey 53-48. The Cardinals young and inexperienced team out hustled a predominantly veteran Monterey outfit by beating them at their own game, out fighting the opposition for a 53-48 win. Many though it was all over for the Cards in the third period, when Monterey rushed to a 29-37 lead. Monterey’s superior rebounding ability, due to its height advantage seemed to have the Cards on the ropes. Then Rich Bascou hit two long jump shots and a free throw, a free toss by Heren and a jumper by McCommon narrowed the spread to 37-38 at the end of the quarter. The fourth quarter was a display of hustling showmanship as the Cards edged home to victory. Smith put the Cards ahead for the first time, since early in the second quarter, when he stole the ball from the Monterey’s all star player, Jensen to go in for a lay up. From there on it was back and forth. McCommon was responsible for the all the Cards scoring for the remainder of the game contributing 10 points. He hit three jump shots, two free throws and stole the ball from Jensen and passed to Bascou for two points to end the scoring. It would be hard to single out one Cardinal for an exceptional performance above that of his mates, but McCommon must be cited for his fine play. He had his finest night on the courts as he hit six jumpers in the last half ending with 24 points. Ron Bengston played his best game and it was need for this win. He blocked a shot at the end, when there was only one point dividing the teams. Bascou came into his own as he pushed through 17 markers. Smith, who is the Cards primary offensive threat was held to 9, as Monterey spent most of their efforts on him, opening up shots for others. Smith helped in the scoring, because of the attention he was getting along with his passing finesses getting the ball to his teammates. He only took two shots in the first half, serving as a passer and threat. He also worked hard on the boards with ten rebounds and held Jensen, Monterey’s main scorer, below his normal scoring average. The Cards had one of their better shooting nights hitting 19 of 43 tries for 44 percent for the game. The second half was even better 12 of 25 and 9 of 12 from the free throw line. Monterey out rebounded the Cards 37-27, had more fouls 19-12 and led at half time 26-20. Scoring: Smith 9, Gerig 2, Yount 0, Bascou 17, McCommon 24, Bengston 0, Heren 1 and Runnells 0.

Del Mar five edges Cardinals 53-54 in a see saw ball game. The winners streaked to a 21-30 halftime lead, then the Cardinals became “road runners” as they took a 46-39 lead by the end of the third period. The Cards pressed during the entire game trying to make up for the height disadvantage and appeared to tire in the fourth quarter. The Cards shot 21 for 55, however most of the shots were from inside the key. Scoring: Smith 15, Gerig 6, Bengston 2, McCommon 14, Yount 8, Heren 6, Buckner 2, Rauen 0 and Shields 0.

After upsetting league leading Monterey in the first league game the Cards have lost the next three. One could say the Cards have had bad luck in losing their three league games by four points, but the netters have blown most of their leads.

Wrong Way Bucket, Freak Score and Blown Charity Tries Costly To SC Five. Cards lose ‘chiller’, to Salinas 50-52. A wrong way bucket, a freak score and blown charity tries costly to SC five. The game just started out wrong for the Cards as they controlled the opening tip to a Cardinal player who raced free to the basket for a lay up, but it was the wrong basket. Two points for Salinas. Another fluke play. On a rebound controlled by SC the ball was knocked out of the grasp of the SC player as he was bringing it in and the ball shot straight forward toward the hoop and nosedive through the net. Still there was a slight bit of glimmer in that the Cards looked good in parts of the second and third quarters. The final play of the game climaxed a completely frustrating evening for the Cards. A Card shot and was fouled as the buzzer sounded, setting up the possibility of tying the game, but both shots were missed. This was not the same team that beat Monterey. Smith was credited with seven assists, but only three of them were turned into scores. He grabbed eight of the Cards 25 rebounds. Scoring: Smith 15, Gerig 0, Bengston 5, McCommon 12, Heren 0, Bascou 17 and Yount 1.

Cards Come To Life; First Win of New Year. Beat Buscher 53-44 via a third period rally. It was the best the fast break has gone this year. The hustle picked up in the second half after the Cards were down 20-23 at half. Junior center Ron Bengston grabbed six points and pulled down seven rebounds had his best game of the year. Steve Smith grabbed 15 rebounds, made some nice passes and scored 20 points. The Cards controlled the boards 40-23 and sank 41 percent of their shot making 23 of 56 shots. Scoring: Smith 20, Yount 4, Bascou 6, McCommon 11, Heren 2, Bengston 6, Buckner 2, Shields 2 and Gerig 0.

Wrong man toss gives poor passing SC a win 48-45 over Andrew Hill, in a thrilling, if somewhat ragged game. With a little over a minute to play Mike Heren hit a free throw to put the Cards ahead 46-45. The second shot was missed and recovered by a Hill player, who in the scramble for the ball flipped it to Smith, who banked it in for the final score of the game. At one point, the Cards led by 13 points, but that dwindled away as the Redbirds made bad pass after bad pass, at one stretch three times in a row. They looked good when they could control the ball. The team work was good, the hustle could not have been better and they controlled the boards 35 to 20 against a taller team. Smith topped the scorers with 18, while passing off nine times for possible scores even though only two were finished off. Bruce Buckner looks like a comer. He grabbed six rebounds and scored five points. Scoring: Smith 18, Bascou 9, Bengston 6, McCommon 4, Heren 4, Shields 2, Buckner 5, Gerig 0 and Yount 0.

Santa Clara is easy victim for Card quintet, 63-41. Reserves play second quarter, plus a lot of the second half. Sub Bryan Shields scored 13 as he consistently found himself on the scoring end of a potent Card fast break. The Cards shot 25 of 46 attempts for 56.5 percent, which is indicative the Cards superiority on the fast break. The Cards also were ball hawking and kept the presser on throughout the game. Smith grabbed 12 of the Cards 32 rebounds followed by Gale Yount and Mike Heren with seven each. Heren also had a fine defensive game. Smith was credited with seven assists, Bascou four and Yount and McCommon three apiece. Four wayward passes were picked off by McCommon and two each for Bascou and Smith. Scoring: Smith 16, Bascou 7, Bengston 1, McCommon 15, Heren 0, Buckner 4, Pappas 2, Yount 4 and Shields 13.

Going into the North Salinas game fans will be looking to watch two of the best players in the league, our own Steve Smith and Mel Flores of the Vikings. But as the old saying goes one man does not make up a whole team. Both teams back up their headliner adequately. For the Cardinals at center, Ron Bengsten is picking up now and appears to be improving with every contest. Al McCommon and Mike Heren are at times an awesome guard combination and each is a “scrapper”. McCommon has consistently scored well. Rich Bascou and Smith rank among the best forwards in the league. Both can score in double figures. Bascou was an All league lightweight last year.

In the 57-58 loss to North Salinas the lead changed hands 20 times and the score was tied 13 times. In losing, SC played its finest game of the season, but the Vikings were one point better. As the final stanza got underway the visitors led, 46-39. Then the rally began with two free throws by Smith, a beautiful lay up through the middle by sophomore Bruce Buckner, a jumper by Bascou and three consecutive free throws by Bryon Shields put the Cards ahead with three minutes remaining 49-47 for the first time since the half, when the Cards led 30-29. North Salinas scored to tie, McCommon scored, North Salinas scored, Smith hit two free throws for the Cardinals last lead 53-51 with two minutes to go. There is a lapse in the article here, but with seven seconds left North Salinas had a three point lead and fouled Smith who made both shots to make the score 57-58. The Cards covered the Vikes like a sweater on Marilyn Monroe on the ensuring throw in. The inbounds pass went awry and the ball bounced in and out of the hands of half the cagers, before the buzzer sounded to end the squabble. McCommon was the most outstanding individual on the court, guiding the Cardinal offense and defending the Vikes top scorer superbly. He stuck to Flores (the leagues MVP) like glue, giving the flashy guard only two field goals resulting from being screen off and the Cards did not switch men. He also was the high point man with 19. Bascou was hitting from all angles in the first half with his excellent jump shot and finished with 16 points, while contributing seven rebounds. Smith was guarded tightly and was held to 13 points, eleven of them on foul shots. But he grabbed 20 rebounds, contributed five assist and with all the attention he received opened up space for others to get free. The Cards shot below their normal shooting percentage hitting only 18 of their 64 shots for a 28 percent average. SC out rebounded the Vikings 38-34 with Smith picking off 20. Smith was credited with five assists and McCommon notched a pair. Scoring: Smith 13, Bascou 16, Bengston 2, Heren 2, McCommon 19, Shields 3 and Buckner 2.

Cards Off To Races; Whip Del Mar 75-59 avenging earlier one point loss. The Santa Cruzans coupled a devastating fast break with some fine passing to jump ahead. Forward, Smith slipped some beautiful passes to his counter part, Bascou on three consecutive occasions. Bascou ended up with 22 points, two less the Smith’s 24. Smith played his most consistent game to date in all departments. Besides high point honors, he grabbed 20 rebounds, made 10 assists and intercepted two passes. The entire team played excellent defensive ball, especially guard Mike Heren, who seldom receives notice, was a ball hawk on the floor. McCommon came through with his usually fine game and hit 16 points. Another outstanding performance was turned in by center Ron Bengston, who became a tiger on the boards, picking off six. The most unique point in the rebounding total was that 17 came off their own offensive board, a phase of play in which the Cards are usually delinquent. The Cards took more shots then usual putting through 29 of 69 for 42 percent. Scoring: Smith 24, Bascou 22, Bengston 2, Heren 1, McCommon 16, Yount 3, Buckner 4, Shields 3, Rauen 0 and Pappas 0.

The Cardinals “took gas” and dropped out of CCAL championship contention losing to Watsonville 54-55. Santa Cruz led right up to the final three minutes, except briefly in the first quarter and were ahead by ten points with five minutes to play. With three minutes to play and the Cards ahead by 6, a relentless hacking and hustling Wildcat press denied the Cards from getting the ball over the half court line and scored seven points in about ten seconds time, to put the Cats ahead by one. It was a wild end of the game with both teams battling for loose balls. The Cards had a few chances to win from the foul line, but were not able to connect. During the whole game Watsonville collapsed on Smith to stop him from scoring and whenever he made a move fouled him and held him to three field goals. But he still scored 20 points as he went 14 of 16 on the line. Smith had half of the Cards 24 rebounds. Smith 20, Bascau 8, Bengston 8, McCommon 14, Heren 4, Buckner 0 and Shields 0.

Cardinals Out Hustle Buchser Five 46-36. The Redbirds hustled 100 percent better than at Watsonville despite a slow started. Sophomore Bruce Buckner moved into the starting line up for this game and played all but the last three minutes, turned in a good performance, looks like a comer who could help on the boards. He hit a 15 footer with 13 seconds left in the first half to put the Cards ahead 19-18. McCommon, the main ball handler is holding the team together and being a real team leader. He personally broke Buchsers press. Junior forward Rich Bascou scored 12 of his game high 14 points to keep the Cards in the game in the first half. Bengston keeps looking better all the time. He had six rebounds to go along with Smith’s 23 for his best game on the boards. The Cards won the rebounding battle 42 to 18. SC made only 18 of 62 attempts from the floor for a poor 29 percent. Scoring: Smith 9, Bascou 14, Bengston 2, McCommon 13, Buckner 6, Shields 0 and Yount 2.

The Cardinals are 5-1 against Santa Clara Valley teams. Ironically most of the teams the Cards meet on Tuesdays are, for the most part, better than two of the teams in the league who the Cards have lost too.

Torrid Toreadors Avenge Only CCAL Defeat 68-54. After the game the Monterey coach said, “This is the best game we have played.“ The Cards led up until 19 seconds left in the first quarter, but by half time Monterey led 39-26. The Cards have only two seniors on their squad, made a good showing and hustled all the way. But were no match for Monterey ace, Bob Jensen, who used teammates to screen off Steve Smith, who had cut down his scoring in the first game, to score 30 points. To counter Jensen, the Cards had Smith who scored 26 of his own points and McCommon scored 20. Santa Cruz led 10-9 with 19 seconds left in the first quarter, when Jensen put Monterey ahead 11-10. At half it was Monterey 39-26. When the second half opened the Cards hit 11 points in two minutes and the gap was cut to 41-37. Monterey was not seriously challenged from here on out. Scoring: Smith 26, Bascou 2, Bengston 2, McCommon 20, Buckner 2, Heren 2, Yount 0 and Shields 0. Watsonville stuns North Salinas 56-49.

A four man offensive attack paced the Cards to a 65-48 triumph over Salinas. It was glorious victory for the locals. The Cardinals led every quarter 11-10, 32-20 and 48-35. A fast shifting defense crumbled the Salinas offensive attack in the second quarter after a slow first period start. The Cards tried a zone in the third quarter, but it did not work as well and went back to the man to man. Four Cards scored in double figures, presenting the most balanced offensive displayed this year. The big surprise was center, Ron Bengston, who played his finest game to date. He tallied 15, two less than McCommon’s 17. Smith and Bascou each had 14. The Cardinals took command of the backboards, grabbing 30 rebounds to Salinas’ 18. Smith took off 12, while Heren picked off 7. From the floor, the Cards attempted 49 shots and made 25 for 51 percent. The foul shooting was better than normal 15 of 21 for 71 percent. Scoring: Smith 14, Bascou 14, Bengston 15, McCommon 17, Buckner 1, Heren 2, Yount 2, Shields, Rauen and Pappas 0.

San Luis Obispo dropped the Cards 58-60 in a squeaker. Smith and Bengston had four fouls in the first half. Scoring: Smith 26, Bascou 6, Bengston 5, McCommon 14, Heren 5, Yount 2 and Buckner 0.

Smith paced the Cards as they nearly scored a major upset of the Foothill College reserves, as the Cards led to the middle of the fourth quarter 55-52. The half time score Cards 31-25. Smith pulled down 24 rebounds, with 8 on the offensive end, plus scoring 25 points followed by McCommon with 18 points and a fine floor game. The Cards shot well sinking 24 of 53 attempts for 45 percent. Scoring: Smith 25, Buckner 3, Bengston 4, McCommon 18, Heren 0, Bascou 6, Yount 0 and Shields 3.

Viking rally wins 68-63. Last night’s defeat had to be frustrating to the Cards as they played good ball. They dominated the boards in the first half and were ahead in the score 34-24 at the intermission. But North Salinas turned it around in the second half and gained 10 more shots than the Cards by getting their fast break going. Smith had his best scoring night of the year with twenty four of his points coming on long jump shots. North Salinas assigned three different players the task of stopping Smith and none did. McCommon drove as well as ever and tallied 21 points. North Salinas had to switch men on him also, to keep their players from fouling out trying to guard him. Santa Cruz led 59-58 with a little over 3 minutes to play. Both teams shot well. Santa Cruz hit 26 for 62 for 42 percent and North Salinas 28 of 71 for 39 percent. North Salinas ended up with four players scoring in double figures. (The Vikings lost only three games for the year.) The Card starters went the whole game and seemed to tire at the end. Scoring: Smith 28, Bascou 6, Bengston 5, McCommon 21 and Heren 3.

The Cards ended the season on a high note by defeating arch rivals Watsonville 65-60 after losing the first game by one point. The Cards superior shooting, both from the floor and the charity line, compensated for spasmodic ball handling. Each team had difficulty controlling the ball in the fast moving contest. The Cards lost possession 17 times, when the usual number seldom runs over eight per game. There were 44 fouls called in the game, 26 on Santa Cruz and 18 on Watsonville. However the Cards did get away 56 shots from the floor making 22 for 39 percent. The Cards also shot well at the line making 21 of 27 for 78 percent. The Cards led just barely at the end of each quarter. Starting with the first period 12-11, 28-26, 49-47. With five minutes left in the game and the score 56-52 the Cards went into a modified stall, trying to make the Cats defense make a mistake. With 15 seconds left and the Cards up 61-58 a Card was fouled, but missed the shot and Bengston rebounded, went back up to score and put the Cards ahead 63-58. Watsonville scored again. Smith took the ball out of bounds, whipped it to Bengston at half court, who relayed it to Shields all alone under the bucket to wrap up the game. Smith paced all scorers with 27 points. His output was well distributed throughout the game. He was credited with three assists and picked of 10 of the Cards 32 rebounds. McCommon, playing his final game for Santa Cruz, tallied 20 points notched five rebounds and counted two assists. Bengston cleared the boards seven times and went seven for seven on the foul line for 9 points. Scoring: Smith 27, Bascou 6, Bengston 9, McCommon 20, Heren 0, Shields 2, Buckner 1 and Yount 0.

The team was led throughout the season by Al McComman and Steve Smith. These two were consistently scoring 20 points or more a game. Rich Bascou also hit double figures most games. They made the Cards the highest scoring team in the league. Steve and Al were two and three in league scoring and both were voted most valuable by the team. Al was also voted captain.. Junior center, Ron Bengston was the most improved player on the team. Junior, Mike Heren and sophomore, Bruce Buckner alternated at one guard spot throughout the season.

The following are among the top ten players in league scoring: Steve Smith, second with 152 points for a 19 point average. Al McCommon, third with 147 points for average of 18.4. Rich Bascou, tenth with 86 points for a 10.8 average. Other Cards who scored in league play were centers, Ron Bengston 46, and Bryon Shields 5; forwards, Bruce Buckner 6 and Joe Pappas 0; guards, Mike Heren 14 and Bob Rauen 0.

Rebounding statistics for the season: Smith 279, Bengston 82, Heren 72, McComman and Bascou 65, Yount 41, Buckner 28, Shields 18, Gerig 14, Rauen 5 and Pappas 1.

Tops in assists were Smith 62, McCommon 47, Bascou 14, Yount 13, Heren 11and Bengston 8.

Season statistics by name, games played, points scored and average per game.
G PTS AV
Smith 21 394 18-8
McCommon 21 309 14.7
Bascou 20 180 9.0
Bengston 21 84 4.0
Heren 20 41 2.1
Yount 17 38 2.2
Gerig 9 37 4.1
Buckner 17 33 1-9
Shields 15 28 1.9
Runnells 6 9 1.5
Rauen 5 2 0.4
Pappas 5 2 0.5
Criswell 1 0 0.0

Totals 21 1157 55-1

The Foothill College game in included in the stats, but not on the won loss record, which shows 11-9, since it was against a college team.

Top field goal shooters and starters for the majority of the season by name, goals attempted, goals made and percent made.
FGA FGM PERCENT MADE
Smith 335 138 41
McCommon 291 121 42
Bascou 189 78 41
Bengston 80 29 36
Heren 60 12 20

Top foul shooters by name, foul shots taken, foul shots made and percent made.
FTA FTM AV
Smith 167 114 71
McCommon 105 67 64
Bascou 31 24 77
Bengston 45 26 58
Heren 30 17 57

The Cards were the top scoring team in the league, scoring 461 points for a per game average of 57.6, but they also gave up the most points 457 for a per game average of 57.1. Practically a dead heat.

Team members voted McCommon and Smith Co MVP’s. Mc Common was selected team captain for the season and Ron Bengston as the most improved.

Dell Basketball Magazine has again come out with its list of the top high school basketball players in the nation, with eight Northern Californians among them. Junior, Steve Smith was one of the eight along with Bob Jensen of Monterey.

Steve Smith received an honorable mention in Sports Illustrated magazine’s national basketball prep ratings.

Junior, Steve Smith for the second year and senior Al Mc Common both were selected on the ALL CCAL first five. Al was also an All League lightweight player for two years and Steve for one.

The San Francisco Chronicle listed the scoring leaders in Northern California with Smith in eighth place. He was also listed in the list of players scoring over twenty points. At 28 and 27 points he was top ranked at thirteen place. Al McCommon was listed in the twenty-one point group. Jensen of Monterey was second in scoring with 430 points a 23 points per game average. The Chronicle also honored Smith on their five man team of the week after Steve’s last game.

League champion Monterey took third place at the Tournament of Champions at Cal. Bob Jensen and Larry Cooley were place on the All Tournament team. It was a good showing for the CCAL. Monterey was listed as the San Francisco Chronicle as the eighteenth best team in Northern California.

LIGHTWEIGHT BASKETBALL
Bellarmine JV 29-31,(not counted in the record) Junipero Serra 45-36, Buchser 33-36, 31-14; Los Gatos 35-48, Del Mar 39-34, 42-33; Andrew Hill 38-45, Santa Clara 40-33, Practice games listed here shows a 6-2 record. League Salinas loss, Monterey loss. Not all scores available. League record of 5-3 was taken from the Trident.

Final standings show Salinas and Monterey tied for first with 6-2 records. Santa Cruz was third at 5-3. Watsonville 3-5 and North Salinas 0-8 in a well balanced league..

Starters at the beginning of the season: forwards, Dave Garbe, Dave Dominguez and Rick Wilkins; center, Roger Blanchard; guards, Mark Conrad, Paul Kadatoni, Mike Murphy and Henry Kadatoni. Other were Ricky King, Stan Pillsbury, Jack Craighill, Conrad Zanatto and Allen Feuerhaken.

Starters half way through the season: at forward, Rick Wilkins and Mark Conrad; center, Roger Blanchard; guards, Mike Murphy and Henry Kadotoni. During the season, Murphy made big improvements in his ball handling and shooting. The main scorers are Conrad and Blanchard.

The lineup and scoring in a practice game loss to Buscher 33-36. Conrad 19, Dominguez 4, Blanchard 4, Henry Kadotoni 0, Paul Kadotoni 0, Murphy 6, Zannoto 0.

Against Del Mar the Cardlets were down 1-12 in the first period, then rallied and won 39-34 behind the shooting of Conrad 17 points, Blanchard and Murphy with 8 apiece and Dave Dominguez with 5.

In the 35-48 loss to Los Gatos top scorers were Mark Conrad with 11 and Mike Murphy 9. Others were Wilkins 5, Blanchard 2, Garbe 4, Henry Kadotani 4, Dominguez, Pillsbury, King, Paul Kadotani and Zanotto 0.

In their second game against Buchser the Cardlets opened up with a 14-1 lead and coasted to 31-14 win. Roger Blanchard found his shooting eye a week ago was high point man with 9.

In a 38-45 loss to Andrew Hill, Mark Conrad kept his hot shooting going with 17 markers.

From coach Jim Simpson, the Cardlets came through in good form to whip the Junipero Serra five 45-36. Lead by Mike Murphy, who hit for 14 points and Mark Conrad, a good candidate for all league, tallied 13. SC took the lead in the first quarter and held onto it for the rest of the game.

In a 40-33 victory over Santa Clara, top scorers were Blanchard 12, Conrad 9 and Murphy 9.

The scorers in the 42-33 win against Del Mar were Conrad 14. Dave Dominguez 4, Blanchard 10, Henry Kakotoni 3, Murphy 6, Paul Kadotoni 5.

By downing Watsonville 61-50 in the last game of the season the Cardlets earned a tie for third with the Kittens. Scoring: Conrad 17, Blanchard 17, Mike Murphy 12, Dave Dominguez 6, Henry Kadotoni 6, Conrad Zanotto 2, Paul Kadotoni 1 and Dave Garbe 0.

Two lightweights were selected ALL CCAL first team. Both are top prospects for next years varsity team. Listed by name and what they bring to the team. Roger Blanchard as a rebounded and scorer and Mark Conrad as a leader, ball handler as well as a scorer.

JV BASKETBALL practice games: SLV 48-46, Palma 52-45, League: Salinas 33-35 in triple overtime. Monterey loss, Watsonville 28-50. On January 20 the Cards record is 2-7

Players: John Pierce, Mike Oliveri, Danny Adams, Chuck Farrar, Larry Garvin, Dennis McNeely, Rich Criswell, Dave Netto, Mark Schultz, Bill Thuringer, Bob Cohen and Tom Knapp. Managers Jim Miller and Larry Garvin

Starting line up: center, Netto; forwards, Schultz and Thuringer; guards, McNeely and Oliveri. Mark Schultz has been the best player on offense and defense. Rich Criswell has moved into the starting lineup to give the team a little more scoring.

In a loss to Watsonville, Shultz led the team in rebounding and scoring with 14 points. In the win against Palma, Rich Criswell tallied 17 points.

From coach Doug Severin: The JV basketball got off to a slow start this year, but finished fast. There are many boys on this team that will be excellent performers in a year or two. The Cardinal basketball team is going to be tough in the next two or three years.

C BASKETBALL won the league championship.
Players: Roy Corona, Dan Braga, Curt Fetty, Steve MeKenna, Richard Jacoby, Stan Pillsbury, Jim Wilson and Wayne Burks.

D BASKETBALL
Players; Ron Swanberg, John Boppell, John Giannini, Jake Seigle, Isaac Villanueva, Fred Gallacinao, Chris Conrad, Warren Patten, Rich Martinez and Gary Bradley.

WRESTLING scoring at the CCAL meet: Hollister 96, Watsonville 66 and Santa Cruz 63 for third place.

First place finishers at the CCAL meet were at 133, Ron Miyoko and at 175, Mike Owen. Harvey Rogers placed second in the 148 class. These threee will go to the NCS tournament at Del Mar High in San Jose. Other letter winners are Rod Baishiki, Franz Lind, Ray Lowry, Dave Foster, Larry Hogue, Frank Hill and John Mathews.

Other team members were: John Gruber, Dan Cress, Chip Cureton, Walt Jensen, Daryl Keen, Jon Brudvig, Frank Fujimura, Ken Mix, Veldon McCray, Phil McRae, Scott Ferguson, Carl Smith, Mike Winnett, Dave Foster, Mike Owen, and Eric Taylor.

Ron Miyoko and Mike Owens are ALL CCAL wrestlers by winning their weight classes. Coach Tod Likins.

BASEBALL CCAL CHAMPIONS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR GOING UNDEFEATED WITH A 11-0-1 LEAGUE RECORD. Winner of the Monterey tournament for the fourth consecutive year starting in 1957 and with 1958 being rained out. Practice games: Buchser 16-1, 11-4; Del Mar 5-8, 17-8; Campbell 8-2, 6-9; Monterey tournament: ? win, North Salinas 5-2, Salinas 2-0 for the tournament championship. Bellarmine 5-1, Serra 1-0. Practice game record 9-2. League: Monterey 4-4, won, 8-1; Watsonville 11-2, 1-0, 8-2; North Salinas 8-1, 6-3, 11-2; Salinas 3-2, 4-0, 14-4. League record 11-0-1. The tie game did not need to be played off since the Cards won the league by five games to make it not being necessary. The only thing is they could possible have had an undefeated league season. League standings: SC 11-0-1, Salinas 6-5-1, Monterey 5-5-2, Watsonville 4-8 and North Salinas 2-10. Season record 20-2-1. For the last two years the combined record is 40-5-2.

The Cardinals home field at Harvey West Park has been rearranged with the fences at 315 feet down the lines and 365 in center. (It is almost on a par with some low minor league parks. The Cards appreciate the opportunity to play in such a nice facility.)

Part of Len Klempnauers ‘Here’s The Pitch’ column in the Sentinel. Local Interest Growing In High School Baseball. The improvement of pitching, hitting and fielding over past few years can be attributed to the excellent youth baseball programs locally and the CCAL league cities of Santa Cruz, Salinas, Watsonville and Monterey. By the time a youngster makes his high school varsity, he usually has had five to seven years of experience in organized ball behind him, due to the Little, Pony and Colt leagues. Any astute follower of the area’s youth baseball teams already is familiar with the names of the young men on the rosters of the opposing schools as most of them have come to grips with local teams sometime during their careers. What should enhance the gate for SCHS this year over the improved attendance last year is a near full slate of lettermen who performed as a team last year that breezed to a 20-3-1 record, making them one of the top high school teams in the northern part of the state.

Players: catchers, Larry Eaton and Mark Schultz; pitchers, Al McCommon when not pitching plays the outfield, John Pierce, Dave Netto, and Byron Shields; 1B, Bob Lockwood and Don Gerig and RF; 2B, Bruce McPherson and Jim Skinner; SS, Steve Smith; 3B, Wally Walker and Henry Kadotoni; OF, Mike Murphy, Ron Neumann, Jim Kowal and Rick Wilkins. Managers Gary Cramer and Daryl Keen.

Beat Buchser 17-1 in the opener. It was a 6-1 game going into the sixth inning when the Cards scored 10 runs. Top hitters for the Cards were Ron Neumann with a two run homer in the third inning, Bob Lockwood went 3 for 4 and Larry Eaton 2 for 2. The pitching staff was used in the following order: Al McCommon, Tom Schot, Dave Netto, John Pierce and Bryan Shields. Lineup other than pitchers: Henry Kadotani 3B, 1-0; Walker 3B, 3-0; Lockwood 1B, 4-3; Murphy LF, 4-1; Smith SS, 3-1; McCommon P/CF, 3-1; McPherson 2B, 4-0; Neumann RF, 1-1; Kowal CF, 1-1; Eaton C, 2-2; Skinner 2B, 1-0; Ritter PH, 1-0; Zanotto PH, 0-0 and Schultz C, 1-1.

Darkness Beats Cardinal Nine. The loss to Del Mar 5-8 was a peculiar one. Although the Birds were ahead by a 10-8 score in the top of the seventh, the game had to be called on account of darkness. Thus the final score shifted to the sixth inning at which time Del Mar was ahead 5-8. The game may be finished when the two clubs meet again. Senior Al McCommon has started the first two games and pitched only a few innings before turning his pitching duties over to the following relievers, senior Bryon Shields and sophomores Dave Netto and John Pierce.

After a ten day layoff forced by the weather, the Cards avenged the loss to Del Mar by winning the second game 17-8 with an 16 hit attack. The first four batters in the line up did most of the heavy stick work. Lead off man Bruce McPherson went 5 for 6 with two triples a double and two singles. The next three batters were Bob Lockwood 2 for 6, Mike Murphy 3 or 5 and Steve Smith 2 for 2. McCommon started followed by John Pierce and Dave Netto. Between them they gave up only five hits, but the layoff hurt their control and they walked ten. Lineup: McPherson 2B 6-5; Lockwood 1B, 6-2; Murphy CF, 5-3; Smith SS, 2-2; Kadotani 3B, 1-0; McCommon P, 2-1; Neumann RF, 4-1; Schultz C, 2-1; Eaton C, 2-0; Pierce P, 2-0; Netto P, 0-0; Kowal LF, 1-0; Skinner SS, 1-0; Walker 3B, 2-0 and Gerig RF, 2-1.

Cardinals Explode; Whip Campbell 8-2. SCHS big bats exploded in the late innings to rout highly regarded Campbell. After Campbell scored in the second inning, Ron Neumann and Dave Netto singled and Wally Walker drove in Neumann to tie the score. Bruce McPherson scored on a single by Steve Smith. In the big sixth, 6 runs were driven in by Al McCommon, Mike Murphy, Smith and Neumann. Four double plays by the Cards helped stop the Bucs. McCommon went the first inning, Netto the next two and Pierce finished up. Lineup: McCommon LF/P, 3-1; Lockwood 1B, 4-1; McPherson 2B, 2-0; Murphy CF, 3-1; Smith SS, 4-2; Neumann RF, 4-2; Walker 3B, 3-1; Schultz C, 1-0; Eaton C, 1-0; Netto P, 1-1; Pierce P, 1-0 and Kowal RF, 0-0.

Cards win Monterey tournament title for the fourth time in the last five years of the tournament with other shindig being rained out. Sophomore John Pierce did not get credit for any of the wins, but did earn saves in all three tournament games. In the semi finals a 5-2 win against North Salinas, McCommon started and went four innings striking out ten and giving up two runs. Pierce pitched three innings in one two three order, while striking out three. Four Card runs scored in the first inning. McCommon led off with a walk. Lockwood singled and Smith doubled in the first run. McPherson singled in the next two runs and was driven in by Don Gerig. Neumann and McPherson worked a double steal for the fifth and final run. Lineup: McCommon RF/P, 2-0; Lockwood 1B, 3-1; Murphy CF, 3-0; Smith SS, 4-2; McPherson 2-1; Neumann LF, 4-2; Gerig RF, 3-0; Walker 3B, 3-0; Schultz C, 2-1 and Pierce P, 1-0.

In the 2-0 Championship win against Salinas, Steve Smith made his first pitching start of the season. He went the first four innings mixing up his pitches perfectly, where as McCommon was breezing them past the hitters in the morning. Pierce retired nine of the ten batters he faced. John impressed with a humming fastball and sharp breaking curve that had hitters falling away and all over themselves. Smith was on the ropes in the second when he gave up two straight hits, but senior catcher Larry Eaton fired a strike to second to pick off the only runner to get past first in the game. Lead off man McCommon singled and stole second, (which he did a lot of this season.) He scored on a single by Mike Murphy. In the second Larry Eaton lined a double over the leftfielders head and scored on a single by McCommon. Lineup: McCommon LF, 2-1; Lockwood 1B, 2-0; Murphy CF, 3-1; Smith P/SS. McPherson SS-2B, 3-0; Neumann RF,2-0; Eaton C, 2-1; Walker 3B, 3-0; Skinner 2B, 2-0 and Pierce P, 1-0.

Late SC rally cracks Bells 5-1. Trailing 0-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, Walker and McCommon walked. McPherson drove the ball over the centerfield fence 360 feet from the plate on one bounce for a ground rule double scoring Walker. Lockwood singled to score McCommon and McPherson. Smith, who had two hits, singled and Neumann doubled to drive in two more runs. McPherson went 2 for 3. Smith started on the mound and went three innings. Pierce pitched the last four. Six Bell runners were thrown out on the bases by the fine Cardinal wings. Centerfielder McCommon threw out a runner at the plate, right fielder Neumann threw out a runner at third, pitcher Smith picked off a runner at second and catchers Larry Eaton and Mark Schultz both threw out base stealers at second. Lineup: McCommon CF, 2-1; McPherson 2B, 3-2; Lockwood 1B, 3-1; Murphy LF, 1-0; Smith SS, 2-0; Neumann RF, 3-1; Eaton C, 1-0; Gerig 2B, 1-0; Walker 3B, 1-0; Schultz C, 2-0 and Pierce P, 1-0.

Two hundred fans attended the night game against Buchser in a 11-4 win for the Cards. McCommon started on the mound and threw no hit ball and struck out 8 in four innings. Two big league games are coming up, so Al will be rested and ready to go for them. Bryan Shields relieved for three innings and struck out six. Smith was the big hitter going 2 for 4 and had two runs batted in. Neumann tripled and Gerig bounced one over the centerfield fence to drive Neumann in Lineup: McCommon P, 0-0; McPherson 2B, 4-0; Lockwood 1B, 3-1; Murphy CF, 2-1; Smith SS, 4-2; Neumann LF, 2-1; Eaton C, 2-0; Gerig RF, 2-1; Walker 3B, 2-0; Kowal LF, 0-0; Kadotani 3B, 1-0; Shields P, 1-1 and Schultz C, 1-1.

In the first league game down 0-4 going into the last of the seventh against Monterey, the Cards scored four to tie the game before darkness stopped the game. It will be replayed from the beginning at a later date. To start the inning Al McCommon and Bob Lockwood walked. McCommon scored on a single by Steve Smith. Bruce McPherson walked and Ron Neumann’s line drive scored Lockwood and Smith. On a bad throw to the plate McPherson scored to tie the game. Santa Cruz out hit Monterey 9-3, but left ten runners on base. Monterey bunted a man to second, but the ball bounced up and hit the bunter in fair territory but neither umpire saw it. Both runners were safe. Another bunt and this time the Cards threw the ball away that allowed a runner to score. A bad throw from the outfield allowed two runs to score. A sacrifice fly drove in the fourth run to put the Toreadors ahead 4-0. SC had a base runner, who would have scored, run into the third base coach and was thrown out. Lockwood was the top hitter going 2 for 3. Lineup: McCommon P 2-1; Lockwood 1B, 3-2; Murphy CF, 3-1; Smith SS/P, 4-1; McPherson 2B, 2-1; Neumann LF, 3-1; Gerig RF, 2-0; Walker 3B, 4-1; Schultz C, 1-1; Skinner PR: Pierce P, 0-0; Kowal PH, 1-0; Kadotani 2B, 1-0 and Eaton C, 1-0.

Big Inning Does It Against Cats in 11-2 win. Santa Cruzans score 11 times in the second inning sending 16 men to the plate. Bob Lockwood was the only hitter with more than one hit. Bob had two doubles and a single. John Pierce was the first pitcher to go more than four innings so far this year as he threw a complete game. Lineup: McCommon CF, 2-0; Lockwood 1B, 4-3; Murphy RF, 2-1; Smith SS, 5-0; McPherson 2B, 4-0; Neumann LF, 3-0; Eaton C, 1-1; Walker 3B, 2-1; Pierce P, 4-1; Kadotani PH, 0-0; Gerig 3B, 1-1; Schultz C, 1-0; Skinner 2B, 0-0 and Kowal LF, 0-0.

The “Big A” as McCommon’s teammates call him, whiffed 15 North Salinas batters in the 8-1 win. In one inning Al struck out four batters, when a third strike got past the catcher. The game was closer then the score indicates. It was 3-1 going into the seventh. A tremendous grand slam homer by Don Gerig in the top of the seventh insured the victory. Both pitchers were in control giving up only four hits apiece. The difference was McCommon only walked three while his opponent walked seven and gave up Gerig’s homer. Smith went 2 for 2 and had a RBI on a squeeze and Neumann also drove in a run. Lineup: Murphy CF, 4-0; Walker 3B, 2-1; Smith SS, 2-2; McCommon P, 3-0; Neumann LF, 4-0; Gerig 1B, 4-1; McPherson 2B, 4-0; Wilkins RF, 4-0; Schultz C, 1-0 and Kadotani RF, 0-0.

Cards Win Thriller Chiller. Error in eighth gives SC win over Salinas 3-2. The Cards are 3-0-1 and Salinas 3-1 after the first of three rounds of league play. Al McCommon led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to left. Bruce McPherson pushed a bunt down the first base line, the Cowboy pitcher hurried his throw to first and by the time the right fielder corralled the ball Al had scored the winning run. In the sixth the Cowboys had tied the score 2-2. With the go ahead runner on second, the next batter looped a potential “Texas Leaguer” toward leftfield. Shortstop Steve Smith sprinted back, leaped and made a spectacular back handed catch. The runner thought it was a sure hit and was practically at third was then doubled off at second. Smith turned in an unassisted double play earlier running full blast to catch a knee high liner and doubling a runner at second. A fine relay throw from leftfielder Ron Neumann to Wally Walker to Larry Eaton cut down a runner at the plate. The Cards played fine defense. Both teams scored in the first inning. For the Cards, led off McCommon hit a long triple to right center. Al scored on a wild pitch seconds later. Al went 2 for 3 getting half the Cardinal hits. The second run came in the fifth with two outs. Pierce walked and McCommon walked. McPherson followed with a hot smash to deep short. The shortstop wanting to make a double play, realized Al’s speed and tried to hurry, instead let the ball go through his legs to the outfield and Pierce scored. John Pierce went the distance again striking out ten and giving up only one walk. Lineup: McCommon CF, 3-2; McPherson 2B, 3-1; Smith SS, 3-0; Lockwood 1B, 3-0; Eaton C, 2-0; Neumann LF, 3-0; Gerig RF, 3-0; Walker 3B, 2-1 and Pierce 1-0.

Cardinal Baseballers Win Again. McCommon Has No Hitter Into Sixth; Coach Pulls Him. Monterey beaten 8-1. McCommon has no hitter into the sixth inning, but is questionably pulled by the coach. Al had retired 14 men in a row before walking a man in the fifth. In the sixth with the bases loaded John Pierce went in and walked one man to force in the only Monterey run. Over Al’s last three games he has pitched no hit ball for 10 and one third innings. That should be worth a no hit game. Bob Lockwood was injured in practice and will be lost for the season. Bob, a four year starter was hitting .405 for the season and was third in league batting. The Card bats were hot with ten hits. Ron Neumann and Mark Schultz had doubles. All but one of the starters had a hit. The big star with the bat was Rick Wilkins a sophomore just called up from the junior varsity. In his first at bat, he drove in a run and his last time at bat he tripled to right center driving in two more runs. McCommon went 2 for 4. Lineup: McCommon P/RF, 4-2; McPherson 2B, 3-0; Murphy CF, 2-0; Smith SS, 4-1; Neumann LF, 4-1; Eaton C, 1-1; Gerig 1B, 3-1; Walker 3B, 2-1; Wilkins RF, 3-2; Schultz C, 1-1; Kadotani RF, 0-0 and Pierce P, 0-0.

SC makes triple play as Cards edge Watsonville 1-0. The game lasted only one hour and 35 minutes. Twice the Wildcats, who now have lost nine straight to the Surf City fleet, advanced men to third with no out, but failed to score. In the sixth inning with the bases loaded, Steve Smith called time out and went to the mound to tell sophomore pitcher John Pierce “get the batter to hit the ball to me” as a way of trying to get John to relax. The next pitch was lined to Don Gerig at first base, Don then stepped on first and then threw to Smith at second to complete the triple play. Just an inning earlier, the Cats had runners on second and third and two outs. The third out was made by third baseman Wally Walker, who back handed a one hop shot to his right and fired to first. Walker was soon the hero with the bat, too. The Santa Cruzans, who had been hitting the ball well all day, but for only four base hits, finally scored in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Don Gerig boomed a long double to left and Walker followed with another shot between the outfielders to plate the only run of the game. Pierce went six innings and allowed only four hits while striking out seven. McCommon pitched the seventh for the save, while going 2 for 3. Lineup: McCommon CF/P, 3-2; McPherson 2B, 3-0, Murphy LF/CF. 3-0; Smith SS, 3-0; Neumann RF, 3-0; Eaton C, 1-0; Gerig 1B, 3-1; Walker 3B, 3-1, Pierce P, 2-0 and Wilkins RF, 0-0.

Pitching was supposed to have been the question mark of the SC baseball team this year, but for the first 15 games the Cardinal staff has allowed the opposition only 1.43 earned runs per game. Meanwhile the Cards have been hitting at a .278 clip as a unit, a pretty fair “country” average for high school ball. John Pierce in 13 games and 44 2/3 innings has an ERA of .94. Next is Al McCommon in 10 game and 32 1/3 innings has an ERA of 1.95. Steve Smith in 3 games and 9 innings has an ERA is 0.00. Dave Netto in 5 games and 7 1/3 innings has an ERA of 2.88.

Campbell snaps SC win streak by a 6-9 score. Campbell is a top team in San Jose leading the West Valley league. SC had a 5-3 lead going into the top of the seventh after a three run rally in the sixth. McCommon went the first three innings so he would be ready for the crucial next game against Salinas was followed by Smith and Pierce. McCommon drove in the only Card RBI. The wind that came up late in the game making one think they were at Candlestick Park. The wind made pop ups and fly balls difficult. Santa Cruz’ loss may have been a timely one. It is always better to lose the non league games. It may give the Cards a warning that the “world does not owe them a living”. Lineup: McCommon CF/P, 3-1; Walker 3B, 1-0; Smith P/SS, 3-1; Lockwood 1B, 4-0; Gerig 2B/RF, 2-1; Eaton C, 3-2; Neumann LF, 4-2; Murphy RF/CF, 2-1; McPherson 2B/SS, 2-0; Pierce P, 1-0 and Schultz C, 0-0.

McCommon in one hitter beat Salinas 4-0. The lone hit was a broken bat blooper. Al fanned ten and walked five. SC did not score an earned run as Salinas made four costly miscues. In the second inning, Don Gerig scored the first run, when he singled, moved to second on a walk and scored on a wild throw to third. In the third, Walker walked, went to second on wild pick off throw, then stole third and scored on a pass ball. McCommon reached first on an error, stole second, advanced to third on an infield out and scored on a double steal. McCommon went 2 for 4 and had an RBI. Lineup: Walker 3B, 2-0; Murphy CF, 4-0; McCommon P, 4-2; Smith SS, 3-1; Gerig 1b, 3-1; Neumann LF, 3-0; Eaton C, 1-0; McPherson 2B, 3-1 and Wilkins RF, 3-0.

Al McCommon paced the Cards in a 8-2 win over Watsonville with a tremendous 360 foot home run, the first over the new fence at Harvey West stadium. Al had two RBI’s in a 3 for 4 day. The other top hitters were Wally Walker and Steve Smith each going 2 for 3. In the last two games Steve has stolen 5 bases, while hitting in the clean up spot. Other RBI hitters were Don Gerig with two and one each for Mark Schultz, Wally Walker and Mike Murphy. John Pierce got his third straight win against the Cats, plus it was the tenth consecutive win for the Card in the series. Going all the way, John struck out 6 and walked only one. With a runner on third and no outs and the score only 2-1 SC, John went to his curve ball and struck out the top three batters of the order to leave the runner stranded. The Cards then picked up three runs in each of the last two innings.
Lineup: Walker 3B, 3-2; Murphy LF, 3-0; McCommon CF, 4-3; Smith SS, 3-2; Gerig 1B, 4-1; Neumann RF, 2-1; McPherson 2B, 2-1; Schultz C, 2-0 and Pierce P, 3-0.

Cards Cinch Tie For Pennant. The day following the Watsonville game Al McCommon pitched a complete game 6-3 win over North Salinas in a make up game. Al struck out 11 while only walking one. Al also went 2 for 3 to lift his league batting average to .469 and adding a RBI. Wally Walker also went 2 for 3 for a league batting average of .368. Sophomore Rich Wilkins came through again going 2 for 4 and driving in a run. Lineup: Walker 3B, 3-2; McPherson 2B, 4-1; McCommon P, 3-2; Smith SS, 3-1; Gerig 1B, 3-0; Neumann LF, 2-0; Eaton C, 3-1; Wikins CF, 4-2 and Skinner RF, 3-0.

Cards win it all; Gerig. Pierce Star. Beat North Salinas 11-2. Redbirds clinch the pennant with two games remaining. Gerig hit his second homer of the season. The blow came with one on in the sixth. It was Don’s third hit of the day and gave him four RBI’s for the game. John Pierce pitched shutout ball for six innings and then stepped aside to allow Steve Smith to move over from shortstop to get some work on the mound. John struck out nine, walked only one and gave up just two hits. Seven of the strike outs ended with a sharp breaking curve ball. The Cards broke the game open in the third inning with a six run rally. Gerig was the only hitter to get more than one hit. Mike Murphy had a triple and drove in two runs. Other RBI men with one each were Ron Neumann and Bruce McPherson. Lineup: Walker 3B, 2-0; Murphy LF, 4-1; McCommon CF, 2-0; Smith P/SS, 2-0; Gerig 1B, 4-3; Neumann RF, 2-1; McPherson 2B, 2-0; Eaton C, 1-0; Pierce P, 3-1; Schultz C, 1-1; Kadotani 2B, 0-0 and Wilkins LF, 0-0.

Baseball Bowl game Tomorrow Night. Champion SC and Serra Nines Play Under Arcs, Expect Large Crowd. It promises to draw one of the top crowds ever to watch a high school baseball game in Santa Cruz. Serra of San Mateo is the champion of the West Catholic league and has sent a number of graduates to the major leagues. Both Serra and SC were defending champs and played to a 3-3 nine inning tie last year. With just two games left in the season the team batting average is .291 and a team earned run average of 1.88, pretty good for 21 games. Don Gerig has done a great job of filling in for the injured and missing. He is a very strong candidate for All CCAL as a utility man. Steve Smith has not made an error in the last 19 games and has covered a lot of territory at shortstop and appears to be a strong All CCAL candidate again this year. Wally Walker, the real surprise on the ball club, Al McCommon and John Pierce are also strong candidates.

The following is the probable starting line up for the Serra game, by name, position, the batting averages for the season to this point with two games to go. Wally Walker 3B, 271; Mike Murphy CF, 255; Al McCommon P, 412; Steve Smith SS, 311; Don Gerig 1B, 286; Ron Neumann LF, 263; Bruce McPherson 2B, 219; Larry Eaton C, 333 or Mark Schultz C, 412 and Rick Wilkins RF, 250.

In ‘Baseball Bowl’ game Serra falls 1-0. Lost infield pop up before full stands at Harvey West spoils no hitter for SC hurlers. Both teams had some trouble with the lights. In a game between two league champions it took only one hour and 40 minutes to complete. Al McCommon started and went three innings to be replaced by Steve Smith who went two innings and struck out five of the six batters he faced. John Pierce finished the last two innings striking out five as well. Only one Serra batter reached third. The last game of the season will be in four days and the Cards want to go undefeated in league. All the pitchers will be fresh for this game. The only run came in the third inning. McCommon looped a ball into short left field and as it was fumbled Al streaked to second. (It was a normal thing for Al. All season long he would single, steal second and eventually score some how.) Don Gerig came through again with a clutch hit, his fifth RBI of the week, to drive in Al. This has been the story of the Cards all season. Clutch hitting, clutch pitching and clutch fielding. When they have needed the key play, they have made it. Lineup: Walker 3b, 3-0; Murphy LF/CF, 3-1; McCommon P/CF, 2-1; Smith SS, 3-0; Gerig 1B, 2-1; Neumann RF/LF, 3-0; McPherson 2B/SS, 3-0; Schultz C, 2-0; Wilkins RF, 1-1; Kadotani 2B, 1-0; Eaton C, 1-0 and Pierce P, 0-0.

From the Sentinels Mel Bowen. Headlines ‘Best Ever’ Cards Get 20th Victory. Long Ball Hitters Smash Out Seven Extra base Hits. Salinas Clobbered 14-4. The best all around baseball team in the history of Santa Cruz High School completed its season yesterday with its twentieth win, a 14-4 clubbing of second place Salinas. It marked the second straight 20 victory campaign. This years club was only slightly better than last years. The 1961 team won 20, lost two and tied one. Last year the Redbirds had a 20-3-1 record for a two year record of 40-5-2. Before a fine crowd of 250 at Harvey West was no exception for the Cards. They came up with the big rallies, the key plays and the clutch pitching at the right times. Seven of Santa Cruz’ 13 hits were for extra bases. Wally Walker banged two doubles, Mike Murphy homered, Steve Smith hit two triples, Don Gerig tripled and John Pierce, “the old slugger” like pitcher Sam Jones of the Giants, also tripled. RBI’s were Smith and Murphy 3, Pierce 2 and Neumann, sophomore Mark Schultz and Walker with one each. Al McCommon started and went 2 and one third innings and with runners on base was replaced by Pierce, who struck out two batters leaving two runners on. John completed the game and struck out 8 and walked no one. A sophomore, John went 7-0 in league play. This Santa Cruz team has had great fielding, great pitching and very good hitting, as evident in this game. The spirit and leadership have been excellent. Steve Smith was the take charge guy on the ball club. Santa Cruz high has not come up with a better won loss record since at least 1943, when the Cards had a real good club led by pitcher Len Noren and possibly longer. Seniors playing their last game were Wally Walker, Al McCommon, Bruce McPherson, Ron Neumann and Don Gerig, who really came through as a utility man. McCommon and McPherson were first stringers as sophomores. First baseman Bob Lockwood, who started for four years was leading the league in hitting before he was lost to the team from a practice injury. Bob unfortunately had to finish off the year coaching third base. Lineup: Walker 3B, 4-4; Murphy LF/CF, 3-1; McCommon P/CF, 4-1; Smith SS, 4-2; Gerig 1B, 3-1; Neumann RF/LF, 3-1; McPherson 2B, 3-1; Eaton C, 3-1; Wilkins RF, 1-0; Pierce P, 3-1; Schultz C, 1-0 and Kadotani LF, 0-0.

League standings: SC 11-0-1, Salinas 6-5-1, Monterey 5-5-2, Watsonville 4-8 and North Salinas 2-10. Team batting averages: SC .281, Salinas .275, Watsonville .265, Monterey .224 and North Salinas .181. Individual batting stats for the top ten hitters in league play, by place in the league averages and the actual batting average: second place, Wally Walker .484 and fourth place Al McCommon .447.

Other Card leaders who were tops in league: Wally Walker 17 runs. Don Gerig led in RBI’s with 12 and home runs 2.

The top pitchers in the league listed with wins and losses, innings pitched, ERA and strike outs.. The top two pitchers were Cards John Pierce and Al McCommon.
W-L INN ERA SO
Pierce 7-0 45 1/3 1.25 57
McCommon 4-0 36 2/3 1.90 53
Griffin, Salinas 5-3 70 1/3 ? 80

League batting averages by name, at bats, hits and average.
AB HITS AV
Walker 31 15 484
McCommon 38 17 447
Gerig 37 11 297
Smith 38 11 289
McPherson 35 6 171
Nuemann 35 6 171
Murphy 31 5 194
Pierce 17 4 235
Eaton 16 4 250
Wilkins 13 4 308
Lockwood 10 5 500
Schultz 8 3 375
Skinner 3 0 000
Kadotani 2 0 000

Sentinel. May 25. Five Santa Cruzans’ Picked for ALL CCAL. Santa Cruz, which won the CCAL pennant race by five full games, failed to win the All CCAL honors by a similar margin although five Cardinals were honored, Salinas, which finished five games behind in second place and losers to SC four straight games to the powerful Cards place three men on the 12 man squad. Watsonville and Monterey each had two and North Salinas was shut out. Unanimous picks for ALL CCAL were pitcher-outfielder-hitter, senior Al Common had a 4-0 pitching record with 37 innings pitched and was fourth in hitting .447; shortstop, Steve Smith all league for second year .289; senior third baseman Wally Walker, second in the league hitting .484 and runs scored with 17 and utility man-first baseman senior Don Gerig with a .297 average, led the league in RBI‘s with 12 and home runs with two. Junior pitcher, John Pierce 7-0 and 45 innings pitched was also selected to the ALL CCAL squad missing unanimous by one vote. Santa Cruz would have had six of the 12 All leaguers if the coaches would have followed league by laws. The rule states that a player has to play the at least half the games at the position they are chosen for to be eligible to be picked. The player chosen for second base did not even play that position. Bruce McPherson did get a vote as the second baseman and no doubt would have won the spot on the squad if the rule had been followed. Pierce and McCommon formed the best one two pitching punch in the league. The pair mowed down hitters right and left, yet neither pitched a no hitter, which was once quite common in high school ball. Though McCommon would have gotten one if the coach had not had the unreasonable quick hook. Junior Mike Murphy, who was All CCAL last year was left of the team this year. Santa Cruz led the league in hitting with a .281 average. Hitters are blossoming at an earlier age now days thanks to Little League, Pony and Colt.

The San Jose Mercury selected a twelve man Central Coast Section baseball team (covering from King City through San Mateo County) this year and three Santa Cruz players were named to the squad. They were Al McCommon, Steve Smith and John Pierce.

JV BASEBALL Team members were: Chuck Farrar, A. Austin, Stan Pillsbury, Larry Garvin, I. Martin, Gary Bowen, Jake Seigle, Bruce Halper, Curt Fetty, Larry Wright, Al Feuerhaken, Larry Latham, Tim Erickson, Bob Pederson, B. Noren, S. Cartwright, P. Pedmonte, and B. Walker. Coach Ron Walters.

TRACK
Varsity results. Dual meets: Monterey 68, SC 41; SC vs. Salinas, each school had a different score. SC had itself winning 55-53. Salinas had themselves winning 59-49. Watsonville 77, SC 36. JV results: Watsonville 66, Monterey 54, SC 17.
Triangular meets: Salinas 65, SC 41, Live Oak 22.
King City Invitational: no SC scoring.
Dads Club Relays: Monterey 45, North Salinas 31, King City 27, Salinas 22, SC 20, Watsonville 17.
Big Five: Monterey 67, North Salinas 57, Salinas 53, Watsonville 42, SC 27.
CCAL Meet: Monterey 59, Salinas 43, North Salinas 39, Watsonville 35, King City 26, SC 22, PG 8, Gonzales 5, Carmel 4, Gilroy 1, Hollister 1, SLV 0.
Consolation Meet: (for athletes that didn’t qualify for NCS) Watsonville 89, SC 45, King City 32, Monterey 23, North Salinas 18, Salinas 14, Gilroy 9, SLV 8, Live Oak 3, Hollister 3.

Lightweight results. Dual meets: Monterey 85, SC 27. Salinas 72, SC 27. Watsonville 107, SC 6.
Triangular meets: North Salinas 95, SC 26, Live Oak 6. Lightweight reserves, Watsonville 76, Monterey 60, SC 4.
King City Invitational: no SC scoring.
Dads Club Relays: North Salinas 53, Watsonville 42, Monterey 39, Salinas 15, SC 8, King City 6.
Big Five: North Salinas 92, Watsonville 84, Monterey 44, Salinas 22, SC 5.
CCAL Meet: North Salinas 66, Watsonville 58, Monterey 33, Hollister 21, Gilroy 18, Salinas 16, King City 9, SC 8, PG 8, Carmel 8, Gonzales 2, SLV 0, Live Oak 0.
Consolation Meet: Watsonville 88, North Salinas 62 Monterey 59, Gilroy 20, Hollister 6, King City 6, Live Oak 5, Salinas 4, SC none.

February 16. Al Wright, SC’s eager young track coach was happy that the CCAL Relay will be held at Memorial Field. It will be the first major track event in SC since the late 1930’s, when the Big Five Meet was held here. There will be no individual races, just sprint medleys, distance medleys and open field events.

March 5. Schmidt Clears 11-6; Vikings Capture Meet. Claude Schmidt, 1960 CCAL pole vault champion, cleared 11-6 as North Salinas topped SC and Live Oak in a three way meet. North Salinas 65, SC 41, Live Oak 22. Card winners were Fullen, in 180 low hurdles in 22.6 and Schmidt in the pole vault. Other placers: 120 high hurdles, Swann second and McDonald third. 100, Wood fourth. 440, Mealiffe fourth. Mile, Clark second and Rix third. 180 low hurdles, Matthews third. 220, Fullen second and Wood fourth. Shot put, Netoff second and also second in the discus. Pole vault, Putney third.
Lightweights: North Salinas 96, SC 26, Live Oak 6. SC took three firsts and a first place tie. Carl Twiss cleared an even nine feet to tie for first in the pole vault and placed third in the high jump. Other first were Veldon McCray in the 330 at 40.6, plus second in the 150. Russ Flora in the 1320 in 3:37. Gene Strouse in high jump at 5-4. Other placer: Cox took second in the 660.

March 12. Monterey Thinclads Down Santa Cruzans 68, 41. SC copped only four firsts, but sweetened their score with a filling of seconds and thirds. Jim (Tex) Fullen swept to an easy 53.8 quarter mile win. Sophomore Bruce Buckner, in his varsity initiation tied for first in the 220 at 23.9 after picking up a third in the 100. Jim Harris tossed the shot put 46-4 for the other individual win. The relay team of Wood, Buckner, Carrithers and Fullen won when Monterey was disqualified for cutting in. Pole vault champion Claude Schmidt cleared 11-6, good for only second place. Other placers: 880, Mealiffe second and White third. Mile, Clark second. 120 high hurdles, Swan second and MacDonald third, plus a second in the broad jump. 180 low hurdles, Matthews second. High jump, Yount second and Criswell third. Discus, Cunningham third.
Lightweights: Monterey 85, SC 27. Velden McCray came from behind to win the 330 in 39.8, a second under his best. Russ Flora ran a strong 1320, grinding his opponent into the track in the final lap for a 3:37.2 clocking. Other placers: 660, Cox second. High jump, Strouse second. Pole vault, Bertsch third.

March 26. Rain Hastened Meet Declared Unofficial. Dark horse SC under dark skies surged to the front in the field events in an unofficial, rain abbreviated meet. SC Coach Al Wright and the Sentinel both scored the meet in favor SC 55-53, while Salinas had it 59-49 in their favor. The starter tried to get the events started as soon as possible to try and beat the rain as last weeks meets were cancelled. As it was, most of the events were held under a steady drizzle. Salinas had a comfortable 43-29 lead, when most of the participants and spectators went home. But SC swept the pole vault and the shot put to take command. Bruce Buckner and Dennis Netoff scored double first to pace SC who won six first places. Buckner won the 100 in 10.6 and the 220 in 24.1, plus second in the broad jump. Netoff won the shot put at 45-8 and the discus at 132 feet. Schmidt won the pole vault at 11 feet as the Cards swept the event with Van Ness second and Simmons third. The shot put was another SC sweep with Nettoff’s win followed by Harris and Hungerford. Other placers: 100, Wood second. 880, Mealiffe third. Mile, Clark third. 120 high hurdles, Swan second and McDonald third. 180 low hurdles, Wood third, High jump, Sletten second and Yount third.
Lightweights: Salinas 72, SC 27. Winners were Flora in the 1320 in 3:39.5. Strouse in the high jump at 5-4. Bertch won the pole vault at 9 feet. Twiss was second in the pole vault and third in the high jump. Other placers: 75, Bowen third. 330, McCray second, 660, Cox second.

April 7. SC’s Reserves Thinclads Lose At Watsonville. Team scoring: Watsonville 66, Monterey 54, SC 17. SC, not fully out of Easter Week hibernation, were swamped in both varsity and lightweights in a three way reserves meet with Watsonville and Monterey. Pole vaulter John Van Ness garnered the only Card first at 10-6 followed by Eldon Putney and Rich Simmons cleared ten feet for third place tie. Paul Graeber took second in the 440 and Hungerford third. Discus, Epperley fourth. 120 high hurdles, McDonald fourth. Mile, Rix third. 120 low hurdles, McDonald fourth. High jump, Van Ness fourth.
Lightweights: Watsonville 76, Monterey 60 SC 4. Elliot took fourth in the 120 low hurdles. SC took second in the high jump, but no name appeared.

April 9. Santa Cruz Blanked In King City Meet. Claude Schmidt cleared 11-6 in the pole vault, but lost a share of third place on the basis of misses at 11 feet.
Lightweights: Jim Cox finished third at 1:32.5 in his 660 heat, but did not place in the consolidation results.

April 16. Watsonville’s Quick Cats Beat Cardinal Cinder-men. Watsonville 77, SC 36 Both Watsonville teams are undefeated in the league in dual meet competition. SC grabbed three firsts, Tim Mealiffe jumped out to an early lead in the 880 and ran his own race all the way for a particularly satisfying 2:07.6 win. It was the first regular meet win for the hard working senior, who has seen early leads evaporate before blazing “kickers” for the past two seasons. Claude Schmidt cleared 12 feet for the first time in competition to lead a SC sweep of the event. One of Schmidt’s stabs at 12-4 missed by a ticker. John Van Ness cleared 10-6 and Elton Putney and Richard Simmons topped 10 feet. Dennis Netoff set a SC record of 137-3 in the discus. John Cunningham flipped it 134 feet for second. Bruce Buckner, first in these partisan eyes was given third in the blanket 100 finish an followed with a second in the 220.
Lightweights: Watsonville 107, SC 6. Gene Strouse tied for first place in the high jump at 5-3 for most of SC’s points. McCray was third in the 330 and Flora placed third in the 1320.

April 30. Card Vaulter Schmidt Soars To Ist At 12-7 1/4. At the first annual Dads Club Relays. Monterey won the varsity meet with 45 points, 30 coming in the five individual competition field events. North Salinas was second with 31, King City 27, Salinas 22, SC 20, Watsonville 17. A small turnout witnessed the well run CCAL track carnival was treated to come from behind wins, upsets and spills galore in return for their perseverance on the chilly, misty afternoon. Most stayed well after the running was over to watch Schmidt and John Van Ness arch over 12 feet and then fight it out for the handsome ribbons. Van Ness, who had a previous competitive best of 11 feet even, almost cleared 12-3 on a crossed up over backwards vault. Schmidt, whose best was 12 even cleared 12-3 handily and skimmed over the winning height, looking up incredulously from the pit to see if a slight nudge had displaced the bar. Monterey’s vaulter cleared 12-7 1/4 for a tie. In the sprint medley relay, King City edged the Cards quartet of Wood, Singer, Buckner and Fullen at the tape in a time of 42.4. In the two mile relay, Conrad, White, Clark and Sletten came close, but took second to Watsonville.
Lightweights: North Salinas 53, Watsonville 42, Monterey 39, Salinas 15, SC 8, King City 6.
Gene Strouse cleared 5-5 for second in the high jump. Other individual placers: Shot put, Harris fifth.

May 7. SC Pole Vaulter Schmidt Garners Only First Place. Cards Improve. Monterey won its second consecutive Big Five track championship. North Salinas took the lightweight crown. Pole vaulted Claude Schmidt left all competitors behind at 11 feet, soared to 12-3 for the only Card gold medal. Both SC team finished fifth. Monterey 67, North Salinas 57, Salinas 53, Watsonville 42, SC 27. Coaches Al Wright and Bill Wood both were delighted with the varsity total, eight more than last year and 18 over the 1959 effort. “Just about everybody cam through,” Wright exclaimed.
SC earned ten varsity and three lightweight spots in the CCAL championships at Salinas. Sophomore Bruce Buckner, off slow in both starts, closed fast for a second in the 220 at 23.5 and a third in the 100 at 10.4. John Cunningham set a SC record of 143-3 for third in the discus. Dennis Netoff with a personal best of 138-8 was fifth. John Harris at 47-5 for fourth place and Netoff at 47-¾ for fifth place set personal bests in the shot put. John Van Ness tied for third in the pole vault at 10-6, while Dick Simmons and Bob Putney qualified for next weeks meet tying for fifth place at 10 even. Defending champion Jim Fullen picked up the other SC spot with a disappointing fifth in the 440. The SC relay team hit 1:35.1, its best of the year went unplaced.
Lightweights: North Salinas 92, Watsonville 84, Monterey 44, Salinas 22, SC 5. Russ Flora took third in the 1320 in 3:28.5. Freshman Gene Strouse picked up fifth place finishes in the high jump at 5-2 and the broad jump at 18-8.

May 14. Schmidt, Lee Tie for First In Pole Vault. At the CCAL finals, Monterey tripped up last years league champion King City. Results: Monterey 59, Salinas 43, North Salinas 39, Watsonville 35, King City 26, SC 22, PG 8, Gonzales 5, Carmel 4, Gilroy 1, Hollister 1, SLV 0. Claude Schmidt successfully defended his pole vault crown and Bruce Buckner scored upset seconds in the two sprints, to lead the Cards to a surprisingly solid sixth place. Coach Al Wrights athletes acted as if they had been instructed to make a mockery of the form chart and in a positive way. Buckner, a rugged sophomore, was pegged for a pair of thirds. After practicing starts all week, he rocketed from the blocks in both races. In the 100, he was taken by a body length for first and led the 220 until a final lunge into the tape by a North Salinas runner. Schmidt and his Monterey opponent Lee renewed their vaulting dual. Schmidt a junior cleared 12-3, hopping the bar in the air on his final try. Lee made it on his final try. Willing to accept a tie, if they couldn’t get a record, they both failed at 12-8. John Van Ness cleared 10-6 for fourth place. Dennis Netoff hurled the discus 138 feet for fourth place. John Harris found out how tough competition can get when he put the shot 49 feet and went unplaced. The relay team of Wood, Singer, Fullen and Buckner won its heat and was fifth in the final standings.
Lightweights: CCAL meet results: North Salinas 66, Watsonville 58, Monterey 33, Hollister 21, Gilroy 18, Salinas 16, King City 9, SC 8, PG 8, Carmel 8, Gonzales 2, SLV 0, Live Oak 0. Freshman Gene Strouse tied for first at 5-5 in the high jump five points to SC’s score. Russ Flora pulled three more points out of the hat, when he took third in the 1320.

May 19. Fullen Runs 10.2 Century For Cards–In Consolation Meet. Consolation Meet: (for athletes that didn’t qualify for NCS) Watsonville 89, SC 45, King City 32, Monterey 23, North Salinas 18, Salinas 14, Gilroy 9, SLV 8, Live Oak 3, Hollister 3. Jum Fullen had his day of days, pacing SC to second place. The senior warhorse, who never found the pace in his 440 specialty this year, ripped off a 10.2 century and 22.9 furlong double wins. The 100 yard mark is the best in the league this year. Both times were meet records. The kid called Tex also broad jumped 19-7 for a fifth. Junior Jim Harris got off a best ever 49.9 shot put to claim another meet record. Coach Wright used most of his athletes in the varsity competition. Junior Don Swan was clocked in 15.9 in the high hurdles for third place and 21.5 in the low hurdles for fifth place. Promising sophomore Marshall White garnered third with a 4:59.8 mile. Junior Richard Criswell tied for third in the high jump. Richard Simmons was fourth in the pole vault and Alton Putney fifth. Andy Wood in the 100, finished fourth in 10.6. Don Sletten picked up a 2:10.9 fifth in a blanket finish in the 880.
Lightweights: Consolation Meet: Watsonville 88, North Salinas 62 Monterey 59, Gilroy 20, Hollister 6, King City 6, Live Oak 5, Salinas 4, SC none. (No mention of any action and there was no score by SC.)

May 21. CCAL Score Four Firsts In Sectionals; SC Blanked. At the North Coast Section meet at Camden High in San Jose, SC drew a blank for the afternoon, although registering several personal bests. For the varsity, sophomore Bruce Buckner was the only CCAL athlete to survive the morning 100 yard dash trials in a time of 10.3. He finished out of the money in the finals. His trial time in the 220 was 22.9. Dennis Nettof set a school record of 149-4 in the discus, but couldn’t qualify in the feature event of the afternoon. Other Card times and distances were Claude Schmidt 12-0 and John Van Ness, 11-6 in the pole vault. For the lightweights: Russ Flora ran 3:30.0 in the 1320 and Gene Strouse went 5-4 in the high jump.

May 29. At the North Coast Section finals at Cal Berkeley, two King City athletes and one from Junipero of Monterey were the only athletes from the central coast to qualify for the state meet in Los Angeles.

Team members were: D. Parker, D. Bertsch, R. Martinez, J. Carney. G. Partlow, R. Clark, V. McCray, R. Flora, C. Twiss, J. Reed, John Bowen, S. Short. R. Arneson, Brad Elliott, Don Sletten, J. Clark, J. Rix. Tim Mealiffe, M. White, E. Putney, R. Simmons, R. Carter, J. Cox, B. Hogan, B. Kilbe, D. Matthew, D. McDonald, P. Graeber, Gale Yount, J. Stocker, R. Smiley, D. Singer, D. Swan, Vic Epperly, J. Cunningham, M. Conrad, D. Hungerford, Dennis Netoff, Richard Criswell, John VanNess, J. Hinson and Dennis McNeely.

TENNIS was a young team. Matches listed below.

Lost to Pacific Grove 0-7. Number one man Steve Smith took his man to three sets before losing. Two man Karl Halback also gave a creditable performance.

Lost to Salinas 2-5. The only singles winner was Kim Street. The doubles team of Bill Kolbe and Gary Bianconi won in straight sets.

Lost to Watsonville 2-5. The only winners mentioned were the doubles team of Smith and Halback.

Lost to Gonzales 3-4. Winners were Steve Smith and Bill Kolbe in their singles matches. Number on singles player, Smith and number two singles player, Karl Halback won their doubles match.

Tennis lost to Monterey 0-7. The closes matches for the Cards were by number one man Steve Smith and the doubles team of Dave Slezer and Kim Street. In the other singles matches the Cards were represented by Street, Selzer, Karl Halback and Bill Kolbe.

Lost to Carmel 1-6. Steve Smith was the only winner having to go three sets to win 1-6, 8-6, 6-1. Other players in order of ladder were Halback, Kim Street, Bill Kolbe and Dave Selzer. Doubles teams of Smith and Halback and Street and Kolbe. In practice matches, Rickie King won and Gary Bianconi lost.

The Cardinal netters finally broke into the win column as they whipped Live Oak 5-1 with one tie due to rain.

Lost to North Salinas 2-5. Steve Smith won his match and no mention of the other winner.

Other team members are Fratis, Garvin, Carlton, Hunsman, Melkonian, Marini, Christensen, Tom Schot, Matis, Blackman, Rickie King, Hogan and Good. Coach Eade Jordon.

GOLF Card divot diggers have potential for ‘great’ year. Coach Tony Foster. The complete 1960 roster is back, plus a host of eager young prospects. Top returnees are number one man Fred Pfyffer, Bob Halbach, Ken Haber, Tony Tomasso, Gary Bianconi, Jeff Winters and Kim Street. New sophomore players are Bill Cowden and Frank Fujimara plus freshman Bob Warne. The home course at Pasatiempo is a true test of any golfer’s talent. It provides all the challenges of a championship course.

SWIMMING members of the team are Cress, Severetti, Scoppinich, Gillet, Strong, Cureton, McRae, Morgan, Halbach, Ron Bengston, Kohen, Ritchey, Glaum, Foster, West, Gonzalez, Owen and Winnett.

INDIVIDUALS
Al McCommon in this his senior year was ALL CCAL in both basketball and baseball. He also was on the twelve man CCS team baseball team picked by the San Jose Mercury. Al was third in league scoring with a 18.4 points per game average. In the San Francisco Chronicle Al was listed as one of the top scorers in Northern California with a top game of 21 points. This year in baseball Al led the team in hitting for the season with a .412 average. In league he was fourth in hitting with a .447 average and was a starting pitcher and when not pitching played center field. He was the top base runner on the team and started many games off by stealing bases, making good decisions on the bases and ending up scoring. In basketball he was a starter on the varsity basketball team for two years. In his first two years of basketball he was ALL CCAL as a lightweight both years. As a freshman he helped the team take second in the league and the next year he helped lead the team to an undefeated season. In baseball he played on a good JV team as a freshman and then became a starter on the varsity for three years. The last two years he was an important cog to the championship winning teams. In football he was the starting quarterback/ halfback on the JV team. The next two years he was a first team defensive back for the varsity.

Bruce McPherson this year was selected to the football ALL CCAL team and was voted MVP of the team by his teammates. Bruce was the top running back for the Cards. In a close loss to co champion Monterey, Bruce faked out a pair of defenders and then cut to his left to out race the last defender to sprint the rest of the 23 yards to score. Bruce went on to play at Cal Poly. His sophomore year he was a starting end and was the top pass receiver on the team. This year in baseball as a third year starting infielder, Bruce should have been selected as an ALL CCAL second baseman, but due to the voters not observing the league by laws it did not happen, even though he really deserved the honor. Bruce played baseball all four years and this year was a key player on the undefeated in league team as well as last years championship team.

Wally Walker the second leading hitter in the league with a .484 average and the top run scorer with 17 was a unanimous choice as an ALL CCAL third baseman representing the undefeated championship Cards. As a sophomore he played JV ball and as a junior he was a utility man filling in wherever needed. He was actually a full time starter, but at different positions and important spot for the team. This was also a championship team. Wally started playing football on the JV team as a sophomore and in his junior year he played lightweights as a hard charging fullback and one of the top defensive players. Wally along with two other baseball players were called the defensive demons on the 1960 team who beat Watsonville for the first time in ten years. Wally had a field day on defense against North Salinas and scored the only touchdown of the game by intercepting a lateral and running 41 yards to pay dirt. As a junior Wally took a third place in the CCAL wrestling meet. As a sophomore he was working his way up the wrestling ladder.

Ron Neumann was one of the best hitters all the way through his four year baseball career at Santa Cruz high. He was hit well for the good JV teams his first two years and then moved up to the varsity for the next two years on championship teams. Ron played the outfield and threw out base runners who tried to take an extra base on him. He was a clutch hitter with a solid .263 average this year. One of his top hits was a two run homer. Ron played lightweight football for three years. He was a scat back who could out run defenders, so he was a constant threat. Ron along with two other baseball players were called the defensive demons on the 1960 team who beat Watsonville for the first time in ten years.

Don Gerig was a unanimous choice as an ALL CCAL baseball player this year for the undefeated league champs. He also was a first stringer in last year’s championship team. . Don was an all around good baseball player, who was capable of playing all the positions on the field other than pitcher. This came in handy his senior season when he was needed at first base and within just a few games at first, he had the opportunity to start a triple play in a 1-0 game. He made the play automatically, just like it was routine. Don was the league leader in RBI’s with 12 and homers with two. He was one of the best clutch hitters. Don hit at a .286 clip for the year. Against the West Catholic champion Serra Don drove in the only run of the game, which made it his fifth RBI of the week, but none bigger than the last one. As a sophomore he spent the last half of the season playing on varsity. As a freshman he played catcher, infield and outfield. Don played lightweight football as a back in his sophomore and junior seasons. Don
along with two other baseball players were called the defensive demons on the 1960 team who beat Watsonville for the first time in ten years. He was the second leading scoring for the lightweight basketball team in his junior season. As a sophomore he was a member of the undefeated team.

Bob Lockwood was a fine baseball player starting on the varsity as a freshman. In his first game at first base he lined a triple down the left field line against the San Jose Frosh, which cemented his place on the team. He played on two championship baseball teams, hitting toward the top of the order and snagging everything thrown to first base. The other infielders best friend. In his senior season Bob was hitting over 400, when he was injured at practice and missed the rest of the season. He was on his way to having his best year, but unfortunately it was cut short. Bob was the boys PE honor student as a senior otherwise it was an unfortunate year for Bob. As the quarterback he was injured early in the football season and was only able to come back in the last few games in the season to play a little. The same thing happened in his junior year. In his sophomore year he was the JV quarterback. As a freshman Bob played C basketball during football season.

Lane Zachary was voted the most inspirational player on the varsity football team.

Seniors Brian Owen, Steve Winters, Lane Zachary and Anthony Tomasso were stalwarts in the line for varsity football team along with Robert Small in the defensive backfield.

Fred Pfyffer was the number on man on the golf team. (He later won the city golf title more than once) Fred played quarterback on the lightweight football team and a guard spot on the lightweight basketball team and the C and D teams.

Seniors Dave Selzer and Bill Kolbe were first team players on the tennis team ladder.

Tim Mealiffe was one of the top distance runners on the Cross Country team and the track team for four years.

Joe Ritchey student body president and a top swimmer.

Steve Smith was chosen by the Sentinel as Co Athlete of the Year in the Greater Santa Cruz area along with Steve Rodriguez, probable the best athlete in SLV history. Each has been an All CCAL player five times. They both have the basketball and baseball seasons to go in 1962, so they will probably have seven All league honors at the end of their high school careers.