From the sidelines

The late Ralph Reed, Newport Harbor High’s first athletic director

and its first football coach, had fun with football from 1931-1937.

His basic loves were basketball and track, but gridiron pressures kept

his other coaching desires limited.

His early day gang of gridders generally followed Reed’s direction

with ample respect and good will, but there were some who resented his

style and manner of coaching.

Some felt that early Newport grid teams were not loaded with the super

talent that came along in the championship ’42 season and it sometimes

prompted Reed to inject some fanciful plays to fool rivals. It would

include the old Statue of Liberty play and some razzle-dazzle reverses.

But some times they didn’t work.

As Harbor High aged into the 1935-37 season, things were changing. Big

players, like the 212-pound fullback Al Irwin and brother Ralph Irwin,

came on deck and helped lead the teams to aggressive offenses and

defenses.

Critics could say what they wished, but Reed’s bottom line of grid

coaching was simply to teach character and have fun. Sometimes the eager

fellows thought they might well have an intelligent edge on Reed when it

came to conveying the exquisite plays that would work.

The initial ’37 quarterback, Rollo McClellan, felt that way once and

approached Reed in a forward manner, only to find the coach ignoring his

idea and quickly shifting him to fullback.

By season’s end, McClellan figured it was a valued idea in examining

his yardage statistics from the season after running with Reed’s plays.

McClellan always laughed at himself over that incident.

Coincidentally, McClellan’s longtime friend, Glenn Thompson, emerged

and became the first string quarterback. Actually, he became one of the

finest quarterbacks out of the early days.

After Reed stepped aside in 1938, he allowed a young coach named Dick

Spaulding, an Escondido High and Whittier College grad, to take charge.

The talent was slim, but Spaulding finished the two-year period with a

7-6-3 record. As time passed, he went to Fullerton and subsequently

established a noteworthy record. His Fullerton teams once owned 28

consecutive league victories. He possibly could have extended that mark,

but two things stood in his way - an assignment to become a principal and

severe competition, coming from a new coach, named Claire Van Hoorebeke

at Anaheim.

Reed’s premier player, Al Irwin, from 1935, returned after World War

II to become the Tar grid chief from 1948-55. Irwin enjoyed several

outstanding seasons, but left in 1956 to direct the Orange Coast College

team to an Eastern Conference championship. He then bowed away to coach

water sports and to become athletic director at UCI.

In the end, Irwin and Spaulding had proved what Reed had to offer in

the world of football.

Irwin and Reed were still close friends sharing Thursday morning

breakfast sessions until the latter lost his life in a car crash in April

of 1985.

Luke Davis, the legendary fullback for Cap Sheue’s 1926 league

championship team, who went on to manage Costa Mesa lads in sports

(baseball mainly), rarely seemed to have a problem, except for one

evening in the mid-40s at the back end of the old Santa Ana Bowl, site of

local college and high school football games.

His main task was directing the young fellows in summer baseball, but

he also managed time in the fall to transport a bunch of them to Santa

Ana for several grid contests.

His vehicle was an old flat-bed truck, but it could handle all the

boys. He would drive it to the far-end fence, park and the kids could

rest comfortably, while watching the game for free as long as they stayed

on the right side of the tall fence.

However, one of the lads, Mel Smalley, who would grow up to become a

spirited grid star at Harbor High in the late ‘40s, felt he could gain an

improved view on the other side of the fence. One leap flipped him over.

Trouble was, the catapulting threw him to the ground on the other side

and drew the attention of two police guards from a distance.

That brought panic and the young fellow sensed no way out except to

turn and run swiftly down the middle of the field before amused and

cheering thousands, scoot up into the crowded stadium and hide behind

some adults. Nevertheless, the officers kept searching.

Meanwhile, the flustered Davis became anxious, sped to the outside of

the stadium, bought a ticket for Smalley, then scrambled into the stadium

to deliver a ducat for the boy.

Fortunately, that worked and the officers allowed Smalley to hold a

ring-side seat. Fans enjoyed the extra attraction.

Davis was just happy and relieved he could get all the Costa Mesa

youngsters home safely.