Coaching for Pizza: Lots of American Football This Week

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Lots of American Football This Week

Wednesday, September 4, - Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Hard to believe as I write this that 95% of the kids in high school today were born after the 911 attacks in 2001.

We start this blogpost with a trip to downtown Los Angeles to visit some landmarks that we have, amazingly, never visited.

Los Angeles Grand Central Market

How could a foodie like me have missed it all these years?

This was a possibility

Greetings Food Lovers!

Lots of choices for lunch

What do you think Laurie?

Mexican food it IS!

It was quite good.

After lunch we headed across the

street to the famed Bradbury Building

Well known for its interior architecture, I first heard of it years ago when Laurie's Mother mentioned that when she was a Senior in high school she went there to have her Senior portraits taken by a professional photographer.

The Bradbury's interior

was really impressive

Different by California standards

GREAT Anthony Quinn Mural!

The iconic Million Dollar Theater

Located on the same block as the Grand Central Market and across the street from the Bradbury Building, I can remember going there as a child with my parents on several occasions.

On to South Pasadena . . .

Interesting art on the South Pasadena

Public Library

We had stopped for a beverage at one of our favorite coffee bars before stopping by to visit with my Mother.

This 1982 plaque on the South Pasadena

Public Library caught my eye

South Pasadena's Mayor at the time was one Ted R. Shaw. He was a member of the St. Francis H.S. Class of 1962, a Senior there when I was a Freshman.

Ted was the starting Guard on our 11-1-0 team that won the 1961 Santa Fe League championship. Only the second in our school's history.

An otherwise perfect campaign was disrupted when, in the C.I.F. AA playoff championship game we were upset by Bishop Amat H.S. 28-13.

We had beaten Bishop Amat 26-7 in a Santa Fe League game in the fifth game of that year.

Now the reason that Ted's name stood out was that back in 1961 he gave me, deservedly, the only swat that I ever received in high school.

I was a rebel back in the day apparently.

We didn't want to fight the rush hour

traffic so we stopped at

South Pasadena H.S.

Home of the Tigers

Teddy not Franklin

Coach Solari was the legendary football

coach of the Tigers from 1953-1972

The Tigers Freshman team was

playing the Eastside Lions

The Tigers (3-0) won a close one, 24-22.

Lots of C.I.F. Championships over

South Pasadena's 113 year history

Four titles in American football led by Coach Ray Solari (1956, 1962, 1966 and 1969) and one by my old, much respected line coach at St. Francis, Coach Jim Yang in 1975.

Friday night Mike and I went to the Cabrillo at Rio Mesa Varsity game.

The small but pesky

Cabrillo Conquistadors

It was a BEAUTIFUL night

for American Football!

At the LOS

Good defensive play by Cabrillo

As the Sun slowly sinks

into the Pacific Ocean

The home stands were packed

Rio Mesa Field Goal attempt

Rio Mesa (3-0) defeated Cabrillo (0-3) 48-6.

On Saturday, Jacob's Blue Sharks

did extremely well!

International American Football

Game in California

Mexico's CETYS Zorros were in Los Angeles to play the Occidental Tigers.

CETYS is located in Mexicali. CETYS is an acronym for Centro de Enseñanza Tecníca y Superior.

The Zorros are trying to become the NCAA's first DII college south of the border.

The game was at Occidental's

Jack Kemp Stadium

Kemp was an Oxy alum who played QB for the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, Calgary Stampeders, Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills from 1957 to 1969.

After his playing days were over, he entered politics and served in the House of Representatives from 1971-1989. He was the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1989 to 1993.

Kemp was the Bob Dole's Republican Party Vice-Presidential nominee in their unsuccessful run for our nation's highest offices in 1986.