The other day I was out at the Buri-Buri Shopping Center in South San Francisco and I looked across the street and saw the familiar building that now houses Zorba's Pizza. Memories washed over me.
Decades ago a coffee shop occupied this spot. It was there the late San Francisco Examiner prep writer Merv Harris gathered me and other San Mateo Times part-timers to see if we could start feeding him results we collected of the same schools he covered.
Harris, for the price of 4-5 breakfasts, pulled it off -- even though The Times was theoretically a competitor of the The Examiner. My boss at the San Mateo Times, Chris Stave didn't seem to care.
Harris, Stave and Mike Nolan of the old Redwood City Tribune were the Big Three of peninsula prep sports writing back in the mid- to late 1970s when I was just getting started. Nolan's story is complicated and I'm not going to elaborate except to say he was nice to me and did a great job at The Tribune and later at the San Mateo paper.
Harris is the best-remembered of the three, always resplendent in a jaunty red cap and greeting dozens of coaches, former players and fans before he'd get to his press box seat or scorer's table. He died nearly 10 years ago, but not until after serving two years as The Examiner sports editor and 24 as a prep writer.
Said St. Joseph-Notre Dame basketball coach Don Lippi to The Examiner after Harris's death in 2004: "Merv Harris made young people feel good about themselves. He didn't cover the pros or important events like the Masters; he covered the Skyline College (highs school) tournament. He wrote about the kids as if they were the heroes of the day."
Harris, for a roundish, middle-age guy, was indeed tireless, routinely covering every game of events like the Skyline and Serra basketball tournaments. The old Serra Invitational that Harris blanketed was started by Pete Newell Jr. during Newell's one year at the San Mateo school and is now named in Harris' honor. Well deserved, I might add.
Stave is the nearly forgotten man of peninsula prep sports coverage. Heavy-set and bespectacled, he didn't look like a sportsman and if he played sports in his youth in Salinas, I'm not aware of it.
I was 18 when I stated writing for him and he seemed to me like an intellectual who happened to cover prep sports. He was every bit the writer the iconic Harris was -- maybe better -- as he eloquently covered the schools of the Mid-Peninsula.
The thing with great writers is years later you can recall snippets of their stories like in 1972 when Serra beat Burlingame in football and Stave wrote: "Serra had a touch that would have driven Midas mad with envy ..."
Stave, like Harris, was also a bit of a character who habitually referred to me as "lad." Sometime in the late 1970s he hosted a party for all the part-time writers at his home near downtown Burlingame. There was beautiful Oak furniture all around and eclectic music like Leon Redbone was on the turntable and I think Merv may have been there as well. A lot of tales were told and laughs had and a refreshments downed before we departed sometime around midnight.
Merv Harris and Chris Stave -- I miss those guys. They were giants in their day.
REMEMBERED: Sacred Heart Cathedral student Rashawn Williams was celebrated Thursday at a memorial service.
Reported KGO-TV: There were tributes filled with tears and fond memories as hundreds poured into St. Mary's Cathedral to say goodbye to the freshman football player.
The hearse carrying Rashawn was another reminder that this would be the last time many who knew and loved the teen would have an opportunity to say good bye.
Williams was fatally stabbed outside a corner store in San Francisco's Mission District. Police quickly arrested a 14-year old classmate and charged him with Williams' murder.
Rashawn's untimely death has brought many people together.
"It's been a whirl wind of support and also anxiety, a lot of tears, but an overwhelming sense of community," said Michelle Forshner of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School.
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Rashawn was a top-notch student in middle school who earned nearly a full scholarship to the inner-city, Catholic school. Before attending SHC he played youth football for the San Francisco Warriors. He will be missed.
YOU CAN'T DO THAT: This kind of stuff long ago stopped being cute or laughed off as another instance of "boys being boys" ... but it just might have happened again.
Police in Livermore arrested two high school players at Livermore Valley Charter Prep on hazing chargers, reports NBC Bay Area. Both players are accused of holding down a teammate and shaving a portion of his head.
Unoriginal. Not funny. Just plain stupid, if true. Stuff like this should have gone out with the football dropkick and the center jump after each basket.
Support your teammates -- prop them up. Don't bully them. You'll feel better about yourself.
SIDELINED: In response to my Monday morning inquiry, Serra football coach Patrick Walsh provided an update on two of his injured standouts. Kava Cassidy (broken collarbone) was scheduled to have surgery that day and it's unknown if he's out for the season. Also, two-way lineman Creighton Felise has a sprained knee and is out 2-3 weeks, Walsh said. Both were injured in Friday night's setback to Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks. Tough losses.
GOOD TIMES: Last weekend couldn't have been much better for Sequoia football. The varsity trekked down to Valley Center near San Diego and won 40-34 in overtime, the junior varsity defeated Hillsdale 24-12 and the Cherokee frosh topped Hillsdale 35-0. Sounds like Sequoia coach Rob Poulos should have gone to the racetrack while he was at it.
SPITTING IMAGE: Troy Claunch, like his father Stan, is quite the athlete. The Vacaville High star was recently among 12 picked for the USA Baseball 17U National Team Development Program.
Stan Claunch was the quarterback of the 1980 North Monterey County High football team that helped start the Condor dynasty of the 80s. North County, with Stan operating the offense, Roger Sugimoto calling the plays and coach Phil Maas overseeing it all, was quite the machine. And you could get a bag of artichokes for $1 from the Condor track team on your way out of the place -- and I did!
PUTTING ON A CLINIC Mitty girls basketball coach Sue Phillips is offering a free girls' coaching clinic on successive Tuesdays -- 6-8 p.m. September 23 and 30 at Union Middle School at 2130 Los Gatos Almaden Road in San Jose.
Coaches will learn to build a championship girls basketball team, practice planning/developing a championship program, feedback consideration/performance psychology, etc.
Space is limited. To register, please email Mike Guglielmo ... mike@apollo-is.com.
Briefly: St. Ignatius senior girls basketball guard Janessa Manzano has committed to Hawaii-Pacific, reports Chris Roemer. ... Los Gatos has hired Leigh's Nate Anderson as its new baseball coach, reports the San Jose Mercury. ... Leigh teacher/coach Pam Zielazowski is the new Longhorn softball coach, according to @LeighAthletics.
John Murphy is the Web Content Manager of prep2prep.com. He may reached at jmurphy@prep2prep.com.
