Class of ’48 reunion a reason to celebrate

DON CANTRELL

Lofty praise was given to Mr. And Mrs. Don Dickey, who directed the

colorful 55th reunion for the Newport Harbor High class of 1948 at

the beach near Balboa Pier recently.

“We can’t say enough for the Dickeys,” said Bill Clark, the star

guard on the ’47 grid team.

Clark estimated 100 mates and friends attended.

One surprise visitor was John Fowler, class of ‘46, from San

Francisco. Fowler, an offensive ace at Harbor High, ‘46, Orange

Coast, ‘47, and Arizona in the late 40s, served for years in the navy

as an aviator.

Two outstanding members of the championship baseball team in ‘48,

catcher Bill Weatherwax and fielder Boyd Horrell, appeared at the

reunion. That title-winning squad is the only championship baseball

team in the history of Harbor High.

Two of the players, Frank Hamilton, who was once offered a $50,000

signing bonus as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, and first

baseman George Reeves, class of ‘49, have passed away.

Dick Deaver, a former champ Snowbird racing ace and one-time

basketball player, appeared and scored low on the golf links Friday

afternoon.

Former athlete Murray Brown impressed his mates with his talent on

the lawn bowling course.

Clark said Dickey has a positive outlook toward the future and is

thinking of planning another class reunion in two years, perhaps at a

restaurant that can spare sufficient space for a one-room dining

scenario.

At this age level, Clark said it is better to think in terms of

two years, not five.

One, “super thing,” Clark said, was the polished manner in which

Dickey had the catering service provide the entire dinner scene on

the beach.

*

It is interesting to reflect back on John Fowler from high school

years. He was a versatile athlete, but few remember he played forward

on the ’46 basketball team with center George Yardley, who went on to

more success in the NBA.

Yardley was a third-team All-CIF selection in 1946 when the Tars

finished second in the Sunset League and won the Southern Counties

Tournament.

Fowler was a superb quarterback for Orange Coast under Coach Ray

Rosso, before shifting out late to Arizona in Tucson.

One small-world happening arose in the navy when he bumped into a

‘50 graduate of Harbor. That would be Jim Seely, who, in time, became

a rear admiral and earned numerous decorations as a jet fighter

pilot.

Seely was a varsity swimmer for Coach Al Irwin at Newport in 1950

and then moved on to UCLA.

*

We recall one hilarious moment regarding Murray Brown, class of

‘48, in the mid-40s when his aim was sizzling in one Newport game

against host Anaheim and he couldn’t resist temptation.

The late coach Ralph Reed, even though his team was five points

ahead, had a habit of turning conservative near the end of a tight

game.

At some point, Brown felt the urge to give the ball a whirl from

half court. And, to everyone’s amazement, Brown’s shot went the

distance and flashed right through the bucket.

Although Brown was left smiling, Reed, at a distance, was yelling

back to his guards to keep that ball away from Murray.

Brown didn’t understand what was happening, but he could only

shrug and wait for the end of the contest.

*

For Ed Mayer, Newport class of ‘50, his most amusing memory from

high school football came one night against Huntington Beach when the

officials whistled the game to stop.

After a huddle of officials, coaches and some players, most of the

players on both teams were on their knees crawling across the grass

and searching for one vital thing: the glass eye belonging to Newport

halfback Mel Smalley. The glass eye sometimes came out when he was

struck hard by defenders.

Mayer laughed, noting the strange scene that took place at the

stadium.

“People couldn’t figure it out because the officials never took

the time to verbalize what had happened,” he said. “And, the moment

someone found the eye, they quickly whistled the ball into play.”