Black & Orange Pride

Mike Sciacca

High above the din of voices that dominated the grand ballroom of the

Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort Friday, the images of past glories in

Huntington Beach High School athletics rose.

They flashed before some 300 revelers on one wall of the ballroom,

then faded into the past again.

They wore the Black and Orange -- the colors synonymous with the

school -- these football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball

and track and field athletes, many donning outdated and archaic

uniforms and equipment, in the slide show.

They represented nearly every decade the school has fielded

athletic teams. Some were all-everything athletes, others just team

members, but together they helped shape the school’s athletic program

that, this school year, celebrated its 100th year.

Whatever the distinction of each athlete, gone or present, all

were honored Friday during a night called the “Centennial Celebration

of Huntington Beach High School Athletics.”

The evening included a mix and mingle, dinner, speakers -- each

associated with the school’s athletic program, either as a coach,

athlete or both -- dancing and a silent auction.

The fundraising event was held to benefit the school’s athletic

department.

“It’s great to have all these people associated with Huntington

Beach High athletics get together tonight to help celebrate a

milestone in the school’s athletic program,” said Roy Miller, the

school’s athletic director who was the boys’ basketball coach for 23

years and an two-time all-CIF basketball player from the Class of

1969. “These folks link the past to the present.”

There was Jim Stangeland, Class of 1941, an all-CIF football

player and a two-time CIF pole vault champion at Huntington Beach who

later went on to become head football coach at Long Beach State and

coached at USC under legendary football coach John McKay.

Walking through the ballroom and smiling throughout the night was

Mike Vidal, the eldest alumni present, representing the Class of

1931.

Vidal, 93, lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track as

an Oiler. He ran the low hurdles and 220, and was part of some of

“the best” sprint teams, he said, at the school, which he attended

during the Great Depression.

“I was the second four-year class to attend the new campus, and it

was very exciting,” he said. “We had really good athletic teams and

great teachers. That’s what I remember most of my time there.

“Also, it was a time when everybody in the area knew each other.

Nowadays, it seems, people don’t even know their own neighbors. I had

a wonderful time at the school.”

Vidal, who later went on to become head of the grocery department

at the old Standard Market on Main Street, played football under

Harry “Cap” Sheue, whom the school’s football field is named after.

“He was the nicest, calmest guy around,” recalled Vidal, whose

great nephew, Anthony Vidal, 15, concluded his fresh- man year at the

school this week and volunteered to work Friday’s celebration. “I

kept in contact with Cap until he died.

“I’ve got to tell you that it’s fun to be here. I didn’t think I’d

make it.”

Vidal admired the various Oilers trophies, championship plaques

and pictures set up in the lobby of the ballroom, even taking notice

of an Orange League championship cup won by the 1924 Oilers baseball

team.

Among the guest speakers was All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez of

the Kansas City Chiefs, who came armed with an autographed jersey for

the silent auction.

A 1994 graduate, Gonzalez lettered in football and basketball at

Huntington Beach, where he achieved first-team All-America status in

football, was named the Orange County and Sunset League MVP in

basketball and shared the Orange County High School Athlete of the

Year honor his senior year with a golfer by the name of Tiger Woods.

“To be around all of this Oiler tradition is great,” he said. “One

hundred years of athletics is really something to celebrate, and I’m

just excited to be here, to listen to all the former coaches and

players talk about the history of sports at this school.”

The planning of the event began nearly 1 1/2 years ago, said

Kurt Clemens, Class of 1969, now a teacher at the school who helped

steer the centennial committee. Clemens noted that 1,500 invitations

for the event had been sent out.

Clemens’ father, Clifford, Oilers’ Class of 1942, also was on hand

for the festivities.

“Everyone got involved, from the alumni association to current

students,” Kurt Clemens said. “We have some great speakers lined up

to share their memories, and we have a great committee that has

worked hard to make sure this night is something special.

“And that’s what it’s all about -- to celebrate our athletic

heritage, and have everyone walk away from the night with a good

feeling and good memories.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at [email protected].