Jack Errion, Millennium Hall of Fame

On Wednesdays, the Corona del Mar High coaches who had conference

periods at the same time would huddle together and play sports trivia.

The late Jack Errion, the legendary former CdM basketball coach, would

always have an answer.

“Jack had an incredible background and memory, yet you’d never know if

he was bluffing,” current Sea Kings basketball coach Paul Orris said.

“He’d always pull some name out of the hat, and we couldn’t tell if he

was pulling our legs or not.”

Similar to his coaching style, few in the room could keep up with him.

“He was a god almost, because he was so well-respected in terms of

tough, hard-nosed basketball,” said Orris, who replaced Errion in 1987

and has been the Sea Kings’ coach since. “Jack got 200% more out of the

talent he had than anybody I’ve ever seen. I always accused him of having

mirrors, because on a given night, there was no way his team should even

be on the same floor with certain teams. But his team would not only be

on the same floor, they’d win.

“He was really my mentor, almost a father figure. He really made you

feel needed and appreciated. He was a great guy with a great sense of

humor, but I wouldn’t want to play poker with him.”

Errion, longtime successful coach at St. Anthony High in Long Beach,

arrived at CdM to replace Tandy Gillis, and, in his first season, the Sea

Kings captured the CIF Southern Section 3-A championship in 1977 with

players like Jack Tuz and Alex Black.

“Errion had already been coaching for nearly a quarter of a century,

but Corona got the best 10 years of his career out of him before

retirement,” a story in the Daily Pilot read on Feb. 28, 1990.

“ ... Jack turned out to be not only an outstanding basketball coach,

but an outstanding gentlemen,” former CdM Athletic Director Ron Davis,

now retired, once said. “He was a walking clinic on our campus with our

lower divisions and with other head coaches in general. He was always

there to give his opinion and advice.”

Errion moved to Tucson, Ariz., with his wife, Connie, two years after

retiring and died shortly thereafter. But the latest honoree in the Daily

Pilot Sports Hall of Fame (celebrating the millennium) will always be

remembered. The school’s basketball program hosts an annual alumni

tournament each summer in his name.

“(Errion) was demanding, but at the same time, he couldn’t stay upset

even if he wanted to be upset,” said former CdM point guard Mike Hess,

who played under Errion for three years, including 1981 when the Sea

Kings won another CIF 3-A championship. “He couldn’t help but smile and

stay loose with the team.

“His reputation, or image, from the stands, or from other teams, might

have been pretty serious. But if you were around him, you knew he wasn’t

like that.”

Errion, the genius du jour of man defense and conservative offense,

finished his CdM career in 1986, when the Sea Kings of Jeff Fryer and Tod

Bearbower helped Errion to his sixth league title in 10 years.

Errion’s record at CdM was 199-60 (a .768 winning percentage), leading

the Sea Kings to three CIF championship game appearances and two titles.

On campus, Errion was also known as the consummate team player by not

only sharing his athletes, but encouraging them to play spring sports.

One year, former boys track and field coach Jim Tomlin needed high

jumpers and Errion “walked his players out en masse” to try out.

Once, Errion gave the green light to one of his players to compete in

a track meet against Edison the day before a CIF playoff basketball game.

Tomlin told Errion if the Sea Kings could avoid getting swept in the high

jump, they might win the meet. By day’s end, CdM defeated Edison.

“Jack was just as happy as we were beating Edison,” Tomlin said. “At

that time, Edison was a big school for us to be taking on.”

Errion, who won 18 or more games every winter at CdM except for two

and never came close to a losing season, guided his first CdM team to

South Coast League and CIF 3-A titles, along with a 25-5 record. The Sea

Kings beat Ramona in overtime, 56-50, for the CIF championship.

In 1979, his Sea Kings were 21-4 and reached the CIF quarterfinals,

finishing second to Estancia in a highly competitive Sea View League.

They went 22-5 and advanced to the CIF title game in 1980, losing to

La Quinta and 6-foot-9 junior sensation Johnny Rogers.

But in 1981, considered by some as the quintessential Errion squad

with Hess, Steve Moore, Mark Spinn, Chris Lynch and Jeff Pries, the Sea

Kings defeated La Quinta (and Rogers) in the CIF semifinals, 48-29, on

their way to the title.

“(Errion) had a pretty unique style of coaching at the time,” Hess

said. “We never played zone (defense), and he never thought about it.”

In 1982, the Sea Kings went 20-5 -- their fourth straight year with at

least 20 wins -- and lost to St. Bernard in the CIF semifinals, 34-28, a

typical Errion-coached game. “That should be a halftime score,” added

Hess, a senior that year.

Orris, the program’s former freshmen coach and an assistant under

Errion, said Errion’s widow still lives in Tucson.