In all kinds of weather

Don Cantrell

One of the worst-ever rain storms to sweep over the grid at

Davidson Field made its mark in the season of 1934 when Harbor High

played host to Huntington Beach.

One could have called it, “The Puddle and Mud Bowl.”

The late Judd Sutherland, the ’34 Tar captain said, “It was so bad, both

teams argued with the refs all afternoon as to where the ball should be

placed following a tackle. The ball carriers would get hit, then slide

15-20 yards across the mud.”

The team also had a fine quarterback named Charles Langmade, but some

felt he had a problem and that it surfaced during the huge rain game.

The word got around that Langmade couldn’t remember his plays so some

claimed he drew them on his grid togs, which once made Sutherland laugh.

He said it didn’t appear that it bothered then-grid coach Ralph Reed

“because he never asked Langmade to wipe them off.”

That’s how the tale went for many years until after Langmade returned to

the Harbor area after years of serving as a gynecologist in Pasadena. His

version was much different. He only had the play numbers marked down, not

the plays, he explained.

The amusement? Langmade said, “I wasn’t stupid.”

At any rate, Langmade did have a fanciful idea when he went to USC and

felt he could continue on with his role as a quarterback since the Harbor

High mates had lofty views of his potential.

His first burning shock in the Trojan lockerroom soon prompted him to

fold the uniform back up and slowly ease out the side door.

His opening view caught the face of a giant lineman fumbling around his

locker with the gear and flashing a wide mouth that featured no teeth. In

those days, helmets had no face gear and it often found numerous tough

guys losing their front teeth.

Reflecting back on Harbor High grid coach Reed, Sutherland once said, “I

like him very much, but he was not a real football coach. He was a fine

basketball and track coach.”

He added. “He wanted to give local football fans a run for their money,

so he’d run all this razzle-dazzle stuff like the Statue of Liberty and

swingout plays. I don’t wish to knock him, but he was a pretty

happy-go-lucky guy who asked nothing more of the guys than to ‘play your

best. Win, lose or draw, it doesn’t matter--just have fun.”’

Not all players agreed with Sutherland about Reed, including one of the

school’s most versatile athletes of that time, Al Irwin, who returned to

Harbor High in 1948 and took charge of that football team.

Out of amusement, Irwin had a habit of by-passing most of life’s

controversial issues on and off the sports field.

Rain was expected at least one time during the fall of yesteryear, but

not “swamps” and most fans and players, no doubt, recall those contests

clearly.

Another kind of weather that came once in the fall was wind and sometimes

it became the intense Santa Ana winds, which created maddening problems.

Some of the hot and heavy winds were so severe, the schools would not

allow their bands to take the bus or attend the game.

The devil winds were not so bad if they blew hard during the week, but if

one thundered across Orange County on a game night, the teams could count

on trouble.

One of the most severe attacks was recorded the evening of Nov. 2, 1946

when the Sailors rolled into the Santa Ana Bowl to play the defending CIF

champion, Santa Ana High, led by outstanding triple-threat Johnny Fouch.

The wind had already swept the field fairly clean of most field markings.

The white chalk had spread from one side to another.

Reflecting back, tackle Bob Robins said. “He (Coach Wendell Pickens) made

sure we understood the talent we were up against, but he stressed that

anybody can handle a team if they gave it their best ... I have never

seen a coach that had the respect of a team any more than him.”

The ugly winds affected both teams and it was 7-7 at halftime. However,

it was the Harbor spirit that kept hampering the Saints. Winds affected

the Tar punting game and blew the key extra point off course. Fouch

attempted a PAT run at the end and it collapsed. Final count was 13-13.