Mike Camp, Millennium Hall of Fame

Richard Dunn

Since heading off to Colorado State on a football scholarship,

former Estancia High multi-sport athlete Mike Camp has remained in the

land of mountains aplenty.

With his family in tow, Camp returns to Costa Mesa every summer and

surfs with his dad, while exposing his two children to Orange County’s

waves.

Then, it’s back to Englewood, Colo., where mountain biking,

snowboarding, camping, hiking and skiing await in the great outdoors.

“I never came back (to Orange County to live),” said Camp, a former

tight end at Colorado State. “Basically, I just decided I really enjoy

the mountains and the lifestyle out here. But we make sure to come out

every summer to get our beach fix.”

Once a strapping 6-foot-3, 225-pounder, Camp was the pride of Estancia

(circa 1978) in football, basketball and track and field, then became one

of the finest tight ends in Orange Coast College history.

A two-year starter at Colorado State in 1980 and ‘81, Camp quickly

became a fan favorite in Fort Collins, catching a game-winning, 19-yard

touchdown pass to beat rival Wyoming with four seconds left and cap a

thrilling home victory for the Rams.

“(The play) was designed to go to me, (and) I knew I’d better catch

the pass or otherwise I’d be run out of town,” Camp said. “If I missed

this pass, I might as well keep running west.”

Splashed on the Sunday front page of the Denver Post and highlighted

on all the Denver-based television news broadcasts, Camp suddenly found

stardom, or vice versa.

“That was a nice thing to have been a part of, when I caught that

winning touchdown pass,” said Camp, who didn’t pursue a pro football

career because of his limited size and speed.

As a tight end and wide receiver at Estancia, Camp was a first-team

All-Orange County and second-team All-CIF Southern Section Division I

selection, while also starting for two years at defensive end.

“There’s nothing more a guy can do as a receiver,” then-Estancia

football coach Jim Bratten said prior to the 1977 All-CIF voting. “(Camp)

plays inside and outside, he’s a great blocker and makes clutch catches.

He caught the ball when it had to be caught ... and he’s our best

blocking lineman. He could have been an all-league tackle the way he

blocked.”

Camp, listed as a first-team All-Century League wide receiver in the

autumn of ‘77, caught 41 passes for 588 yards his senior year as Estancia

(6-3-1) earned a CIF Southern Conference playoff berth as the league’s

No. 3 representative, losing to Riverside Poly in the first round.

Of Camp’s six touchdown catches, three were game-winning receptions.

In basketball, Camp could run the floor with anybody and also post up.

A two-year starting forward, he helped Estancia win the Century League

championship his junior year in 1976-77 as the Eagles, with Pete Neumann

and point guard Ray Orgill, went 21-6 in Coach Dave Carlisle’s final

year.

As a senior in Coach Larry Sunderman’s first year, Camp led the Eagles

to an 18-8 mark and a second straight trip to the CIF 3-A playoffs, a

season in which John Carrido and Jim Price were among the Eagle stars.

In track and field, Camp set school records in the shot put and

discus, the latter of which he still holds at 156 feet 8 inches. It is

one of the oldest marks (22 years) on the track and field record board on

a wall inside the Estancia boys gymnasium.

“I was fortunate to have great support from my parents (John and Pat),

and to have them being at all the games certainly played a large part in

any success we enjoyed,” said Camp, who played football and basketball at

Estancia with his younger brother, Tony (circa 1980), while his sister,

Susan, was also a big fan.

As an OCC tight end, Camp completed his two-year career with 51

catches for 543 yards, including his sophomore year in 1979 when he led the team in receiving (35-384).

Camp graduated from Colorado State with a degree in business

marketing, the springboard to his next move in the commercial real estate

business.

These days, Camp is senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis in

Denver, a large commercial real estate firm where he has been for 17

years.

Camp, the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame, lives

the Rocky Mountain suburban life with his wife of 11 years, Pam, and two

children: Andrew, 8, and Allison, 6.

“They’re active in all sports, including skiing and snowboarding,”

Camp said of his two kids.