Championship success follows Woodhouse

Don Cantrell

Bob Woodhouse, a Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Famer, is pleased to

reflect on the success his old friend, Coach Lou Holtz, enjoyed this past

year as head grid mentor at the University of South Carolina.

Woodhouse, 67, however, said, “I expected that, anyway.”

For Holtz, it was a rough and negative year the prior season since he

was spending most of his time caring for his ailing wife and the 1999

team lost every game his first year.

Woodhouse, a one-time rugged tackle under Coach Al Irwin in 1948-50,

said Holtz’ 2000 finish at 7-4 was a winning season.

“The conditions were more positive and he had the same players,”

Woodhouse said. “It took him one year to turn things around. I call him a

‘fix-it guy.’ He can go in and turn things around, which has been evident

at a number of top-ranking football schools.”

Woodhouse thought Holtz’s work at South Carolina “was a real magic

act.” Woodhouse has a picture of Holtz entering a school, and after a few

years juggling things into a winning pattern, departing for a new

challenge.

“I think he finally gets kind of bored,” Woodhouse said.

He had hoped that another old friend, head coach Jim Mora of the

Indianapolis Colts, could have advanced further in the NFL playoffs this

past season.

Woodhouse, who knew Mora as a player at Occidental and an assistant

coach at the University of Washington, admires the skill and work of

Mora. But, Woodhouse said he didn’t have a close observation this past

year. He wondered if Mora wasn’t granted enough control.

Mora is often seen as a calm leader. However, “he can get angry

sometimes,” Woodhouse said with a laugh.

One of the major highlights for Woodhouse came in mid-November of

1999, when he was inducted into the San Diego County High School Coaching

Hall of Champions.

Woodhouse, a 1951 graduate of Newport Harbor High, was also inducted

in 1988 into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame and named as

recipient of the Clare Van Hoorebeke Award for outstanding contributions

to prep football in Southern California in 1994.

A spokesman for the sponsoring of San Diego Hall of Champions stood in

front of 800 people and said, “Bob Woodhouse coached teams that were

always known for their tenacity and strict discipline. He believed

everyone was a starter, asking to just give 100%.”

The other bright spotlight for Woodhouse was appearing at the San

Diego event and becoming aware that four of his old Harbor High mates

were there to attend the big banquet, including Virgil Packham, Maurice

Langdale, Rex Bell and Walter Willcut.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Woodhouse said. “Two came from northern

California and two came from Costa Mesa. And, they all had glowing smiles

on their faces.”

One of the unfortunate things now facing Woodhouse is back surgery.

Next month will mark his second back operation.

Woodhouse, a resident of Cottonwood, Ariz., is disappointed this time

because it may spell the end of his motorcycle riding.

“I may be turning to four-wheeling in the future,” he said.

The lessened skill of four-wheel riding will be hard for him to handle

since he has always been an active person.

He was a stout member of the 1949 Harbor High grid team (8-1) and the

championship team at Orange Coast under Ray Rosso in 1951.

Some of Woodhouse’s teammates from both schools has included: Bob

Berry, Langdale, Mel Smalley, John Kingston, Glenn Griffith, Dick Jones,

Gino Boero and Wayne Welty.

Woodhouse also helped lead Harbor to a Sunset League track and field

championship in 1951. He ran the the half-mile.

He coached more than 20 years at San Marcos and San Pasquel high

schools in San Diego.

He also played at Long Beach State, then served 15 years as an

assistant coach at Rancho Alamitos High in Garden Grove.