Hall of Fame: Eric Raff (Corona del Mar)

Richard Dunn

Former Corona del Mar High standout Eric Raff had a vision to play

four years of college football, but he certainly never had his sights set

on national television at NCAA Division III Occidental College.

Raff, an All-CIF Southern Section Central Conference linebacker for

the Sea Kings in 1978, was in the right place at the right time in NFL

history.

In the fall of 1982, during the NFL players’ strike, there were

television restrictions on broadcasting Division I college football

games, so, as a weekend filler, tiny Occidental was selected to play host

to the University of San Diego in a Division III nonconference game.

Raff, at the time, was Oxy’s starting senior defensive tackle and

two-time All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

choice.

“It was a close game (against USD) and we ended up winning,” said

Raff, who still has a videotape of the nationally televised Oxy-USD game.

“It was a pretty big deal at the time at little Oxy. Hank Stram was

the television announcer.”

Raff, a former South Coast Plaza Player of the Month whose

large-framed photo once hung above the mall’s famous merry-go-round

because of his CdM gridiron exploits, never intended to be a walk-on

player at a larger college.

With his size (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) and family background -- his

mother and brother attended the private Eagle Rock-based college -- Oxy

was a perfect fit.

“I was always small, but (former CdM assistant and current head coach)

Dick Freeman taught me how to be tough,” said Raff, a three-year

letterman who played middle linebacker and offensive guard as a senior in

‘78, when Corona del Mar won its first football playoff game, drilling

Gladstone in the first round, 35-6.

Raff, a first-team All-Sea View League choice that season and

third-team All-Orange Coast area pick by the Daily Pilot, had a craving

for more football after graduating from CdM in 1979.

“I knew going to Oxy I’d get a good education, but I could also play

football there,” Raff said. “I didn’t know how well I’d do, but it turned

out to be a very good experience and I played all four years.”

An economics major and now president of a Silicon Valley-based

commercial construction company, Raff has an 8-year-old daughter,

Madeline, and 5-year-old son, Nick, and he’s introducing all sports to

them.

“You’re not playing (football at Oxy) for glory, you’re playing

because you loved it,” Raff said. “What football did for me, and what

other things do for kids, gave me confidence and taught me sportsmanship.

It was a very good thing. It’s not important that kids play football, but

that they play something. It makes them feel good about themselves and

teaches them to have confidence in themselves ... football definitely did

that for me.”

Also a two-year varsity wrestler at CdM in the 178- and 191-pound

divisions, Raff, who grew up on Balboa Island, didn’t start football

until later in life (eighth grade), when he first met Freeman.

“I felt I started playing football a little bit late,” Raff said, “

... but in high school I knew some kids who were kind of tired of it and

burned out, because they’d been playing so many years (beginning as a

youth).

“For me, I thought it worked out pretty well. I was so excited and

interested in getting better that it kept my interest up. There are

probably different theories and ways to go there. It’s hard for kids to

just go out and play (football) in the street.”

In the eighth grade, Raff played for the Pop Warner Costa Mesa Chiefs

and was first exposed to Freeman.

“The coach who made the most impact and significance in my life is

Coach Dick Freeman,” said Raff, who followed Freeman to the freshmen

football level at CdM, then to the varsity under head coach Dick Morris.

“It was just when Coach Freeman was getting started in coaching,” Raff

added. “He taught me some good life’s lessons, like always giving 110%;

when you get knocked down, get back up. I have a lot of admiration for

him. Dick Morris was a good coach, but Dick Freeman was my mentor.”

In Raff’s senior year, CdM gained a share of the Sea View League title

with Costa Mesa and cranked out its first postseason win, then lost to

eventual CIF Central Conference champion Mission Viejo, 20-7, in the

quarterfinals.

As a junior in 1977, Raff was selected first-team All-Sea View League

defense as a noseguard.

Raff, who lives in San Jose with his wife of 16 years, Kate, and two

kids, is the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame.