Sidelines: High voltage:

a clarification

Don Cantrell

Interesting how small world items often arise in the world of

sports.

Two names from the 1948 Newport Harbor High varsity football team were

in the air recently.

One, halfback Bob Watts, came up when an Orange Coast College staff

report, relative to the ’51 OCC championship team’s 50th reunion,

published a letter indicating Watts had died. The report came from a past

player and was not confirmed.

Fortunately, Watts, a Sunset League selection off the ’49 Tar varsity,

is very much alive. His mother did note that he had been sick and was in

a wheelchair. Otherwise, he is fine and well. Watts and his late brother

Frank helped operate their father’s Balboa Liquor Store for years. One

day, however, Bob took an opportunity to serve as an auditor in southern

Nevada.

Bob, who ran a 10.3 in the 100-yard dash as a senior prepster, was

also a member of the ’51 OCC football outfit.

He and classmate Don Knipp were mates on the ’48 Tar varsity and

played together in the opening season clash against St. Anthony, a team

that would end as the CIF co-champion with Santa Barbara, 7-7.

Harbor was a young, inexperienced grid team in ’48 and the Saints

didn’t have any fears about playing the Sailors on the Newport field.

This was Coach Al Irwin’s return to Newport and few expected anything

but a so-so season. Most of the players were just 16 or 17 years old.

Some were only 15.

Nonetheless, Irwin’s team, led by fullback Bob Berry and superb end

Bob Thompson, stunned St. Anthony from beginning to the final four

minutes of play. The Tars scored first and led, 6-0, until the Saints

scored, 7-6, then Harbor came back to lead, 12-7.

However, Watts had his punt blocked in the last minutes and it was

recovered on the Newport 10 by the Saints. Within that short span of

time, the Saints scored one last time, making it, 14-12.

Looking back once, Irwin, seeing the opportunity to grab a golden

victory, said, “I should have called for a safety.”

Watts could have turned and run into his own end zone. Out of a

safety, he could have punted the ball an estimated 45 yards and the

Saints would have lost good odds on the distance with little time left.

Knipp well remembers the battle against the Saints and how rare it was

to be confronting the very team that would capture the CIF title many

weeks later.

However, Knipp today can report another CIF experience that came the

family way through his nephew, Kevin, the son of Knipp’s brother.

Kevin, a junior reserve end for the powerful Edison High gridders,

found his team confronting Long Beach Poly for the CIF title this past

fall. On a glum note for Edison, Poly captured the crown. Poly has long

been a Southland power in football.

Kevin’s father, Bruce, was an outstanding Naval officer and FBI agent

in earlier years. As a kid, Bruce was one of the favorite young

quarterbacks for Rod MacMillian, former Harbor Boys Club director, and a

nifty varsity quarterback once for Irwin at Newport.

With amusement, Bruce once borrowed a play from the ’49 Tar varsity

quarterback and made it work for a long touchdown run. The play called

for the quarterback to line up for the snap and try to throw the rivals

off by stopping his direction, then calling for the team to re-huddle

since there “was a mistake.” Obviously, the team would not move while the

rivals would lift up and be set off balance. The varsity only made three

yards, but Knipp ran the length of the field.

His brother, Don, only had a problem with his gridmates in ’48 once,

but he figured out how to resolve it in a positive manner.

Fullback Berry and halfback Mel Smalley got into the habit of entering

Don’s locker to steal sandwiches from his lunch bag.

Smalley once said, “Boy, Mother Knipp made the greatest sandwiches.”

Don caught them one day and told them they could take the sandwiches,

but only if they started buying his lunch each day at the cafeteria. They

agreed.