The ‘49ers

The grid season of ’49 marked Coach Al Irwin’s second year of

football coaching at Newport Harbor after a 5-4 start in ‘48, but

even as he scanned six returning starters and two other lettermen, he

told assistant Jules Gage that he “didn’t know what to expect.”

The only All-Sunset Leaguer who bothered league rivals was

Newport’s powerful fullback Bob Berry. He had constantly disturbed

league opponents during two previous seasons.

A former coach once said Berry “had the impact of Harold Sheflin,”

a feared fullback from ’42.

A half-dozen Sailors had scrimmaged on the local field against

players of South Pasadena High during the summer and flowed well in

the touch game series.

At one point, Newport sensed a high level of confidence because it

felt two South Pasadena linemen, tackle Roger Van Pelt and guard Mike

Giddings, were shifting to the harbor area. Irwin called Van Pelt “a

horse” and others were impressed by the size of Giddings.

Many felt they could have helped lead the Tars to the league

championship, but both returned to South Pasadena by summer’s end.

Giddings would return years later to coach Newport, racking up an

impressive 34-12-3 record over four years, including a league

championship and two co-championships in the 1982-85 era.

The ’49 Tars would astonish fans and rivals in the beginning by

winning five straight games by staggering scores: St. Monica, 54-0;

Torrance, 34-0; Anaheim 37-20; Huntington Beach, 42-6, and Orange,

41-12.

Then came Fullerton, the defending champions on Oct. 28, at

Davidson Field and the field was over-loaded with fans. It marked the

first time the Tar field had ever been roped off. And the L.A. Times

called it the “CIF Game of the Week.”

It became one of the biggest scoring prep games in the Southland.

Back and forth rolled the scoreboard until Fullerton held a 31-27

edge in the third quarter.

The Sailors missed a touchdown when one end couldn’t hold a goal

line pass and lost another possible score when a halfback fumbled the

ball at the four-yard line.

Fullerton capitalized on the Newport letdown and went on to win

43-27.

Although Downey almost upset Fullerton later as time ran out on

the one-yard line, the Indians held on to an 18-13 win to gain the

league championship and the lone berth into the CIF Playoffs.

Meanwhile, Newport regained its strength and went on to defeat

Rosemead, 34-19; Santa Ana, 14-0; and Downey, 40-0.

Hence, that gave the Sailors an 8-1 season while scoring 323

points.

Looking back, Irwin once said, “I still maintain that if our

halfbacks had been healthy, Fullerton would have fallen.”

Harlow Richardson, a star ’48 halfback, was lost in the first game

of the season with a broken leg. Halfback Bob Watts had a wired-up

shoulder in the Fullerton clash, but played anyway. Other halfbacks

were Dick Jones, Billy Kindell, Jack Bell, Roland Taylor and Mel

Smalley.

Although the Tars could have advanced to the CIF playoffs years

later, they could not in ’49 since only league champs were allowed to

enter the playoffs.

The ’49 Sailors rolled for 3,066 yards during the season,

averaging more than 340 yards per game. They also averaged 5.56 yards

per offensive play, ran off 546 offensive plays, registered 117 first

downs and averaged 18.8 on kickoffs returned.

Another success factor was alert, quick defensive players, they

were great opportunists, seizing 22 rival fumbles and 16

interceptions. In contrast, the Tars were only intercepted four times

and averaged two fumble losses per game.

Four of the Tar backs tallied up 231 of the total 323 points: Mel

Smalley, 104; Berry, 67, and halfbacks Bob Watts and Deck Jones, 30

each and quarterbacks Don Cantrell, 55, rushing and passing.

In the yardage count for rushing, it was Berry, 677; Smalley, 552;

Watts, 434, and Jones, 288.

The offensive line only averaged 161.5 pounds per man and was

often outweighed while the backfield averaged 161.2. The Orange front

line, biggest in the county, outweighed Newport 30 pounds per man,

but the lighter Sailors were dominant, 41-12.

Tackle Ted Trumpeter said, “Al Irwin was a particular influence in

my being confident of my abilities at that time.

I loved it when he used to tell us, ‘I’d rather have high school

players in the line that weigh about 170 pounds, who can get off the

ball and make contact quick, than 200-hundred-plus pound boys that

can’t move quick.’”