Editing a little history

The recent discovery of an old student newspaper story about the

1942 small schools CIF football playoff contest between Newport

Harbor High and host Bonita may well shock numerous old-timers.

One fact never changes: Bonita won the game, 39-6, paced by Glenn

Davis, who four years later won the Heisman Trophy as a standout

halfback at West Point.

For some reason, the common belief for years has been that

Newport, led by legendary All-CIF fullback Harold Sheflin, took the

first lead, 6-0, and led at halftime.

Not true, according to the Dec. 18, 1942 story on the sports page

of the Harbor Beacon, for which the sports editor, Wilbur Van Riper,

was a member of the ’42 Newport varsity.

The line score clearly shows Bonita came to lead, 7-6, at

intermission. Bonita scored after Sheflin had climaxed a 63-yard

drive by plunging over from the 1-yard line.

The report states that Sheflin injured his ankle and left the game

eight plays after Newport missed the conversion.

Several plays later, the Bearcats crossed the goal from 4 yards

out and made the extra point.

Sheflin had clearly held Davis in check until he was forced to

leave the game for good. Even Davis held Sheflin in the highest

regard for his astonishing defensive play.

The longest gain for Davis against the 215-pound Sheflin in the

first half was only 8 yards. His general habit during the season as a

swift broken-field runner was scoring several touchdowns a game from

long distances.

Many fans long claimed Newport would have won had Sheflin not been

injured.

Sheflin once disagreed with that viewpoint, explaining that

numerous star players had been hurt and left the game, including

second-team All-CIF tackle Manuel Muniz. He could not recall others

in an interview with the Daily Pilot in 1989.

However, the Beacon story did list the other injured Tars, who

included halfback Paul Myrehn, halfback Ed Miller and halfback Keith

Engelhardt, who ran the 100 in 10.2 seconds. That represented four

backfield members on the sideline.

Bill Neth, an impressive tackle who later drew 14 college

scholarship offers, recently produced the old Beacon paper from his

files.

Neth recalls the Bonita field looked like a “cow pasture” to him

and felt it may have accounted for a number of Newport injuries.

In fact, Virgil Pinkley, son of the late mayor of Costa Mesa,

Alvin Pinkley, remembered the game himself since his mother, Lucy,

drove him to the game at La Verne. Pinkley said he didn’t recall a

stadium and that most people were standing. He does recall Bonita

school officials did produce a flood of orange packing crates on the

field “for people to sit down.”

Hence, it was a strange scene for most Newport visitors.

Nonetheless, the news story did recount some Davis scoring moves,

including a 75-yard punt return and a 58-yard scamper in the third

quarter. He also threw a touchdown pass late in the fourth period.

They story did note that Newport tackle Muniz left the game with a

head injury early in the fourth quarter. Myrehn was hurt and carried

off the field in the third quarter. In time, Myrehn helped lead Santa

Ana College to a conference championship with Neth and four other

Newport grads in 1945.

Bonita gained 307 total yards, while Newport rolled up 125. The

Bearcats made 13 first downs, while the Sailors earned 10, four by

rushing, five by passing and one via penalty. The Tars completed 6 of

16 pass attempts, while Bonita completed 2 of 8 for 77 yards. Newport

gained 89 yards passing.

Bonita won 11 games during the season and scored more than 400

points. Newport won nine games and scored 319 points.

In 1944, Vern Fitzpatrick lost his life at Luzon, Philippines,

when Japanese fighter pilots machine-gunned him while he was

parachuting. Muniz was wounded at Okinawa in 1945 as an Army

infantryman and Sheflin suffered gas damage to his lung after being

blown off a ship in the Pacific. Muniz would return to play football

at Arizona State for four years.