1942 team successful during turbulent time

The biggest World War ever was underway when Newport Harbor High’s

1942 football squad was preparing for a powerful motion toward

capturing a Sunset League Championship.

Many knew the military call to duty would be there after the

season in December and numerous seniors would be missing graduation

ceremonies by June of ’43. The draft was taking young men at age 18.

Newport had never won a varsity grid title before and its players

were often limited since it was one of the league’s smallest schools.

It only had 13 players before the ’41 season started, but Coach

Wendell Pickens’ draw of four middleweights from the Bee team lifted

the total to 17. He could only count about 24 by the fall of ’42. On

the bright side, ’42 marked one of the strongest turnouts in school

history.

The backfield was paced by fullback Harold Sheflin, quarterback

Vernon Fitzpatrick, blocking back Lorey Langmade and halfbacks Ed

Miller and Paul Myrehn. All were fast and clever in running patterns.

Keith Engelhardt was an exceptional reserve, who once ran for three

or four touchdowns in one game.

The line featured stout players like tackle-end Manuel Muniz,

tackle-end Bill Neth and tackle Bob Gaynor, end Carl Oberto, guards

Tom McCorkell and Don Tripp, as well as center Wendell Crawford.

Other vital reserves were tackle Roger Neth, tackle Dick Freeman,

centers Don Bingham and Joe Shafer, end Harold “Red” Cass, tackle

Bill Bertuleit and guard Wilber Van Riper.

Operating out of the old short punt, the Sailors upended nonleague

foes St. Anthony, 42-0; Laguna Beach, 50-0; and Santa Ana, 7-0.

League rivals who fell before the Tars included Fullerton, 41-12;

Orange, 42-0; Anaheim, 54-0; Excelsior, 26-7; Long Beach Jordan, 7-0;

and Huntington Beach, 52-7.

The Sailors finished the regular season with nine wins and no

defeats, scoring 319 points.

The reward was a trip to the CIF small schools playoffs, where the

Tars met Bonita High on the Bearcats’ field near Pomona.

Bonita sparkled with versatile halfback Glenn Davis, who would

later become a Heisman Trophy winner at Army, but Newport’s 215-pound

fullback, Sheflin, kept him at bay until an ankle injury took Sheflin

out of the game just before halftime.

With key Newport injuries on the board, Davis felt free to scamper

for several scores and Bonita won, 39-6.

During his Army career, Davis once told Time Magazine that Sheflin

was one of the finest players he ever confronted.

Sheflin was named the No. 1 All-CIF fullback for the season and

his mate, Muniz, was voted to the second team at tackle.

Langmade was second-team All-CIF in ’43 while tackle Freeman was

voted to the All-CIF second team in ’44.

Numerous Tars advanced later to star for Sana Ana Junior College,

including Sheflin, Oberto, the Neth brothers, Myrehn and Chuck

Dennis. The Dons won a title in ’45 under Coach Bill Cook.

Bill Neth, in time, became an assistant football coach at Santa

Ana, serving for seven years. He also became a lifelong career man as

a distributor for the Los Angeles Times.

Prior to that, he was offered a player’s position with the pro

Hollywood Bears, but turned it down.

The dreadful war spelled numerous setbacks for Harbor gridders.

Fitzpatrick was killed by Japanese fighter pilots while parachuting

over Leyte, Philippines in December of ’44. Sheflin, a deck gunner,

was blown off his ship and suffered a lung injury. Muniz was wounded

on the island of Okinawa.

After the war, Sheflin played on a limited bases with Sana Ana,

while Muniz went on to play four years at Arizona State and was once

voted to a Little All-America team. He was offered a position with

the pro New York Giants, but declined due to knee injuries sustained

in college.

Pickens was drawn into the Navy as a physical instruction officer.

He was released after the war and returned to coaching at Harbor

High. In 1948, he accepted the post of athletic director at Orange

Coast College.