SAN DIEGO COUNTY SPORTS IN THE ‘80s : IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A few other things we wouldn’t want to forget:

Best Team of the ‘80s?

The 1983-84 San Diego State women’s basketball team provided as much promise as any team in San Diego history. After a 10-18 year, the Aztecs hired Coach Earnest Riggins to rebuild the program. Riggins started his first year with a roster that included nine freshman, two sophomore, two juniors and one senior. The Aztecs went on to finish 24-6, still the finest record in the program’s history. Tina Hutchinson, a high school player of the year, led a team that scored 100 or more points five times. The Aztecs reached the NCAA West Regional final where it lost to Long Beach State in overtime. Six single-game individual records set during that season are still around today, including five by Hutchinson. But what appeared to be the start of a powerful program never came to fruition. Hutchinson was injured the following year and never returned. Academic and personal problems plagued most of the team as only three of the nine freshman made it through their senior years.

Straight Shooter of the ‘80s

UC San Diego’s Rob Rittgers set a record that may truly never be broken. The Tritons were playing host to Menlo College on Jan. 16, 1988 when a fight broke out. Players on the Menlo bench charged the court, and referees awarded UCSD 12 technical fouls. Rittgers went to the line and made all 24 free throws. He finished the game 30 for 30 from the line, setting NCAA Division III records for free throws in a game, consecutive free throws in a game, free throw attempts in a game, and free throw percentage in a game. The feat caused the NCAA to create an entirely new category for the record books: Most points scored with no time elapsing.

Streak-Hitting Family of the ‘80s

Santana High’s Jim Tatum hit safely seven times in seven official at-bats during one stretch the 1985 baseball season. Although three off the record set by Holtville’s David Valenzuela in 1984, among Tatum’s seven hits were four home runs and nine runs batted in against El Cajon Valley (May 17), making him the only player in the county to hit four homers in a game. Jim’s brother, John Tatum of Grossmont High, had nine consecutive hits and went 11 for 13, including two triples and two doubles, during the 1989 playoffs.

Kicker of the ‘80s

San Diego High’s Mia Labovitz, the first female varsity football player in the county, did something few others, male or female, ever do. With a 40-yard field goal, Labovitz provided all the scoring in a 3-0 1988 victory over St. Augustine--an all-boys school.

Act of Nature of the ‘80s

Patrick Henry’s baseball team was having trouble scoring runs until until a swarm of bees lent a stinger or two in a game at Santana in 1982. Patrick Henry was trailing, 4-2, with two outs and two on when the Patriots’ Darrin Riley hit a routine fly ball to left that appeared to be headed for the final out. But a split second before Santana’s left fielder made the catch, a swarm of bees attacked him, causing the ball to drop in. The swarm harassed not only the left fielder but anyone else who tried to pick up the loose ball. Meanwhile, Riley had an inside-the-park, three-run homer and the Patriots a 5-4 victory.

Mark of the ‘80s

Rancho Buena Vista’s Scott Garcia rushed for 2,565 yards, averaging nearly 200 yards per game in 1988. But that’s not it. In the Longhorn’s last game of the ’88 regular season, Garcia rushed for 361 yards in a 35-13 victory over San Pasqual, which RBV would later defeat, 21-10, for the 2-A championship. Garcia’s total broke the 20-year-old record of 353 by Mission Bay’s Wayne Myron.

One-Year Dynasty of the ‘80s

One year normally does not a dynasty make, but Serra’s field hockey team won two section championships and outscored opponents, 229-3, in 1983. How? Well, that year, the section switched field hockey from winter to fall. Serra won the ’83 winter championship, defeating Oceanside, 3-2, then came back nine months later to win the fall championship, 4-0, over Morse. Serra was also in the midst of a legitimate dynasty--it won seven consecutive section titles and nine of 11 in the ‘80s.

Pitchers’ Duel of the ‘80s

Mission Bay and USDHS had two of the best baseball programs in the county in the ‘80s. But to end the football season in 1981, Mission Bay defeated USDHS, 3-2. That was a payback of sorts: Five months earlier, USDHS defeated Mission Bay, 4-3, for the 2-A baseball championship.

Wasted Hype of the ‘80s (Non-Super Bowl)

Coming off fine junior years, highly recruited Sean Salisbury of Orange Glen and Scott McKee of Patrick Henry were to battle for air supremacy to begin the 1980 football season. Patrick Henry kicker Mahee Nabizedeh decided an otherwise uneventful, 10-7 game with a 53-yard field goal on the last play.