2nd Football Coach Leaves Beverly Hills

Bill Stansbury, who has held or shared the head football coaching position at Beverly Hills High since 1981, is leaving the traditional Westside power to accept a similar position at Paso Robles. Combined with Dick Billingsley’s resignation, announced earlier this spring, the Normans will begin the 1990 season without either of the co-coaches who have guided the program since 1985.

“There was too much uncertainty with the parcel tax,” Stansbury said, referring to Proposition B on the June 5 ballot. “It looked like I would be the only guy coaching varsity football. The only guys left to coach all three teams are Chuck Kloes, myself and Larry Stees. Coupled with that, Paso Robles is a very nice area to live and if I wanted to continue to coach, I had to make a move.”

Proposition B, which would raise $4.5 million for the Beverly Hills Unified School District, remained just a handful of votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary for passage with an unknown number of absentee ballots to be counted.

Successors to Billingsley, who will be coaching at Oak Park High in Agoura this fall, and Stansbury have not been named.

Stansbury guided the Normans to Ocean League championships in 1986 and 1987, the Northwestern Conference semifinals in 1984, and the Division II quarterfinals in 1988. Beverly Hills was 3-7 in 1989, including three forfeits during the teachers strike.

During Stansbury’s tenure, several players earned scholarships to Division I schools, including Michael Moore and Willie Crawford at UCLA and David Ellis at Colorado. Additionally, two of Stansbury’s players, Jeff James and Pat Cunningham, would go on to be chosen in the NFL draft.

Stansbury’s career at Beverly Hills began in 1972 as an athletic trainer, substitute teacher and assistant football coach. He joined the teaching staff in 1974.