San Pedro Honors ’61 Marine League Champions

Former San Pedro High Coach Bill Seixas, who will be honored along with the 1961 Marine League champion team at Wednesday night’s Pirate Football Kickoff Banquet at the Princess Pavilion, is a throwback to a bygone era and an icon in his hometown.

Nicknamed “Ethical Bill,” Seixas cherished his role as a coach. Refusing to adopt a win-at-all-costs attitude, he saw himself as a role model and an educator.

“A coach was next to a priest back then,” said Seixas, who was the Pirates’ coach from 1957 through ’65.

Seixas, 69, and players from the 1961 team (one of only seven San Pedro squads to win a league title) will be counted on to provide an extra boost of preseason inspiration for the 1990 Pirates. Banquet chairman John Doyle said the tangible connection between different eras of San Pedro football is a good way to give the current players a sense of school tradition.

“It’ll be a little bit of old and a little bit of new,” Doyle said. “A couple of guys (from the 1961 team) are going to give speeches (to encourage the 1990 team).

“We want them help get the current team hyped up for the season. We plan on continuing with this in future--bringing back championship teams--because it’s a fun thing and it gives the kids a good example of what can be done.”

Doyle said that the 1961 team is especially worthy of honor, for a couple of reasons.

“First of all, they are deserving of recognition because everybody kind of forgot about that team,” he said. “They were a real good group, a tough team.

“And then there’s Bill, who is very special. He’s just a die-hard Pedro guy.

But Seixas represents much more than simple school pride. One of the last coaches to employ the single-wing offense first popularized in the late 1930s, he is a gridiron philosopher.

And he’s not entirely pleased with the way the game has developed.

“Football used to be fun,” he said. “After the season, the guys could play basketball, play baseball, do what they wanted to.

“Then they’d come back two weeks before the season for practice. Now, you have spring football practice, summer passing leagues, guys spending all their time grunting in the weight room.

“It’s a shame.”

Not only is the new approach demanding of players, but the pressure to compete puts undue strain on modern coaches, Seixas said.

“It’s a new breed of players and coaches because of all that they’re asked to do,” he said. “The time constraints make it difficult for a coach to spend time with his family.

But Seixas doesn’t want to be cast in the role of an ornery old-timer. He is upbeat and is greatly looking forward to Wednesday’s banquet.

He wants to share some of the magic of 1961. That was the year that San Pedro opened with a 6-0 upset of Manual Arts, the L.A. City Section’s top-ranked team. The star was single-wing tailback Ronnie Barber, whose son, also named Ronnie, was a former quarterback for Banning High, El Camino College and Cal State Fullerton.

Other big victories included shutouts of Banning, Narbonne and Westchester (in the playoffs). After winning the league title, the Pirates advanced to the second round of the City playoffs and finished 8-2, despite being picked to finish third in the Marine League.

“We want to let (the 1990 team) know it can be done,” Seixas said. “And we want them to go after the City championship that we missed out on because of a couple injuries.”

Doyle said a crowd of about 400 is expected Wednesday night.

The Princess Pavilion is at Berth 95 in San Pedro under the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The 1990 San Pedro band and cheerleaders will perform at the banquet.

A social hour will be 6-7 p.m., with dinner following. Tickets are $15.

Information: John Doyle at (213) 833-4967.