SAN DIEGO SPORTS IN REVIEW: 1990 : Of Roseanne, the Ripper, Socker Success and 6-10ness

JANUARY 2 Christine Adams of Grossmont High sets a section record for three-pointers in a girls’ game with eight in a 70-61 loss to Helix. Adams finished with 45 points.

3 Chargers owner Alex Spanos says, “I’m just tired of losing,” as he announces the signing of Bobby Beathard to a three-year contract as the Chargers’ general manager. “I wish he stayed in the NFC,” says Denver general manager John Beake.

7 Keith Weller, a former Sockers assistant coach, returns to San Diego for the first time as head coach of the Tacoma Stars and watches his new team defeat the Sockers, 4-2.

8 Paul Azinger pars the 18th hole to win the Tournament of Champions at La Costa. Azinger had a four-day total of 272, the second-lowest in the history of the tournament.

11 Dodo Cheney of Santa Monica wins the women’s 65 and 70s singles titles at the San Diego Super Senior Tournament at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club.

22 After beating Hana Mandlikova and Gigi Fernandez earlier in the Australian Open, Angelica Gavaldon of Coronado falls to unseeded and 75-ranked Claudia Porwik, 6-4, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.

23 In reaction to continuing violence on the playing field, the Board of Managers for the San Diego Section votes unanimously to accept an “Ethics in Sports” policy. Each athlete must sign a Code of Ethics before being eligible.

26 Christian High’s Tony Clark breaks the San Diego Section career-scoring record with a 58-point effort against Clairemont High. Clark surpassed the record of 1,982, set by Bonita Vista’s Paul Halupa in 1970.

31 Sue Hegerle-Snyder takes over as women’s volleyball coach at USD. A former star player and assistant coach at SDSU, Hegerle guides the Toreras to a 15-16 record in the fall, a significant improvement over the 2-26 mark posted in 1989.

FEBRUARY 3 SDSU center Marty Dow tears a tendon in his foot during a 61-49 loss at Utah. The Aztecs win one more game--a week later over U.S. International, 108-97--before losing its final eight in a row. . . . Rick Leach and Jim Pugh clinch the United States’ first round-Davis Cup victory over Mexico by defeating Leonardo Lavalle and Jorge Lozano in four sets at La Costa.

6 Socker owner Ron Fowler creates a stir by announcing that he will consider selling the Major Indoor Soccer League team at the end of the season if ticket sales and advertising revenues don’t increase.

8 Athletic Director Fred Miller confirms the U.S. Department of Education is investigating a complaint alleging sex discrimination against SDSU.

10 Shawn Jamison scores a season-high 37 points during the Aztecs’ victory over USIU. Jamison, a junior, ends up being declared academically ineligible during the summer and transfers to Texas-San Antonio. . . . Jose Luis Noriega of USD loses a three-set match to Todd Martin of Northwestern in the semifinals of the National Indoor Collegiate Championships in Minneapolis.

13 Oceanside High’s Terry Vaughn, the leading rusher in San Diego County, announces he will attend the University of Arizona on a football scholarship. Vaughn also said he will play baseball at Arizona.

14 Padre catcher Benito Santiago receives $1.25 million in an arbitration ruling, the highest in franchise history.

16 SDSU President Thomas Day issues a directive to upgrade academic standards for athletes. Among his goals are to reduce the number of athletes “specially admitted” to the university, ban most “special admits” from competition during their first year, limit the amount of time athletes can spend on academic probation and still retain their eligibility and encourage athletes to take courses that fulfill graduation requirements rather than eligibility requirements. . . . Tim Rapp scores a school-record 42 points in UC San Diego’s 99-74 victory over Cal State San Bernardino.

17 Kevin Bradshaw, a 6-6 junior guard, sets a single-season school scoring record in U.S. International’s 109-91 basketball loss to Missouri-Kansas City. Bradshaw scored 29 points in the game to bring his season total to 773. . . . Valhalla captures the 2-A section wrestling title, 257 1/2 to 246 1/2 over Monte Vista.

18 Dan Forsman shoots a par round of 72 to win the Shearson Lehman Hutton Open at Torrey Pines by four strokes over Tommy Armour.

21 Five Sockers--Brian Quinn, Branko Segota, Zoran Karic, George Fernandez and Kevin Crow--participate at the MISL All-Star game held at the San Diego Sports Arena. Fernandez scores a goal and assists on another to earn the game’s MVP award.

23 Padre owner Joan Kroc puts her son-in-law, Jerry Kapstein, in charge of Padre operations. Within a month, he already is comparing the Padres to the Big Red Machine. “It’s foolish to say we have a great club before we start playing,” he said, “but I know it has talent. It has chemistry. I just sense a great togetherness on this ballclub.” . . . Bishop’s defeats Calvin Christian, 4-0, to win its second consecutive 1-A soccer title.

24 The USD women’s basketball team finishes its best season ever at 17-10 with a 72-56 rout over Pepperdine. Candida Echeverria, a first-team all-West Coast Conference guard, ends her career with 1,211 points, the most in Torera history. . . . The Sockers sink to an all-time low, losing at home to the St. Louis Storm, 6-1, to put their season record at 14-20.

25 Tony Clark sets a section single-game scoring record with 64 points in a 103-66 quarterfinal victory over La Jolla Country Day in the Division V quarterfinals.

27 John Jerome becomes USD’s single-season scoring leader for men’s basketball with 23 points in a 100-91 victory over Southern Utah State. Jerome finishes the season with 540 points and a 19.3 scoring average, another Torero record.

MARCH 1 In the section basketball finals, played at Golden Hall instead of the Sports Arena, Lincoln beats USDHS in the Division III boys’ final, 83-66, and Our Lady of Peace defeats the Lincoln girls, 67-60.

2 Top-seeded Sweetwater defeats No. 2 Mt. Carmel, 78-71, to win the boys’ Division I basketball title, and Mt. Carmel’s girls beat Sweetwater, 56-55. Coronado’s boys and the girls from La Jolla Country Day and Holtville also win titles. . . . Poway’s boys defeat Bonita Vista, 2-0, to win the 3-A soccer final, and Torrey Pines wins its third consecutive girls’ title with a 1-0 decision over Bonita Vista.

3 Pat Holbert scores 27 points to lead USD to an 80-74 victory over San Francisco in the first round of the West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament. It would end up being USD’s last game of the season, because the WCC tournament is canceled because of the death of Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount, USD finishes 16-12. . . . El Camino beats University City, 68-65, to win the boys’ Division II section basketball title, and Point Loma’s girls win their second consecutive title and sixth in seven years with a 62-34 victory over San Pasqual. Christian wins the boys’ Division V title. . . . San Diego’s 1-0 victory in the 2-A boys’ soccer final ends Valhalla’s streak of 78 consecutive games without a loss. After playing in the basketball final, Nikki Gannon helps San Pasqual win its fifth consecutive girls’ crown, 3-1, over USDHS. . . . Poway, which qualified a state-record 12 wrestlers out of 13, finishes third in the state meet.

5 After SDSU dropped its final six games of the regular season, Coach Jim Brandenburg receives a one-year contract extension, taking him through the 1992-93 season.

7 SDSU finishes 13-18 after a 70-64 loss in overtime to Air Force in the WAC tournament. . . . The Sockers announce that they have traded forward Zoran Karic to the Cleveland Crunch for Paul Wright, a former Socker who played at Grossmont High School.

10 Tony Clark’s 48 points give Christian an 80-72 victory over Canoga Park in the Southern California Regional Division V championships. Top-seeded Point Loma blows a 28-13 halftime lead in a 43-38 loss to Pasadena Muir in the Division II girls’ championships. Afterward, Coach Lee Trepanier, with a 335-51 career record, announces his retirement, citing health reasons. It would later be revealed he has stomach cancer.

12 Gene Klein, 69, who owned the Chargers from Aug. 25, 1966 to Aug. 1, 1984, dies of a heart attack. Klein also was a three-time winner of the Eclipse Award, given to America’s leading thoroughbred owner.

13 After an initial secret ballot, San Diego learns its bid to host the 1993 Super Bowl has fallen short. Phoenix wins on a fifth ballot over the Rose Bowl. “I’m just shocked, absolutely shocked,” Chargers owner Alex Spanos says. . . . Orange Glen pitcher Scott Coleman, who threw consecutive no-hitters, has his no-hit streak end at a section-record 16 innings.

17 Christian Heritage wins the National Christian College Athletic Assn. men’s basketball title over Cedarville (Ohio), 106-97.

18 The baseball lockout ends. “Everything’s all set to go now,” Padre catcher Mark Parent says. “Now, all we have to do is go out and win the World Series, huh?”

22 Brent Noon becomes the first California school boy to top 70 feet in the shot put--doing it six times--with a best of 73-3, the nation’s third-best mark ever.

25 Doug Padilla wins the Carlsbad 5,000 in 13:29.50, edging Mexico’s Ignacio Fragoso (13:31), to set the American 5,000-meter road race record.

29 Oceanside baseball pitcher Ben Pai dies after suffering an asthma attack shortly after playing a recreational basketball game. Pai’s father, Benjamin Sr., speaks to the team prior to the fourth inning in Oceanside’s first game after the tragedy and they respond with eight runs in a 9-2 victory over rival El Camino.

APRIL 1 Christian’s Tony Clark is named The Times’ boys’ basketball player of the year after setting county marks for points in a game (64), season (1,339) and career (2,549). His 43.1 average is the second-highest in state history. The Times’ other honorees are Point Loma’s Tyeast Brown (girls’ basketball), Sweetwater’s David Ybarra (boys’ coach), and Mt. Carmel’s Peggy Brose (girls’ coach).

2 The Padres announce that the team will be sold for $75 million to a group headed by TV producer Tom Werner.

4 Laker and Forum owner Jerry Buss says he wants an NHL expansion team before he builds an arena for the franchise, either in San Diego, Orange or Riverside counties.

8 Just as she did in 1989, Nancy Brown enters the fourth round of the Red Robin Kyocera Inamori golf tournament at Poway’s StoneRidge Country Club with an eight-under 205 and a one-stroke lead, only to lose it with a disastrous final day. Her five-over-par 76 drops her to seventh. The winner is Kris Monaghan, who finished with an eight-under 276.

13 The University of Washington wins the San Diego Crew Classic’s Copley Cup--again--when the U.S. Rowing committee overturns the re-row victory by Harvard.

14 University City’s Jerome Price jumps 25-5 in the Sundevil Invitational to become the national high school leader.

15 The Padres complete their first three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park since 1982, creating an immediate wave of euphoria in the Padre clubhouse.

18 The Padres lose two consecutive games to the Reds, who remain undefeated, 8-0. Still, the Padres are undaunted. “I’m not taking anything away from them,” Manager Jack McKeon said, “but things are just going right for them now. Everything’s going their way. But eventually, things will go wrong. Things don’t always go right.”

19 Chargers end a year of bickering with running back Gary Anderson and send their 1988 most valuable player to Tampa Bay for a pair of draft choices. Anderson, who sat out the 1989 season, signs a $3.6 million contract with the Bucs and will make $1 million in his first season.

22 USC linebacker Junior Seau, who grew up in Oceanside, is selected in the first round of the draft by the Chargers. “I’d give up a couple of hundred thousand dollars to come back home,” says a happy Seau. . . . Continuing to take an active role in the athletic department, SDSU President Thomas Day announces a three-pronged program which includes looking into the possibility of joining either the Pac 10 or Big West. . . . Chris Huber, who could barely walk a day earlier because of muscle spasms in his abdomen, wins the 40-mile La Jolla Grand Prix cycling race. Marianne Berglund wins the women’s race, her fourth victory in La Jolla.

26 Quarterback Jim McMahon, who was booed on Fan Appreciation Day, is told by the Chargers to seek employment elsewhere. “Billy (Joe Tolliver) now is the guy,” says general manager Bobby Beathard.

27 The New York State Court of Appeals rules 5-2 to return the America’s Cup to the San Diego Yacht Club. . . . Charger center Don Macek, the last remaining member of the Air Coryell teams, announces his retirement. “We played football with a style and flair that nobody has done before I don’t believe anybody else will do again,” says Macek.

MAY 3 U.S. International representatives and athletic directors from six independent schools throughout the country meet in Mission Valley to discuss the possibilities of forming a new basketball conference for the 1991-92 season.

4 After three years of legal battles and a year in a dark New York bank vault, the America’s Cup trophy returns to sunshine and cheers in San Diego. . . . A baseball game between USD and Nevada Reno is cancelled in the fifth inning after a benches-clearing brawl erupted. A doubleheader the next day between the two schools is also cancelled and later ruled forfeitures by USD. USD Coach John Cunningham is suspended for three games by West Coast Conference Commissioner Michael Gilleran. Nevada Reno Coach Gary Powers is suspended for four games. Jake Molina, a USD assistant coach, is suspended for two games, as were the two players, one from each team, who were deemed the instigators.

5 The Sockers defeat the St. Louis Storm, 5-4, in St. Louis to win the Western Division semifinal series.

6 UC San Diego wins its second USA Women’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship with an 8-3 victory over UC Davis in Providence, R.I., and finishes undefeated (26-0) for the first time in school history.

9 Jack McKeon has his first closed-door meeting with the team after their 11-5 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals, after leading 5-0. “It’s embarrassing knowing that your club is better than this,” McKeon said.

10 The USD women’s tennis team, ranked 14th, makes the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row, but are ousted in the second round by No. 3 Cal.

18 Julianne Bauer of Bonita Vista chooses diving over cheerleading and wins the Section championship with the third-highest point total ever. Bonita Vista pulls a double when Chris Chapman wins the boys’ title.

19 SDHS’s Alison Terry breaks Section girls’ swimming marks in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 individual medley. She broke records in two events in both her sophomore and freshman years as well. Mira Mesa’s Mike Picotte is a three-event winner. Poway boys’ and girls’ win team titles. . . . The SDSU baseball team scores in the bottom of the 11th to defeat Brigham Young, 5-4, and win the WAC title in Honolulu. . . . Behind the steady play of seniors Dan Mattera, Chris Toomey and James Edwards and sophomore Jose Luis Noriega, who was ranked fifth in the nation, the USD men’s tennis team, ranked 17th, makes it to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to UCLA.

20 Brazil’s Jackie Silva and San Juan Capistrano’s Janice Opalinski come through the loser’s bracket to win the the San Diego Open, a women’s professional volleyball tourament at Pacific Beach. . . . Rolando Vera of Equador runs the fastest-ever 10 kilometer race in San Diego (28:08) in the inaugural Trib 10K downtown. Shelly Steely of Eugene, Ore., wins the women’s race.

22 Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn learns that teammate Mike Pagliarulo was talking about Gwynn when he told the New York Daily News that there’s a selfish player on the team. “You know, I thought I got along with everybody,” Gwynn said. “I’ve always tried to do my very best. And God only knows how much I love to win. I never thought any of my teammates would ever think of me this way.” Pagliarulo still refuses to say whether he was referring to Gwynn: “Let him assume what he wants. If you’re a team player, you don’t worry about it, do you?”

23 The Padres hold a 50-minute players-only meeting to discuss Pagliarulo’s comments. In the meeting, Clark, Garry Templeton and Fred Lynn each back Pagliarulo, accusing Gwynn of caring only about his statistics. “We got a lot of things off our chest,” Clark said. “I know I got things off mine.” Said Gwynn: “I’m more confused than at any time in my career. . . . El Camino’s Mona Nedjar wins the all-around optional title at the Section gymnastics championships. Torrey Pines’ Lauren Gist wins the all-around compulsory title and Torrey Pines defends its team championship. . . . A birdie on 18 wins the Section individual golf championship for Madison’s Chris Riley at Singing Hills Golf Course. . . . After trailing the Dallas Sidekicks two games to one in the Western Division Finals, the Sockers come back to win three in a row and the series with a 3-1 victory at Reunion Arena.

24 Danish foreign exchange student Chris Hansen, playing for University City, wins the boys’ Section badminton singles title, then teams with Eric Lee for the doubles championship. . . . La Jolla (2-A) and Poway (3-A) win the Section team boys’ tennis titles.

25 San Dieguito captures its third consecutive 3-A Section boys’ volleyball final over Mt. Carmel and finishes the season 16-0. San Pasqual defeated University City for the 2-A title. . . . Jack Clark, who was within days of being activated after an earlier injury, is running sprints in the outfield before a game with the Yankees when teammate Pat Clements accidentally hits him with a baseball, fracturing his left cheekbone. When Clark finally returns June 6, guess who’s sent to the minors . . . Clements.

26 SDSU loses to Stanford, 6-2, but bounces back in the afternoon to defeat Southern Illinois in 10 innings, 4-3, to stay alive in the double-elimination NCAA tournament. . . . Mt. Carmel sophomore Allison Dring sets a Section record of 54.29 in the girls’ 400 meters and wins three other events, including two relays, in the track and field finals at Poway High. Other multiple winners were Morse’s Chris Jones, Fallbrook’s Brent Noon and Milena Glusac and Oceanside’s Angela Sims. . . . Santana pitcher Shelly Hawkins holds Madison to two hits to lead the Sultans to a 1-0 victory and the Section 2-A softball championship. Rancho Buena Vista blanks Orange Glen, 5-0, for the 3-A title and Bishop’s takes the 1-A with a 7-4 victory over La Jolla Country Day.

27 Padre reliever Greg Harris hits New York Met shortstop Kevin Elster with a pitch, igniting a bench-clearing brawl. It’s the Padres’ first brawl since July 7, 1987, when pitcher Show beaned Andre Dawson of the Cubs.

28 Needing two victories to advance to the College World Series, SDSU loses to Stanford, 6-2.

30 Top-ranked Grossmont High, No. 18 in the nation by USA Today, wins the Section 2-A baseball title, 5-2 over San Diego. Travis Denmark retires 16 of the final 18 batters as Julian High wins its second 1-A title in three years, 5-2 over Midway Baptist.

31 Mira Mesa, seeded 15th in 16 teams in the 3-A baseball playoffs, defeats Monte Vista, 8-1, for the Section title. The Marauders finished third in the City Eastern League.

JUNE 1 St. Augustine’s Ignacio Martinez takes almost three hours to recapture the Section high school boys’ singles tennis title at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club. . . . Rowdy Brazilian fans help their men’s national volleyball team defeat the United States, 13-15, 15-9, 15-8, 15-6, in World League play at the Sports Arena.

2 Fallbrook’s Brent Noon falls short of his goal of a national high school shot put record of 77-feet-0, but still betters his own meet record to win the state title in Norwalk with a heave of 74-4 3/4. . . . Heart of America wins the featured 12-meter yacht race of the fifth BMW regatta on San Diego Bay.

4 Despite signing a letter of intent to play basketball at Arizona, Christian’s Tony Clark is picked second in baseball’s free agent draft by the Detroit Tigers.

8 After blowing an opportunity to win the championship in front of their home fans for the second year in a row, the Sockers wrap up their eighth title in Baltimore with a 6-4 victory over the Blast. Midfielder Brian Quinn is chosen MVP of the playoffs.

9 USDHS alumnus and Arizona State sophomore Phil Mickelson, the San Diego Section golfer of the year in 1987 and 1988 and the NCAA champion in 1989, is the first repeat champion since San Diego’s Scott Simpson in 1976 and 1977.

10 Pat Duncan is declared the winner at the 58th San Diego Men’s Amateur Golf Championship at Torrey Pines. The event was rain-shortened.

11 USIU’s bid to form the American Conference, an NCAA Division I independent basketball league for the 1991-1992 season, is stalled until 1991 when not enough schools in the proposed 10-team conference make formal commitments.

14 Padre catcher Benito Santiago sustains a broken right forearm when he was hit by a pitch thrown by Giant reliever Jeff Brantley, drawing the ire of teammates, particularly Jack Clark. “You know how I feel about the Giants, anyway,” Clark said, “I can’t stand them. Now I just hate them that much worse. Their time will come, believe me, their time will come.” . . . San Diego is awarded a franchise to begin play in the International Hockey League in less than four months. San Diego is expected to compete in the league’s Western Division with Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Peoria, Ill. . . . Patrick Henry High is ruled ineligible to compete in postseason baseball playoffs in 1991 and Monte Vista is put on probation, the result of a brawl between the two schools in the Section semifinals, Commissioner Kendall Webb announces.

15 A day after it is announced that there would be a hockey franchise playing in the San Diego Sports Arena in the fall, Socker owner Ron Fowler says he won’t post the $500,000 letter of credit for this season unless he receives scheduling priority over the Gulls. He was later given first pick of arena dates and the problem was solved.

16 The United States Olympic Committee breaks ground for its first year-round training center in Otay Lakes.

23 Don Waddell is named general manager of San Diego’s yet-to-be-named hockey team.

24 Australian Greg Welch, who now lives and trains in San Diego, and Encinitas’ Paula Newby-Fraser set course records and win the Mountain Dew Sport San Diego International Triathlon. . . . Santa Barbara’s Chris Brown wins the $50,000 Killer Loop Surf Classic at Oceanside Pier. . . . And in a game that perhaps best-exemplifies the Padres’ rotten season, the Padres have 17 hits, hit two homers, steal seven bases, and get a three-run pinch-hit double from a pitcher, and still lose, 11-10, in 12 innings to the Atlanta Braves.

JULY 2 SDSU President Day announces that local residents and businesses have donated or pledged a total of $1 million over the next seven years in an effort to eliminate the $518,000 budget deficit facing the SDSU athletic department.

8 Tony Bujon of Texas Christian defeats San Diego’s Anthony Trear and USD’s Tanya Fuller outlasts SDSU’s Dorey Brandt to capture the open singles titles in the 74th La Jolla Tennis Championships. . . . The Detroit Tigers sign Christian High basketball and baseball star Tony Clark.

11 The Padres announce Jack McKeon is stepping aside, devoting full attention to his job as general manager. Greg Riddoch, who has not managed in 10 years, since he was in the Northwest rookie league, takes over.

18 Mike O’Connell, a 12-year NHL veteran defenseman, is named coach for the still unnamed IHL hockey expansion team. O’Connell, 34, played for the Detroit Red Wings the past four years.

19 The Padres, losers of 21 of their past 25 games, are called the most comical team since the 1951 St. Louis Browns in the Times. Portions of the article appear two days later in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Garry Templeton, team captain, has the story copied and leaves one for each player as they arrive into the clubhouse. He also calls a team meeting two days later, chastising the reporter.

20 Lisa Kiggens of Bakersfield and Notah Begay III of Albuquerque, N.M., capture the girls’ and boys’ 15-17 division titles of the Optimist Junior World Golf Championships at Torrey Pines.

22 Pat Duncan of Rancho Santa Fe shoots a final-round 70 to win the Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship at the Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles. Duncan finishes at five under par for the tournament.

23 The Padres, losing 9-2 to the Cincinnati Reds, lower Riddoch’s managerial record to 1-11. It’s the worst start of any Padre manager in history. “I’ve learned in this business you can’t put too many pictures on the wall,” Riddoch said, “because you might soon be taking them down.” . . . Sockers owner Ron Fowler holds a press conference in San Diego while St. Louis Storm owner Milan Mandaric does the same in St. Louis. The announcement: Mandaric will continue to fund the team and the MISL will go forward. If the Storm had folded, so too would the Sockers and the league would have gone down.

24 Now that the MISL is safe for its 13th season, it changes its name to the Major Soccer League.

25 Roseanne Barr, asked by new Padre owner Tom Werner to sing the national anthem between games of a doubleheader against the Reds, shocks and insults a crowd of 25,744 with her cracking, screaching, mocking rendition. She tops it off by grabbing her crotch and spitting. . . . Shawn Jamison, the SDSU basketball team’s leading scorer, and Michael Hudson, a swingman who moved into the starting lineup toward the end of the season, are declared academically ineligible and drop out of school.

28 San Diego’s new minor league hockey team is given an old name . . . the Gulls. A team with that name played here in the World Hockey League in the late 1960s.

AUGUST 4 Oceanside’s Terry Vaughn rushes for 165 yards and two touchdowns to lead San Diego to a 28-19 victory over Los Angeles in the Southern California College Prep Football Game at Mira Mesa High.

8 Former Los Angeles King left wing Charlie Simmer is hired as a Gulls’ player/assistant coach. Simmer, Mercel Dionne and Dave Taylor made up the famous “Triple Crown Line” of the early 1980s.

10 Benito Santiago returns 56 days after suffering his broken forearm. At the time of his departure, he was hitting .317 with nine homers and 33 RBIs. In his absence, his replacements batted .205 with three homers and 13 RBIs.

11 La Jolla’s Ditta Huber, 14, defeats Lisa Pugliese of Boca Raton, Fla., 7-6 (9-7), 1-6, 6-2, to win the U.S. Tennis Assn. Girls’ 16s National Singles Championship at San Diego’s Morley Field. Huber and Lindsay Davenport of Palos Verdes also capture the doubles championship.

12 Steffi Graf captures her 50th career singles title, winning the Great American Bank Tennis Classic at San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club. She defeats Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, 6-3, 6-2, in the final.

14 A crowd of 10,590 turns out at the San Diego Sports Arena for the Seagram’s Coolers All-Star Basketball Classic expecting to see NBA stars Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Mark Aguirre only to find out all three are no-shows. The White team’s 169-156 victory over the Blue team is anticlimactic.

24 Padre Manager Greg Riddoch is rehired for the 1991 season, paying him $160,000.

26 San Diego’s Phil Mickelson whips his former teammate at USDHS, Manny Zerman, five and four, to win the U.S. Amateur championship in match play. Mickelson, a two-time NCAA champion at Arizona State, earns the right to play in the 1991 British Open, the British Amateur, the U.S. Open and Masters.

27 An unhappy Junior Seau ends training camp-long holdout and signs a $4.525 million five-year contract. “Shoved down my throat? No. But from the other end maybe,” says Seau.

29 San Diego’s Peter Isler, the first American to declare an America’s Cup defense campaign for 1992, becomes the first to drop out because of a lack of funds.

31 The Padres make their first offer to Jack Clark, a contract that will pay him $2.1 million with $400,000 in incentives. Clark’s reaction: “That’s like Roseanne Barr singing the National Anthem. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s ugly. It’s disgusting. It’s disgraceful.”

SEPTEMBER 3 Sept. 3--Trainer Charlie Whittingham wins his third Del Mar Handicap race in four years when his Live The Dream wins the $300,000 race at Del Mar. Alex Solis rides Live The Dream to the victory less than 24 hours after winning the Del Mar Debutante aboard Beyond Perfection.

5 The USD men’s soccer team ties UCLA, 3-3, becoming the only team to score three goals off the eventual NCAA-champion Bruins.

8 Tony Gwynn finds a mutilated figurine of himself hanging from a coat hook in the dugout, leaving him enraged. “It shocked me, absolutely shocked me,” Gwynn said. “I can’t believe someone would do that.” . . . SDSU opens its football season with a 42-21 loss at Oregon. Duck quarterback Bill Musgrave completes 31 of 46 passes for 443 yards. SDSU is called for five penalties in the first quarter.

9 Mark Vlasic starts the regular-season opener and takes the Chargers into the fourth quarter in Dallas with 14-10 lead, but Dan Henning’s call for a fake punt backfires and leads to the Cowboys’ 17-14 victory. “I called it and I shouldn’t have called it,” Henning says. “It’s my dumb mistake.”

11 UC San Diego men’s soccer goalie Brian Siljander records his 27th career shutout, a school record, in a 2-0 victory over Biola.

12 Best Pal becomes that to bettors who wager on the 2-year-old gelding in the $344,100 Del Mar Futurity. Best Pal is named horse of the meet and troubled jockey Pat Valenzuela wins the riders title. Richard Mandella wins his last five starts to tie Bill Spawr and Wayne Lukas in the trainer standings.

14 Rashaan Salaam of La Jolla Country Day, a 15-year-old junior, scores a county record seven touchdowns in a 68-0 romp over Marian. Rancho Bernardo High wins its first ever football game, 20-7, over Coronado.

15 Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn breaks his right index finger in Atlanta, ending his season. . . . USD’s Brian Fogarty becomes the school’s winningest football coach after a 31-7 victory over Claremont.

16 After setting speed records all week long, Chip Hanauer, driving Circus Circus, wins the Budweiser Cup unlimited hydroplane race on Mission Bay.

20 Padre President Dick Freeman announces that a member of the grounds crew is responsible for the mutilated doll of Gwynn. No name is released, no one steps forward and no one believes it.

21 Jack McKeon addresses the Padre ownership group and, five hours later, is fired. In the next two months, 30 more Padre officials in the McKeon regime would be fired. . . . The hockey Gulls announce they have reached a partial working agreement with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, who immediately supply the IHL team with seven players.

22 The Aztecs lose at Brigham Young, 62-34. The game was telecast by CBS to approximately 80% of the nation, and the two quarterbacks--SDSU’s Dan McGwire and BYU’s future Heisman Trophy winner, Ty Detmer--put on a show. McGwire passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns and Detmer passes for 514 yards and three touchdowns.

23 Mike Pigg of Arcata and Joy Hansen of Newtown Square, Pa., win the men’s and women’s divisions of the San Diego Bud Light Triathlon in Encinitas.

26 Jack Clark becomes the first player in baseball to heave a base, throwing the first-base bag toward the stands at Candlestick, resulting in his fourth ejection of the season. Padre officials secretly reveal that Clark will not be back. . . . Starting nose tackle Joe Phillips is badly beaten outside a Mission Beach Rastaurant. Phillips suffers a fractured eye orbit.

27 Craig Anderson of Fallbrook and Bill O’Connor of Beverly Hills combine to win the Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball golf championship at Rancho Santa Fe.

28 Markeith Ross of Rancho Buena Vista ties the county record with seven touchdowns, rushing for 329 yards in a 54-33 victory over Poway. The following week, Ross rushes for 294 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 58-19 victory over Vista.

29 Jack Clark blames Gwynn for most of the Padres’ problems and says that unless they trade Gwynn, the Padres will continue to be a losing organization. “You hear all this talk about Mr. Padre, Mr. San Diego, and all that crap,” Clark said, “I just want to laugh.”

30 Chargers fall to 1-3 with 17-7 loss to Houston as placekicker Fuad Reveiz misses two field-goal attempts. Reveiz’s 2-for-7 performance causes the Chargers to switch to John Carney.

OCTOBER 2 Joe McIlvaine is introduced as the Padres’ new general manager and tries to be optimistic in his press conference. “I’m going to wipe the slate clean,” he said. “I’m the new man in town. Anything that’s happened in the past, I have no control over.”

4 Rudy Suwara coaches his 400th women’s volleyball match victory at SDSU as the Aztecs defeat Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 15-8, 15-10, 15-6.

5 Hockey returns to San Diego with much hoopla and a opening night crowd of 9,046. The Gulls’ respond with a 4-3 victory over Salt Lake at the Sports Arena.

6 San Diego State’s football team scores 51 points--only to see Wyoming get 52. The trip to Laramie turns into a nightmare. Dan McGwire passes for 415 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. The two teams combine for 13 touchdowns, four field goals and 1,263 yards of total offense.

7 Don Janicki wins the Coronado Bridge 6.5-mile race after runner-up Tony Niemczak of Poland took a wrong turn with less than a mile to go.

10 After Steelers end a four-game touchdown drought against Chargers with 36-14 victory, rumors circulate that owner Alex Spanos has been talked out of firing Dan Henning as head coach by General Manager Bobby Beathard. “That’s bull,” says Spanos. “There’s no truth to it whatsoever.”

14 Tonya Fuller of USD upsets Danielle Scott of Arizona, 6-2, 6-2, to win the Rolex Intercollegiate Tennis Southern California championship at UC Irvine. Dorey Brandt and Nicole Storto of SDSU defeated Scott and Banny Redhair of Arizona to win the doubles title.

19 Point Loma Nazarene clinches its first Golden State Athletic Conference women’s volleyball title with a 3-2 victory over Westmont.

21 John Halverson of Norway and Shelly Steely of the United States win the men’s and women’s races in the Arturo Barrios 10K in Chula Vista.

26 The pregame buildup proves to be better than the game as No. 1 Morse routes No. 2 Point Loma, 40-13, in high school football at Point Loma.

NOVEMBER 2 Markeith Ross, a senior running back at Rancho Buena Vista, becomes the Section’s all-time leading rusher as he gains 159 yards on 18 carries in a 38-24 victory over Fallbrook. Ross’ total reaches 4,496, surpassing the 4,486 yards former teammate O.J. Hall accumulated for RBV in 1987-89.

3 Mira Mesa’s Valerie Lafon wins the 48KG division at the U.S. International Invitational Judo Championships for the second year in a row. Lafon is later named the sport’s athlete of the year by the U.S. Olympic Committee. . . . Tom Higginson, owner of the San Diego Indoor Soccer Center, the Sockers’ practice facility, tells the team to find a new practice rink after reading derogatory remarks made by Sockers players about his field. A week later, Higginson says he over-reacted and welcomes the team back.

7 The city of San Diego, which in past years sparked bitter controversy by deciding not to name Market Street and the San Diego Convention Center after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., suddenly emerges as a contender to host the 1993 Super Bowl because Arizona voted down referenda honoring Dr. King.

10 The Fiesta Bowl committee jumps on the bandwagon and announces a contingency plan to move the New Year’s Day bowl to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for the same reason the NFL wants to take the 1993 Super Bowl away from Phoenix. . . . With a commanding 21-10 football victory over Azusa Pacific, USD finishes 7-2 for the second consecutive season.

11 Juan Manuel Fangio II mounts a new engine onto his Toyota Eagle and ends up winning the Camel Grand Prix of Greater San Diego, averaging 78.836 m.p.h. per lap. . . . Chargers whip Denver 19-3 for their third victory in a row to even their record at 5-5 before 59,557 fans. “I haven’t seen the stadium like this in a long time,” cornerback Gill Byrd says after intercepting a pair of John Elway passes.

16 Holtville’s football team upsets Army-Navy Academy, 37-27, for the Section 1-A championship.

18 A dream season for the USD men’s soccer team comes to an end with a 2-1 overtime loss to UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA West Region playoffs at UCLA. Later, five Toreros are named to the West Coast Conference first team, including defensive player of the year Trong Nguyen, who also becomes USD’s first soccer All-American. Seamus McFadden is named coach of the year in the WCC after guiding the Toreros to a 15-3-3 mark, the best in school history.

19 UC San Diego’s women’s volleyball team rallies from a one-game deficit and tops defending champion Washington, 15-4, 13-15, 9-15, 15-8, 15-6, to win the Division III national championship in St. Louis. It is UCSD’s sixth national title in 10 years.

20 Quarterback Dan McGwire, receivers Patrick Rowe and Dennis Arey and offensive tackle Nick Subis are named to the 1990 All-WAC team.

24 Dennis Arey passes the 1,000-yard mark for the season as SDSU defeats Texas El Paso, 58-31, to join Patrick Rowe and make SDSU only the second team in NCAA history to have two receivers accumulate more than 1,000 yards. . . . SDSU opens its basketball season with a 99-63 loss at North Carolina.

25 Tight end Arthur Cox draws an unsportsmanlike penalty that costs the Chargers a touchdown and then fumbles twice, including an overtime bobble, to set up Seattle’s 13-10 victory on national TV. “We’ve lost some games since I’ve been here, but this one hurts a little more than any other,” says safety Vencie Glenn.

27 Four SDSU players are invited to postseason bowl games--McGwire (Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game), Arey (Blue-Gray and East-West Shrine), Subis (Blue-Gray and All-America Games) and defensive lineman Pio Sagapolutele (Hula Bowl). . . . USD escapes with a 75-74 victory over rival SDSU in a men’s basketball game at the San Diego Sports Arena. SDSU misses two shots in the final 21 seconds. It is USD’s first of five consecutive victories, a Division I best to start the season.

DECEMBER 1 The Aztecs nearly upset third-ranked Miami. The Hurricanes win, 30-28, but only after turning an SDSU interception and fumble into 10 points and watching Aztec kicker Andy Trakas miss three field goals. . . . Brett Salisbury passes for 379 yards in the first half as Palomar College defeats Antelope Valley, 28-24, in the fifth Hall of Fame Bowl.

5 Padre General Manager Joe McIlvaine pulls off one of the biggest trades in the history of the winter meetings, dealing Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for shortstop Tony Fernandez and first baseman Fred McGriff. . . . SDSU’s Patrick Rowe, who finished the season first in the nation in receiving yards per game, is named to the second team of the Associated Press All-American team.

7 Stanford eliminates SDSU from the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament with a West Regional semifinal victory, 15-11, 13-15, 15-6, 15-1.

8 To no one’s surprise, Morse claims the Section’s 3-A football title by defeating Orange Glen, 28-7, and finishes its season with a perfect record, 14-0. Later at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, El Camino upset Kearny, 26-7, for the 2-A title. . . Jack Clark blasts Padre Manager Greg Riddoch, telling The Times, “He’s a bad, bad man, and he’s sneaky. He’s a snake. Well, not just a snake, but a s-s-s-n-n-nake . . . He’ll stab anyone in the back to get to the top.”

9 After running into many roadblocks, the San Diego Marathon is run on a new North County course. Benjamin Paredez Martinez of Ecatepec, Mexico, finishes first in the men’s race (2:19:3), and Kathy Smith of Newport Beach does the same in the women’s race (2:43:05).

12 Coach Dan Henning blasts linebacker Leslie O’Neal in team meeting for published comments about the team’s promotional efforts and Billy Ray Smith. Henning threatens O’Neal with suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, and O’Neal responds by proclaiming he stands by what he said.

14 After winning five men’s basketball games to start the season, USD dropped its third in a row, 83-73, to Cal State Northridge. Coach Hank Egan called it “The worst game I’ve ever seen.”

16 Chargers are eliminated from playoff contention with a 20-10 defeat by the Broncos in Denver, but running back Marion Butts sets a single-season rushing mark with 1,225 yards. Butts eclipsed Earnest Jackson’s total of 1,179 yards and leads the NFL in rushing.

18 Nose tackle Joe Phillips has a press conference and announces he has undergone alcohol dependency treatment at the Betty Ford Center. When the Chargers learned of his visit, he says they decided to pay him half of his salary rather than a full $315,000. He says he may file a lawsuit and declines to rejoin the team for practice. . . . SDSU extends football coach Al Luginbill’s contract by one year, through the 1993 season.

23 Padre catcher Benito Santiago is arrested on Coronado on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and resisting arrest after an incident during which Santiago alleged he was beaten by three police officers.

28 Tony Clark, former Valhalla and Christian High standout, announces he is quitting the University of Arizona basketball team after playing in just five games. Clark, picked No. 1 in the major league baseball draft last June, cites personal reasons and lack of sufficient playing time for leaving Arizona. . . . U.S. International University’s board of trustees, having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, terminates the schools sports programs, effective immediately. The only exception is men’s basketball, which is allowed to finish the 1990-91 season.

29 Unranked Texas A&M; rips Brigham Young in the 13th Holiday Bowl, 65-14. Aggie quarterback Bucky Richardson, offensive most valuable player, stole the show, completing nine of 11 passes for 203 yards, rushing 12 times for 119 yards and even catching a 22-yard touchdown pass from halfback Darren Lewis. BYU Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, meanwhile, leaves early in the third quarter after separating both shoulders. Texas A&M;’s 65 points represents the largest output in college bowl history. “That’s all we heard about was Ty Detmer this, Ty Detmer that,” Aggie linebacker William Thomas says. “I don’t know about everybody else, but I got pretty sick hearing about that guy.”

30 The Raiders clinch the AFC West Division championship with a 17-12 victory over the Chargers, who create controversy by starting rookie John Friesz--who hadn’t played a down all season--at quarterback instead of Billy Joe Tolliver. The Chargers finish with a 6-10 record for the third consecutive season.