CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK : Titans Look Back Fondly at Dancing With the Wolfe

He has been described as Cal State Fullerton’s “resident maniac,” a “lunatic,” and one former Titan athletic director said his ideas “will drive you up a wall.”

But what a trip it’s been, this 23-year journey with Dick Wolfe, a.k.a. the Wolfman, behind the wheel of the Fullerton men’s gymnastics program.

Wolfe, who announced his resignation Monday, will depart with a bitter taste in his mouth. His salary cut in half, his budget reduced to virtually nothing, the past few years have given him few reasons to smile.

But Wolfe still leaves a legacy of laughs.

Who can forget the time Wolfe:

Rented a carnival to raise money for his 1970 team and had it set up on campus--without telling school officials. Athletic Director John Caine came to work and found a double Ferris wheel in his parking spot.

Pulled two tables together at a gathering honoring Athletic Director Neale Stoner, reclined atop them and, in front of 200 people, did an impression of bacon frying.

Dressed up like a guru and preached gymnastics during a campus event he billed as “Apathy Day”--the sign read, “Don’t Come”--in an effort to gather support. Printed brochures read, “the Reverend Wolfe would extol the virtues of salvation through gymnastics.”

Registered himself and a gymnast into small, two-bed hotel room during the 1972 nationals in Columbus, Ohio, and then crammed 10 people into the room. When a manager came to the door, he unsuccessfully tried to hide everyone in the bathroom. The manager asked how many people were really in the room. “Four,” Wolfe said. And four he paid for.

Walked around campus wearing a sandwich board sign to promote a meet. The front read, “See my behind,” and on the back, a cartoon character with pants at half mast, said, “Get behind us.”

“I could tell Dick Wolfe stories until the cows came home,” Titan football Coach Gene Murphy said. “But none would be printable.”

For all his eccentricities, Wolfe will still be remembered as a fiery coach who would do anything for his program, who got the most out of what little the program had to offer, and who never let limitations obscure his goals.

“He’s a men’s gymnastics coach with the temperament of a defensive line coach,” said Murphy, a long-time friend. “I don’t know a lot about gymnastics, but I know a lot about team sports, and he’s one of the best motivators I’ve ever been around.”

As for his reputation of being a bit of a loose cannon, Wolfe won’t try to live it down.

“Looking back, I just did what I did,” Wolfe said. “I suppose I’d describe myself as being very responsible, but on the other hand, life is about taking risks. Otherwise, what is life about?”

Both the Fullerton women’s and men’s gymnastics teams failed to qualify for the NCAA Team Championships at last weekend’s West Regionals, but two Titan women and two Titan men will advance to the nationals to compete as individuals.

Stacy Fowlkes placed fifth in the all-around competition of the women’s West Regional at Corvallis, Ore., Saturday with a score of 38.525, and Stacey Harris placed 11th with a mark of 38.100. They will travel to Alabama for the NCAA meet April 19-20.

The Fullerton women finished fifth among seven teams with a score of 188.200. Oregon State won the regional with a mark of 194.950.

At the men’s West Regional at Norman, Okla., Diego Lopez placed fifth in the vault with a two-vault score of 18.55, and Roger Donate placed 12th in the still rings with a score of 9.55. They’ll travel to Penn State for the NCAA meet April 19-20.

Stanford won the 10-team meet with a score of 284.65, and the Titans placed eighth with a mark of 269.35.

Titan Notes

Fullerton football Coach Gene Murphy said he has received signed letters of intent from five more community college players: Keone Simon, a 6-1, 235-pound linebacker, and Robert Bedford, a 6-2, 230-pound tight end, both from Golden West; Danny Garcia, a 6-1, 295-pound defensive tackle from Fullerton; Jake Hogue, a 6-2, 235-pound linebacker from Bakersfield, and Frank Davis, a 6-2, 185-pound wide receiver from Grossmont. . . . Titan women’s basketball Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah said that All-American center Genia Miller, who was among the nation’s leaders in scoring, rebounds, blocked shots and field-goal percentage, is in the process of securing an agent and will likely sign with a team in the Italian professional league. “That’s where she wants to go,” Jeremiah said.

University of Arizona Athletic Director Cedric Dempsey asked Jeremiah to interview for the Wildcats’ head coaching job, which Cal State Long Beach Coach Joan Bonvicini accepted Friday, but the Fullerton coach declined. Jeremiah said she won’t pursue the Long Beach vacancy, either, saying she’s happy at Fullerton and the 49er job would be a lateral move. “But I never close the door to anything without knowing what it’s like first,” she said. . . . The Fullerton women’s basketball team, which lost to Stanford in the second round of the NCAA tournament, finished 29th in USA Today’s final national poll. . . . Two Fullerton wrestlers, Jeff Maes (125 1/2-pound weight class) and Michael Grubbs (114 1/2) recently placed third in their respective classes in the Espoir National Freestyle Championships, for wrestlers 20 and under, in Gainesville, Fla. Their finishes earned them berths in the Espoir World Team Trials, scheduled for May 8-11 in Las Vegas. The Espoir World Championships will be held in Prievidza, Czechoslovakia, July 12-19.