SAN DIEGO SPORTS YEAR IN REVIEW : Sing Praises of Prodigies

When the old went out and the new came in a year ago today, all of the psychics in the world reading all of the tea leaves, palms and crystal balls in the world could not have forseen the best and biggest San Diego sports story of 1991.

As of Jan. 1, 1991, in fact, San Diego’s “story of the year” was not even in San Diego. He was a senior at Carver High School in New Orleans.

However, Marshall Faulk was to bring a Mardi Gras of excitement when he enrolled at San Diego State University . . . and picked up a football.

All Faulk did was set a national single-game rushing record without starting, lead the nation in rushing and scoring while playing in only nine games and become the first Aztec to make first-team Associated Press All-American.

Faulk could well be the biggest story in San Diego sports for 1992 and 1993 and . . .

Unless maybe it is Phil Mickelson, the kid golfer from USDHS. As an amateur playing out of Arizona State, he shocked the touring pros when he won the Northern Telecom Open last January in Tucson.

Another kid and another candidate for 1992 and 1993 and beyond is John Friesz, who took over from Billy Joe Tolliver (another kid) as the Chargers’ quarterback and developed into a rather credible prospect for future stardom.

Kids? Best Pal, the only 3-year-old in the field, won the inaugural Pacific Classic, Del Mar’s first $1 million race. The way this year went, a 2-year-old would have won if they had been eligible.

Of course, some things never change.

Like the Sockers.

They won another indoor championship, their ninth.

And barely survived the offseason, as usual.

Survival was also very much on the minds of the men who directed the Padres and Chargers. The status of Greg Riddoch as Padre manager was the hot topic of the summer and the same with Dan Henning as Charger coach in the fall.

As expected, Riddoch found security in an 84-78 record and a third place finish in the National League West. As expected, Henning found no security in a 4-12 record and a last place finish in the AFC West.

Other headline stories, while big in 1991, will be much bigger in 1992.

America’s Cup racing will actually take place in the waters off San Diego. It will all come to that after considerable controversy, conversation and a little bit of sailing in 1991.

And maybe all of the controversy and conversation about a new sports arena will produce more than conversation in 1992. Developer Ron Hahn has taken the lead in the project, although it is not really a project yet.