A Great Quad System : Claremont’s Struves Know All About Family Values

Kevin Struve’s birth 18 years ago was so unusual, Walter Cronkite mentioned it during his newscast that night.

Reporters across the country called the Struve home in Claremont for the next several weeks.

“I heard from people I hadn’t talked to in years,” said Richard Struve, Kevin’s father. “Everybody wanted to know how it happened?”

Richard did not have all the medical answers, but he could tell the callers that Kevin, a fraternal quadruplet, and his siblings were alive.

The quadruplets, the first and only born at Pomona Valley Medical Center, were born 2 1/2 months premature. Kevin and his brother, Todd, who has been blind since birth, nearly died because of collapsed lungs. Sisters Tonya and Krista had no serious medical problems.

After spending two weeks in an incubator and a month in intensive care, they were released individually over several days.

“The hospital didn’t think my husband and I could handle bringing four babies home all at once,” said Connie Struve, their mother, who made the cover of many newspapers photographed in her hospital bed. “So as I rested at home, they brought the kids in one at a time. Luckily, we had just bought a four-bedroom house.”

Over the years, the headlines have changed as the quadruplets have grown. Several reporters who covered their birth have come back to do follow-up pieces.

For Kevin, the stories these days are of a different sort. His name is frequently mentioned not for being a quadruplet, but as a star football player at Claremont High.

He is described by his coach, Dave Hoover, as the ideal outside linebacker: big, strong and tough. And also for not being a big talker.

“Kevin is a quiet, unassuming leader on the field,” said Hoover, in his first season at Claremont. “I call him a leader by example, which is usually the best kind. Athletically, he never breaks down. He is always where he’s supposed to be.”

Off the field, Struve, a senior, is slightly different. He is outgoing and popular among his peers. An honor-roll student, he is willing to engage in debate in the classroom.

Above everything, though, he is family-oriented.

Hoover said the only time he heard Struve speak up was at a recent team dinner when he was talking about his brothers and sisters.

“That was the most I heard out of him in months,” the coach said. “You can tell Kevin has immense pride in his family. The subject really brings him to life.”

Struve speaks glowingly of his childhood.

His parents, public-school teachers, were on vacation when the quadruplets were born on June 12, 1974. Connie said she did not know until 13 hours before birth that she was carrying four babies. Three months into the pregnancy, her doctor told her she was going to have twins.

The Struves had been hoping for a second child to go with their son, Scott, born two years earlier. They said they had never thought about a multiple birth.

‘It’s been a lot of work,” Connie said. “I won’t kid you about that. But it has also been very enjoyable. Certainly, the advantages have outweighed the disadvantages.”

One thing Richard and Connie were not prepared for was all of the media attention.

Because of limited available data, experts have a difficult time predicting how often quadruplets are born. Without a fertility drug, the odds are one in 10,000 for triplets “and considerably higher for anything more than that,” said Dr. Arthur Wisot of the Center for Advanced Reproductive Care in Redondo Beach.

Wisot said multiple births are usually premature, because a woman’s body is designed to carry only one baby.

Todd has attended public schools with his brothers and sisters since he was in the second grade. He is an honor-roll student who has been in the gifted-and-talented program for exceptionally bright children. He plans to go college next year and hopes someday to be a coach.

Tonya and Krista are best friends and usually together. They are active in student council and strong supporters of the school’s athletic program, never missing one of Kevin’s football games.

In fact, the quadruplets’ common interest is their love for sports. They have been involved since they were 7, starting with soccer. Then came Little League baseball and basketball.

Richard coached as many of his children’s teams as he could and was a fan when he was not involved. Connie said that Saturdays were always hectic, shuffling kids from game to game.

A bookshelf in the family room is loaded with trophies, plaques and ribbons, testament to the Struves’ accomplishments.

Krista and Tonya continued their athletic careers at Claremont, playing soccer for a year and softball for two. They gave up sports as juniors to concentrate on student council.

Todd, 6 feet 1 and 160 pounds, has been active in the Braille Olympics, excelling in the long jump and sprints. As a sophomore, he tried out for the wrestling team. He did not participate in any matches but said all the practice got him into terrific shape.

Hoping to major in communications, Todd has his radio tuned to sports programs several hours every day. He keeps up with all of the local professional and college teams.

His favorite athlete, however, is Kevin.

Todd never misses a football game, usually going with Scott Koukol, his best friend, who has muscular dystrophy and is in a wheelchair.

“I push Scott around in his chair and he tells me what’s happening on the field,” Todd said. “I can usually figure it out by how the crowd reacts.”

Kevin’s favorite sport used to be baseball, but he gave it up when he started high school so he could concentrate on football.

At 6-3 and 200 pounds, he is a natural for outside linebacker. He played on the varsity as a sophomore and has been a starter the last two seasons.

Claremont finished a disappointing 1-8-1 last year but has found new life this season with Hoover directing the team. The Wolfpack is 4-2-1 and viewed as a contender in the Southern Section’s Baseline League.

Kevin is also playing well, with five sacks, two fumble recoveries and two blocked punts to his credit.

Football games have become a ritual with the Struves. On game night, they drive to the stadium together.

“We always sit in the fourth row on the 40-yard line,” Richard said. “It’s something we do as a family. I hope it is always like this.”

The quadruplets will graduate in the spring and all plan to attend college. They are still trying to decide where to go, and Kevin hopes to continue playing football. For the first time in more than 18 years, however, they will be split up. At least physically.

“Nothing can change how close we are,” Kevin said. “That will always be the same.”