Checking out the Long Gray Line

Don Cantrell

There is a wealth of interesting and humorous items that can be

uprooted from many athletes that have surfaced from the Daily Pilot

Sports Hall of Fame.

The athletic achievements and statistics alone can be intriguing as some

reflect on the past.

Four who fit the realm are former Harbor High basketball players from the

turn of the 1940s and 1943-44 varsity gridder Joe Muniz.

Top humor from cagers Walt Kelly, Class of ‘37, and George Barnett, Class

of ‘41, are firm recalls that have of the late Ralph Reed, athletic

director and basketball coach for so many years.

Reed had a smooth and winning style with most of the athletes, especially

ones who were sharp and often willing to help.

Kelly, a 6-foot-4 athlete who also played end in football and had

numerous track and field skills, used to laugh on his recalls of Reed

catching up with him down the school hallways and approaching him with

requests to do favors.

Barnett shared man of the same recalls.

One of Reed’s popular requests in the early days of Harbor High sports

was creating the future outlines for varsity basketball.

One of the basic needs was having a few senior players around to help

organize teams and referee the night games in the local gym.

It sparked a solid interest in the sport in fair time and created a

growing bulk of experience he would be able to match against the league

rivals.

One understands better when one reflects back to 1930 ad remembers most

of the boys had little or no experience.

Barnett said one of the first names Reed used for the evening adult

league was “casaba.”

Both Kelly and Barnett generally flowed well with Reed over most sports,

but not track and field. Both were outstanding in some events, but

opposed other events and would refuse to participate in them.

One of the first who became a big basketball star and named to the

All-CIF team in 1944 was a sterling 5-foot-7 player named Bud Attridge,

who was born in Kansas.

Unlike many others, Attridge has superior skills and sufficient

experience. He would never credit Reed since he claims it came from a

grammar school coach named Bill Crow.

Attridge is quick to credit Reed for his track and field coaching, but

not basketball.

He claimed Reed’s basic talent in basketball was in substituting, not

coaching. Reed could be a controversial figure in the cage sport. Some

players were positive about the coach.

Although Barnett was outstanding in basketball, his No. 1 notch in the

CIF came through badminton, which was deemed a popular sport in the early

days.

One thing Muniz always shared with Reed was in boxing. They sparred in

the gym frequently.

Muniz and Attridge also had occasion to exchange blows outside school and

they could drag it out until darkness.

At one point, observers thought Muniz and Attridge, after one intense

fight, became bitter enemies and split apart.

Old friends denied any such reports. As time passed, Muniz was known to

praise Attridge for his basketball and tennis talents. Plus, Attridge, to

this day, still applauds Muniz and the ’44 football team.

One thing amused Muniz with the passing of time, remembering how Attridge

once came to school with a colorful tattoo on one shoulder.

“The word got around in the league,” Muniz said. “and I can still recall

rival fans turning to each other in the stands at basketball games,

saying, ‘When Harbor comes on the floor, look for the tattoo forward.

He’s the star of the team.”’

Attridge recalls another funny episode when the late Don Vaughn, who

stood 6-foot-7 and a few of his pals stacked up 1,100 ballots and stuffed

them in a big ballot box, which game him a decided edge over another

athlete named Tommy McCorkell to become “Athlete of the Year.”

Attridge laughed and said, “Election officials quickly figured that this

had been a remarkable feat since there were only 500 students enrolled in

Harbor High at the time.

Hence, it wasn’t long before officials handed the athletic award over to

McCorkell.

During one period of World War II, the law called for dimming one’s

headlights when driving. Muniz was merely following the law one night in

near darkness and accidentally struck and killed a horse standing in the

middle of the road.

It could not have pained anyone more than Muniz since he grew up loving

horses. In time, he would breed and race champions.