When asked whether or not he plans to emphasize the long history of Poly’s football program to his incredibly young team of Jackrabbits this season, head coach Raul Lara smiled. “I always bring up history—there’s nothing but tradition at Poly, and you’re a fool if you don’t talk about it.” Well you certainly couldn’t call the crowd of 400 gathered at the Grand on Sunday a group of fools, then, as Poly alums, fan, and faithful gathered to honor the twelve newest inductees into an already star-studded Football Hall of Fame, in the second annual incarnation of the Poly Football Booster Club’s signature event.
Mingling in the Grand’s courtyard before the ceremony was an impressive array of the city’s sports personalities—we’re relatively sure there wasn’t anywhere else in Long Beach where you would have seen Long Beach State men’s basketball coach Dan Monson (who had to leave early to go see a basketball game with some recruiting implications) introducing himself to Lara, or Gene Washington (a prior inductee and the NFL’s director of football operations) hunched over a speech, scribbling away.
Looking at the evening’s program, Washington nodded said, “There are some intimidating statistics here—this event is really paying tribute to some great players.”
There were also plenty of former Poly players and coaches who haven’t made it onto the list yet—former All-American defensive back Darrell Rideaux, sitting with his friend and teammate Chris Lewis, humbly responded that when he goes into the Hall is, “Not my decision” and saying he was honored enough “to be a part of the group that restored the winning tradition to Poly in 1997.”
Inside the banquet hall, after dinner had been eaten, Washington got things started off. A man who’s received a lot of honors in his life, he said, “There are not many things in life as special as this honor,” then introduced the night’s inductees.
Marvin Motley First up was the posthumous recognition of Marvin Motley (class of ’64), one of the school’s best running backs who went on to become an All-American at LBCC. His daughters accepted on behalf, saying, “I’ve heard so many great stories, and I’m still hearing them tonight.”
Al Nichols Nichols (’65) dominated at track, basketball, and football while at Poly, and was an All-American running back. In one game against Santa Barbara, he ran for 295 yards to secure the win. Nichols said it was “an honor being among friends and family—each and every one of you before me is my extended family.”
Chris Lewis The definition of a dominant quarterback, it’s unlikely any Jackrabbit will ever break Lewis’ (’99) records. “It’s one thing to have your records broken,” said Washington of Lewis’ stats, “And another to have them obliterated.” In his time at Poly Lewis threw for 8,617 yards and a state-record 107 touchdowns. “When you had teammates like mine,” he said acknowledging his receivers and running backs, “Racking up numbers like that is not that hard.”
Leonard Russell 8-Ball Russell (’87) was also a running back, who went on to be Rookie of the Year with the Patriots in the NFL. “I don’t want to say a lot about what I did,” he opened his speech. “Any time you get an award like this there’s a lot of people that need to be acknowledged.” He spoke emotionally about the importance of his family in his career, including his cousin and fellow inductee, Chuckie Miller.
Jerry Jaso Jaso graduated from Poly in 1966, and while he was an All-City player, he’s certainly more well-known as a coach. Named the Century Club’s Coach of the Decade for his success in the 90s, Jaso won four CIF championships and in 1997 kicked off the modern era of Poly dominance. There was a lot of history in the room, but Jaso argued, “My mom might be the person here who’s been the Poly fan for the longest—she turned 91 this year.” He also gave credit to his players (recalling a time when Lewis threw for seven touchdowns against Wilson before Jaso reigned him in), and said, “You can only coach people as much as they’ll let you—and our guys let us.” Even though he’s currently a coach with LBCC, Jaso says, “I’m always going to be a Poly guy.”
Royal Cathcart Also a running back, Royal Cathcart (’43) was, along with his brother Sam, part of the only tandem of brothers to ever play on the same NFL team at the same time. His most famous moment may have been as an NFL official during the Immaculate Receptions. His most impressive accomplishment was revealed when he introduced his wife Bette, who he’s been married to for 57 years.
Sam Cathcart The other half of the Cathcart 49ers tandem, Sam (’42) met General Patton while in Germany in 1945, and was in the Army for 37 years. “Royal and I, we come from the old leather helmet days,” he said, while recalling a two-TD catch performance he had against Wilson, way back in 1941.
Richard Bryson Bryson (’62) is known for the big play—as a businessman he’s been incredibly successful at the helm of the Byrson Financial Group (that’s his name on the scoreboard at Blair) and at Poly, he had 17 catches—all for touchdowns. He talked about growing up watching Dee Andrews and Willie Brown play, and wondered what his life would have been like if he “went to that other, minor school—Wilson.” Bryson said, “All my life I’ve overachieved—that’s because I went to Poly. At Poly, you have to achieve.”
Dennis Price DP (’83) was a bruising safety, who won two Rose Bowls with UCLA before going to the Raiders. He currently serves as a police officer in Long Beach, and remembered going into his sophomore year weighing just 115 pounds. “Scholars and Champions; Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve,” he said, referencing two common Poly mottos. “People think these are empty slogans, but we all know—we take those things to heart through our whole life.”
David Howard Howard (’79) was an outstanding defensive player, and went on to play at Oregon State and Long Beach State, before playing with the USFL’s LA Express, the Vikings, Cowboys, and Patriots. He currently works with special needs children in Dallas, and said, “I represent Poly all over the country.”
Chuckie Miller Highlighting how close-knit the Poly community is, Miller (’83) pointed out that he and Dennis Price played football together every year from when they were eight, until they both finished at UCLA. Miller is a successful entrepreneur and businessman, and said, “We all have the desire to win—you learn that at Poly.”
Willie McGinest Arguably the most decorated player ever to wear the green and gold, McGinest (’90) won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. “They put me last because they thought I was going to leave,” he opened. “But I told them I wasn’t going anywhere.” He thanked the community and talked about what a fan he was of Poly (having bought David Howard’s Patriots jersey before signing with the team). He thanked his wife, who he said “wouldn’t talk to me when we were at Poly until I got my USC scholarship.” Highlighting exactly how much Poly pride permeates the NFL, he talked about getting a fine for putting a late hit on the QB (the fines come from the director of football operations, ie Gene Washington). “I sent my response back to Gene—I’m a Jackrabbit, we’re cool. I got it back—rejected. $7,500.” Washington responded, “If it’s any consolation, Willie, I did feel bad about it.”
McGinest went on to thank his mother. “She’s the one who worked two jobs and signed me up for football when I was eight. I’ve been playing football for thirty years since then.” And he reflected on paths not taken, saying, “When I came to Poly I thought I’d play basketball. It was [previous inductee] Don Norford who grabbed me and said, ‘What are you doing? You are playing football.’ Even when I was in the pros, I came back and trained with Don—everything he did, worked.”
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No doubt that no other school in the country can boast the kind of football pride that Poly does, having sent more players to the NFL than any other high school program. Looking at last year’s list and this year’s, it seems hard to top—but looking at who’s to come, with over a half-dozen Jackrabbits currently in the NFL, it’s easy to be excited about the future.