Former Los Gatos High School football defensive back Dave Langlois was among the team's many local celebrities.

Photograph courtesy of Dan Langlois

Picture from the Past

Gatos football lore includes its own list of gridiron greats

By John S. Baggerly

Long ago, our area was named La Rinconada de Los Gatos, The Little Corner Of The Cats. Had early pioneers been able to see the future, they might have called this area Jock City. Yes, as in jock strap--that undergarment worn by male athletes and 12-year-old boys attending coed dance classes

And Los Gatos High School girls probably fought to dance with Dave Langlois, a speedy defensive back coached by Charlie Wedemeyer and later by Bob Skuse.

Langlois matriculated to the University of Southern California, reported for football as a "walk-on" and made the team. He then won two rings for victories compiled by the Trojans in Rose Bowl wins: 17-10 over Michigan and a 17-16 win over Ohio State for the national title.

The first LGHS Rose Bowler was Dave Anderson, class of 1935, a fullback/linebacker at UC-Berkeley who played 60 minutes in a shut-out win over Alabama.

Hugh "Gluey Hughie" Campbell was declared by Coach Pete Denevi as having "the best hands I ever saw on a football player." At Washington State, Campbell was the pass-reception champion, was named to the East-West Shrine game--in which he was voted the outstanding player--and then played in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii. Campbell also played in the Canadian Professional League, coached there, married and had two sons who took to ice hockey.

Early in the past century, Los Gatos became aware of college football, when the Stanford varsity team "holed up" at the old Hotel Lyndon in Los Gatos the night before their big game with Cal in Palo Alto. Aware that members of the Stanford team were likely to attend the movies, local girls pretended to be window-shopping along N. Santa Cruz Avenue, to better eye the Stanford players headed for the movies.

The Stanford players were known as The Indians, a name that became politically incorrect. Now they are The Cardinals. Speaking of Stanford, Los Gatos boys were lucky they could board the interurban streetcar to Saratoga, transfer to another line and arrive in south Palo Alto. From there it was just a short walk to Stanford Stadium and free seats in the A section.

LGHS teams have certainly helped make this a football town.

In the final days of the past century, Coach Butch Cattalico's Wildcats went 13-0, by defeating Wilcox 28-7, for the Central Coast section football title at PAL Stadium in San Jose. The Wildcats had defeated Wilcox 37-7 in regular season.

Junior quarterback Trent Edwards had a superior passing season--not a surprise--as strong and accurate arms run in the Edwards family. A few years ago, his sister, Shelby, pitched a no-hitter for the Gatos girls' softball team.

As an afterthought of the Stanfords staying at Hotel Lyndon: the players learned that dining room knives had a flexibility that could snap a pat of butter to the dining room ceiling. The stains were later painted and Stanford paid for the damage. "Boys will be boys," as some forgiving mothers would say.

The largest football crowds in Los Gatos and Campbell were on Thanksgiving days, when crowds overflowed the stands and pressed near the playing field. It was at one of these games that Campbell's Craig Morton showed skills that indicated he would become a quarterback at UC-Berkeley and with the Dallas Cowboys.

When James Lick High School's footballers came to Helm Field for a night game, spectators had the privilege of seeing quarterback Jim Plunkett, who later became Stanford's starting quarterback and went on to play with the Oakland Raiders.

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This is the first column in a three-part series. John Baggerly came out of semi-retirement to write this column.

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