Historical Association #5

[Wayne23]

Historical Association #5
Alvin Webb is my name. If you’re even a little bit athletic and your last name is Webb, you can plan on being called “Spider.” So that’s me, Spider Webb. I graduated from UCLA with a theater degree in 1952. I also played small forward for the hoops team, starting in both my junior and senior seasons.

When I graduated I had to decide between theater and hoops. I chose hoops. Making a living in theater is just too unlikely.

I got a job as the assistant coach at the biggest high school in Oakland. Two years later I became their head coach. I won the California state championship three years later, and then repeated.

At that point Cal-Poly offered me the #1 assistant job. Their head coach retired this April, and they offered me the job. I said yes before I even knew what the salary was. It’s not much!

Just a little more background. My dad, Louis “Spider” (can’t be avoided) Webb, was a professional baseball player, a third baseman. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and later coached first base for them. When they moved to L.A., the family came West. Dad made some very shrewd investments in television when it was still just an idea, and he made A LOT of money. He was kind enough to support me when I was just an assistant high school coach, and really, until I came here as an assistant. I couldn’t have done it without his help.

Dad still coaches for the Dodgers. At 55 years of age he could retire, could have retired 5-6 years ago due to the TV money, but he loves baseball and loves being in that environment. They’ll need to tear the uniform off him.

Back to my theater background. I can’t do stage plays because of my involvement in hoops. The practices and the travel make that impossible. BUT, I do “extra” work in films, and even get small speaking parts in both movies and television. I really enjoy that, and I hope to keep doing it.

San Luis Obispo, where Cal-Poly is located, is about halfway between L. A. and San Francisco. It’s a bit of a drive to get to L.A. for a film or TV shoot, but I manage to do it in the off season. And, more and more, both movies and TV are shot away from the studio lots, so sometimes it’s not a long commute for me.

I also do a little night club work. I have a comedy magic act that goes over pretty well, and I get booked in L. A. and Frisco. It’s a lot of fun. I don’t want to sponge off dad, and haven’t since I became an assistant here. The money I make from my act, along with the assistant coach salary, allowed me to become independent. The head coach job here doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s a step up from where I was, and I can easily support myself.

What else? I’m 28, as of today, 6’4” tall, and in very good shape. I take being in shape seriously. I’m single, and I LOVE the ladies!

Okay, let’s get to hoops!

[Wayne23]

May 1: I promoted the #2 assistant to #1, and the #3 to #2, and I hired a guy I like as #3. I think we’ll make a good team. My A. D. is a good guy and he seems like he’ll be supportive. All he asked was that I keep everybody eligible, and that I don’t finish last in the Big West. I think we have enough talent to finish in the top half of the conference. As to academics, Cal-Poly is a serious academic school. If you’re a student here you’re smart, and you know you need to work hard. I don’t see anyone losing eligibility. We are not a really well funded program, but we DO pay for tutors and academic advisors. I keep a close eye on academics, meeting with the tutors and advisors daily- yes, DAILY, whenever school and summer school are in session. I also drop into study halls most days. I was a good student at UCLA, and I want all of my guys to be good students. All of my scholarship athletes take two courses in the summer. That allows them to take four courses a semester instead of five, and still graduate on schedule. It’s written right into the scholarship that they will take at least two summer courses each year, including the summer before their freshman year.

Given that we are, as I said, a serious academic school, we’re going to recruit locally, but also recruit excellent students throughout the country.

Sometimes an academically oriented kid will be able to be convinced to play hoops here. At least that’s my hope.

I play Princeton and Triangle against a man to man defense. On D we will go about 80% man, and 3-2 the rest of the time. We won’t press much but when we do it will be full court man to man. I run a balanced offense, but when we can get it inside we will. The closer to the hoop, the better the chance the shot will go in.

I recruit players who play defense. My big guys will be good rebounders and my guards will be good ball handlers. If a guy can shoot, that’s a bonus, but it’s not at the top of my list.

6/26: Recruiting starts today. We have 5 scholarships, and I want at least 3 bigs. Recruiting at a small school with VERY high academic standards isn’t easy, but we’ll work hard and hope for the best.

7/4: A couple of recruits are showing a little interest.

I had a gig for the holiday weekend in a club in San Francisco. It was a fairly small club but the crowds were good and the people liked my act. The manager slipped me a bonus when I left on Saturday night. It wasn’t huge, but it was a nice surprise.

7/27: Billie Holliday dies.

8/21: Recruiting is a struggle. We offer to 2 PGs, an SG, a PF, and a C. If we get 2 of them I’ll be ecstatic.

Hawaii becomes the 50th state.

I do a gig or two most weekends. The money’s good and it’s fun. I meet lots of chicks along the way, too.

9/18: Weak teams on the schedule.

9/25: Got 2, lost one. Got a PG, #179, a C, #568. Lost a PG.

10/2: 1st day of practice.

We’re picked 7th in our 9 team conf. I think we’ll do better than that.

11/6: We get an SG, #245. 2 more to go. We want 2 inside players.

8 man rotation:

Junior Reg Fine starts at PG, subs at SG. Junior Joe Rich starts at SG.

Senior Marq Herd and soph Brad Holt sub at the Point.

Senior Andy Ames starts at SF, subs at SF.

Frosh Kal Owen subs at SF.

Junior Den Swoe starts at PF, subs at C.

Frosh Rob King starts at C.

There will be changes.

[Wayne23]

I did a gig in Monterey last night. Met a chick singer named Debbie who was just my type, petite with a truly lovely face. She didn’t fall for my line, and she didn’t fall on her back, but she sure caught my interest. She didn’t seem uninterested in me, but when I asked about seeing her some time she just said that we were bound to work the same club again, and let’s leave it at that.

Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the U. S.

11/20: 1-1 start. We were crushed at Central Arkansas- 16 TOs, poor shooting, worse D. Then we easily beat UMBC at our place- only 9 TOs, we shot well, and all 5 starters had 11 or more. Joe Rich at SG and Den Swoe at PF are our leaders so far.

11/27: 2-2. We haven’t become a team yet. We’re very inconsistent. But we’re working on it.

12/4: 3-3. Still inconsistent. Guards Joe Rich, 14.7, and Reg Fine, 13.0, and SF/PF Andy Ames, 14.8, are our scorers. Center Rob King gets 10.5 and 7.5.

PF/C Den Swoe gets 9.8 and 8.0. We don’t have much bench. We’re going to start giving guard Marq Herd and Forward Alex Lyon more time. Let’s see what happens with that.

12/11: 4-4. We’ve yet to win on the road. One loss at home.

12/25: 6-5 going to conference play. RPI #232. +2.5 PPG, +3.7 RBs, +0.8 TOs. Joe Rich leads us in scoring with 12.8. Den Swoe gets 12.5, 8.1 RBs. 12.2 for
Andy Ames. 11.5 for Reg Fine. 10.9, 7.0 for Rob King.

I played at a club in L.A. on Xmas eve. A friend and I then went to a couple of different clubs. I ran into Debbie, that petite singer I met back in early November. She was friendly, but not REAL friendly. I can’t figure out whether she’s playing hard to get or whether she just isn’t interested. We did talk for a while, and we danced a couple of times, but she wouldn’t give me her number, and said, “Not at this time,” when I asked her out, but she did add, “We’ll see each other around the circuit,” and gave me a nice smile when she said it. Then she said good night and left.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1960: 6-6, 0-1. A new decade!

1/15: 8-8, 2-3. The conf. is completely bunched up. Only 1 ½ games separate 1st and last place.

1/29: 9-10, 3-5, 7th place. -0.2 PPG, +2.4 RBs, +1.0 TOs.

2 of the 3 recruits that signed did not hit our SAT score. We still have 4 scholarships to fill. We need 3 bigs.

2/12: 10-13, 4-8. Tied for 7th, ½ game ahead of last place. We just don’t have a lot of talent.

2/26: We end the regular season 12-15, 6-12. RPI #244, alone in 7th place. -2.1 PPG, +2.9 RBs, +0.1 TOs.

4 teenage college students engage in a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter. Eventually 70,000 students will hold sit-ins in support.

[Wayne23]

We play #2 seed Cal-Riverside, 14-13, 11-5, in the 1st round of the Big West tournament.

3/3: 89-80. 25 for PG Reg Fine, 22, 3, 6, 3 for SF Andy Ames, 14, 10, 4 for PF Den Swoe.

#6 seed, Cal ST. Northridge, 14-14, 7-9, in the semifinals. They beat us by 17 and by 18.

3/4: 73-63. We played really well. 28, 11 for SF Andy Ames, 14 for C Rob King, 11 each for Swoe and Rich. +18 RBs.

We’re in the title game vs. #1 seed Long Beach ST, 23-6, 11-5. We won by 9 at our place, then lost by 12 there.

3/5: 55-75. We shot 29.6%, they shot 49.1%. Hey, we got to the final!

Will we go somewhere postseason? Our Big West tourney play helped, but I think we’re finished for the season. Just hope this helped with recruiting. We need to sign some people.

Ike send 3,500 troops to Vietnam.

3/12: 14-16, 6-10, tourney final.

Not selected.

3/17: Ike approves a 13 million dollar plan to overthrow Castro, who the CIA helped to put in power.

3/19: Aggressively pursuing recruits.

I ran into Debbie again last night. Well, I found out where she was singing and went to hear her. She asked me where I’d been, which I took as a good sign, but she said no again when I asked her out. BUT, she said it in a way that made me think there could be a yes at some point. I don’t think she knows I coach basketball. No idea whether that would work in my favor or not.

4/3: #3 Florida wins it all.

4/4: Awards: Rob King is Big West Frosh OY. Andy Ames and Den Swoe make 1st team. King makes 2nd.

4/9: A couple of offers but nothing very compelling.

4/16: We get a PF, #322, and an SG, #215.

4/23: I ask for a budget increase. No.

14-16, 6-10. Hoping for a winning season next year.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy the national basic report.

A U. S. spy plane piloted by Gary Powers is shot down over Russia. Powers is taken prisoner.

6/5: Looking at transfers.

6/12: We get a C from Mississippi ST.

6/26: 5 scholarships.

Adolf Eichmann is captured and brought to Israel to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

8/21: We offer to 2 PGs, a PF, and 2 Cs.

“Of course I know you’re the basketball coach at Cal-Poly, silly. I live just north of San Luis Obispo, and that’s where I went to school. After two years in the field I just decided that engineering was the most boring job on the planet. That’s why I sing now.”

“How come you didn’t tell me you knew.”

“It was sort of a test. A lot of jocks are dumb. All they can talk about is sports.”

“Well hell, Debbie, you knew that wasn’t me right from the start. My magic act doesn’t even mention sports and I never talked about sports once in the times we talked.”

“I know, but still. I was waiting for it. I kept expecting it.”

“That’s part of my life, but it’s not my whole life.”

“And that’s why I said yes-”

“Finally.”

(She laughed) “Yes, finally. I’m okay with sports, and I like basketball a lot, really, but there’s more to life, and I don’t want to date a guy who’s only about sports.”

“Fair enough. My job means about 2/3 of my time is taken up by hoops, but the other 1/3 is mine, and I like it to be about other things. That’s why I still do the comedy magic act. Did you know I was a theater major?”

“That’s great. Next thing, you’ll be telling me you read a book once- and it wasn’t about sports.”

“I read every day of my life- novels mostly, mysteries, sci fi- all kinds of books.”

“Well, Mr. Webb, maybe you won’t bore me to death, after all.”

It was a terrific first date, and she said yes to a second date.

9/18: Soft schedule.

Several African nations gain independence over the summer.

10/2: 1st day of practice. I think we’re better than last year, but the schedule is packed with road games.

No recruits have committed yet. We’re close with only 2.

Tension mounts between the U. S. and the USSR over Cuba.

10/9: We get 2, a PF, #165, and a C, #183. Lost a PG.

11/6: 7 man rotation:

Senior Joe Rich starts at the Point. Juco junior Ron Strom starts at SG, subs at PG. Senior Reg Fine subs at SG.

Senior Den Swoe starts at SF, subs at PF. Soph Kal Owen subs at SF.

Juco junior Dave Lake starts at PF, subs at C.

Soph Rob King starts at C.

Expect changes.

Kennedy is elected POTUS over Nixon. He wins by only 120,000 votes but wins the electoral vote easily.

Debbie and I are now dating steadily. I never thought I'd want to settle down and stay with one woman, but suddenly... I do.

[Wayne23]

11/20: 1-1. We win at home, lose on the road.

We’re picked to finish last in the Big West.

12/4: 4-2. SG Ron Stro leads us with 16.7, and C Rob King gets 12.7, 8.2. Team rebounding is our greatest strength- +7.7. We’re in the middle of a 7 game road trip.

Tough, tough run, but we’re winning some road games.

12/25: 6-5, RPI #146. +3.7 PPG, +4.9 RBs, -0.1 TOs. Stro leads us with 15.7 PPG.

The “Cold War” is at its height.

[Wayne23]

1/1/1961: 8-5, 2-0. Great start to conf. play!

1/15: 9-7, 3-2. RPI #100. Tied for 3rd.

1/29: 13-7, 7-2, RPI #68. Alone in 2nd, 1 back of 1st. +4.0 PPG, +6.9 RBs, -0.4 TOs.

Debbie has a record which looks like it might become a hit. It’s called, “Waiting.” It’s a slow song, with really great lyrics and a very smooth melody. This could be the break she’s been waiting for. At 23, she’s been singing professionally for about two years, making a living at it, but barely. This could make a huge difference, raise her price for appearances, and get her LOTS more of them. She has sung the song on local TV stations in both L. A. and Frisco. We’re doing great together. We don’t see each other as often as I’d like, but that’s because we’re both on the road so much.

2/12: 14-9, 8-4, RPI #68. Tied for 2nd, 1 back of 1st, 2 up on 4th. We lost at 1st place Hawaii, but only by 5.

2/15: The entire U. S. Figure Skating team is killed in a plane crash.

2/26: We end the regular season 17-10, 11-5, alone in 2nd. RPI #56. +3.7 PPG, +6.2 RBs, -0.4 TOs.

We definitely overachieved! Now to get to the title game in the Big West tourney, and with a little luck win it!

[Wayne23]

3/1: We start tournament play vs. #7 seed Cal ST Fullerton, 13-15, 7-9. We split with them. They crushed us there.

79-67. 15, 14 for Center Rob King, 18, 5 for PG Reg Fine, 15 for SG Ron Stro, 13, 7 for SF Den Swoe. +9 RBs.

#6 seed Cal-Riverside, 16-13, 8-8, in the semis. Lost by 15 there, won by 15 at our place.

3/2: 79-71. 24, 4, 5 for Fine, 18, 5 for PF Dave Lake, 16, 3, 3 for Stro, 8, 14 for King. +11 RBs.

#7 seed Cal ST Northridge, 11-18, 5-11, for the title. We beat them by 6 there, 8 at our place. Their starting PG is out with an injury.

3/3: 66-77. The shots wouldn’t drop in the 2nd half. 17, 5 for Swoe, 16, 4, 4 for Stro.

19-11, 11-5, RPI #52. We’ll go to a tournament, but which one?

Kennedy creates the Peace Corps.

3/12: NIT, #5 south. We play #4 Samford,

3/14: 76-66, and a 20 win season! 22 for Stro, 19, 11 for Lake, 14, 7 for King, 11, 8 for Swoe. +15 RBs.

#1 seed Charlotte, 21-9.

3/16: 53-77. Ouch!

We lose two guards who both play a lot, Joe Rich and Reg Fine, and starting SF Den Swoe.

4/3: #3 North Carolina won it all.

4/4: Awards: Ron Stro and Rob King make Big West 1st team. Dave Lake makes 2nd team. I am named Big West Coach OY.

4/9: No interesting offers so we’ll stay another year.

4/12: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space.

4/16: We get a PF, #110, and a C, #212. Hoping to get one more guard.

U. S. forces are repulsed at the Bay of Pigs. Several are killed and all 1209 are captured.

4/23: We ask for a budget increase. No.

20-12, 2nd place. Overall, I’m 34-28, .548.

Debbie’s song, “Waiting,” peaked at #7 on the charts, and has sold more than 750,000 copies. She is getting offers to appear at top clubs all up and down the West Coast, at more than double her former price. She is pondering what song she will release next. It’s an exciting time.

[Wayne23]

5/1: National basic.

If I get a decent offer in the spring this will be my last season at Cal-Poly. It’s time to move up.

5/5: Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. JFK promises a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

Freedom Riders are beaten and vilified across the South. Some Southern states publicly announce that the KKK may attack the Freedom Riders with no fear of being arrested. Civil rights battles will continue.

6/5: We’re looking at transfers.

6/12: We get a PG who started at NC ST. Great catch!

6/26: We have trouble filling scholarships and we have 6 to fill. Could be an issue. We’d like 3 guards and 3 bigs but we’ll take what we can get.

JFK goes to Berlin and gives his “ich bin ein Berliner” speech in front of the wall.

Debbie’s new song is called, “Of You.” It’s upbeat, a classic “bop” really, easy to dance to and I think really catchy.

I open for her when I’m available. She’s playing some really upper echelon clubs and concert halls, and she draws great crowds. Heck, she’s beautiful and she can really sing, so why wouldn’t she. You start to make it in the rock scene when you get up past the revue shows, you know, the ones with 12 or 15 rock and roll “stars” who each come out and do one or two songs. She’s gotten above that. She does TV as well as clubs, and she’s making good money. She plays keyboard so she can accompany herself, and she’s smart enough to travel with only a guitar player and a drummer, so her expenses are fairly low.

Some national TV shows are speaking with her agent. The dream is the Ed Sullivan show, of course, and her people are speaking with Sullivan’s people. It could happen!

“Of You” was released with some pretty good publicity, so she has high hopes for it. We’ll know soon enough.

7/15: “Of You” is #6 on the charts and climbing. The Sullivan thing is being scheduled, so she’ll be flying to NYC soon. VERY exciting!

8/1: I stole the time to fly to New York with Debbie. The Sullivan show was last night and she really did great. She nailed her song, “Of You.” Sullivan didn’t speak with her on air, but after her song he called her a “rising new star.”

“Of You” is #2.

8/21: We offer to 3 PGs, a PF, and 2 Cs.

The Berlin Wall goes up. The Cold War threatens to heat up in Germany.

8/25: “Of You” got to #2 and stayed there for three weeks. It has sold 1.1 million so far. Debbie is getting rich! Her first album, which includes her next single,
“Alone,” will be released on Labor Day.

9/18: No one has signed yet but a couple seem close.

We’re still going with a soft schedule.

Debbie’s album is hot! Already up to #7. The single is at #5, and may be her 1st #1.

9/25: We lose three, get none.

10/2: We lose another one.

1st day of practice.

We’re picked 3rd in conf. I think we can do that!

The Viet Cong are close to taking over all of Vietnam.

Debbie’s album is #2 and her single, “Alone,” is #1. She’s a genuine star. She’s been on Sullivan twice more and on all of the other big shows. She gets a ton of money for her concerts, and there’s talk of a European tour. I’m thrilled for her. When she appears on the West Coast I still open for her when I’m free.

11/6: 9 man rotation:

Senior Brad Holt starts at PG. Senior Ron Stro starts at SG, subs at PG.

Juco junior Don Will and walk on soph Adei Yoer sub at SG.

SF is up for grabs. Junior Rob King starts there and subs at PF, while senior Alex Lyon and junior Kal Owen sub at SF.

Senior Dave Lake starts at PF and subs at C.

Soph Cris Walk, a transfer from Mississippi ST, starts at C

As always, expect changes.

JFK sends General Maxwell Taylor to assess the situation in Vietnam. Taylor comes back spouting the moronic “domino theory.”

Debbie’s album stayed at #2 for 5 weeks. She couldn’t get past Ray Charles. “Alone” was #1 for 4 weeks and stayed in the top 5 for a long time. There’s talk of her having her own TV show, and a “special” is definite, and will go into production next week.