Some Spartan perspective

[colhenrylives]

Followers of San Jose State football are giddy today. They have good reason to be. The Spartans have not been 4-0 since the Eisenhower Administration 65 long years ago. Here's some perspective: In 1955, a loaf of bread cost 20 cents; eggs were 60 cents a dozen; the Big Dogs in Bay Area prep football were San Francisco's powerhouse Polytechnic Parrots (now closed); De La Salle would not open for another 10 years in Concord; rock 'n roll singer Elvis Presley was all the rage; actor and teen heartthrob James Dean died in a car crash outside Salinas; the first McDonald's outlet made its debut (a burger cost 15 cents, fries another dime); and Joe Biden was all of 13-years-old.

As for those long-ago Spartans themselves (an independent at that time), they wound up 5-3-1, losing to Pacific, Stanford and Fresno State while tying Washington State and defeating Cal Poly in their last five games. They began the season by taking down Utah State, Hawaii, Arizona State and New Mexico in succession. The SJS head coach was Bob Bronzan.

 

[colhenrylives]

For some reason, auto-correct would not allow the last name of that 1955 Poly head coach in the previous post. Let's try it again: His name was Milt Axt. His Poly teams were dominant in the San Francisco AAA for many years after World War II. According to an online history of the school, the Parrots won 45 games in a row at one point during that period. In those days, the AAA was very strong; it received maximum media coverage from five San Francisco daily newspapers. Poly football was a primary focus of that publicity. The school was located directly across the street from Kezar Stadium but it was shut down decades ago. In its heyday, the Parrots were among the best prep football programs in California. A number of their players went on to outstanding college careers. NFL players included 49ers Bob St. Clair and Gary Lewis. George Seifert, another Poly player, was a Super Bowl-winning head coach of the 49ers as well.