Thursday Throwback: Pirates history keepers through the years
In 73 years of existence, Orange Coast College has employed eight sports information directors.
Eight.
I had the privilege of serving as SID for 15 years, from 1971-86. It was the best job I ever had. The college named its football press box after me in 2009. I'm deeply grateful. I ran said press box for 15 years and was public address announcer for 21.
OCC's sports information director is responsible for promoting 24 intercollegiate athletic teams; producing the college's athletic publications; writing feature stories about teams, athletes and coaches; operating as the college's sports media contact; and serving as official statistician.
Phyllis Jackson became OCC's first formal public information officer and sports information director in 1959 and served in that capacity for three years. She worked under the firm hand of founding president, Dr. Basil H. Peterson. Her job was important to Peterson. In the years before Jackson's arrival, he'd hire hourly staffers or students to carry out some basic PIO and SID functions. The results, at best, were erratic.
Peterson believed his new college had to take deliberate action to shape its public image. He needed a pro.
Jackson came to OCC's palm-studded campus (not a palm tree in the quad then stood three feet in height!) as a highly regarded journalist. Orange Coast's athletic teams in the late 1940s and early '50s were successful on the field, and Peterson wanted to use them to send positive messages about the school to its external audiences.
Phyllis was a no-nonsense journalist. The only person more no-nonsense on campus than she was Peterson.
Jackson worked for several newspapers during her career and was hired in the mid-1950s by Peterson to serve as advisor to the student newspaper, The Barnacle, and to later handle public information and sports information duties.
She stepped down as PIO/SID following the 1961-62 academic year and later retired from the college and opened a bookshop in Corona del Mar – a lifelong dream.
Peterson recruited and hired David Epperson for the college's PIO/SID post in 1962. At the time, Epperson was on the editorial staff of the Monterey Herald newspaper, one of the leading periodicals on the West Coast.
Dave turned out to be a marketing genius. He played a pivotal role in securing for the Pirate football team an invitation to the 1963 Junior Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena.
The Bucs went 10-0 that year and blitzed Northeastern Oklahoma A&M at the Rose Bowl, 21-0, to win the national championship. The title game was broadcast live to a national television audience.
Early in the '63 season, Epperson recognized that the sophomore-dominated Pirates were a power to be reckoned with. So, he fixed his gaze upon pursuing a JRB bid. Dave unleashed his creative "Think Roses" marketing campaign. Suddenly, "Think Roses" bumper stickers, banners, flyers, posters and ads were appearing everywhere: on car bumpers, windows, walls, notebook covers, you name it. People wondered aloud, "What's that all about?" The campaign had legs! The Junior Rose Bowl selection committee issued an invitation to the Pirates, and Dr. Peterson proudly accepted. A crowd of 44,044 turned out for the big game.
Dr. Norman E. Watson, Peterson's adjutant who later became the Coast District chancellor, decades afterward called the game a "seminal event" in OCC history. The Junior Rose Bowl was the initial vehicle to propel the college into national prominence.
Epperson left OCC in 1965 to start a series of successful racing magazines. He later admitted, however, that he'd never had as much fun anywhere as he had at Coast.
Think Roses!
Epperson encouraged Dr. Peterson to hire Don Jacobs, a talented young UCLA political science grad, as his placement. Peterson wisely accepted the advice. Jacobs was then working as a staff writer for the Monterey Herald, Epperson's old newspaper. But Don wasn't certain he wanted the job. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., he loved Monterey. "I didn't want to leave," he once told me, "but I drove 12 hours roundtrip to visit OCC's campus and I fell in love with the place."
Don was director of public relations and sports information from 1965-71. As an OCC grad myself, and Cal State Fullerton senior communications major, I completed a semester-long internship with Don in the fall of 1970. That internship convinced me that Orange Coast was the place I wanted to be. Don hired me as his assistant in August of 1971. The next year, Don went into the classroom full-time to teach journalism and history.
I did the combined jobs for 15 years – and loved it. Highlights for me included the 1975 national football championship, and the 1979 state basketball title.
I worked 37 years at Coast and retired in 2008.
SID became an independent post at OCC in 1986. I was now director of marketing and community relations, and I hired Jack Shinar to replace me as SID. Jack remained at Coast for 13 years and left in 1999 to become SID for the California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics. He was one of the most highly respected SIDs in the country.
Sam Felsenfeld, a Kansas State University graduate and Associated Press and ESPN Sportszone stringer, took over for Shinar in 1999 and stayed for three years. Eric Montgomery, an Azusa Pacific University grad and SID for the Florida Sun Conference, became OCC's SID in 2003. Eric served for three years, then left OCC to become SID at Concordia University in Irvine.
Tony Altobelli, OCC's SID for the past 14 years, joined the college's staff in 2006. He'd been an Orange Coast student for three years, and was sports editor of the student newspaper, Coast Report. A dedicated professional, Tony worked for many years as a sportswriter and editor before returning to Coast.
Tony recently received the 2020 Brass Top Award, presented by the California Community College Sports Information Association. The award recognizes outstanding service and accomplishments.
In addition to the state's recognition, Tony also was also honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as the 2020 recipient of the Bud Nangle Award after his work under crisis following the death of OCC baseball coach and brother, John Altobelli, as well as John's wife, Keri and daughter, Alyssa on Jan. 26. Those three died along with six others, including basketball legend Kobe Bryant and the crash garnered national media attention at OCC for weeks.
Altobelli is author of the book, "36 in 26," an account of OCC's magical 2019 run for the state baseball title. He's today one of the top SIDs in the land.
Over the years, SIDS have played an indispensable role in telling the Orange Coast College story.
OCC'S SIDS THRU THE YEARS
Phyllis Jackson, 1959-62
Dave Epperson, 1962-65
Don Jacobs, 1965-71
Jim Carnett, 1971-86
Jack Shinar, 1986-99
Sam Felsenfeld, 1999-02
Eric Montgomery, 2003-06
Tony Altobelli, 2006-present
