Thursday Throwback: Dick Tucker -- The Pirate That Tops Them All
Ask those who've faithfully followed Orange Coast College athletics over the years and you'll discover that they're in perfect harmony regarding a certain matter.
Over the generations, the Pirate coaching staff has been second to none. Second. To. None.
Fans in Pirateville are of one accord on this issue: the college, since its inception in 1947, has been home to more than its fair share of outstanding coaches. In fact, it's had a plethora of gifted sports mentors.
With too much time on my hands lately, I've taken to fashioning my own "Top Five" lists for some of my favorite topics. I've fashioned lists like my "Top Five Northbound 405 Freeway Off-Ramps," my "Top Five Recorded Versions of John Lennon's 'Yesterday,'" and, of course, my "Top Five Pulled-Pork Barbecue Destinations in Eastern North Carolina."
Soooo – for conversations sake -- who do you figure to be OCC's "Top Five Coaches Ever"? Any takers? It's a head-scratcher. Admittedly, the pool of eligible voters – were such an election to be held – would be quite small. Not many of us possess 73-year perspectives on the college's history.
I began following Pirate basketball fortunes in 1960, at the age of 15. My claim is this, I've been a Buc-Backer for 60 years.
The top five coaches in my humble estimation – and in random order (I know, I'm wimping out) -- would be: Dick Tucker, football coach; Dave Grant, crew coach; Janice Maran, women's tennis coach; Don Watson, men's and women's swimming and water polo coach; and John Altobelli, baseball coach.
Without doubt, they're five of the finest coaches you'll find anywhere.
Grant, former OCC president, is a Pirate phenom. He coached crew for 40-plus years, and led Coast to numerous Western Sprints, national and international rowing championships. Maran was the women's tennis coach for 35 seasons, racking up a 477-96 record, and capturing eight state titles and 23 conference championships.
Watson dominated community college men's and women's swimming and water polo for 30 years, winning 19 state crowns. Altobelli coached baseball (on the heels of legendary geniuses, Wendell Pickens and Mike Mayne) for 27 seasons, won four state titles and seven Orange Empire Conference championships. His career record was 705-478. He was tragically killed in January with eight others in a helicopter crash.
At the risk of bollocking my much-anticipated high-wire act, I've decided to go ahead and announce my choice for first place.
"And the Golden-Aargh goes to … Dick Tucker."
I knew Dick for half a century. He was kind, generous and humble, never self-aggrandizing. But, he could out-fox the best of 'em. He and Fullerton coach, Hal Sherbeck, waged some classic gridiron duels.
Dick Tucker was a football coach, educator, mentor, motivator, steady voice in a storm, humanitarian, and teller of outrageously funny stories. Some stories were of ancient origin. Others were personal accounts of actual events. Though he was an artist at embellishing tales, he never inflated his own narrative.
I once stood next to him in Don Jacobs' kitchen at a somber post-game football party. We'd lost a tough one that night to Golden West, and my jaw (some would call it my "dauber") was dragging on the floor.
"Jim don't take it so hard," Dick reassured. "I guarantee, the sun's gonna rise tomorrow morning." It did.
I enjoyed working with Tucker on all kinds of projects. He and I did a weekly football cable show … until the studio burned down in the program's second season. I accompanied him to innumerable meetings, coaches' clinics, conventions and media briefings.
He was a gifted orator. His deep, resonant voice commanded respect. When coaches and conferences hosted media luncheons, Dick was always a favored speaker.
Tall and distinguished, Dick was a loving husband, dad and friend. He wept unashamedly when he announced his retirement from coaching football at OCC in 1985. He coached the Pirates for 24 seasons.
He died in July of 2018.
A Long Beach native, Dick was starting quarterback at Whittier College. He was hired as head football coach at Brea-Olinda High School in 1951. In 11 seasons, his Brea teams captured eight league championships and two CIF crowns.
I met Dick in 1962 as a 17-year-old Orange Coast College freshman. He was the cool new football coach, and students immediately loved him.
For the three seasons prior to Tucker's arrival, OCC's football program was moribund. The Pirates went 7-19-1 during that stretch. In the spring of 1962, OCC hired Tucker.
That season, he and his two assistants, Dale Wonacott and Fred Owens, turned OCC's program around. The Pirates went 9-1 and beat Glendale College in the Orange Show Bowl, 23-16. George Mattias joined the staff as an assistant the next year.
In '63, LeBard Stadium was packed for every game as the Pirates went 10-0 and crushed Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for the national title in the Junior Rose Bowl Game, 21-0. More than 44,000 fans were in attendance, and the game was nationally televised.
In Tucker's first three seasons, the Pirates went 25-5 and played in three bowl games. Tucker produced his second national championship in 1975. The Pirates went 11-0 and dominated Rio Hondo College in the Avocado Bowl.
In 24 seasons, Dick logged 129 victories. Six of his squads won conference championships, and he was voted Conference Coach of the Year six times. Twice he was California's JC Coach of the Year.
Dick was athletic director for a decade and retired in 1995 after 33 years at the college.
In 2004 he was inducted into the California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Three years later he became a member of the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016, OCC named its football field in his honor
In my opinion, Dick Tucker deserves the Golden-Aargh. He was one class act!
(Final two pics courtesy of the Coach Tucker Tribute Facebook Page)
