Feature Articles from
"CHUCK FOOTBALL" NEWSLETTER -
Fall 2004
The BLUE Blue Meanie
We are so lucky to have Terry Mosher as a sports writer in the Kitsap County area. His monthly "Sports Paper" includes memories of the past with today's local sports issues.
The following was reprinted from his paper last fall with updates where needed. Thank you, Terry, for reminding us of a guy who continues to give back to Bremerton.
It was November of 1973 and unbeaten West Bremerton, nine-and-oh, had a state quarterfinal football game scheduled at the Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma against Jack "The Throwin' Samoan" Thompson and his Evergreen of Seattle teammates.
It's the first year of the state high school playoffs so this is a big deal. Thompson is headed toward an outstanding career at Washington State and to the NFL in Cincinnati and then Tampa Bay.
West Wildcat Mike O'Brien is on a similar road. He will wind up at Olympic College for two years, two more years at the University of California, a year-and-half with the Seattle Seahawks, a year of semi-pro ball in Northern California and then a year in the now-defunct USFL with the Oakland Invaders.
But on this November night he will not be the star.
"I've tried to forget it," O'Brien laughs. "It's a painful memory in our lives. We don't like to bring it up." We will bring it up, though.
"I remember it distinctly," he finally says, "because I fumbled a couple times."
Paul Morgen's memory is better. "It's hard to forget that one," says Morgen, West's 1973 All-State Fullback who later played at Nevada-Reno and had a tryout with the ‘Hawks. Morgen currently lives in Kent and is Director of Component Services & Manufacturing for Boeing. "He didn't have a good game. He had one bad quarter, the first quarter. He fumbled three times. I think they scored three times off his fumbles (taking a 21-0 lead). But he bounced back pretty well from that. After that quarter, the game was ours."
Morgen's right about O'Brien bouncing back. The 48-year-old O'Brien now owns eight dealerships from Kirkland to Tacoma. There's Toyota of Kirkland (yes, a sponsor for the Seafair hydros), Aston Martin of Seattle, Acura of Seattle at Southcenter, Lexus of Bellevue, plus Lexus of Tacoma, Volvo of Tacoma, Jaguar of Tacoma, & LandRover of Tacoma, and a used car lot all at Fife Auto Mall. O'Brien, lives on Mercer Island with wife, Billie Jo, son Connor, 9 years old (who makes Mike play a lot of baseball), and adopted daughter Chantal, 21, a graduate of the University of Washington. He also has a private jet which he leases out as a separate business.
People who went to school with O'Brien at West probably should have known that financial success would come his way. O'Brien has a knack for making people comfortable, no matter the social status.
"He is a wonderful human being," says Lane "Lanny" Dowell, retired teacher/coach at West and Bremerton High School who counts O'Brien as a friend. "He is one of the few kids I ever knew in school who could relate to and really enjoy the company of all the different clichés in the school. He didn't care who you were or what social circle you traveled in."
O'Brien came to West Bremerton as a junior, transferring from Shorecrest High School in Seattle. He was even then a gifted athlete, but as a newcomer he wasn't quite sure of himself those first few days of football practice under the watchful eye of legendary coach Chuck Semancik.
"I was just the new kid learning the ropes," said O'Brien, who would become a star running back and defensive back for the Wildcats. "I'd been there for only a couple days and I did something wrong. So Chuck is yelling at me, 'O'Brien, bend over.'
"So I bend over. Everybody knows what is coming except me. Just as Chuck goes to kick my butt, I straighten up and he misses me and falls down. The whole team is choking back laughter.
"Chuck gets up and he chases me up and down the field trying to kick me in the butt. And I'm thinking, 'My coach is trying to kill me.'"
The big game of 1973 came at Bremerton Memorial Stadium. Over 7,000 fans jammed the ring about the bowl as Paul Stoffel's Central Kitsap Cougars, the State's top-ranked 2A team and West, the #2 ranked team in 3A, met in a game that was always hotly-contested in the press and on the field in those days.
O'Brien ran for 143 yards behind a West line that included Bruce Miller, Glen Tostenrude, Dave Snow and Mark Passinetti and the Wildcats won 17-0 to remain unbeaten and set up the next week's battle with Stadium for the league title and a spot in the first-ever state playoffs.
To jack themselves up, West players decided they wanted a nickname for their defense. Marcus Johns came up with the nickname, "The Blue Meanies," and every Thursday night when the 'Cats practiced --- as was their custom --- under the lights at Bremerton Memorial, defensive coaches Dowell and Izzi spray painted the defense's helmets blue (teams colors were blue and gold).
O'Brien thought he would take it a little further.
Upset because he thought he wasn't getting the ball enough (he and Morgen were sharing the load), O'Brien decided to protest by dying his whole uniform Royal Blue. "I stuck the uniform in a big boiling pot," O'Brien said, "and then dried it in the dryer. My mom helped."
Thus properly attired in toe to head blue, O'Brien went to practice.
A wet practice.
It rained that day (big surprise) and because O'Brien had not washed the uniform after dying it, the Royal Blue ran like a flood when it was hit with the rain.
"My whole body turned blue," O'Brien said with a big laugh. "Chuck just looked at me like I was crazy. But I was not going to take the uniform off until I started getting the ball more." Against Stadium, the 'Cats completed a 9-0 regular season by spanking the Tigers, 27-0.
O'Brien returned the second-half kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and added 120 yards on 21 carries.
In nine games, The Blue Meanies allowed just 25 points and were itching to get at other teams on a playoff march they felt certain would lead to a state championship. That led to the November night at the Lincoln Bowl.
For the Evergreen game a decision was made to paint all the helmets blue, not just the defense. So the blue-helmeted 'Cats took to the sand pit that was Lincoln Bowl and.....promptly fell behind 21-0 to the Thompson-led Wolverines.
But Morgen played one of his best games and O'Brien picked up his game, especially on defense, and the 'Cats clawed back to 27-22 with 3:40 left. Thompson then hit his fullback on a screen pass and a fullback draw on the next play gave Evergreen the final score in a 33-22 West Bremerton defeat.
"We all tried," O'Brien says today.
"It was probably the most fun year of football ever for me. It was fun back then in high school. It was a game; it was supposed to be fun. Later, it became work."
West's quarterback, Dick Ottele, who lives in Poulsbo, said, "It was a magical time. We were nine-and-oh, it was the first year of state playoffs; just a lot of fun things going on."
Morgen says, "If we would have won that game I believe we would have won state. It's funny, but I played with a bunch of guys later on in softball and four of them played on the Evergreen team. They remember the game just as well as we remember it. They lost the next game (to Wenatchee) and they say the reason they lost is we beat them up so bad in our game."
O'Brien wasn't done. He played two years at Olympic College, first under the late Lynn Rosenbaugh and then under coach Orson Christensen and was named Junior College All-American defensive back his second year (O'Brien also played baseball at OC for the late coach Harry Russell).
Soon as he became a JUCO All-American, the recruiting game picked up big-time. He says he probably would have gone to the University of Washington if it wasn't for a change of coaches there, from Jim Owens to Don James.
"Nobody knew who James was," O'Brien says.
So O'Brien made a choice between Stanford and California, picking the Golden Bears and coach Mike White. He broke his arm mid-way through his senior year at Cal, ending his college career. Injuries, specifically concussions, plagued O'Brien and eventually ended his playing days.
One particular hit he still remembers happened at Husky Stadium.
O'Brien was an excellent long-snapper for the Bears and on this play he snapped the ball and went down field to make the tackle. Kyle Heinrich, son of Don Heinrich, one of the best athletes to come out of Bremerton, was blocking for Washington's return guy and O'Brien and Heinrich met helmet-to-helmet.
"It was a 40-yard sprint and he is knocked out cold," says O'Brien.
"They carry him off the field. I'm doing fine. No problem.
I go into the huddle and I don't recognize these guys. I was in the wrong huddle. It was the Huskies' huddle. So I think, 'Fine, Kyle Heinrich got knocked out and I'm doing good. I had no clue where I was. I was knocked out on my feet."
O'Brien was signed as a free agent by the Seahawks and in the year and half he was with them he figures he had two concussions.
"I could have probably still played for them, but I was on special teams and was getting my butt kicked," O'Brien says. "I figured there had to be a better way to make a living. There were guys who weighed 300 pounds, ran a 4.6 40 and had a vertical leap over two feet and I was 195 pounds with a credit card leap. To come back a third year and try to make the team would have been tough, so I moved on."
For a while he lived in Phoenix, Arizona with former California and Denver Broncos quarterback Craig Morton and sold real estate. Then he moved to Yuba City, Calif. where he helped a friend run a company.
It was at Yuba City where he played two years of semi-pro football with the Twin Cities Cougars.
"We had a bunch of ex-49ers and Raiders playing for us. We didn't lose for two years and won a national championship" O'Brien said.
In 1983, O'Brien got a chance with the USFL, playing a season with the Oakland Invaders. He played nine games and suffered seven concussions.
At the end of the season, O'Brien came back to Bremerton and went to work for his stepfather, Roger Tallakson, who was at the time in partnership with Chuck Haselwood at Haselwood Buick (Tallakson would eventually sell out to Haselwood).
When Haselwood opened West Hills Honda, O'Brien went to work there and eventually learned every part of the car business, including being a receptionist. "All my buddies would call up and give me crap," O'Brien laughs.
One day, Haselwood called O'Brien into his office and asked, "What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I said, 'I don't know, doing the same thing I always do, come to work and have fun.'"
"He said, 'Go to Seattle.' "What do you mean go to Seattle?' "Go to the Acura store in Seattle. You can run that." "WHAT!"
The rest is history and O'Brien now commands a car dealership empire that he says he does not want to expand beyond the Puget Sound region he loves so much.
His friends say he deserves all he has. "He's got so much going on," says Morgen. "Wife, kids, businesses, and it's just like Mike; he crams everything in. He lives fast and plays hard.
"But nothing was ever given to him. He's an extremely hard worker, was even back then. He was always doing something. He could never slow down. That was Mike then, and it's Mike now. Nothing has changed. He's worked for everything he's got."
ED: Mike O'Brien is our Title Sponsor of the Chuck Semancik Golf Tournament...but, most of all; he is a friend of Bremerton.
Thru the Decades
The letters we've received this year. Please send us your stories: PO Box 2723, Bremerton 98310 or dowells@wavecable.net
Experience was Magnificent!
(Hugh L "Larry" Webster writes from San Diego, California)
I was a Bremerton High football player. Chuck Semancik was my coach. Head coach was Dwight Scheyer. I only played one season with these two dynamic guys but we won All-Cross State Championship.
The picture of Chuck in a leather helmet (Fall 2003 newsletter) brings back memories. As a transfer from Western High School, Washington D.C., I was most apprehensive. To join the Bremerton High team with all the Norwegians/Swedes didn't sound too swift. But my Dad said "we go" and I obeyed his orders. Quarters "A" PSNS.
The experience of my first year and a half at BHS was magnificent. I learned so much and I loved playing football. Chuck and Dwight set my leadership goals for my Navy career. I even learned about girls.
I am a donor and respect so much what BHS football did for me in my formative years.
(Editor's note: A tile next to Chuck's plaque in the park reads, "Chuck- a super coach for 36 yrs - He loved his BHS Wildcats - D Scheyer"
Referees & Chuck
Retired referee, Dick Todd, and Gary Eaton bring back Chuck memories in another article written by Terry Mosher
Todd's memory at the age of 69 isn't as sharp as it once was, but he still can recall the night he incurred the wrath of Bremerton's legendary football coach Chuck Semancik.
"I had a game with Semancik during the time when West High's building was condemned, although we did shower in there after games," Todd said. "I came to that game dressed so I didn't have to take a shower. Semancik didn't know that and after the game he sent in towels
for the crew. One of them was a half-towel and he said, 'Give this to Todd for the half-ass game he called.'"
Todd still chuckles at the memory of that. Not a lot of things bother the laid-back Todd. Semancik, though, did.
"I was always afraid of that man," Todd says. "I got to know him as the years went on and I really liked him. But when I first started working (1973) I was on the sidelines and not in the middle (where the head referee works) and to have him to my back was a little bit scary."
Another story about Semancik --- who died in 1999 at 84 --- comes from Gary Eaton, who this year enters his 37th year as a football official, most of them as head referee.
This story goes back to the early 1980s when the best running back in the state was Mount Tahoma's Mike Vindivich, who on this night was the opponent of West High and Semancik.
"I remember there was a series of penalties and for Bremerton to retain the ball in this situation, they had to end up losing about 35 yards," Eaton said. "You know the way Semancik was with striped shirts. He was not happy. He was just ranting and raving. Finally, my wingman came out and told me I had to go over and try to explain it to him."
So Eaton jogged over to the sidelines, dreading it every step of the way. He finally gets there and Semancik is just going ballistic, as only Semancik could.
Eaton finally got up the courage to say, "Chuck, you want the ball or don't you? He just looked at me. I said again; if you want the ball just let it go. And he finally did.
"Never, ever, in any of my games with him, was Chuck ever rude or vulgar or anything like that. He was just intense for his kids. He just felt every call should go his way. If it was his call, he would just as soon there be no striped shirts out there."
2004 Scholarship Winners
Three BHS graduates were honored with scholarships this Spring from the Chuck Semancik Memorial Foundation.
Your recipients have all shown the desire to further their education and have a plan to achieve a career goal:
Robyn Gross has headed to the University of Idaho & majoring in Athletic Training. She feels her biggest high school contribution was in the Training Room helping BHS athletes and preparing them for games.
Jeff Frankeberger, BHS Knight Quarterback & Basketball Forward, has been accepted into the Honors
Program at Western State College of Colorado and will be studying outdoor education or law enforcement.
Maria Aragon, a BHS Volleyball athlete and class officer plans to attend Olympic College for 2 years before transferring to a four-year school. She feels BHS helped her grow because of the flexibility of various classes and activities offered.
Thanks to your many generous donations, 11 students have been awarded scholarships totaling $7,000 since our inception in 2000.
Your foundation focuses on those kids who have overcome life-altering circumstances. Please, help us guarantee the gift of education for all our kids.
First Semancik Golf Tourney Deemed a
HUGE Success!
The inaugural Lexus of Tacoma at Fife Chuck Semancik Golf Tournament was "beyond our wildest dreams," said meet directors Mark Bergsma (BHS '79) and Bryan McConaughy (BHS '91).
The field of 96 competitors moved efficiently around the 18 hole Rolling Hills course and then moved inside for lunch and the 5th Quarter awards ceremony where they shared over $2,000 of raffle gifts donated by local merchants.
This year's edition promises to be even bigger and better. There is a maximum of 36 teams...144 players...Saturday, September 25th - 8 am Shotgun Start.
"I'm always looking for fun, team-building activities away from the work environment. The golfers in my company put together a foursome and just had a blast".
Steve Ottmar, AES Consultants
"It will get better and better and more will participate. It was fun and a good cause. A great chance to see old buddies. I'll definitely play again".
Jim Carlson Sr, BHS Class of ‘54
"Thank you for a wonderful time....It sure looked like a lot of guys and gals were having a great time to serve a community need. That is what it's all about."
Bob Steen, West Class of 1974
"It was a blast. We'd come back in a second".
Larry Sampson, Former Olympic College Teacher/Coach
"For those who have given life...
...limb, and soul, so that we might enjoy our freedom" is the slogan that will be etched in bronze and placed on a large granite stone in the future memorial wing of Semancik Victory Park.
This proposed new wing will be constructed behind the Flowering Cherry Trees and will include two tile-laden pathways from the main walkway toward a tiled plaza with flagpole, anchor & some benches.
Let's put the memorial in Memorial Stadium.
Tiles by Chuck
Some of you have requested your tile be placed in the walkway near Chuck's bronze. These tiles have become a premium with less than 30 left. There are currently less than 300 tiles in the park to inscribe. Get your order in today.
SEMANCIK FOUNDATION TREASURER REPORT
You've given, and we thank you...And we ask you to give again.
Is your money doing what you want it to do? We hope so. The following is a synopsis of what your Semancik Foundation has done for the Bremerton community since its inception:
Created in January 2000 with no money and one goal: To provide scholarship opportunities for the kids of our community in memory of the legendary coach. Thanks to the initial 42 donors, a little over $6,000 was collected that year to begin our foundation and pay for two scholarships.
In 2001, we realized we needed to do more than "asking" to continue this fund so we created the Semancik Victory Park at Bremerton Memorial Stadium with the ability to sell person- alized tiles to the community. Local businesses, friends, and alumni donated their time and materials, but it still left us with a bill of over $9,000 for construction of the park. Hard work in selling almost half the available tiles in the park has paid that bill and netted us more than $6,000 for scholarships.
We're continuing to "fill-up" the park with your memories and hope to expand it in the future with a special memorial to our veterans.
We still needed another avenue to make money for Bremerton's kids. In 2003 we had our 1st Chuck Semancik Golf Tournament. It was a great success, netting us over $6,000. We plan on continuing this annual event. (Did you notice that $6,000 seems to be our magic number?)
Our goal is to present five scholarships in Chuck's name annually and to increase the amount we give to each.
Currently any extra money goes in our Frank Russell portfolio and it's making a good return.
We're still grass-roots and we're using your money wisely and profitably for Bremerton.
Thank you.
Chuck Football is published annually by the Chuck Semancik Memorial Foundation, a non-profit corporation under the provisions of the WA Non-Profit Corporation Act (RCW 24.03) - EIN 91-2020300 - State UBI #602 007 558.
The Chuck Semancik Memorial Foundation is a 501C3 tax deductible organization established and nourished by alumni, athletes, coaches, and friends all sharing to create opportunities for our youth.
Send Contributions & Donations to:
Chuck Semancik Memorial Foundation
PO Box 2723
Bremerton WA 98310-0351
