Sports
Saddleback Football Alumni Recount Their Glory Days
About 200 former players gather in a huge reunion. One alumnus says the legacy of the gathering will be obvious at home games as the group proves football creates a special bond.
By Martin Henderson
They came from across the county and across the country to recall some of the best days of their lives. About 200 former football players from Saddleback College gathered Saturday at a private residence in San Clemente to rehash their glory days.
A couple of weeks before the Gauchos embark on what they hope will be a fourth national championship season, the alumni that led the way—beginning in 1968—assembled at John Jessup's home and shared pizza, beer and stories that have gotten progressively more impressive through the years.
Through all the catching up, and the interplay between players past their prime and not yet in it, a Hall of Famer was even found.
Gary Renteria (1987-88), who set a single-season tackling record that still exists today, was once notified he would be inducted into the school's football Hall of Fame, but because he was out of state and unable to make the event, the induction never occurred.
"We have to rectify that," said Mark McElroy, who heard the tale from Gary's older brother Steve, and has been the school's head coach since the 1999 season. "Sometimes things slip through the cracks."
Gary Renteria, a former linebacker, still looks like he could knock heads with the best of them. But Steve Renteria (1983-84), who played offensive line, recalled a head-rattling experience in his first scrimmage lined up opposite Eric Van Skike, who's also in the Hall of Fame.
• Saddleback has won three national championships, 1985, 1992, 1996
• Has played in 12 consecutive Bowl games
• Has been ranked nationally seven consecutive seasons
• Has won 22 conference titles in 45 seasons
• Has had only six losing seasons
• Season begins Sept. 7 at Mt. San Antonio College
• First home game is Sept. 14 against College of the Canyons
• Homecoming is Oct. 19 against Fullerton
"He hit me in the side of the head so hard, I thought it was going to fall off," Renteria said.
Van Skike simply smiled and nodded his head. "Good times," he said. "Good times."
Although Ken Swearingen and McElroy spoke to the assemblage, one former coach who wasn't there was the founding coach, George Hartman, who suffered a stroke in recent days. Though no longer hospitalized, he was told he had to remain home. He had the good fortune of attending a reunion of the first four teams in May.
Under Hartman's guidance, after going 4-5 in 1968, the program won a conference championship four of the next five seasons.
The former players started arriving on Friday, and McElroy invited them to a practice on Saturday. He asked if any of them wanted to speak to the team.
Dave Limebrook (1969-70) took McElroy up on the offer and told them his two years at Saddleback were the two best years of his life, even though he went on to play at San Diego State.
"This is family," Limebrook said. "Enjoy it."
That much was apparent Saturday as the camaraderie of sport once again pulled players together, no longer teenagers but grown men.
Paul Van Liefde (1978-79) said the camaraderie built 35 years ago came back within a matter of minutes.
"I was one of the few who got to play (after Saddleback) and I never got that at Long Beach State," Limebrook said of picking up where he left off so many years ago. "I felt that again tonight."
It was a great event as the Saddleback Foundation continues to try to build momentum to upgrade the stadium on campus.
Jim Poettgen (1973-74), owner of Ballpark Pizza Team in Mission Viejo who helped bring the reunion together, was asked if it would be repeated. He said it would, nodding his head toward the dozens of holdovers four hours into the reunion.
"Tailgate parties," he said. "These guys will start meeting together before home games at tailgate parties."
No doubt, the camaraderie will continue.
"I've never been in the army or marines, or a situation where I had to fight a battle, but I've heard but the bond these soldiers develop is so strong, it's unbreakable," McElroy said. "Football simulates that type of activity, the battles being games. That bond that develops is so deep and when you come back years later, it's like you've never been apart."
They came from across the county and across the country to recall some of the best days of their lives. About 200 former football players from Saddleback College gathered Saturday at a private residence in San Clemente to rehash their glory days.
A couple of weeks before the Gauchos embark on what they hope will be a fourth national championship season, the alumni that led the way—beginning in 1968—assembled at John Jessup's home and shared pizza, beer and stories that have gotten progressively more impressive through the years.
Through all the catching up, and the interplay between players past their prime and not yet in it, a Hall of Famer was even found.
Gary Renteria (1987-88), who set a single-season tackling record that still exists today, was once notified he would be inducted into the school's football Hall of Fame, but because he was out of state and unable to make the event, the induction never occurred.
"We have to rectify that," said Mark McElroy, who heard the tale from Gary's older brother Steve, and has been the school's head coach since the 1999 season. "Sometimes things slip through the cracks."
Gary Renteria, a former linebacker, still looks like he could knock heads with the best of them. But Steve Renteria (1983-84), who played offensive line, recalled a head-rattling experience in his first scrimmage lined up opposite Eric Van Skike, who's also in the Hall of Fame.
• Saddleback has won three national championships, 1985, 1992, 1996
• Has played in 12 consecutive Bowl games
• Has been ranked nationally seven consecutive seasons
• Has won 22 conference titles in 45 seasons
• Has had only six losing seasons
• Season begins Sept. 7 at Mt. San Antonio College
• First home game is Sept. 14 against College of the Canyons
• Homecoming is Oct. 19 against Fullerton
"He hit me in the side of the head so hard, I thought it was going to fall off," Renteria said.
Van Skike simply smiled and nodded his head. "Good times," he said. "Good times."
Although Ken Swearingen and McElroy spoke to the assemblage, one former coach who wasn't there was the founding coach, George Hartman, who suffered a stroke in recent days. Though no longer hospitalized, he was told he had to remain home. He had the good fortune of attending a reunion of the first four teams in May.
Under Hartman's guidance, after going 4-5 in 1968, the program won a conference championship four of the next five seasons.
The former players started arriving on Friday, and McElroy invited them to a practice on Saturday. He asked if any of them wanted to speak to the team.
Dave Limebrook (1969-70) took McElroy up on the offer and told them his two years at Saddleback were the two best years of his life, even though he went on to play at San Diego State.
"This is family," Limebrook said. "Enjoy it."
That much was apparent Saturday as the camaraderie of sport once again pulled players together, no longer teenagers but grown men.
Paul Van Liefde (1978-79) said the camaraderie built 35 years ago came back within a matter of minutes.
"I was one of the few who got to play (after Saddleback) and I never got that at Long Beach State," Limebrook said of picking up where he left off so many years ago. "I felt that again tonight."
It was a great event as the Saddleback Foundation continues to try to build momentum to upgrade the stadium on campus.
Jim Poettgen (1973-74), owner of Ballpark Pizza Team in Mission Viejo who helped bring the reunion together, was asked if it would be repeated. He said it would, nodding his head toward the dozens of holdovers four hours into the reunion.
"Tailgate parties," he said. "These guys will start meeting together before home games at tailgate parties."
No doubt, the camaraderie will continue.
"I've never been in the army or marines, or a situation where I had to fight a battle, but I've heard but the bond these soldiers develop is so strong, it's unbreakable," McElroy said. "Football simulates that type of activity, the battles being games. That bond that develops is so deep and when you come back years later, it's like you've never been apart."
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