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Long Beach Poly’s Don Norford, most successful coach in California high school sports, to retirePublished by
By Mike Guardabascio, Press-Telegram POSTED: 05/06/14, 8:05 PM PDT LONG BEACH >> The year was 1958, and there was a track meet taking place on the dusty oval circuit at Long Beach Poly. There were hundreds of fans in the stands cheering on several All-American talents, with local greats like Dee Andrews and Willie Brown blazing past the competition.
But the screaming fans weren’t the only spectators: Beyond the far side of the track, peeking through the branches of a mulberry bush, was Roosevelt Elementary School student Don Norford, who had hopped the fence to watch his heroes slay the competition.
“All I wanted was to be a part of it,” he says now, with his trademark easy, wide smile.
He has, in fact, become much more than just a part of it. Norford would run for Poly, graduate in 1964, and then return to make his mark on his alma mater. After 38 years of coaching with the Jackrabbits, Norford, 68, says he will retire after this track season, making him the third prominent Poly coach to step down this school year.
DON NORFORDYears at Poly: 1976-2014 Total CIF-SS and state titles: 52 As head track coach CIF-SS Girls titles: 15 CIF-SS Boys titles: 9 CIF State Girls titles: 13 CIF State Boys titles: 5 As football assistant CIF-SS titles: 10 NFL players coached: 45 Last Poly football title without Norford: 1959 Visit PressTelegram.com for a video mini-documentary about Don Norford by Tyler Hendrickson Read the full article at: www.presstelegram.com
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