Glory Years, Disappointments at CSULB

A look back at at Cal State Long Beach football:

* There was a glory era for the 49ers in football, and it was accompanied by considerable fan interest. A game with Grambling at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1972 drew a crowd of 42,053. And in 1970, en route to their best season (9-2-1), the 49ers defeated San Diego State, 27-11, before 39,005 spectators in Anaheim Stadium. Longtime booster and fund-raiser Don Dyer remembered that night: “It was electric, fun, exciting as hell, our biggest game in history to that date. I remember Jeff Severson making two giant interceptions and Hans Albrecht, our tiny fullback, scoring two touchdowns. After the game, (star running back) Leon Burns took off his jersey and he had a Superman T-shirt on underneath. He was carried off the field.”

* Through most of their years, the 49ers played their home games in Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, a high school facility with a grandstand on only one side. Crowds of 2,000 were common. But interest was revived in 1985 when the team was led by Coach Mike Sheppard and quarterback Doug Gaynor. For the final game of that season against Fresno State, temporary stands were erected to accommodate an overflow crowd of 15,000. Unfortunately, most of the fans were from Fresno, and the 49ers lost, 33-31, when a last-second field goal try failed. The defeat cost the 49ers the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. title.

* In the inaugural season of 1955 the 49ers went 5-2 and played their home games at Wilson High School.

* The 49ers had four winning seasons since 1981.

* There were nine Cal State Long Beach coaches: Mike Delotto (13-10), Don Reed (57-47-2), Jim Stangeland (31-24-2), Wayne Howard (23-10), Dave Currey (40-36), Mike Sheppard (16-18), Larry Reisbig (11-24), George Allen (6-5) and Willie Brown (2-9).

* Football almost died five years ago when then-President Stephen Horn announced in November, 1986, that the sport would be dropped unless $300,000 could be raised in a month. Boosters raised $315,000.

* Amid much fanfare in December, 1989, the legendary George Allen was hired to save the financially troubled football program. Allen could not get a new stadium built, but he brought more national publicity to the university than it had ever received. Despite a 59-0 loss to Clemson in the opener, Allen led the 49ers to a winning season in 1990, capped by a stirring victory in the final game. “The future is now,” Allen liked to say, but he died last New Year’s Eve. His death appeared to put the football program closer to its own demise.

* Leon Burns, who played from 1969 to 1970, was the university’s all-time scorer, with 304 points, and rushing leader, with 2,809 yards; Jeff Graham (1985-88) was the top passer, with 42 touchdowns and more than 8,000 yards, and Mark Templeton (1983-86) was the top receiver, with 262 career pass catches. Burns and running backs Terry Metcalf (1971) and Billy Parks (1968) were first-team All-Americans. Thirty-one 49ers were selected in the National Football League draft. Burns and linebacker Dan Bunz were the only first-round picks.

* Metcalf, who averaged five yards per carry in 1971-72 for Cal State Long Beach and went on to star in the NFL, stands out most in the mind of longtime 49er trainer Dan Bailey. “In 20 years, I’ve never seen anyone work harder than him in practice,” Bailey said. “I guarantee, his success was not any fluke.”

* The 49ers had their greatest success against Cal State Northridge (10-3) and UC Santa Barbara (12-5) but could never beat UCLA (0-4) or Brigham Young (0-5).

* More than 1,300 athletes played for Cal State Long Beach in the team’s 37-year history. Among them: Dick Ballester (1955), Dick Dusterhoft (1956), Dick Van Voorhis (1958-59), Leo Austin (1962-64), Marty Bumstead (1963-64), Les Shy (1967), Angel Garrido (1972), Hank Gillman (1973-75), Jim McCluskey (1975-78), Phil McGaffigan (1975-79), Todd Dillon (1982-83), Gino Marchese (1983-85), Rick Triguero (1984-85), Charles Lockett (1983-86), Mark Seay (1987-91) Pepper Jenkins (1988-90) and Bingo Williams (1990-91).

* The 49ers never lost more than six consecutive games, and they once won 10 in a row in 1975-76. Their all-time record: 199-183-4.

* Among games that will never be played: Cal State Long Beach at Louisiana State, Sept. 11, 1993.