Mesa Musings:

Dick Tucker introduced me to college football in 1962. I have loved it ever since.

Forty-seven seasons ago, Tucker had the charisma and competitive nature of Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll and Bob Stoops all rolled into one. As a result, he completely transformed Orange Coast College’s football fortunes.

A Long Beach native, Tucker was Whittier College’s quarterback and MVP his junior and senior years. In 1951, at age 25, he was hired as head football coach at Brea-Olinda High School.

“Brea was the best high school job in Orange County,” said the 83-year-old Newport Beach resident. “It was the only high school in town, and the entire community identified with it. We drew unbelievable crowds to our games.”

In 11 seasons, Tucker’s Brea teams grabbed eight league championships and two CIF titles. His squads were Orange League champions seven years in a row.

OCC’s football record during that same period was less than spectacular. From 1959 through 1961, the Pirates compiled a 7-19-1 mark. During one stretch, the Bucs lost 11 straight. OCC President Basil H. Peterson began to look around for a new football coach.

“Wendell Pickens, OCC’s athletic director, officiated high school football games while I was at Brea,” Tucker said. “I didn’t know it at the time but, apparently, he’d decided that I might be a prospect for Orange Coast College’s head coaching position. When they decided to make a change after the ’61 season, he contacted me.”

Tucker visited OCC and met Pickens and Peterson.

“I was a little in awe of Dr. Peterson — he had a reputation for being a giant in the junior college movement — but he was very kind and complimentary to me. He ended our talk by offering me the job.”

Tucker faced an easy decision.

“Though I loved Brea, I told Dr. Peterson that I was ready to make the move. The thing that struck me most about the college was the intense loyalty and optimism of its staff. I thought, ‘Man, this is a great place to work!’”

The 36-year-old Tucker brought Dale Wonacott, one of his Brea assistants, with him. He inherited Fred Owens from the previous staff as his second assistant. The coaches assembled an almost all freshman team.

In September, I became an OCC freshman. During the ’62 season, the Pirates shocked Southland pundits by going 9-1 and beating Glendale City College, 23-16, in the Orange Show Bowl.

The following summer, Peterson allowed Tucker to bring another Brea coach, George Mattias, to his staff.

OCC’s ’63 team included a bevy of sophomores who’d seen a year of action. Expectations were high. Pirate Stadium was packed for every game, and the OCC faithful were not disappointed.

The Pirates combined a high-octane offense with a bone-crushing defense. They didn’t give up their first touchdown until October. The first three games were blowouts, and the Bucs logged six shutouts in 10 games. They overwhelmed the opposition by an average score of 33-4.

In November, the Pirates trounced Chaffey, 46-0, to clinch a Junior Rose Bowl berth. On Dec. 14, 1963, OCC beat Northeastern Oklahoma A&M; in Pasadena, 21-0, to win the Junior Rose Bowl. It was the fifth-largest bowl game in the nation that year. A crowd of 44,044 was on hand, and the game was broadcast nationally by NBC.

Tucker led OCC to a second national championship a dozen years later. The Pirates rolled up a perfect 11-0 record in 1975 and defeated Rio Hondo College in the Avocado Bowl, 38-14.

“The ’75 team was unique,” Tucker said. “We had more good athletes on that squad than any team we ever produced.”

OCC outscored the opposition, 436-140, and OCC’s margin of victory per game was five touchdowns.

Tucker remained OCC’s head coach through the 1985 season, then became athletic director. In 24 campaigns, his squads captured six conference championships, and he was voted Conference Coach of the Year six times. He was twice named California’s Coach of the Year.

In March 2004, in the crowning achievement of his long career, Tucker was inducted into the California Community College Football Coaches Assn. Hall of Fame.

Tucker retired in 1995, after 33 years at OCC. Some say he’s the one who put the school on the map. I don’t disagree with that.

JIM CARNETT lives in Costa Mesa. His column runs Wednesdays.