DALE STANDIFER
2018 INDUCTION CLASS

One of the fastest athletes in the history of North High, Dale excelled in football and track. Born in New Mexico, his family was moving around in the oil business, and luckily for North High they found their way to Oildale in 1955. In football, Standifer was an All-SYL running back, averaging 7.5 yards a carry as a senior. In track he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.9 seconds which stood for many years until they changed to 100-meters. He also held the school record in the 220-yard dash (22.1). He attended BC and played on two Potato Bowl winning Renegade football teams and . He then played for two years at UC Santa Barbara alongside his brother Fred. Dale served 2 years in the US Army in Germany before returning home and embarking on a teaching career. He spent 30 years teaching and coaching in Delano and retired in 1996. He’s an uncle to North’s legendary girls’ basketball coach and now fellow Hall of Famer Curt DeRossett.

Biography of David Smith

North High School Hall of Fame, Class Of 2018

David was born and raised in Kern County. He attended Standard and Highland Elementary, Standard Junior High and North High School. His parents’ families moved from Texas to Oakland during WWII to work in the Bay Area industrial war complex. After the war they moved to Oildale in 1945.

The influence of sports was in David’s life from an early age. David’s older brother Terry (NHS class of 1968) was involved in multiple sports at NHS, played football at Bakersfield College and Portland State University. David started lifting weights at age 14 and playing football because his brother did.

David’s first tackle football experience was on the undefeated Oildale Jack Frost football team the “Highlanders” with NHS HOF coach Bill Williamson. We played Saturday mornings at BHS Griffith field. David was a big kid at 5’6” and 145lbs.  He thought this football game was pretty easy stuff as an 8^th grader. He wanted to be a running back but was told he didn’t lift his knees high enough when he ran. He was assigned to the line. He made “Lineman of the Week” in October 1967 for tackling a runner in the end zone for a safety.

David entered NHS and played junior varsity football under HOF coach Terry Hill during his freshman and sophomore years. He recalls his freshman year wondering if maybe he should have played on the Comet B team SYL Champs instead of playing with bigger more experienced sophomores and juniors. During the off season he would lift weights. He started at the YMCA then later on in his home garage when his dad made it into a weight room. Finally at NHS in their first weight room which was a small portable classroom with a Universal gym set.

David’s junior year was the fall of 1970. He played football under HOF coaches Turk Eliades and Jack Obrien (his first year at NHS). He was assigned left guard. Many years later when David went to visit Turk  he would call David “The Guard”. When David saw Coach Obrien at the first HOF induction ceremony he said, “Now there is one heck of a guard”.  David played on this team with four other HOF members. Mark Drennan, Randy Rich, Skip Slayton, and Duane Williams.  This team went undefeated 9-0, SYL champs. David made “Honorable Mention” on the All City Team. David is now the 5^th member from the 1970 team to be inducted into the NHS HOF.

David’s senior year was 1971. He was now a Co-Captain. He played offensive guard, defensive left tackle, and was the punter. The team went 7-2 and shared the SYL Championship with two other teams that we had previously beaten. There was a no repeat rule for the playoffs so our season was over. The 1970 and 1971 NHS football teams are the only back-to-back championship football teams in school history. David was awarded to the “Bakersfield All City Football Team”. At that ceremony UCLA Coach Pepper Rogers gave David his “Lineman of the Year 1971” trophy. David and fellow teammate Ron Pritchard (1970) are the only two lineman from NHS to ever receive this award.

As previously mentioned David was a weight lifter. As a senior he could bench press, squat, and deadlift over 300 lbs. each. He continues to go to the gym on a regular basis.

David is also an accomplished musician. He started playing tuba (because they gave tubas to big boys) in the fifth grade under Standard School Band Director Dick Grubbs. He played in multiple Kern County Honor Bands, the 1972 California State Symphonic Band, the 1971, 72 McDonald’s All American Band and the Bakersfield Community Band for three seasons. David received the “John Phillip Sousa Award”  at Standard in 1968and at NHS in1972. He currently plays in four bands in northern California.

David has lived in Sacramento for 45 years. He retired as a Captain at Sacramento Metro Fire Dept. He has been married to his wife Janice for forty years. They have two children Brian and Kristen, son-in-law Joel, and grandson Lewis.

 

 

SPORTS/YEARS
Connersville High School (Ind.) 1958 – 62
1 Yr. Golf: (I was lousy)
1 Yr Cross Country (Team 7th at state meet = Sedam individually 103rd)
Baseball 3 Yrs.(Pitched every i1ming my senior year – 1 game a week and I game was snowed out – 6-3 record)
Basketball: 3Yrs- Team made Semifinals of Indiana State Tourney my senior year – Named to the Hoosier 100 (Top 100 players in the State ) Set school and gym scoring record that year with a 41 point game (Never shot unless I had the ball.)
Miami University 1962 (In program 2 years – honestly most of it on the pine)

INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Taught 37 years at Muncie, Indiana and North and Arvin High in Math and PE.
Coached basketball for 30 years, golf for 20+ years, and baseball and football for 4 years. I probably coached in over 1000 games during my career. My players won a few more contests than I lost! My C Class team won 25 games in a row in my younger days and I had good enough players to win 6 league championships in basketball.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1986 North High Teacher of the Year Award
Member Arvin High Athletic Hall of Fame
Member North High Athletic Hall of Fame
Was smart and lucky enough to many my bride of 50 years, Jaclyn Joy, and father the apples of their dad’s eye, Russell and Jennifer.

GREATEST MEMORIES OF NORTH HIGH
For me it’s a composite of the relationships I shared with students, athletes, fellow coaches and teachers , and administrators during my 17 years at North High. An especially joyful experience was attending the dedication of that great new gym to my longtime friend, boundless philosopher, and endless fountain of sage advice, Lloyd Williams. That, along with the chance to visit with many who positively affected my days at North made for a very memorable evening.

Pat Mellon’s North High Story

Patrick Mellon arrived on the campus in September of 1964 as a young balding English teacher.  He retired in June of 2000 after 36 years of involvement with mostly treasured experiences.

Some of these experiences are:

• English Teacher
• Counselor
• Activities Director-18 years
• Testing Director
• Director of Counselors
• Assistant Dean
• Scholarship Chairman
• Cheerleader Advisor-18 years
• Softball Coach-4 years-1 year as Frosh -Soph and 3 years as Varsity
• Powderpuff Coach-19 years
• Clock Operator for football, basketball, and wrestling games
• Swimming starter

In all of these experiences, what Mellon enjoyed most were the relationships he had with the kids.  He enjoyed knowing them more than just as students as so many touched his life as he hoped he touched theirs.

There was nothing record setting in his career as far as to athletics except to say he attended so many sporting events and rooted for the coaches and the kids in those 36 years.

Mr. Mellon as the kids would address him loved his career and always thought that North High School was the best kept secret in the Kern  High School District.