Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.
Dick Yates talks of leather football helmets as a status symbol.
And well he should. He played football before face masks, hard plastic helmets and form-fitting apparel were part of the uniforms. Players of today would wonder how players of his era survived.
Yates played college football at the University of Denver, another item on his résumé that would surprise players and fans of today. Most wouldn’t know DU had a football program since it hasn’t had a football team in 46 years, and Hilltop Stadium, with its tall west stands that were a landmark and visible from Evans Avenue, is gone. The only evidences of DU’s football history are the players who occasionally reveal their memories.
“We were called the little monsters,” Yates said. “I played guard on offense and nose guard and linebacker on defense. I finally got up to 160 pounds my last year.”
There’s little wonder Yates remembers a game in the 1947 season, his last, when the Pioneers played the University of Colorado.
“We beat CU 26-20 just before the Buffs were going big-time,” Yates said. “It was the best game I ever played. I blocked a kick and recovered a fumble that was forced by Bob Hazelhurst on the last play of the game. Harry Narcisian was CU’s tailback that year.”
CU joined the Big Seven for the 1948 season. Yates went on to a teaching assignment in Denver Public Schools, a step that led to a coaching career that became legendary.
“I wanted to be a football coach, but it didn’t turn out that way,” Yates said. “I was at South High School and Ace Diner was the football coach. I started applying around at other places. I was offered the baseball coaching job at South, and I figured I had better take it. It turned out it was the best thing that ever happened to me. There was a bunch of great players who came through South at that time.”
In 22 years as a head coach in baseball and football, Yates’ teams won 18 city championships, eight state championships and two regional championships, including summer play in American Legion baseball. He also was the winning coach seven times in the annual high school all-star game sponsored by The Denver Post.
“We had a good summer baseball program in the South area,” Yates said. “I knew we were going to be good.”
Gene Wurtz, a member of Yates’ coaching staff at South before moving to Thomas Jefferson when it opened in 1960, remembers his work with Yates as a foundation.
“It was a great experience for me,” Wurtz said. “We had some great players and they performed extremely well for Dick. It was one of those times you look back on and think how lucky you were to have been involved.”
Yates’ South baseball teams had many star players, but pitching was a hallmark. Bus Campbell worked with the pitchers and turned out the likes of Nick Willhite, Jim Martin, Ken Bacon and Neil Hutcheson. But the Rebels also had position players of note, including outfielder Wally Livingston, first baseman Bill Eberle, third baseman Harry Buckner and shortstop Russ Petersen.
When Yates retired, he said he was looking forward to less-hectic times.
“I’m looking forward to just getting along with everybody, even umpires,” Yates said. “I’ll miss the friends I’ve made in athletics, the other coaches and even the umpires.”
Before Yates’ coaching career ended, he did get his football job. He became South’s head football coach in 1960, but didn’t have the same success as in baseball. When Kennedy High School opened in 1966, Yates moved to the new school as its first baseball coach.
Yates retired from Denver Public Schools in 1985 after 35 years on the job. He had a long journey, and most of it was connected to Denver. Yates attended South High School at a time when everyone was in the grip of the Great Depression.
“I’m still coaching,” Yates intervenes.
At 80, he’s not as nimble, but he helps Scott Yates, his son, coach the football team at Kent Denver.
“I volunteer, but I like to go to practice every day,” Yates said. “I’m a pretty good spectator.”
Yates stands with the alumni of DU football players and coaches. Their names form a bridge to the past. There were Wurtz, Hazelhurst, Gregg Browning, Sam Etcheverry, Fred Tesone, Rusty Fairly, Hal Pfeifer, Eldon Kunz, Lee Kunz, Lou Rillos, Andy Pavich, Jack Girtin, Cal Chai and a host of others.
Coaches aren’t forgotten, either. When the players gather, it doesn’t take long to hear the names John Baker, Cac Hubbard, Bob Blackman and Ellison Ketchum.
But Yates always ends the conversation with: DU 26, CU 20.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
