The Long Beach high school and baseball community lost another legend with the passing of Bud Hollowell on May 16 because of prostate cancer. He was 71.
Hollowell was a multi-sport star at Poly who was a catcher on the early Poly teams of coach John Herbold and the quarterback on the 1959 and 1960 Jackrabbits football teams that went 22-0-1 and claimed two CIF titles.
Dave Levy’s two title teams were explosive and featured terrific running backs like Dee Andrews, Willie Brown and Lonzo Irvin. Hollowell was the low-key quarterback on both teams. The 1959 team is best known for the “ICBM’’ backfield of Irvin, Harvey Crow, Brown and Willie Martin.
In 1960, he was the catcher on a Poly team that featured three future major leaguers in Tommie Sisk, Ollie Brown and Brian McCall.
Hollowell went to USC, where he played football and baseball, but became best known on the diamond, being named MVP of the 1963 College World Series after setting a record for most home runs in the series.
In 1964, he was part of U.S. All-Star college baseball team, managed by Rod Dedeaux, which beat Japan, 6-2, in a one-game demonstration sport at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
He briefly played and managed in the minor leagues and summer teams in Alaska. He earned a doctorate at USC, was a licensed hypnotherapist, taught philosophy and religion on the collegiate level, published two books on religion and science, and operated wellness centers.
According to Lakeland Ledger, he moved to Alaska after his baseball career, then to Kailua-Kona in Hawaii, and later to Lakeland, Fla., where he taught at the University of Phoenix and ran the Flamingo Homecare Center.
He is survived by a daughter, Leisa Reid; a son, David Hollowell’ a step-daughter, Jennifer Merriman; his wife, Sheila Hollowell; three stepchildren, Jason Smith, Timothy Smith and Maggie Treviso; and a grandchild, Shadow Smith.
No CIF-SS bid for Gahr boys volleyball
Despite reaching the CIF-SS Division 3 finals, Gahr’s boys volleyball team was passed over for a berth in the CIF state regionals beginning this week.
South Pasadena, the Division 3 champs, and three other CIF-SS schools were selected for the CIF State Division 2 bracket – Cathedral (CIF-SS Division 4 champ), Esperanza (CIF-SS Division 2 champ) and Corona Del Mar (CIF-SS Division semifinalist).
In the state Division 3 brackets, Saddleback Valley Christian (CVIF-SS Division 5 champs), Laguna Beach (CIF-SS Division 2 runner up), Bishop Montgomery (CIF-SS Division 4 finalist) and Crossroads (CIF-SS Division 3 semifinalist) received the four Southern Section bids.
Rancho Dominguez Prep, the L.A. City runner- up, also made the Division 3 field.
22 heading to championships
Long Beach State will send 22 athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Track and Field Championships at the University of Arkansas starting Thursday.
The 49ers men, coming off their second consecutive Big West championship, will send their largest contingent to the regional meet in school history with 16 athletes.
Athletes who will compete in multiple events include Willie Alexander (long jump, triple jump) and Jacob Fraser (shot put, discus). The 49ers will have two pole vaulters for the first time, three entries in the 110-meter high hurdle, and Chris Low in the 800. Low set a school record of 1:48.3 this season and is ranked sixth in the nation in the event.
The top 12 competitors from each individual event and 12 teams from each relay event at the NCAA West Preliminary will earn an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore.
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