Very cool!

Thanks Eric. Do you know if the celebration will be pre-game, at half-time, or post-game?

I will have to make that one. I graduated in 1960 .

I was pretty friendly with the late Bernie Simpson. He by me in Harmon and we were in the same parish. Very good man.
This was on the St. Ignatius website after he passed:

Bernie Simpson '54, former player, teacher, coach and Prep Hall of Famer
Posted 03/16/2018 07:37PM

Bernard "Bernie" Simpson '54, a former student body president for his class and champion athlete and coach, died Feb. 28 at the age of 81 surrounded by loved ones.

Born Oct. 11, 1936, in Omaha, he moved to San Francisco with his family and attended Notre-Dame Des Victoires until 1950 before going on to SI, where he played baseball and basketball all four years. He played 120s basketball for Rene Herrerias '44 as a freshman; when Rene moved to the varsity team, Bernie played for him the next three years, culminating in the championship 1954 season and a Tournament of Champions title. He also helped coach Grove Mohr's baseball team win the AAA title, the first since 1930.

He went on to Cal, where he played on the NCAA championship baseball team in 1957 and the 1959 national championship basketball team, coached by Pete Newell. He later earned entry into the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame for his athletic prowess.

He was a Lt-jg in the Navy and married Jacqueline Minenna in 1960. They had two sons: Craig and Chris Simpson and a daughter, Dana Freudenberger.

He returned to SI in 1962 to teach English and coach the boys' basketball team. In 1965, he led the squad to one of the key games in the history of the school when SI beat SH with a last-second basket by Bob Portman '65 (Creighton, NBA Warriors). The victory led to an AAA championship and a place in the Tournament of Champions, where SI beat Gilroy and Richmond before losing the crown to Fremont of Oakland.

"Coach Simpson was known as an excellent tactician who promoted aggressive play with multiple presses," said former SI Principal Charlie Dullea '65, who played for Bernie. "He was fun to play and practice for, though he was always tough. He made his good players even better, including my teammate who would go on to play for the Warriors."

Bernie later earned a master's degree from SFSU and coached at Laney College and Seattle University. His players remember him as an exceptionally knowledgeable, skillful and passionate coach. He later went into sales and retired as regional sales manager at Cerro Copper in San Francisco.

A Memorial Mass at St. Ignatius Church will be offered at 10 a.m. April 14 for him and his late-wife, Dona J. Simpson, who died Nov. 9, 2016.

The couple are survived by Bernie's three children, Dona's two children, 11 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and lifelong friends.

Dear Bearister: Bernie and I both went to notre Dame Des Victoires. He was a year ahead of me. So I am completely familiar with Bernie as an athlete. And we both grew up in the Marina district of SF so we both socialized with the same athletes and students. He will be missed.

helltopay1 said:

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Dear Bearister: Bernie and I both went to notre Dame Des Victoires. He was a year ahead of me. So I am completely familiar with Bernie as an athlete. And we both grew up in the Marina district of SF so we both socialized with the same athletes and students. He will be missed.

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At Harmon in the mid 1980's, before I knew Bernie very well, I heard a part of his conversation with another fan where he mentioned St. Ignatius. I told him I had a story about that high school. When I was 10 or 11 years old I was at a O'Dowd vs St. Ignatius basketball game at St. Iggy's (as Prof. Slottman called it). During an inbound of the ball after an O'Dowd basket, a St. Ignatius guard dropped dead on the court. Bernie told me he knew the incident well. He was the coach of St. Ignatius at the time.

So many of those players have passed away. Imhoff, Buch, simpson...anyone else??

EricBear said:

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Cal will be honoring the 1959 NCAA Championship team with a reunion and celebration at the Utah game on January 26th.

In addition, Cal is planning a 20-year reunion of the '99 NIT Championship team for the final home game, vs. WSU, on 3/2.

Calbear80: please do me a favor and stay off this thread. Thanks.

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Thanks Eric. Any word on the players who will be in attendance?

caltagjohnson said:

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I will have to make that one. I graduated in 1960 .

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I graduated in 1962, so we overlapped. A great start for me as a freshman in 1958 with participation in the Rose Bowl and a national championship in basketball. Being naive, I believed that this would be the course for the remainder of my time at Cal. Not!!!

I know we've honored the 59 team before, and yes, a number of then have passed. Time to move on. More interested in the 1999 NIT champs and to find out what these players are doing now.

Had the pleasure to meet Jim Langley, class of '59, when he got us on to play Cypress Point way back when. A kind and wonderful gentleman. Will be making the trip up north to pay my respects.