Webmaster apology. I just found this story in a hidden part of our feedback loop:
Pete had a great influence on my life. Here’s a story.
In 1952, my freshman year, Marshfield had a tremendous undefeated football team: Tom Crabtree, Quincy Powers, Spike Hillstrom, etc. Opened the season with a 76-0 win over Myrtle Point and were the undefeated heavy favorites to win the state championship when underdog Benson Tech came to Coos Bay for the semi-finals.
But stuff happens in life and Marshfield lost (14-7?). I was devastated. I cried. Twenty minutes after the game I went into the locker room not knowing what to expect. This was the worst thing that had happened to me in my 14 years on this earth. I couldn’t imagine how Pete Susick would take the loss. Would he be angry and perhaps shut away in his little office, possibly too emotional to speak to anyone? No, there he was, standing among a small group of reporters, dry-eyed, smiling and chatting amiably. I was dumbfounded. Didn’t he care?
There would be no trip to Portland, no game in Multnomah Stadium, no pictures on the Oregonian sports page. It had to be a huge disappointment.
Of course he cared, but I was still confused. Well, it took a while but my tiny freshman brain finally figured it out. It was a life lesson I never forgot. Pete had gone ashore under fire in Okinawa and was wounded in battle. Losing a high school football game was way, way down on his list of bad things that can happen in life. Compared to Okinawa this was cake.
I went on to work in professional sports for 14 years (Oakland Raiders, Golden State Warriors) and never, ever again shed a tear over a loss…including a Super Bowl.
Note to Gary Haliski: Loved your dad. A gentle and kind man, great coach and my PE teacher for a couple of years. Never saw him after high school but thought about him many times. Note to Mary Paczesniak: Walt (I’m assuming you were related to him) was my all-time favorite Marshfield teacher. Wonderful sense of humor. Made American history fun. Susick, Haliski, and Paczesniak are three memorable guys I was so very fortunate to be around as a kid. I’ve met a lot of coaches in my time (the year he was Raider linebacker coach, John Madden was my road roommate) but none with the character and values of these three.
