1966 team was simply the best
40-year reunion festivities set for Oct. 23 game
Joe Marvin
Issue date: 10/5/06 Last update: 10/5/06 at 3:22 PM PST
Section: Sports
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One of the finest football team in Northern California Community College history, the 1966 Laney College Eagles of Oakland swept through a nine-game schedule then upset the heralded No. 1 ranked City College of San Francisco Rams, led by CCCFCA running back O.J. Simpson.
In only their second year of existence, the Laney Eagles produced the greatest team in the school's illustrious history under head coach Don Kloppenburg and his assistants Don Christiansen, Morris Kinsey and Stan Peters.
The Eagles opened the season with an impressive 42-0 win over Yuba College at Frank Youell Field in Oakland. Sophomore John McGaffie led the way with 165 yards rushing and two scores-one a 62-yard burst up the middle.
San Diego City College provided the toughest game of the season: a bruising 18-7 Laney victory at San Diego. Peters calls it "the hard-hitting game I've ever seen." McGaffie and Clarence Kelly paced the running attack with 172 yards between them. Davis of San Diego City, coached by Harry West, had a big night with 126 yards rushing (7.8 average). He was the only back to gain over 100 yards vs. the rugged Laney defense spearheaded by Irby Augustine, Gary Knowles, Ed Johnson, Major Sessions and John Williams. The excellent Eagles secondary picked off three passes.
Returning home to Oakland, Laney rolled up a school-record 553 yards in a 51-6 rout of unbeaten Menlo Junior College, coached by the legendary Bo Molenda. Twelve backs carried the ball for 454 total yards, an 8.2 average. McGaffie, the All-Coast Conference back, racked up 112 yards before going down with an injury in the first half. He missed the next two games.
The Hartnell Junior College Panthers, always a tough opponent, gained a season-high 237 net yards against Laney; however, they were defeated 26-7 in another fine Laney performance. The run game netted 174 yards and quarterback Don Perkins had a big game with 10 completions of 14 passes for 239 yards. Louie "Speedy" Thomas, one of the top receivers in state junior college history, caught four passes for 123 yards and one score. Without McGaffie in action, John Doyle led the rushers with 90 yards.
Solano College was soundly whipped 43-0 with Doyle, Kelly and Wayne Brooks pounding out over 200 yards among them. Perkins passed for another 156 yards and Thomas had four receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles gained 579 total yards in another solid team effort.
The following week, Laney won a close 27-12 victory over Monterey Peninsula College. On the first play of the game, Thomas lined up in the slot and raced deep down the middle while Perkins sprinted out and threw back for a 76-yard bomb. Perkins had another excellent game with 13 completions for 236 yards and three touchdowns. McGaffie came back and gained 73 yards against the tough Lobo defense. Thomas scored twice and continued to exploit his numerous skills.
MPC gave a good performance with quarterback Nate Wright, a CCCFCA Hall of Famer, directing the offensive attack and Ben Britt, the leading ball carrier with 74 tough yards.
The Laney defense completely shut down West Valley College holding the Vikings to a total of 68 yards in a 21-0 triumph in the seventh game of the season. The Eagles' running game gained 166 yards and backup QB John Read completed 5 of 8 passes for 124 yards and two scores. Thomas shook loose for a 62-yard touchdown reception.
The last two games found Laney crushing a weak Cabrillo College team 54-6 and Gavilan College 60-0. In beating the Seahawks, Laney rolled up a school-record 600 yards as all 50 players saw action. Kelly tallied three touchdowns with 130 yards in 10 carries.
The passing combination of Perkins to Thomas paced the 60-point romp over a young Gavilan club in Hollister. Thomas caught eight passes for 140 yards and three scores. Perkins had a season-high four TD passes in the lopsided contest. In their ninth-straight victory, the Eagles made 582 net yards, their second-highest offensive total of the year.
On Dec. 3, 1966, the Fourth Annual Prune Bowl at San Jose State's Spartan Stadium matched the City College of San Francisco Rams, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, against the fourth-ranked Laney College Eagles.
Both teams were undefeated and CCSF, with O.J. Simpson running wild in his sophomore season for a state-record 1,356 yards and a National Junior College scoring record of 156 points, had rolled up 348 points in nine games in the tough Golden Gate Conference.
Laney's terrific defensive unit allowed only 38 points (a 4.2 average) and was ranked No. 1 in the state. The Eagles defenders only gave up 1,305 yards (145 yards per game) in the entire season and had school-record 24 interceptions.
Before a crowd of 13,500, Laney came back from a 13-7 halftime deficit to upset the vaunted Rams 35-13.
Another strong defensive effort shut down Simpson to a net of 26 yards on 11 carries on the wet, soggy field. Simpson had seven receptions for 87 yards and one first-half score.
Laney completely dominated the second half by unleashing a devastating passing attack led by Read, the second-team QB. Early in the third quarter, Thomas got deep and he and Read connected on a 61-yard TD pass. The freshman QB hit 9 of 13 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns.
It was an outstanding offensive performance as the Eagles gained 415 yards and held CCSF to 236 yards.
Read was named offensive player of the game. Augustine was the lineman of the game, playing defensive end and catching four passes for 55 yards at tight end on offense. Thomas showed why he was named to the JC All-American team by catching six passes for 127 yards.
This game would probably rate as the finest win in the Oakland school's football history and it marked the beginning of a strong cross-bay rivalry.
"This was Laney's best team and in my opinion, the best junior college team I have ever seen in my 32 years of coaching," Peters said in 1997.
The JC Grid-Wire All-American Team selected Louie Thomas, who led the nation with 38 receptions for 905 yards and 13 touchdowns. Center and nose guard Ed Johnson was also placed on the first team.
Seventeen Laney College athletes moved on to play at the four-year level including six at the University of California, Berkeley. The following year 17 more Laney players were recruited, which shows the caliber of football at this East Bay powerhouse.
Joe Marvin is a Historian of the California Community College Football Coaches Association.
In only their second year of existence, the Laney Eagles produced the greatest team in the school's illustrious history under head coach Don Kloppenburg and his assistants Don Christiansen, Morris Kinsey and Stan Peters.
The Eagles opened the season with an impressive 42-0 win over Yuba College at Frank Youell Field in Oakland. Sophomore John McGaffie led the way with 165 yards rushing and two scores-one a 62-yard burst up the middle.
San Diego City College provided the toughest game of the season: a bruising 18-7 Laney victory at San Diego. Peters calls it "the hard-hitting game I've ever seen." McGaffie and Clarence Kelly paced the running attack with 172 yards between them. Davis of San Diego City, coached by Harry West, had a big night with 126 yards rushing (7.8 average). He was the only back to gain over 100 yards vs. the rugged Laney defense spearheaded by Irby Augustine, Gary Knowles, Ed Johnson, Major Sessions and John Williams. The excellent Eagles secondary picked off three passes.
Returning home to Oakland, Laney rolled up a school-record 553 yards in a 51-6 rout of unbeaten Menlo Junior College, coached by the legendary Bo Molenda. Twelve backs carried the ball for 454 total yards, an 8.2 average. McGaffie, the All-Coast Conference back, racked up 112 yards before going down with an injury in the first half. He missed the next two games.
The Hartnell Junior College Panthers, always a tough opponent, gained a season-high 237 net yards against Laney; however, they were defeated 26-7 in another fine Laney performance. The run game netted 174 yards and quarterback Don Perkins had a big game with 10 completions of 14 passes for 239 yards. Louie "Speedy" Thomas, one of the top receivers in state junior college history, caught four passes for 123 yards and one score. Without McGaffie in action, John Doyle led the rushers with 90 yards.
Solano College was soundly whipped 43-0 with Doyle, Kelly and Wayne Brooks pounding out over 200 yards among them. Perkins passed for another 156 yards and Thomas had four receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles gained 579 total yards in another solid team effort.
The following week, Laney won a close 27-12 victory over Monterey Peninsula College. On the first play of the game, Thomas lined up in the slot and raced deep down the middle while Perkins sprinted out and threw back for a 76-yard bomb. Perkins had another excellent game with 13 completions for 236 yards and three touchdowns. McGaffie came back and gained 73 yards against the tough Lobo defense. Thomas scored twice and continued to exploit his numerous skills.
MPC gave a good performance with quarterback Nate Wright, a CCCFCA Hall of Famer, directing the offensive attack and Ben Britt, the leading ball carrier with 74 tough yards.
The Laney defense completely shut down West Valley College holding the Vikings to a total of 68 yards in a 21-0 triumph in the seventh game of the season. The Eagles' running game gained 166 yards and backup QB John Read completed 5 of 8 passes for 124 yards and two scores. Thomas shook loose for a 62-yard touchdown reception.
The last two games found Laney crushing a weak Cabrillo College team 54-6 and Gavilan College 60-0. In beating the Seahawks, Laney rolled up a school-record 600 yards as all 50 players saw action. Kelly tallied three touchdowns with 130 yards in 10 carries.
The passing combination of Perkins to Thomas paced the 60-point romp over a young Gavilan club in Hollister. Thomas caught eight passes for 140 yards and three scores. Perkins had a season-high four TD passes in the lopsided contest. In their ninth-straight victory, the Eagles made 582 net yards, their second-highest offensive total of the year.
On Dec. 3, 1966, the Fourth Annual Prune Bowl at San Jose State's Spartan Stadium matched the City College of San Francisco Rams, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, against the fourth-ranked Laney College Eagles.
Both teams were undefeated and CCSF, with O.J. Simpson running wild in his sophomore season for a state-record 1,356 yards and a National Junior College scoring record of 156 points, had rolled up 348 points in nine games in the tough Golden Gate Conference.
Laney's terrific defensive unit allowed only 38 points (a 4.2 average) and was ranked No. 1 in the state. The Eagles defenders only gave up 1,305 yards (145 yards per game) in the entire season and had school-record 24 interceptions.
Before a crowd of 13,500, Laney came back from a 13-7 halftime deficit to upset the vaunted Rams 35-13.
Another strong defensive effort shut down Simpson to a net of 26 yards on 11 carries on the wet, soggy field. Simpson had seven receptions for 87 yards and one first-half score.
Laney completely dominated the second half by unleashing a devastating passing attack led by Read, the second-team QB. Early in the third quarter, Thomas got deep and he and Read connected on a 61-yard TD pass. The freshman QB hit 9 of 13 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns.
It was an outstanding offensive performance as the Eagles gained 415 yards and held CCSF to 236 yards.
Read was named offensive player of the game. Augustine was the lineman of the game, playing defensive end and catching four passes for 55 yards at tight end on offense. Thomas showed why he was named to the JC All-American team by catching six passes for 127 yards.
This game would probably rate as the finest win in the Oakland school's football history and it marked the beginning of a strong cross-bay rivalry.
"This was Laney's best team and in my opinion, the best junior college team I have ever seen in my 32 years of coaching," Peters said in 1997.
The JC Grid-Wire All-American Team selected Louie Thomas, who led the nation with 38 receptions for 905 yards and 13 touchdowns. Center and nose guard Ed Johnson was also placed on the first team.
Seventeen Laney College athletes moved on to play at the four-year level including six at the University of California, Berkeley. The following year 17 more Laney players were recruited, which shows the caliber of football at this East Bay powerhouse.
Joe Marvin is a Historian of the California Community College Football Coaches Association.
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