Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame: Jim Newkirk

Don Cantrell

High-ranking honors came to Jim Newkirk all through Harbor High,

Orange Coast College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He was named to

all-conference teams numerous times in football and baseball.

The late Wendell Pickens, who served many years as the Orange Coast

baseball coach, once called Newkirk one of the three best pitchers he

ever had.

Newkirk, a member of the ’56 OCC team which won the California JC State

Championship, almost led OCC toward a second state title in 1957. His

only pitching loss that year came at the end of the Southern Cal JC

playoff loss to Pasadena, 4-3.

Newkirk’s pitching mark at OCC for two years was 18-1.

Although heaped with praise during the OCC years and receiving a flow of

sterling recognition, Newkirk continues to direct firm credit to his

teammates.

Attention from Major League Baseball officials and one warmup box

invitation by the Hollywood Stars was impressive to many, but Newkirk

said he finally chose not to pursue professional baseball for a number of

reasons. One reason included marriage and a child that required domestic

concerns.

Another recall found that the Cal Poly baseball team never advanced to

championship levels, but Newkirk was named to the all-conference team all

three years for the Mustangs.

He was a rugged lineman for Coach Al Irwin at Harbor High in 1953 and

‘54. His ’54 teammates featured some of the finest players in Southern

Cal, including fullback Charley Berry, guard Glenn Thomas, the Mirkovich

brothers and halfback Dave Tamura.

Newkirk was outstanding at OCC in football and was selected to the

All-Eastern Conference squad once, but the one great all-time highlight

came in late fall of 1957.

It was a national showdown with Santa Ana College, then ranked No. 1 in

the nation and favored for the Junior Rose Bowl.

The late Steve Musseau was the OCC head coach and designed a most

impressive arc-ing defense, which choked the rival backfield speedsters

like Bob Gaiters and Pervis Atkins.

Newkirk was one of those fierce OCC defenders who helped the Pirates win,

13-7. It was 13-0 going into the final minutes and it knocked the Dons

out of the No. 1 slot. OCC won the championship.

Another period he enjoyed during his earlier days was playing baseball

for the American Legion team and the local municipal league horsehiders.

Newkirk majored in economics in college, but later taught social studies

at Harbor High from 1964-1980. He also coached the cross country team at

Harbor for six years.

A man of different sports, Jim Newkirk, and a member of the Daily Pilot

Sports Hall of Fame, celebrating the Millennium.