Hall of Fame: Dick Ferryman (Costa Mesa)

Richard Dunn

When the truckload of Ferrymans arrived from Ohio in the early

1960s, the fourth of six children had two big brothers to pave the way as

the family settled in Costa Mesa.

So, by the time Dick Ferryman was ready for Costa Mesa High sports, he

instantly landed on the football field, and, during the winter, on

wrestling mats.

“I didn’t want to (wrestle), but my brothers (Jim and Pat) threw me in

the wrestling room and made me stay in there,� said Dick Ferryman, the

Mustangs’ Athlete of the Year in 1969-70 as a football, wrestling and

track and field standout.

Ferryman, who threw the discus and shot put in the spring “just to

keep busy,� was an All-Irvine League, All-Orange Coast area and

All-Orange County linebacker, as well as the Mustangs’ starting center on

offense, in the fall of ’69.

“I started playing football, just like my brothers did back east,�

Ferryman said. “I started in the third grade -- tackle football at a

Catholic school. That was the main sport. We started early and kind of

stayed with it for awhile.�

Ferryman’s gridiron career would include two years at Golden West

College under Coach Ray Shackleford, under whom Ferryman earned All-South

Coast Conference honors as a sophomore linebacker in the fall of ’72

(Ferryman sat out one season before playing for the Rustlers in 1971-72).

Ferryman, who dislocated an elbow his freshman year and missed almost

half of the season, was a 6-foot, 190-pounder at Golden West, two inches

taller and about 10 pounds more than when he played at Costa Mesa. “Now,

I’m just going out instead of up,� he quipped.

The Mustangs lost more than they won in the autumns of 1968 and ’69

under two different head coaches (Neil Peek and Max Miller), but the

Rustlers enjoyed winning campaigns (15-6 in two years) during the

Ferryman era.

Still, perhaps Ferryman’s favorite seasons were the most innocent of

times in what was then Newport-Mesa Pop Warner (now Junior All-American).

“Al Dies was our coach, and he was one of my better coaches, as far as

the teaching aspects and all that,� Ferryman said. “I think all the kids

respected him. I still remember him and it’s been 30-35 years. I always

remember him as one of my favorite coaches. I still see him every once in

awhile.�

Many of Ferryman’s Pop Warner teammates, like Bob and Sleepy Tripp,

played high school football at Newport Harbor.

But Ferryman was also strong in wrestling, dropping weight each season

to compete in the 157-pound division.

“We had a good wrestling team back then under (Coach) John Sweazy,�

said Ferryman, who won two tournaments and finished as Irvine League

runner-up in 1970 behind Fountain Valley’s Dan Lewis.

“I beat Lewis in one tournament. I probably shouldn’t have, but I

did,� Ferryman added.

When Ferryman watched his nephews play for Costa Mesa in the 1990s, he

was amazed how prep players were so much bigger, faster and stronger.

“These guys are 6-4, 240 pounds and running 4.6 40s. We never even

heard of that back then,� he said. “A couple of years ago I think (the

Mustangs’) line averaged 240 pounds or something. Our line averaged

probably 180. What a jump.�

One year out of high school, Ferryman was attending classes at Golden

West but not playing football. The Rustlers’ defensive coordinator Don

Rowe, also a former major league pitching coach, bumped into Ferryman and

convinced him to return.

“We had fun at Golden West,� Ferryman said. “We had some good players.

It was a pretty tight group.�

The latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame, Ferryman

lives in Moreno Valley with his wife, LaDonna, and three boys: Zach, 10,

Alec, 8, and Tyler, 7. He works for a plumbing company based in Colton.

“We’re building just thousands of homes out here, so I’m keeping pretty

busy,� he said.