High school basketball doubleheaders between Everett and Cascade always attract a big crowd. But tonight fans can share an experience that goes beyond a couple games of hoops.
In between the girls and boys intracity rivalries at Everett High’s Norm Lowery Gymnasium, Everett will welcome five new members into its Coaches Hall of Fame.
The inductees are Earl “Click” Clark, Irma Pelz, Merrilie Howard, Harlan Jackson and Dennis Scafe. They will be honored with a brief ceremony at the end of the girls game, which tips off at 6 p.m. The boys game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.
The induction ceremony, the school’s first since the 2000-2001 academic year, is meant to educate students and the community about dedicated coaches who had a special impact on local athletics, Everett athletic director Jo Levin said.
“It’s always nice to honor people,” Levin said, “and our goal is to try to honor some people from the past, from a long time ago, because we have such a rich history, being founded in the 1800s.”
Including the Class of 2008 inductees, Everett’s Coaches Hall of Fame has 23 members. The first batch was honored in 1992, followed by a single induction a year later, Levin said. Tonight’s ceremony is the fourth of its kind and just the second in 15 years.
Howard and Scafe plan to attend, but Jackson had a prior commitment, Levin said. Clark and Pelz are deceased.
A teacher and coach of many sports at Everett for more than 30 years, Howard made a variety of contributions. She was head coach in volleyball, girls track and softball, leading her squads to a combined total of 10 conference championships and a track state title in 1973.
In volleyball, she guided the program 23 years during three different stints between 1969 and 1994. She took the Seagulls to state three times, including a runner-up finish in 1973.
Levin, Everett’s athletic director, played on Howard’s second-place state volleyball squad and was a four-year contributor for the varsity team.
“We had great interactions,” said Levin, who also was coached by Howard for one track season. “She was a go-getter. She was looked upon as one of those leaders that was a force in female athletics and all-around.”
Here are details about the other inductees.
– Earl “Click” Clark: Everett’s head football coach from 1921-1923. He guided the Seagulls to two undefeated seasons before becoming an athletic trainer at the University of Washington, a job he held from 1929-1961.
– Irma Pelz: A physical-education teacher and coach from 1922-1929, Pelz coordinated the Girls Athletic Club, which let girls participate in a diverse intramural program that included baseball, basketball, field hockey, swimming, tennis, track and volleyball.
– Harlan Jackson: Coached cross country, track and wrestling from 1970-1998. He guided the 1981 girls cross country team to a state championship, one of the squad’s four top-10 finishes in its eight state-meet appearances under Jackson. In 2001 he became a member of the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
– Dennis Scafe: With assistance from then-district athletic director Jim Ennis, Scafe helped boys soccer become a league sport in 1970. He was Everett’s first boys soccer coach, continuing for nine seasons. In 1976 he and Ennis again collaborated to get girls soccer established as a league sport. Scafe guided Everett to a conference championship in the girls’ first season.
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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