The Big 300

Marijon Ancich never envisioned winning 300 games when he became football coach at Santa Fe Springs St. Paul in 1961.

He was too busy preparing his team in practice. Too focused on huddling with assistants until the wee hours of the morning. Too committed to building a small Catholic school into a nationally recognized power.

“You can’t get anything done without work, and hard work is the best way to create unity known to man,” Ancich, 65, said.

Ancich’s work ethic and the players and assistants that have been molded by it, have put the coach on the brink of becoming only the second in California history to reach the 300-win milestone. Herb Meyer of Oceanside El Camino achieved the feat last month.

Ancich, seven years into his second stint at St. Paul, has a 299-97-7 record in 36-plus seasons as a high school coach, including nine years at Tustin. Ancich spent one season at Northern Arizona University and was a volunteer assistant at Cerritos College for another.

St. Paul (4-0) plays Alta Loma (3-1) tonight at Chaffey High in a nonleague game that could cement Ancich’s name into history.

“[Three hundred wins] will be a tribute to all the players and coaches and the schools that I have been involved with,” Ancich said. “I’ve just been fortunate to be around guys who want to do something positive.

“I never really looked this far down the road. My philosophy was more to live day to day.”

The days often blur for Ancich and his assistants, many of whom have become some of the top coaches in the Southland.

Dick Bruich, for example, was a young assistant under Ancich from 1969-74 when the Swordsmen went 55-8-2. Bruich was head coach at Fontana from 1977-1998 and compiled a 209-57-2 record while building the Steelers into a Southern Section power.

“Most of the things we do come straight from Marijon,” said Bruich, in his first season at Fontana Kaiser. “I don’t think people realize how many people he has influenced himself and through people like myself that have passed on some of his philosophies and work ethic to other people. Marijon has had a hand in the success of many, many people in high school coaching.”

Ancich, a San Pedro High graduate, started as an assistant at St. Paul in 1959. He became coach in 1961, and during his first stint with the Swordsmen his teams won three Southern Section championships, had four unbeaten seasons and compiled a 188-35-5 record.

After St. Paul capped a perfect 1981 season with a 30-9 victory over Colton in the Division I final, Ancich accepted a job as offensive coordinator at Northern Arizona.

It did not take long for Ancich to realize he made a mistake.

“I thought it was going to be football, football, football, but I saw another side of the game at that level--the recruiting and all the other things that go along with it,” he said. “It made football a job rather than something fun.”

Ancich returned to Southern California and helped out at Cerritos College for one season before he was offered the job at Tustin, a school that was 3-17 in the two seasons before he arrived.

“I was flabbergasted because we only had a few guys out for football,” Ancich said. “I thought Orange County was a hotbed for football players, but the Tustin kids had been stepped on and kicked for a million years, so we had to get the program off the ground.”

Ancich led Tustin to four league titles, seven playoff berths and two championship-game appearances in nine seasons.

Meanwhile, St. Paul went through three coaches and compiled a 58-59-3 record during his absence.

After the 1992 season, Ancich was considering a move to Idaho to start a program at a new high school. While pondering that situation, St. Paul called and inquired about his interest in returning.

“There was always a great affection for Marijon around here from parents and former students,” said the Rev. Robert Gallagher, who has been principal at St. Paul for 14 years. “After talking with him, I thought he would be the right person for the job.”

Ancich felt the pull and came back to where his coaching career began. The Swordsmen are 45-25 since Ancich’s return. They finished 11-3 in 1998 and are 4-0 this season after victories over Mission Viejo, Oxnard, North Torrance and Wilmington Banning.

Ancich acknowledges that he has changed somewhat throughout almost four decades of coaching.

“In the ‘60s, I was right there with them, doing everything almost like I was a player,” Ancich said. “As the years go by, you separate more and more and you’re not as close as you’d like to be. You need to let everyone have a part in the preparation.”

Ancich, however, has maintained his ability to reach young athletes. He still demands respect and, of course, hard work, but is open to suggestion.

“He listens to his players,” said USC freshman wide receiver Marcell Allmond, a 1999 St. Paul graduate. “I remember myself and another receiver, we’d always come back and tell him exactly what the [defensive backs] were doing, exactly what would work, and he always went with us.

‘He’s a great players’ coach.”

Ancich said he will evaluate his future in coaching on a year-to-year basis. But whenever he thinks about retiring, he is reminded why he has stayed around this long.

“When the guys rise to the occasion and surprise everybody--when the defense stops the offense at the goal line--that’s a great thing,” Ancich said. “Seeing guys rise above their ability is probably the most satisfying thing for me. That’s what I really enjoy. That’s what makes it all worth it.”

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Staff Writer Robyn Norwood contributed to this story.

Marching to Milestone

Marijon Ancich’s record:

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Year School W L T 1961 St. Paul 9 0 0 1962 St. Paul 4 5 0 1963 St. Paul 6 2 1 1964 St. Paul 6 3 0 1965 St. Paul 7 1 0 1966 St. Paul 7 2 0 1967 St. Paul 7 4 0 1968 St. Paul 11 0 2 1969 St. Paul 8 2 0 1970 St. Paul 8 2 0 1971 St. Paul 7 2 1 1972 St. Paul 13 0 0 1973 St. Paul 11 1 0 1974 St. Paul 8 1 1 1975 St. Paul 13 1 0 1976 St. Paul 10 2 0 1977 St. Paul 11 2 0 1978 St. Paul 9 1 0 1979 St. Paul 8 3 0 1980 St. Paul 11 1 0 1981 St. Paul 14 0 0 1984 Tustin 6 4 0 1985 Tustin 4 6 0 1986 Tustin 9 3 0 1987 Tustin 8 4 1 1988 Tustin 3 6 1 1989 Tustin 7 5 0 1990 Tustin 13 1 0 1991 Tustin 12 2 0 1992 Tustin 4 6 0 1993 St. Paul 7 4 0 1994 St. Paul 7 3 0 1995 St. Paul 4 6 0 1996 St. Paul 6 5 0 1997 St. Paul 6 4 0 1998 St. Paul 11 3 0 1999 St. Paul 4 0 0

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Total 299-97-7