Lyman Clower dies

Mike Sciacca

To say Lyman Clower bled Green and Gold for the past 36 years might

be an understatement.

For a man who helped open Edison High in 1969 as activities

director and later became football coach and athletic director, the

Huntington Beach school was his life and continued to be an integral

part of it, even after his retirement in 1996.

Clower died March 1 following a massive heart attack, Edison

athletic director Bruce Belcher said.

He was 66.

Friends and longtime associates of Clower gathered Friday for a

memorial.

“Obviously, he’s had a tremendous impact on this school,” Belcher

said. “He was an extremely inspirational and very creative person. He

started our scholar athlete program, and we’re going to name our Most

Inspirational Player award after him.

“He’s one of the people responsible for moving the Edison-Fountain

Valley football game to the Big A. People thought he was nuts when he

did it, but he had the vision that it would be something big.”

And it was.

The annual, intense “Battle for The Bell” between the Chargers and

Barons drew big crowds to Anaheim Stadium, where the rivalry was

staged for 10 years. The games played in Anaheim were successes, and

the rivalry grew into the premier football rivalry in the county.

Clower became the school’s athletic director in 1973, Belcher

said, and held that post until 1995, when Belcher took over the

position.

Dave White, head football coach at Edison, was a freshman at

Edison in 1970, a year after the school opened. He played football

during his freshman and sophomore years on teams coached by Clower.

White, who became the head coach at his alma mater in the 1986

season, said that Clower coached defensive ends, tight ends and

kickers for eight years (1988-96) on varsity.

“When I played for him, he was one of those Woody Hayes-type of

guys,” White recalled. “He was gruff and tough at practices, but the

nicest guy off the field. A lot of us were afraid of him at first,

but came to really respect him. He was passionate, and he really

looked after his teams.

“He’s definitely a legend around here. He was a very loyal and

supportive athletic director, coach and friend. He was Green and

Gold, all the way.”