BIRMINGHAM LOOKS BACK AT GLORY YEAR.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer

The last time Birmingham High's hopes for a city football championship were this high was 37 years ago when the then-Braves were the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and the cheerleading squad included Michael Milken and Sally Field.

For so many who were part of that era, the memories are fond and the chance that Birmingham, now 9-1 and nicknamed the Patriots, could win the city title again rekindles memories and their old school spirit.

``It was great, just a fabulous time,'' recalled Milken, who went on to fame, and infamy, as one of the greatest financiers in American history.

``The crowds packed the stands, and it was just a phenomenal experience. It was fun, just like 'Happy Days.' Nobody ever worried about what the kids were doing at night. In some ways it was like a small town.''

Milken and many others who were part of Birmingham's 1963 championship season see it in retrospect as the end of a simpler, happier time that would soon be eclipsed by Vietnam War protests, the Watts Riots and rapid social change.

For Bill Brucker, a burly lineman, the memory that sticks out is that of a cold, blustery Saturday when he was sitting at halftime in a somber locker room with his teammates, trailing by two touchdowns against Gardena in a 1963 city semifinal game. And coach George Goff was screaming.

There they were - the team people called the greatest ever in the San Fernando Valley - losing to an underdog in the playoffs for the third year in a row.

How could this be happening? The Braves had beaten their first eight opponents by an average of 40 points. Six games were shutouts.

``We were much bigger than every other team, but Gardena was cutting us down with low blocks and we couldn't go anywhere,'' Brucker said. ``We were in trouble.''

Goff remembers losing it at halftime.

``I just went out of my mind. I was all over them,'' Goff said. ``But there weren't any real adjustments to make. I just told my guys to get back out there and run right over them.''

They did. Birmingham scored three touchdowns in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half and won 38-27. They beat Los Angeles High 21-14 a week later, giving the Valley its first city title - a feat this year's team hopes to repeat in coming weeks starting with its first postseason game at 7 o'clock tonight at home against Palisades High.

For Mike Scarpace, who would go on to the University of Southern California, where he blocked for O.J. Simpson and won a national championship in 1967, that magical high school season is still one of his most vivid memories.

``There were no weaknesses,'' Scarpace said. ``Plus, it was a bigger deal to win a football championship back then because the crowds were larger and there weren't as many divisions. We were so big for that time.''

Scarpace, now a Glendale College professor and Newbury Park High football assistant coach, recalled that after the games everyone - including cheerleaders Milken and Field, who would become celebrities - went to Bob's Big Boy for hamburgers and milkshakes while the jukebox blared.

``It was great,'' said Brucker, now a Santa Monica police lieutenant who still follows high school football and believes his Birmingham team would hold its own against today's best. ``I remember we had so many good linemen that . . . nobody could get through us.''

Milken remembers wanting to be a football player more than anything.

``I tried out for the team, and Mike Scarpace was right next to me. He outweighed me by 80 pounds and he was faster than me, too. That's when I decided to play tennis and basketball instead.

``I'll never forget when Marv Adamo caught a winning touchdown pass, we came to school on Monday and organized Marv Adamo Week. It was just a very, very close group of people,'' Milken recalled.

Best of the best

Birmingham athletic director Lou Ramirez, who retired last year after 44 years at the school, dismisses all the great teams he has seen compared with the '63 Braves.

``That team was the best,'' Ramirez said. ``They just absolutely overwhelmed everyone.''

Said lineman Frank Arrigo, now an Encino attorney: ``It doesn't really matter how many years go by. The memories are very strong. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.''

At the time, Birmingham had no stadium, just a field. The Braves traveled to North Hollywood High, Van Nuys High, Reseda High and Valley College to play its home games under the lights.

The Braves, whom Ramirez dubbed ``the Nomads of the Valley,'' drew more than 6,000 fans per game. Tight end/defensive end Adamo was the City Player of the Year.

Physical presence

Birmingham's real strength was its physical strength. The line, led by Bill Hayhoe, Scarpace, Brucker, Arrigo, Ron Heiman and Bob Matheson, averaged 250 pounds - ``and they weren't fat kids,'' Ramirez said - in an era when most high school starters weighed less than 200.

``There wasn't a lot of rah-rah stuff, we just had good chemistry and all the kids came together,'' recalled Goff, now 71, who moved to Valley College after the championship season and now lives in Manhattan Beach. ``They were neighborhood kids, real down to earth.''

Running back Mike McConahey, now a vice principal at Fulton Middle School, went back to Birmingham as a coach from 1981 to '86.

``Anytime you get to the championship it's a big deal. It was a big deal in 1963, and it would be a big deal now. It's tougher now because kids don't have the same commitment, and they don't stick with it like they used to.''

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Photo:

(color) Actress Sally Field, left, is shown as a cheerleader for Birmingham High School in 1963 along with financier Michael Milken. At right, coach George Goff is held aloft by victorious players.

Jon Gerung/Staff Artist