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Backward Glance by Steve Smith
Meet Barstow's Olympian: Pete Clentzos
Editor's note: This is the first of two parts.
Recently I was watching the Olympic torch relay on TV when the torch was passed to Pete Clentzos. They briefly ran down his biography, mainly emphasizing that he, having just turned 95, is the oldest USC Olympian, oldest Greek Olympian and possibly the oldest Olympian in the world.
Lisa Hart/Staff Photographer
Olympian Pete Clentzos looks through his collection of articles and newspaper clippings about his accomplishments at his Pasadena home. Most recently, Clentzos, 95, was one of the carriers of the Olympic torch in Los Angeles in June.
I also saw an interview with him later and both times they did not mention the most important piece of his biography, at least to my fair and balanced mind. He was Barstow Union High School's athletic coach from 1936 to 1941.
Pete Clentzos was born June, 1909, to Greek parents in Oakland. He went to college at the University of Southern California. At USC he was a member of the football team, varsity track and letterman for three years in pole vault.
When he tried out for the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles he hit a snag. He tried out for the American team but didn't make the cut.
"I felt great that day, but I have no excuses," Clentzos said, "It was just one of those days."
Luckily his dual Greek/American citizenship paid off. He tried out for the Greek team and made it. He finished seventh in the pole vault event at the Olympics
Pete has many fond memories of the 1932 Olympics. One of the things that he remembers that was vastly different about his games compared to today is security. The Olympic village in 1932 was open to spectators and the athletes shared a lot of time together. He remembers that most nights they would gather to watch movies in an amphitheater.
Pete has many mementos from the 1932 games including the bamboo pole that he used in the competition.
After the 1932 Olympics he traveled around and competed in many different competitions. In 1935 he set the Greek National pole vault record of 13' 5". This record stood from 1935-1950.
In 1936 he consulted in the 1936 Olympics that were held in Berlin. He wanted to go but it was the depression so he had to get a job. He was one of thirteen teachers that applied for a job at Barstow Union High School.
Pete was hired to teach history and physical education. An additional class he taught was a new program at the school, woodshop. Pete's father was a carpenter, so he learned the trade from him. He also coached football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, and of course, track.
One program he started that our high school still excels at was the first cross country team in Barstow. He remembers that they used to close down Main Street and race down the road with many locals cheering them on..
Photo provided
Pete Clentzos dresses up and goes to Calico Ghost town.
His coaching experience was a great success. He took two football teams to the CIF finals with his 1940 team being one of the best. They won seven games, lost one, and tied another. For the season the Riffians outscored their opponents 213 to 47. They beat Victorville that year 32-0.
One of the difficulties he had coaching in our area was that a number of his players were from outlying communities like Ludlow. Due to bus schedules, these students only had about 40 minutes at a time to practice.
He would hurry them along by yelling out his trademark phrase "Hubba Hubba!" This phrase would give him national recognition in another chapter of his story.
Pete wasn't just about sports in our area. He had fun other ways too. He was a participant in our early Calico Days.
Calico Days at the time was held in Barstow near where U-Haul is today. Pete remembers that they also went to Calico for some of the activities.
One of the big competitions at the time was the Whiskerino. All the local men would grow out their beards. Those who didn't were good naturedly thrown in jail. To view the jail that housed these miscreants and was used in many other fun events, come to the Mojave River Valley Museum, 270 E. Virginia Way.
On the day of the competition, the men's beards were judged to see whose was best. Pete, with his Greek heritage, seemed to be a ringer for this competition.
One story that Pete told me about Calico Days was of the time that a number of his friends got dressed in their Western gear and rode to the Harvey House.
A passenger train would pull in and the posse greeted them with many whoops, hollers and shots in the air from their guns. Most of the passengers ran back into the trains in fright, getting their fill of the real Wild West.
