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49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 2, 2004 McLean leaves lasting legacy Service for former teacher and coach will be Saturday By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune Clifford McLean didn’t need a big stage to have a big impact. "It’s freakish that you would talk about a grade school coach the way you talk about ‘Chief,’" says Jerry Anderson, a former student and player of McLean’s. "But this man was just absolutely special." Whether he was dealing with a future Olympic champion, such as Dick Fosbury, or a girl, such as Sue Backlund, who wanted to test the boundaries of 1950s convention and play ball with the boys, the man known as "Chief" was fair, kind and unforgettable. McLean, who taught and coached at Roosevelt Elementary School for 31 years and served as the Medford Mustangs American Legion baseball manager for 15 summers, passed away at age 91 from a stroke at his home on March 17. Advertisement His death followed by 11 days that of his wife Margaret’s. A memorial service for him will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 44 N. Second Street, in Ashland, and generations of those he touched are expected to attend. "If you picked one person in the whole Medford system since I was born," says Anderson, a 1960 graduate of Medford High, "the most-loved would probably be Chief." Fosbury, who won gold in the high jump at the 1968 Mexico City Games and lives in Ketchum, Idaho, thought back to the two instructors he remembered most from Roosevelt. One was his second-grade teacher, Miss Schultz, whom he had a crush on. The other was Chief. "I remember clearly his coaching methods and abilities," says Fosbury. "I remember the smile he had when you did what he asked or performed well, and I remember our ears being blistered whenever we were acting as young boys do." Sometimes, young girls acted up, too. Backlund’s maiden name was Wakefield or, she says, "Wake" to her baseball-playing buddies. They’d all play pick-up ball, then go to McLean’s classroom "to talk him out of science so we could have another day of P.E.," she says. One day, her friends urged her to ask Chief to let her play for the Roosevelt Roughriders. "In those days," says Backlund, "you weren’t bred to fight for women’s rights. I knew what the answer would be; I got a one-word answer, ‘No.’" It didn’t bother her. She continued to shag balls for the team, later learned to keep score from McLean and, in adult life, regularly took her children to visit him and his wife. Oh, and although she never played for him, McLean surprised her at a school assembly. "He was handing out the baseball letters, and he gave me one," she says. "It meant the world to me." She still has it. McLean was born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota on Nov. 18, 1912, and his one-quarter Sioux heritage resulted in his nickname. He was a star athlete at Benson Tech in Portland, being named the 1932 state basketball player of the year, and came to the Rogue Valley when his high school coach, Howard Hobson, took over the coaching duties at Southern Oregon Normal School. McLean played three years at the Ashland school, then followed Hobson to the University of Oregon, where he played basketball and baseball his senior year. The Duck freshmen that year would evolve into the "Tall Firs," the NCAA’s first men’s basketball champion, which was coached by Hobson. "I’ve been watching NCAA basketball," says Jack Mullen, a player of McLean’s now living in San Francisco. "I’m amazed at how much better we played than some of the teams they’ve shown. We had a sophisticated offense — four or five offensive sets and a lot plays running through them. ... We were playing the kind of ball Howard Hobson had with the Tall Firs, and we were just little kids." After college, McLean served in World War II aboard the USS Alabama, then got out of the service and played pro baseball for a couple years before a shoulder injury forced him out. He and Margaret, whom he met at Southern Oregon and married in 1939, returned to Ashland in 1946, and he began teaching in the Medford School District. "I think he was placed at absolutely the perfect level for him," says Anderson. "Having said that, he could have been successful at any level." One of McLean’s fellow coaches, John Kovenz, enlisted the former’s services during the summer. "Cliff was just so good with kids," says Kovenz, who coached Medford High baseball for a dozen years, ending in 1967. "I think the only time I ever heard him say anything was ‘gall dang.’ The kids really looked up to him and respected him." For ages. Kovenz and his successor with the Black Tornado, Jim McAbee, were part of a softball game the past couple years to help outfit grade schools with playground equipment. The two coaches recruited former players to participate. McLean attended the games and "the kids just swarmed him," says Kovenz. Kids? "Yeah, my kids are 60 years old now," he laughs. "They’re getting up there." But they did just what they did 40-some years earlier. They gathered around Chief. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times