Steve Young was one of my better friends, mostly in elementary school, but also somewhat in Jr. High, after which time his family moved to Redondo Beach, and I only saw him once after that.
Steve did well in several areas: he excelled in sports, was a very good student and had remarkably good leadership skills, particularly as a kid. His father, who owned the Kittridge (Archery) Bow shop in town, was one of the first parents I ever knew who gave his son the advantage of sending him to a 'baseball camp' (a practice much more common now, but not at all the case during the 50's & early 60's.) At any rate, this, along with being tutored in archery & having opportunities to refine a skill requiring extensive practice, seemed to contributed to a type of self-confidence and air of being self-assured in general. Among other things, this contributed to his desire to run for--and win--the office of Student Body President, first at El Centro Elementary School, and later at SP Jr. High School. He possessed an unflappable calmness and poise which served him well in running student councils, & undertaking other leadership roles, both on the athletic field and elsewhere. In addition to playing Monopoly, Canasta, & football board game involving 22 players, with some type of metal playing field on which vibrations moved the players, honing our basketball skills playing HORSE, and even trying the impossible task of hitting flying birds with rocks in the Arroyo Seco--impossible because those dang birds could & did change directions in midflight on-a-dime making even the most accurately thrown rocks miss them every time, no matter what. . .Most of all we especially spent a lot of time playing 'sandlot' football, with Steve being the quarterback--(little did either one of us know that one with the same name would go on to become a Superbowl MVP and NFL Hall-of-Fame quarterback)--and me being the running back / flanker / receiver. Another way in which he was way ahead of his time was in kicking. When playing kickball or workup, Steve would often kick the ball out of the playground by kicking with his swinging instep, rather than kicking the ball straight on, like the rest of us. This was long before any of us ever knew about 'soccer style' kicking...it seems that Steve just figured out on his own that this was a better way. . .
While Steve had plenty of his own foibles & flaws--like all of us--he was, in general, a good person who was respectful and fun-loving, and who achieved much success through focused efforts. I consider that Steve Young was one of those people I grew up with during my formative years in South Pasadena that had a very positive impact on my life, and I consider it a blessing to have counted him as a close friend. I was saddened to hear of his passing. . . (Tres Tanner)
Tres Tanner (1966)
Steve Young was one of my better friends, mostly in elementary school, but also somewhat in Jr. High, after which time his family moved to Redondo Beach, and I only saw him once after that.
Steve did well in several areas: he excelled in sports, was a very good student and had remarkably good leadership skills, particularly as a kid. His father, who owned the Kittridge (Archery) Bow shop in town, was one of the first parents I ever knew who gave his son the advantage of sending him to a 'baseball camp' (a practice much more common now, but not at all the case during the 50's & early 60's.) At any rate, this, along with being tutored in archery & having opportunities to refine a skill requiring extensive practice, seemed to contributed to a type of self-confidence and air of being self-assured in general. Among other things, this contributed to his desire to run for--and win--the office of Student Body President, first at El Centro Elementary School, and later at SP Jr. High School. He possessed an unflappable calmness and poise which served him well in running student councils, & undertaking other leadership roles, both on the athletic field and elsewhere. In addition to playing Monopoly, Canasta, & football board game involving 22 players, with some type of metal playing field on which vibrations moved the players, honing our basketball skills playing HORSE, and even trying the impossible task of hitting flying birds with rocks in the Arroyo Seco--impossible because those dang birds could & did change directions in midflight on-a-dime making even the most accurately thrown rocks miss them every time, no matter what. . .Most of all we especially spent a lot of time playing 'sandlot' football, with Steve being the quarterback--(little did either one of us know that one with the same name would go on to become a Superbowl MVP and NFL Hall-of-Fame quarterback)--and me being the running back / flanker / receiver. Another way in which he was way ahead of his time was in kicking. When playing kickball or workup, Steve would often kick the ball out of the playground by kicking with his swinging instep, rather than kicking the ball straight on, like the rest of us. This was long before any of us ever knew about 'soccer style' kicking...it seems that Steve just figured out on his own that this was a better way. . .
While Steve had plenty of his own foibles & flaws--like all of us--he was, in general, a good person who was respectful and fun-loving, and who achieved much success through focused efforts. I consider that Steve Young was one of those people I grew up with during my formative years in South Pasadena that had a very positive impact on my life, and I consider it a blessing to have counted him as a close friend. I was saddened to hear of his passing. . . (Tres Tanner)