SETH FIELDS VAN PATTEN “The Father of the CIF-SS and Czar” Seth F. Van Patten was born in Steward, Illinois on July 5, 1873. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1900 and came to California in 1901. His very early coaching days in California were at the Harvard School and Hitchcock Military in South Pasadena. His first full time teaching position was at Escondido High School in San Diego. He coached football and was very successful when he defeated the powerful San Diego High School team twice in the same season (1903) 6 – 5 and 5 – 0. Seth liked to tell the story of when he was at Escondido High School the students asked him to coach them in baseball and before long he was their starting pitcher…team membership and eligibility was far different prior to the establishment of the CIF. He moved to Ventura High School for a short time and arrived at South Pasadena High School in 1907 where he taught English and Social Studies. He became very active in the first attempts to organize high school athletics in Southern California. In 1910, he moved to Los Angeles High School and became the President of the Los Angeles County League. Seth Van Patten was always very active in the track community and attempted several times to take control of the running of the high school track meet away from the local colleges and Y.M.C.A. As a number of complaints mounted regarding the track meet, Seth issued his famous challenge to the local high school track community: “…if they did not have the guts enough to run the meet properly themselves, they did not deserve a championship meet.”
Aileen Sylvester (1964)
SETH FIELDS VAN PATTEN “The Father of the CIF-SS and Czar” Seth F. Van Patten was born in Steward, Illinois on July 5, 1873. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1900 and came to California in 1901. His very early coaching days in California were at the Harvard School and Hitchcock Military in South Pasadena. His first full time teaching position was at Escondido High School in San Diego. He coached football and was very successful when he defeated the powerful San Diego High School team twice in the same season (1903) 6 – 5 and 5 – 0. Seth liked to tell the story of when he was at Escondido High School the students asked him to coach them in baseball and before long he was their starting pitcher…team membership and eligibility was far different prior to the establishment of the CIF. He moved to Ventura High School for a short time and arrived at South Pasadena High School in 1907 where he taught English and Social Studies. He became very active in the first attempts to organize high school athletics in Southern California. In 1910, he moved to Los Angeles High School and became the President of the Los Angeles County League. Seth Van Patten was always very active in the track community and attempted several times to take control of the running of the high school track meet away from the local colleges and Y.M.C.A. As a number of complaints mounted regarding the track meet, Seth issued his famous challenge to the local high school track community: “…if they did not have the guts enough to run the meet properly themselves, they did not deserve a championship meet.”