Phil Monahan ‘50, Bill Yaley ‘59, Fred Oppezzo ‘61, Dan Frisella ‘63, Barry Bonds ‘82, Dave Stevens

Phil Monahan '50

Although there were many three-sport athletes in the school's early days, Phil was the first to be an outstanding performer in all three sports. As a 220 pound fullback, Phil was a real bruiser who averaged 7.8 yards per carry on the undefeated team of 1949.  He was named all CAL in 1949, as well as being a member of the prestigious All Catholic Monitor team that same season. Phil was a two-year starter on the basketball team and started for 3 years on the baseball team as a catcher, winning the coveted Blanket Award as the team's Most Valuable Player. Upon graduation, Phil accepted a scholarship to St. Mary's College but when the Gaels dropped football, he was accepted into the Naval Academy.  At the Academy, Phil continued his outstanding athletic career, playing both football and baseball. In the days of 2-way football, Phil was a three-year starter at running back and defensive back, and was named team captain as a senior. Receiving his commission from the Academy, Phil became an officer in the Marines where he had a long and distinguished career, retiring as a Major General. In 1983, Phil received the Junípero Serra Award as the school's distinguished alumnus.

Billy Yaley '59

According to the Hall of Famer John Kelly, "Bill made track an experience at Serra." When the Padres had a home meet, more than 100 students would stay after school to watch Bill run the mile. Bill was the first Serra athlete to reach the State track meet, first in 1958 as a junior and then again in 1959! That year he ran a 4:19.2 mile (a lifetime best) and finished 5th in the State meet.  In the North Coast Section finals, Bill set a meet record of 4:28.8. In addition to his accomplishment in the mile, Bill was also a member of the ten-mile relay team which held the national record.  He was the Blanket Award winner in track in '58 and '59, only the second athlete (at that time) to be a repeat winner! Bill also ran Cross Country and was the CAL cross country individual champ in 1958 and 1959. After Bill accepted a track scholarship to University of Notre Dame after graduation. While there, he ran track until an injury ended his career. Bill still runs today and runs the same way he did at Serra - to win!

Fred Oppezzo '61

Known as much for his leadership and competitiveness as his athletic skills, Fred was a Padre standout in football, basketball and baseball. A three-year letterman in football, Fred was an outstanding running back, who in a game against Hillsdale gained more yards than the entire Knight offense. As a senior, he led the team in scoring, was voted the team's "Most Valuable Back" and was selected All-County. On the basketball court, Fred, once again, led the team in scoring as a senior and was voted the Blanket Award as the 61 Padres' outstanding player. A hard-hitting shortstop, Fred continued the Serra tradition of outstanding shortstops. He was CAL leader in RBI's as a senior and was named Honorable Mention ALL-CAL. Fred continued his athletic career first at CSM, where he was named All Conference running back, and then at UC Santa Barbara where he earned "little" All-American honors.

Dan Frisella '63

Dan is among to top pitchers in Serra history. Although a fatal accident cut his career short, Dan spent 10 seasons in the Big Leagues mainly as a relief pitcher. Serra's baseball field was named in memory of Dan in 1981.

Barry Bonds '82

Generally regarded as one of the top five players in the major leagues, Barry showed his athletic abilities in three sports while at Serra. Barry made the jump from freshman baseball to the varsity as a sophomore and became a three year starter in center field. Over his career Barry averaged .404 and hit .467 as a senior! His total of 87 bases in a season is second in the school's record books. He was a 2nd team All-WCAL selection as a sophomore and first team all league as a junior and senior. For his outstanding career, Barry was awarded All-American status in 1982. A second round draft choice of the Giants in '82, Barry, instead, chose to attend Arizona State on a baseball scholarship. Barry was a 3 year starter for the Sun Devils and was named All-American as a junior before being the number one selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1985. Barry became the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season in 1990. That same season he was the National League's Most Valuable Player and narrowly missed repeating the award in 1991. Bonds played JV football and varsity football as a junior where he was regarded as an exciting receiver, but he decided to concentrate on basketball and his baseball career as a senior. Barry was a two-year starter as a Padre hoopster, earning All-WCAL first team honors as a senior when he helped lead the 8-4 Padres to the WCAL playoffs.

Dave Stevens, Coach

For 28 years, Dave was fixture in the Serra Athletic Department. Whether he was designing defense for football, tinkering with a zone offense, or carefully raking the infield dirt, Dave lived and breathed Padre sports. Beginning in 1963, Dave coached every major sport on nearly every level.  At one time or another, Dave coached freshmen and JV football, freshmen basketball, JV baseball, and was an assistant varsity coach on the great Padre football teams of the late 60's and early 70's.  During the tumultuous 1971-1972 year, Dave was asked to take over the varsity basketball team in mid-season. Although the record may not show it, Dave brought order to a chaotic situation.  In 1976, Dave succeeded Ken Houle as varsity baseball coach and had 8 successive winning seasons. His record was an outstanding 149-58-2, winning 71% of his games. In WCAL action, his teams won 64% of their games and league titles in 1977 and 1980. Dave's 1982 team finished 25-7 and 3rd in the section championships. The next year, Dave's last, saw the Padres lose a heart-breaker to St. Francis in the C.C.S finals.  Dave had a 10-5 record in post season competition. Dave helped develop the careers of major leaguers Barry Bonds, Scott Chiamparino, and Gregg Jeffries at one point or other in their development, but thousands of others had the benefit of his expertise and had the opportunity to call Dave "Coach!"