Beloved longtime Point Loma High School head football coach Bennie Edens passed away at age 82 on Friday, Feb. 8, leaving a legacy of fond memories for friends, former students and Point Loma neighbors.
Edens was a father, husband, coach, teacher, lifeguard, mentor, friend and coaching legend to generations of Point Lomans and San Diegans.
He served to inspire, motivate and mold the character of students at PLHS for 50 years.
“He and his son, Jimmie, came over to my house to watch the Super Bowl game (Feb. 3). It was like old times watching the game with him,” said former Pointers quarterback Bill Settles with the PLHS class of 1966. The following day, Edens suffered a serious heart attack and was hospitalized until he passed away Friday.
Edens, a Hoover High School graduate, played football and boxed during his high school days before moving on to San Diego State University, where played football for the Aztecs. After he graduated from SDSU in 1948, he became a student teacher at Point Loma High School and also taught swim classes at the Kona Kai Club in Point Loma, also serving as the activities director for more than 20 years.
“I never saw anyone with the ability that he had to interact with kids,” Settles said. “They would gather around him in the pool like a bunch of ducklings that were learning to swim for the first time. Afterward he wanted them to jump into the bay off the dock instead of the pool because, in case they were in that situation, they would know not to panic.”
Edens became head coach at Point Loma High in 1950 and built a storied and successful career until he retired in 1998. He is the second-winningest head coach in the San Diego section with 241 victories, trailing only former Oceanside and El Camino great Herb Meyer. However, Edens holds the record for the most wins at one school in the section.
During his tenure, Edens won five CIF championships (1962, 1966, 1982, 1987 and 1991).
“Playing for him was the best,” recalled Settles. “My only complaint was he didn’t let me pass more. He always said it was my limitations, not his coaching, then he would let out a big laugh.”
Settles quarterbacked the 1965 Pointers squad to an undefeated regular season and led them to the CIF championship game appearance. Settles moved on to the University of Wisconsin, where he played under scholarship for the Badgers.
Meanwhile, the next season, Edens won his second CIF title on a last-minute touchdown pass from Bill Gable to John Cervinsky in an 18-14 victory over Helix High. The 1987 team won the title in similar fashion to the 1966 team with a last-minute field goal on a blustery day at Jack Murphy (now Qualcomm) Stadium to defeat Morse High, 16-14.
Settles was also a member of the 1987 CIF championship team as an assistant coach under Edens. The 1991 team used the “fly offense,” which Edens installed. The “fly offense” is still run today by Point Loma in its three straight CIF Title game seasons (2005-07) under head coach Mike Hastings.
In addition to the CIF titles, Edens coached a number of players to the college and professional ranks, including Jeff Staggs, who played linebacker for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers in the 1960s.
Another linebacker, Greg Slough, in the 1970s was an All-American at USC before he went on to play for the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders. Edens also coached former Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders cornerback Eric Allen, who played during the 1980s and 1990s.
Add to the mentoring mix former PAC-10 Player of the Year and All-American wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who played for the Patriots, and current St. Louis Ram La’roi Glover, who also played for the 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.
Edens compiled a long list of coaching awards, which include the 1966 San Diego County High School Football Coach of the Year, 1981 California Athletic Director of the Year, All-San Diego County Football Coach of the Year and 1983 Southern Section Coach of the Year. Jan. 11, 1988 was proclaimed Bennie Edens Day by the city of San Diego, and he also was honored as 1992 California High School Coach of the Year and 2002 NFL High School Coach of the Year.
In the midst of all the accolades and achievements, Edens experienced tragedy when his 23-year-old daughter, Kathie, and her husband, Jim, were killed in a collision while traveling to Whitworth College in Washington for a homecoming weekend. When Edens and his wife, Maxine, flew up north for the services, it would become the only missed days of work in his career.
“Often when I see young adults or teenagers make poor life decisions, I wonder if they ever had that one special person to guide and influence them,” Settles said. “We (Point Loma) had Coach (Edens) in our lives for 7 decades, from 1948 when he was a student teacher at Point Loma High School to last week. He was so much more than a coach.”
Memorial services for Edens will be held at noon on Saturday, Feb. 23.
The service will not be held at a church but instead at the Point Loma High football field, now known as Bennie Edens Stadium. Food and fellowship will follow at the Family Life Center of the Point Loma Presbyterian Church. Last year, the Point Loma stadium was renamed for Edens and the class of 1967 in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Members of the class of 1967 raised enough money from their reunion last season to bring back the traditional Pointer Dog mascot, naming it Bennie in Edens’ honor.
“It is no exaggeration to say Coach Bennie Edens is loved by thousands of his former students,” said Jim Sills, a former PLHS student. “That is why we decided to name the mascot in his honor. The Pointer Dog unites the generations of classmates and the genuine love the dog inspires and happy memory he [Edens] stirs. May God bless him.”
The family has requested that donations in Bennie’s memory be made to the Bennie Edens Scholarship Fund established with the Point Loma High School Foundation & Alumni Association. Checks may be mailed to PLHSFAA – Bennie Edens Scholarships, 1220 Rosecrans St., No. 247, San Diego, 92106.
For information about the Coach Bennie Edens Scholarship Fund, contact Kim Jessop, executive director of the PLHS Foundation and Alumni Association, at [email protected].