April 22, 2008

Phil Womble is in his 39th year as part of the UC Santa Barbara Intercollegiate Athletics program. While he began his time with the Gauchos as a volunteer historian, Phil has become an inspiration to several generations of athletes, coaches, and administrators.

Phil has had cerebral palsy, an injury to the central nervous system, since birth. Now 71, he has never allowed it to hold him back. His love and passion for life are unsurpassed. His love and passion for UCSB Athletics are also unsurpassed. In 1994, Phil completed his autobiography, "Never Give Up". The chronicle of his life was included as required reading by the late Dr. Walter Capps, a former UCSB professor and Santa Barbara area congressman.

In 2005, for his contributions to Gaucho Athletics, Phil was inducted into the school's Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. On Saturday, April 26, 2008, the university's Hall of Champions, of which the Hall of Fame is a part, will be officially dedicated. Housed in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building, the facility will be renamed the "Phil Womble Hall of Champions", in honor of one of the true legends of UCSB Athletics.

Recently, UCSBgauchos.com sat down with Phil for a question and answer session. The following is the result of that session.

Question: Phil, how did you get started at UCSB?

Answer: "One day in 1969, a real good friend of mine took me to meet some people out at UCSB. I met with Dave Gorrie, Donn Bernstein, Cactus Jack Curtice, and Tom Morgan. I told them I loved sports and that if there were any way I could help the university through sports, I'd love to do it. The next day, Tom Morgan came up with an idea. He had a binder for me and he said `Phil, our baseball team is just starting the season. Do anything you want to fill the binder.' That was the beginning of my connection to the baseball team. I cut out the articles for every game, and gave the baseball team the book at the end of the season banquet. Eventually, it evolved into football and basketball too. That's how I got my volunteer job as sports historian for the university."

Question: What's the best thing about your time at UCSB?

Answer: "I call it the UCSB connection, and over the 39 years, it's the friends I have made. That's the best thing."

Question: What has UCSB Athletics meant to you?

Answer: "It has enriched my life. The camaraderie and the friendships have been a huge part of my life. The people in UCSB Athletics have always treated me like anyone else, and I love that. I have three awards at UCSB named after me. How many people have even one? It's very touching."

Question: What early memory stands out to you?

Answer: "Without question it was when the 1972 baseball team went 14-4 and won the PCAA. I got to go to Regionals with them, and that was great. In the first round of the Regionals at Santa Clara, Dave Powers hit a home run in the eighth inning to win a game. We won two out of three against Santa Clara."

Question: If you could go back in time and change one thing that has happened at UCSB during your 39 years, what would it be?

Answer: "We would have beaten USC to go to Omaha in 1972. We lost the first game in the late innings, and then they murdered us the next day. That's the one thing that I would change."

Questiton: I know that baseball is your favorite sport, and the sport that really started you off at UCSB. What is it about baseball, and Gaucho baseball specifically, that you love so much?

Answer: "I've loved baseball since I was a kid. I love being outside, the relaxed speed of the game, and the guys who play it. It's easy to have a conversation with a friend at baseball. At UCSB, it's always been fun to be at the games, for a lot of reasons. I'll never forget the joy and happiness of having the Hammerheads (UCSB's rowdy student fans in the 1980s.) at baseball games. They were hilarious. Rod Dedeaux The legendary former USC coach.) used to love the Hammerheads, and the way he had fun with them was priceless."

Question: Who are some of your all-time favorite UCSB athletes?

Answer: "I will forget to name a lot of them, I shouldn't name any, but the ones that come to mind first are Scott Cerny, Bill Geivett, Dan Yokubaitis, Bob Brontsema, Steve French, and Mike Fulmer. Dave Powers, who played early in my time with UCSB also stands out. My favorite basketball players were Brian Shaw and Carrick DeHart."

Question: Phil, you are a member of the UCSB Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. What are your memories of being inducted?

Answer: "My acceptance speech and knowing that almost everybody in that room was rapt in attention because of my speech impediment. It was so quiet, and then when I finished everyone gave me a standing ovation. It was very emotional for me. What a great day. I was so honored it is hard to put into words."

Question: Through the years, you have met numerous people at UCSB who have become very special to you. Let's play some word association with the names of some of those people.

Former UCSB baseball coach Dave Gorrie: "A class act, and one of the best people I know."

Former UCSB Sports Information Director Donn Bernstein: "The mayor of the world. A real character, and a good friend."

Former UCSB football player and administrator Mel Gregory: "Honest, sincere, and joyful."

Former UCSB track and field coach Sam Adams: "Stupendous. A great man."

Current UCSB swimming coach Gregg Wilson. "Loyal to everybody."

Former UCSB baseball player, basketball player and women's basketball coach Mark French: "There is only one Mark French."

Former Alumni Association Director Jack Fox: "Superlative. He's like a blood brother to me."

Question: Speaking of Mark French, was he a better pitcher or basketball coach?

Answer: "If he were as good a pitcher as he was a basketball coach, we might have gone to Omaha in 1972."

Question: During your time here, which Athletics Director stands out to you the most?

Answer: "All of them have been great to me, awesome. I am honored to have called all of them friends. Ken Droscher was probably the funniest, so I guess the memory of him stands out to me the most. The first time I met him was at a basketball game. He came down from the stands and made fun of my haircut. From then on, whenever he would see me, he would start out our conversation by saying `get a haircut Womble'."

Question: You've said in the past that one of your greatest moments at UCSB was when you met Earvin "Magic" Johnson. How did that happen?

Answer: "There was an all-star game on campus and Magic was the main player. It was the year after he retired the first time. I was in the parking lot at the Thunderdome and a big black limo pulled-up. Magic Johnson popped out. Right away, I started calling `Magic!', `Magic!'. He immediately came over and said hello and shook my hand. He was awesome, and it was an honor to meet the Magic Man."

Question: If you could tell future UCSB athletes something, what would it be?

Answer: "UCSB athletics are class. The coaches care about you, the people care about you. This is a very special place and something that you should be proud to be a part of."

Question: It is easy to figure out the answer to this one, but we will ask it anyway. If there is one thing you could do in the future as part of UCSB Athletics, what would that be?

Answer: "Go to Omaha and the College World Series. I've been waiting for 39 years to go to Omaha. Dave Gorrie left UCSB and went to Pepperdine, and the first year he was there, they went to Omaha. It just wasn't fair!"

Question: When you think about the impact that you have had on UCSB athletes, coaches, and athletics as a whole, how does it make you feel?

Answer: "I'm very humble. I'm just a normal guy who loves people. If I have touched people at UCSB, that makes me happy. I know that I have been touched by people at UCSB, and I am very fortunate for that."

Question: What does it mean to you to have the Hall of Champions named for you?

Answer: "It absolutely blows my mind. To think that I never played baseball, football or basketball, but to be a member of the UCSB family, and to have my name on the Hall of Champions is amazing. There are no words to describe it."