Coupeville Sports

   The shorts were shorter, the three-ball was non-existent and #35 set scoring records in the ’60s which I think we will find still stand. (Photo courtesy Jeff Stone)

It was a donnybrook.

Five sports entered the polling arena, and an hour later it was apparent we were locked in a death battle.

My little 48-hour poll to determine which CHS program deserved to get the first push in an effort to add to the school’s current record boards (track, volleyball, football) drew a lot of attention, and a fair amount of votes.

7,173 of them.

When the voting booth closed at 9 AM Friday morning, these were the final stats:

Basketball – 3,721
Softball – 3,044
Baseball – 198
Tennis – 188
Soccer – 22

That capped a battle where softball was up by 300+ votes, basketball flipped the tables to take a 400+ vote lead, softball cut the margin to a mere three votes Thursday night, then basketball put on a full-court press for the “win.”

So, what does that mean?

It does NOT mean softball or any of the other sports will not get their own record board.

My hope is to one day see glossy record boards raised for every CHS sport, a way to document the best achievements of the past while giving current Wolves something to aim at.

But, as was shown in the effort to bring football’s board up to date, there’s a lot of work involved in making these things a reality.

This poll was a way to give the people a say in which sport I direct my attention at first.

Researching 117 years of CHS history is not a simple task, especially when there is no magical “stat room” where a chain-smoking secretary of olden days faithfully filed away info.

We have to track down score books (or at least the ones which didn’t get thrown away), go through newspaper stories and be detectives.

Do all that, and then it’s time to harass the Booster Club into footing the bill for new boards and school officials into letting us hang them in the gym.

It’s a process, but one which hopefully will flow easy now that I’ve trod this path twice — once for the mammoth Wall of Fame in the CHS gym and then again with the football records.

So, I have my mission.

From Jeff Stone to Makana Stone, leave no stone unturned as we document basketball’s rich history in Cow Town.

How can you help?

First, if you have any CHS basketball info from any era — score-books, clippings, stat sheets, photos, etc. — send them my way.

My email is davidsvien@hotmail.com and my mailing address is 165 N. Sherman, Coupeville, WA 98239.

Second, take a moment to reach out to Keven R. Graves, the head honcho at the Whidbey News-Times and call upon his sense of civic duty.

Email him at kgraves@whidbeynewsgroup.com and maybe say:

We know your “prodigal son,” David, is an idiot, and he needs to stop making critical comments about the Whidbey newspapers he once happily cashed checks from.

But don’t let his lack of social skills stand in the way of the two of you continuing to work together to embrace and celebrate Coupeville sports history.

Don’t close the News-Times archives to him.

Cause, if nothing else, it’s easier to throw things at him when he’s sitting a mere five feet away from your office.

And finally, when you support Coupeville Sports, through donations, ads or purchases of my book, you keep me out of the dish pits and give me time and support to keep on writing while also accomplishing side projects like this.

Together, we can shine a spotlight on our local sports history, honor the past, inspire the present and spark the future.

A new game begins. Time for tip-off.