Mary and Bernie Lange, OHHS super fans. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
A legend is slated to return to Wildcat Memorial Stadium this Friday.
With the Oak Harbor High School football team a somewhat surprising 2-0 after wins over Inglemoor and Ferndale, the ‘Cats host Stanwood (0-2) in a 7:00 PM game.
When toe connects with ball on the opening kickoff, OHHS super fan Bernie Lange is expected to be back in the stands, distinctive voice cheering on his squad like in the old days.
Now 98 years old as of Sept. 17, the former coach and player doesn’t get to as many games as he once did, making his return to his stomping grounds even more special.
There was a time when Lange didn’t miss a game. Like ever.
Football was his primary passion — there was a stretch where he was in the stands, home or away, for all but a dozen from a 700+ game span — but he was also a devoted basketball and wrestling buff.
Add in baseball and softball games, and even tennis matches when their daughter played the sport for OHHS, and Lange and wife Mary have been the ultimate good luck charms for Wildcat athletics.
A few years back, while talking to former Whidbey News-Times Sports Editor Jim Waller, a man who also coached Wildcat teams for 30+ years, Bernie Lange was asked what drew him to watching local high school athletes.
It was the “enthusiasm and passion of the players,” he said.
They did it not for cash or glory, but for the love of the game.
There was the thrill of seeing the Wildcats finally break through and win a state football title in 2006 with a team which included current Coupeville High School gridiron coaches Bennett Richter and Bobby Carr.
And there were a lot of less memorable games, many of which have mercifully faded with time.
But they all were part of the tapestry of life, as the OHHS Class of 1945 grad, who was an accomplished Wildcat athlete himself in his younger days, has lived out a long-term love affair with a school and its athletes.
Lange was absent from the stands during a year-plus tour of duty with the United States Army during World War II, before returning to The Rock, where he has made his home since.
He played in a city basketball league, raced dirt-track cars, then moved into coaching, starting with little league.
The youth basketball and football programs in Oak Harbor were founded through the efforts of Lange and his compatriots and thrive to this day.
Through it all, he lived the life of a die-hard Wildcat fan, providing vocal support to generations of athletes repping the purple and gold.
He witnessed future National Football League draftees Kenny Lee and John Brady play for Oak Harbor.
Was there for landmark moments, such as Wildcat quarterback Jeff Short leading a remarkable fourth-quarter rally against Anacortes in 1966 to preserve an undefeated season.
Or hoops star Mark Anderson leave it all on the floor, sparking a five-overtime win against Meadowdale in ’83 on the hardwood.
Sometimes the memorable achievements were accomplished by his own family members.
Such as when Lange’s younger brother, Rich, snagged a long reception to cement a come-from-behind win over La Conner way back in ’47.
Through it all, he has been as loyal as any fan.
Friday night, as a new generation of Wildcat gridiron stars make a bid to go 3-0 in front of their home faithful, Lange will be back in his perch, high atop the stadium.
An Oak Harbor lifer, doing what he enjoys most.
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