The proposed new high school in San Diego was “too far from town,” citizens complained. The year was 1923. With school board member Edgar F. Hastings and others pushing for it, the project was approved, and construction of a beautiful Spanish-style facility began. On Sept. 22, 1925, the new structure was dedicated as Point Loma Junior-Senior High School, opening its doors to 386 students in grades 7-12. The students were instructed by a staff of 30 teachers under the direction of Principal Pete Ross. Students combined the school’s location and a hunting dog to create the nickname “Pointers” and adopted a spotted hound as the school mascot. Some refused to stop complaining about the school’s location and labeled it “Hastings’ Folly.” If Hastings were still alive, however, he would bear witness to the fruits of his vision — a cascade of notable achievements and accomplishments that have since washed through the walls of time to create the venerable institution that is today’s Point Loma High School. As PLHS prepares to celebrate its 85th anniversary on Nov. 13 at Liberty Station, the school can boast of an exceptional number of graduates who have gone on to fulfill dreams and goals — along the way collecting recognition from the community, the nation and the world. Thousands of Pointer alumni have contributed to their communities through diverse pursuits like medicine, law, education, arts and entertainment, business, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and other arenas. As the school reaches its milestone of 85 years as a local academic institution, The Peninsula Beacon salutes all Point Loma alums. The following Who’s Who of notable Point Loma High individuals is, by no means, complete. After each person’s name are parentheses with the students’ year of graduation. PLHS Hall of Fame members are denoted by “HOF.” THE ARTS • Marion Ross (class of ’46) is an actress with Broadway, film and TV credits. Her most famous role was as Marion Cunningham on the “Happy Days” TV show from 1974 to 1984. • Spencer Moses (’90) is an actor with Broadway and extensive regional theater credits. • Suzy Spafford (’63 HOF) created “Suzy’s Zoo” and has sold millions of greeting cards, calendars and stationery worldwide. • Steven V. Correia (’67 HOF) is known as one of the greatest glass artists in history. His work is in the Smithsonian and White House art collections. Correia Middle School in Point Loma bears his name. • Nicole Opper (’98) is an award-winning documentary film producer and director. • Richard Arnold (’59) has operated his own sculpture studio in Telluride, Co. since 1973. His bronze sculpture “Spirit of The Pointer Dog,” will be installed on the PLHS campus in a ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 14. • Joe Hutching (’72 HOF) won Oscars for film editing on “Born on the Fourth of July” and “JFK.” • Aaron Zigman (’80) has written musical scores for more than 30 films, including “Sex and the City” 1 and 2, and “The Ugly Truth.” • Eric and Chris Reading (’86) are a Nashville country-western singing duet with a promising future. • Jason Scheff (’80) became the bass player and a vocalist for the rock band Chicago in 1985. • Steve Withers (’78) is a pianist who toured with Michael Crawford’s solo show and is a veteran cast member of the comedy “Forever Plaid.” • Jack Gross (’47) wrote episodes of many TV shows including “Gilligan’s Island,” “Different Strokes,” “My Favorite Martian” and others. Deceased. • Margaret Avery (’61) was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Shug Avery in the film “The Color Purple.” • Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald (both ’96) are members of the local hit band Slightly Stoopid, and were signed by Skunk Records while still students at PLHS. ATHLETICS: • Faye Baird Fraser (’27) is recognized as the first woman to surf in San Diego. • Florence Chadwick (’36) was a world-famous endurance swimmer and became the first woman to swim the 23-mile English Channel in both directions. Deceased. • Jack Prodanovich (’32) was recognized as a pioneer in skin diving and spear fishing. Was head custodian at PLHS for years. Deceased. • Peter Peckham(’44) was a three-time world champion sailor in the Pacific Class (PC) boat. A major real estate investor and philanthropist, Peckham’s family funded the girls’ softball field at PLHS and a wing of lockers in the 300 building. Deceased. • Malin Burnham (’45 HOF) is a well-known insurance executive, investor and philanthropist in San Diego. Won the prestigious Star-class world sailing championship at the age of 17 at PLHS. • Lowell North (’47 HOF) won a sailing gold medal in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Founder of North Sails. • Dennis Conner (’60) achieved fame by winning sailing’s America’s Cup four times. Also a two-time Star-class world champion. • Mark Reynolds (’73) also won Star-class Olympic gold sailing in 1992 (Barcelona, Spain) and 2000 (Sydney, Australia). • Don Larsen (’47 HOF) stunned the baseball world when, on Oct. 8, 1956, he threw a perfect game for the Yankees in The World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. • David Wells (’82 HOF) also pitched a perfect game for the Yankees on May 17, 1998 against the Toronto Blue Jays. PLHS baseball field at Dana Middle School was officially named “David Wells Field” last year. • Jeff Staggs (’62) was a football linebacker at San Diego State University and played pro football for the AFL and NFL Chargers and Cardinals from 1967 to 1973. • Greg Slough (’65) played linebacker at the University of Southern California and professionally for the Oakland Raiders from 1971-72. • Peter McNabb (’70) played 14 years of NHL hockey, making the All-Star team in 1977. Played for Team USA in 1986. • Jacqui (Nicoletti) McSorley (’80) won the Jr. World Golf Championship for her age division in 1973. Went to USC on a golf scholarship, played on Japan’s LPGA tour. • Kelly Ricon Mitchell (’77) was a member of the U.S. Olympic crew team. • Terry Mann (‘87) played on the four-time state championship Lady Pointer basketball team that went 122-1 during that time. She was California Player of the Year twice. Scored 3,188 points in her PLHS career, set a state record of 250 steals in a season and a U.S. record of 2,256 career rebounds. • Eric Allen (‘83) was a defensive back in football who went on to stardom at Arizona State University and with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.  He was a six-time Pro Bowl selection and is still the only player to return three or more interceptions for touchdowns in two separate seasons. • JJ Stokes (‘90) played as a wide receiver at the University of Califoria, Los Angeles before joining the San Francisco 49ers as a first-round draft choice. Spent nine years in the NFL. • La’Roi Glover (‘92) defensive lineman who starred at SDSU before being drafted in the NFL. Played 13 seasons with six Pro Bowl selections. He donates two major scholarships annually to PLHS seniors. • Class of 2010 members Kevin Laube, Jake LaDow, Shone Bowman, Jake Reynolds, Claire Bagg and Reece Bernet won the National High School Sailing Championship. Team members Olin Paine, Will Herrin and Kyle Sutter and others are current PLHS students. ACADEMICS: • Jeffrey Bennett (‘76) is a well-known astronomer, educator and author living in Colorado. He has written five textbooks and developed a solar system model on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. • Todd Benjamin (‘69) has been seen by millions worldwide as a financial reporter/interviewer for the CNN Network. • Gordon Thompson (‘47) was appointed as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 1970 by President Richard M. Nixon. • Larry Irving (‘52) was also appointed as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan. He resigned in 1990. • David Thompson (‘49) was appointed as a federal Judge, Court of Appeals, 9th District in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan. He served until 1998. • Mack Lovett (‘49) was named as a Superior Court judge in San Diego County in 1974. He retired in 1995. • John Thompson (‘68) and Gerald Jessop (‘69) are currently serving as Superior Court judges in San Diego County. They were re-elected in June. POLITICS: • John de Beck (‘47) is currently serving on the San Diego Unified School District’s Board of Education. First elected in 1990, he lost his re-election bid Tuesday. • Bill Lowery (‘65) was a San Diego City Councilmember from 1977-80. In 1980, he was elected to the 41st District Congressional seat and re-elected five times. • Byron Wear (‘72) was elected to represent the Point Loma community in District 2 on the San Diego City Council in 1995 and 1998. • Ben Hueso (‘87) was elected to the District 8 seat on the San Diego City Council in 2006 and subsequently elected City Council president. He was in a runoff race this week for re-election. PHILANTHROPY: The Hervey Family:  The generosity of the Hervey family, which includes four PLHS alumni, has assisted with many on-campus and community projects, including the ocean-themed Point Loma branch of the San Diego Public Library that bears their name. • Susanne Cramer Ballantyne (‘50) has given thousands of hours to establish and maintain records of PLHS alumni. Writing by hand before the computer era, she copied and maintained every graduation record. She still reports information to PLHS Alumni Director Kim Jessop (‘73), and as Jessop says, “can recognize any PLHS alumni from 50 paces!” THE FUTURE: A new eight-classroom building will open in January. That will free up precious campus space that will be converted to state-of-the-art music and video production facilities. A new sports medicine program for students will also open in partnership with Point Loma Nazarene University. Upgrades to the school’s infrastructure are also scheduled with Proposition S money. PLHS HISTORY: BY THE NUMBERS 2 — Perfect games pitched in major league baseball by alumni Don Larsen and David Wells. PLHS is the only high school in the U.S. with this distinction. 4 — High school sailing championships won by PLHS (2003-05, 2010). 122-1 — Lady Pointers’ basketball record during a run of four straight state basketball championships. 2,256 — Career rebounds for Lady Pointer basketball player Terri Mann — a U.S. record. 3,188 — Points scored by Mann in her PLHS career. 250 — Steals in a season by Mann — a state record. 13.5 — Acres occupied by the PLHS campus 52 — Recommended acreage for a school with a population similar to that of PLHS 30 — Teachers assigned to PLHS when it opened in 1925. 386 — Number of students when the school first opened. 7-12 — Grades of students who attended PLHS when it first opened. 10-12 — Grades remaining at PLHS after Dana Junior High opened in 1949. 9-12 — Grades attending PLHS since Dana was closed in 1983. 2,050 — Approximate current enrollment at PLHS. 4 — Number of times in the last five years the PLHS football team has reached the CIF Div. III Championships at Qualcomm Stadium — Compiled by Scott Hopkins