There will be a public service Saturday, in the stadium that bears his name, to honor Herb Meyer, who had a record-setting career coaching high school football in Oceanside.
Meyer, who coached for nearly 50 years leading to his 2003 retirement, died April 8 at the age of 87.
The celebration of life will take place at 3 p.m. at El Camino High‘s Herb Meyer Stadium in Oceanside.
His teams won numerous championships, both at El Camino, and in the early years of his career, at his alma mater, Oceanside High.
According to the Oceanside High School Foundation, he graduated in the Class of 1953, after playing quarterback for the Pirates, before studying at Pomona College and returning to campus to teach and coach football.
In those early years of coaching, the Pirates won more than 100 games for Meyer, and two California Interscholastic Federation championships.
That was just the beginning. He shifted to El Camino High, becoming the first head football coach at the new school and guiding the Wildcats to 226 wins and eight CIF championships. By the time he retired, he had become the winningest coach in state history (other coaches have since surpassed his mark).
Meyer’s success led to his becoming the first coach from California to be inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. He also holds a spot in the National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame and was part of 2022’s inaugural class for the California High School Football Hall of Fame.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Herb Meyer Scholarship Memorial Fund to provide scholarships to Oceanside student athletes.