Close to a thousand people came to pay tribute to the late William “Bill” Warren Boswell at Westminster High in what has been dedicated twice as Boswell Field and is, many say, the finest looking high school stadium in all of Orange County.
Close to a thousand people came to pay tribute to the late William “Bill” Warren Boswell at Westminster High in what has been dedicated twice as Boswell Field and is, many say, the finest looking high school stadium in all of Orange County.
Boswell, passed away at his home on May 14, 2013. He was 78. He is an alumni and Athlete of the Year of Huntington Beach High School in 1953 and attended University of Southern California, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business and masters in education.
When Westminster High opened in 1959, Boswell became the school’s first head football coach for 19 years until retiring in 1978 and continuing coaching the sophomore football team afterward. During his 19 years of coaching, the Lions won five Sunset League Championships while boasting a record of 120 wins 65 losses and 5 ties including a very satisfying 14-0 record against rival Marina.
Before retiring in 1994, Boswell was also a teacher for 37 years and held the positions of governors council for physical fitness, Westminster High’s athletic director, Huntington Beach Union High School District’s athletic director, National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame’s vice president, Orange County Athletic Directors Association’s president, president of California State Athletic Directors Association and conference manager for the California State Athletic Directors Association.
In 1998, Huntington Beach Union High School District honored his achievements and contributions by dedicating the football field at Westminster High to him. The field was later rededicated in 2009 when Westminster High had its renovation and new stadium built.
On this occasion, the 27-foot JumboTron scoreboard showed colorful pictures of Bill Boswell with family and teams dating back to his days of playing in high school through the present.
The all-year reunion planner (August 17), Penny Loomer, also decorated the walkway with even more pictures to give those paying their respects some personal incite to the man that earned so much love and respect.
Friends and family entered the stadium and were awed by the beauty and appropriate tribute to such a kind, hard working, loving family man.
His children and grandchildren were a perfect testament to the legend that Boswell created simply by being himself, always a teacher and father and a man who always seemed to calmly deliver the perfect analogy, poem, light humor or lesson.
Many family members and lifelong friends eloquently carried on the humble Boswell tradition and praised the man who set the tone as ideal teacher, coach, sports administrator, father and husband to what Bill called the best friend and wife a man could ever dream of, Jo.
The number of former players, coaches and teachers present brought an amazing talent pool of those keeping the Boswell philosophies going and former players, colleagues and current head coach and defensive coordinator of the defending league champion Westminster Lions, Ted McMillen and Jack Bowman, also spoke of these values and traditions that shaped their careers as well as the style of coaching that the current teams play.
The varsity team was present along with the ASB students to welcome all to the occasion and supply them with bottled water on what was a 90-degree day and what coach Boswell would call “Football Weather.”
It should be noted that all weather was called “Football Weather” and that any situation was a teaching situation.
