“Papa T” Dave Torres Sr.
Football Coach Dave “Papa T” Torres
Turning tragedy experienced as a child to a lifetime of triumph is the legacy of David “Papa T” Torres Sr., who spent his last 16 years as a constant presence on Anaheim High School’s athletic fields. He first arrived at The Colony in 1989, not long after his son and namesake Dave Torres Jr. became Anaheim’s varsity baseball coach and soon became a highly respected and much beloved coach and mentor.
Papa T’s story began in 1935, when he was born in the small town of McQueeney, Texas. Sadly, Torres said that he never knew his parents and was sent off to California following the death of his own father when he was just five years old. Placed at Saint Boniface Orphanage in Banning, it was there that he first learned to play baseball and football, both of which would become lifelong passions for him.
Eventually adopted, Torres played both sports at Riverside Poly High School and after graduating and then serving overseas in the U.S. Navy, he spent a couple of years playing minor league baseball for several clubs across the southeastern United States. In those days, he sometimes slept in barns when money was in short supply.
“I learned a lot from that. It teaches you perseverance and responsibility. . .not to quit,” Torres recalled of the experience.
Settling in Orange County, he built a janitorial business but after a few years was unable to continue due to a long illness. It was then that he began to be involved in sports on a more regular basis. First, he became an equipment manager at Sonora High School in La Habra and later became a baseball coach at Fullerton High School.
Papa T first came to Anaheim High School at a time of great change. When freshman football coach Raul Victores was elevated to varsity head coach in the summer of 1989, Torres was asked to take over the freshman team. Together with a new assistant coach named Lanny Booher, they worked together to mold a talented group of youngsters into the start of something special. The results were immediate, as the freshman Colonists stormed through the season with a 10-0 record. That team was led by a core group of future standouts in Giulian Buzila, Philip Covarrubias, Che Garcia and Brian Diaz who would propel Anaheim to a varsity league championship as seniors.
Nurturing Anaheim football’s future stars became Papa T’s specialty, and many of the greats such as Reuben and Robert Droughns, Jose and Angel Rodriguez, Steve Howard, Raul Zepeda, Luis Gomez and Jesus Acevedo learned football the Anaheim way under Coach Torres’s watchful guidance. For the next 15 or so years, Torres led Colonist football’s lower-level squads (sometimes junior varsity, but mostly freshman). Some seasons were outstanding, some less so, but through it all, Papa T’s players knew their biggest supporter was the man running the show.
This dedication also took place on the baseball diamond, as he was active for many years in Fullerton PONY baseball. Torres remained an active coach in both until 2005, when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
“I consider ‘Papa T’ a hero because he always helped everyone to become a better performer both on the field and in the classroom,” said George Perdickez, who was a captain on one of Torres’s last league championship freshman squads. “No matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better. We all took that sign seriously because he spoke the truth.”
On October 7, 2005, Papa T passed away at the age of 70 in his Fullerton home, leaving behind his wife Mary, son David, who spent many years as AHS boys athletic director and varsity baseball coach, daughter Denise, a longtime elementary school teacher in Fullerton, and four grandchildren.
His legacy would not be soon forgotten. About a year after his passing, Anaheim defeated rival Western 20-3 to reclaim the Victory Bell after a 10-year absence. Amid tears and cheers, the Colonist varsity football, nearly all of which had played for Torres in his final two teams, began chanting “Papa T! Papa T! Papa T!” as the clanging of the Bell resonated throughout Glover Stadium as that night helped to propel Anaheim all the way to a CIF championship game. Since then, the “Papa T” award is given annually to the top freshman football player at Anaheim High School.
Whether he knew your name or had to make one up, Papa T knew the boys who played for him, and they knew him.
