Over the years we have featured Coronado High School’s past great athletes during the week of Homecoming. We have honored the career of Hal Tobin, the former Coronado football All-American, generally considered the best football player to have donned the green and white.

Also featured have been Paul Plumb, Walt Heineke and Marty Jensen, the latter thought by many to be the best all-around athlete in Coronado’s history.

This year we’ll recount the exploits of Dennis P. Grimaud, CHS Class of 1958, who was the ‘other’ halfback in the Split T formation that featured Tobin. You can make the case that the personable Grimaud, 65, who still calls Coronado home, ranks quite high on both the ‘Best Athlete’ and ‘Best Football Player’ all-time lists at Coronado.

The great part about the Grimaud story is that with Denny, you get the story of the entire Grimaud clan, and a little later in our tale, a couple of slices of Coronado history will emerge.

Denny was born in Coronado Hospital in 1939, during the days when the hospital was located in downtown Coronado. Rumor has it that the delivery table was located in the exact spot later occupied by real estate agent Anthony Furlano’s desk. Denny was the fifth of seven children of Adeleine Estelle Grimaud and Andre Grimaud, and the family lived in a small home located at 460 Orange Avenue.

Mom Adeleine was a practical nurse at Coronado Hospital, while dad Andre was a local developer and landscaper. Andre and his brother Louis built the edifice which currently houses the Mexican Village Restaurant. "The right side of the building held Grimaud’s Home Appliance," recalled Grimaud. "The building was completed in 1946, the same year my dad died of a heart attack."

"When I was 12 or 13 years old, we used to play tackle football with my brothers in the backyard," Grimaud said. "We had lots of hand-me-downs. The clothes went from boy to boy." The result of growing up in a single parent home was that the kids became extraordinarily close.

Today, all of the siblings live relatively close by. Sister Donna Ecoffey, 76, is the oldest and lives in Chula Vista. Then follow the five brothers: Ron (72) also of Chula Vista; Maurice (71), known as ‘Swede,’ who lives across the back alley from Denny; Lowell (67) of Carlsbad; and Gary (63) of Ocean Beach. The youngest is Annette Metje (61) of Yuma, Ariz. "We still get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and for major birthdays," said Denny of his family. "Everybody is still alive and still breathing." Donna and Annette were cheerleaders at CHS, while the five boys all played football among other sports.

Hal Tobin and Denny Grimaud formed the ‘thunder and lightning’ combination at halfback for a very good Coronado "Greenie" team in 1957, as they were nicknamed then. They were also referred to as the "Wave." The team posted a record of 6-3 under the direction of Head Coach Rodger Rigdon.

Contacted at his home recently, Rigdon still knows how good his halfback combination was that season. "Denny was our speed back. He was a pretty good-sized kid and he could run. He was one of the guys we would pitch the ball to, and he would run wide. He made the yards to get it down toward the goal line. We would not have scored as many points on the inside as we did without Denny running on the outside."

The more things change, the more they remain the same. In 1957, the athletes played both ways, on both offense and defense. Grimaud who wore uniform number 88, played alongside Tobin in his familiar 66 uniform, in the defensive backfield as well as in the offensive backfield. Now 47 years later, Islander football players still battle on both sides of the ball. Tobin scored 139 points their senior season, while Grimaud added 79.

"He was first team offense and defense for his junior and senior years," said Rigdon of Grimaud. "He was pretty outstanding in our league, the old Avocado League. Whenever we talked about the team, we talked about Grimaud and Tobin. We didn’t talk about one without talking about the other."

"Hal was a straight ahead runner," said Grimaud. I returned kicks and ran around the end. I had the speed and he had the power. I know because I drew Hal in the tackling drills in practice."

Also playing on that team were current Coronadoans Tom Mustin, Jon Sanford, Bob Kipperman, Robin Crenshaw and Paul Plumb. San Diego political figure Peter Q. Davis was in the CHS graduating class of 1958 and also played on the football team.

In that era, the linemen were in the 180-200 pound range, but according to Grimaud, they were tough. "We played smash mouth football. Mustin was one of our linemen and he wasn’t afraid of anybody. Paul Plumb played hard. He wasn’t afraid of getting hurt. We had a great bunch of guys. Hal was a good guy to play with. Of course it’s fun when you’re winning."

As outstanding as he was on the football field, Grimaud may have been at his best on the track, where he lettered twice. In addition, he lettered twice on the varsity basketball team. "Basketball wasn’t my favorite sport. In 1956 we won the CIF title. We had a fast break team and we needed a rabbit. The starting players were fantastic. Basketball was more of a conditioning thing for me."

Grimaud’s ‘retirement’ from the basketball team his senior year to participate in intramurals didn’t last long, as Head Coach John Kovac yelled at Grimaud, "What do you think you’re doing? Get back on that court."

"I can still picture him, and hear that voice," laughed Grimaud.

His senior year on the CHS track team, Grimaud ran the 100-yard dash in 10-flat, the 220-yard dash in 22.1 seconds, the 440 in 52.6, and earned 110.5 points for Coronado, while Tobin was second in points earned with 64.5. Together, with Bill Martin and Bruce Yates, they formed the school’s 880-yard relay team.

In several photos found in the 1958 edition of the Beachcomber Yearbook, Grimaud and Tobin are pictured together. Grimaud was named Most Athletic, while Tobin was Most Popular Boy. The two old halfbacks still frequently get together and reminisce over a round of golf.

After his playing days at Coronado were over, Grimaud took a year off and then played football at Oceanside Junior College, which is now Mira Costa College. "I was having a good year and in one of the last games, I was hit by two guys going in opposite directions," Grimaud recounted. The result was a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which ended his football career. "Everything was detached, but they got it all back together. The doctors told me I shouldn’t play any more." Grimaud has the criss-crossed scars on his knee to prove it.

Grimaud then went to work for the Coronado Police Department, where he worked from 1965-82. In May of 1974, Grimaud was working as part of a narcotics task force that was investigating three military members dealing cocaine. A drug deal, which had been set up the evening before at 5^th Street and Pomona Avenue, went bad. "The agent rolled out of the car and I came in to help save him. I shot one of the bad guys when he shot at me. I was kneeling in the middle of the street and glass was flying. One of the state’s patrol cars had 28 bullet holes in it. It was like the movie ‘Bonnie and Clyde.’ I thought ‘this isn’t real.’ Nobody died." Grimaud was recognized in a citation issued by the California attorney general for his efforts at stopping the two-kilo cocaine purchase, worth $30,000 at the time.

Grimaud explained how he met his wife Carol as "a typical cop/nurse thing. Our superiors conspired to get us together." The couple has been married since 1967 and has two sons, Scott Edward (CHS ’90) and Michael Andre (CHS ’93). Both kids are accomplished tennis players, with Scott playing No. 1 doubles for Head Coach Robbin Adair at CHS and Andy playing No. 1 singles. Scott currently works in the courier business in Oakland, while Andy is an Air Force captain stationed at Kendall AFB in Panama City, Fl. Andy played tennis for two seasons at the University of Portland.

During his career, Grimaud found time to be a head coach for Coronado Youth Soccer for 8 years, referee countless youth soccer games, and to shuttle his kids to juniors’ tennis matches in the Los Angeles area and throughout Southern California.

Denny was diagnosed with cardio myopathy in 1982, which forced his retirement from the Coronado PD, where he reached the rank of sergeant. He then worked as a computer troubleshooter for Wang Laboratories for 9 years. "When I saw where Wang was headed, I quit. Then I worked in home maintenance for 2 years."

Grimaud served as the director of security and maintenance at the Coronado Shores for 9 ½ years, followed by a 10-month stint as the head of 14 local homeowners associations. "It nearly killed me." Now Grimaud works three days a week at Coronado Paint & Glass for proprietor Phil Hammett, and says "I play golf in between."

Grimaud claims that his regular Thursday/Saturday foursome comprised of Dr. Donald Dill, Mike Kephart, and his older brother and retired Air Force Colonel Swede Grimaud, doesn’t bet on the golf course. "You should never bet on anything you can’t control," says Grimaud. He admits to shooting in the 85-88 range for 18 holes at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course. My bet would be that Grimaud would shoot exactly one stroke better than your best effort.

A recent phone call to Grimaud found him closely following the Chargers victory over the Raiders. He also takes Bailey the family Shih-Tzu by Niedermeyer Field to see how the Islanders are faring during their home games.

Grimaud, who looks like he could still carry the pigskin for the old alma mater, has had four knee operations, two on each leg; four shoulder surgeries; and three operations on his right foot. Grimaud may not be capable of an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown like he once did for Coronado High School, but then again, you wouldn’t want to bet against him.