Alan Chick Epstein

On summer weekdays at 9:45 a.m. an army of kids storms into the driving-range area at Balboa and Encino golf courses armed with golf bags and lunch boxes looking for their general, Alan "Chick" Epstein. They range in age from 7 to 17--the majority of them in the younger half. Some of the youngest carry golf bags that are nearly as tall and heavy as they are, stuffed with hand-me-down clubs that have been sitting in the garage unused since long before they were born.

On summer weekdays at 9:45 a.m. an army of kids storms into the driving-range area at Balboa and Encino golf courses armed with golf bags and lunch boxes looking for their general, Alan "Chick" Epstein. They range in age from 7 to 17--the majority of them in the younger half. Some of the youngest carry golf bags that are nearly as tall and heavy as they are, stuffed with hand-me-down clubs that have been sitting in the garage unused since long before they were born.

David Belk tried to keep Birmingham High's dream postseason alive. Belk had three interceptions in the second half as the Braves attempted to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit, but their offense sputtered and Bell claimed the City Section 3-A Division football title with a 25-3 victory Friday night at Gardena High. The title is the first in football for Bell (11-3).

It was graduation day 1968 at Birmingham High and Mitch Voges, future U.S. Amateur golf champion, was about to venture down the long fairway of adulthood. A 26-year-old man called Chick by most and Coach by Voges stood quietly at the rear of the room, his face beaming. "It was the biggest smile I've ever seen and it conveyed one thing: his love for kids," Voges said. "He was satisfied with the work he had done."