Santa Barbara High will be making its 12th appearance in a CIF football final and seeking its sixth championship Saturday night. Here is the history of the Golden Tornado in title games.
1929: BIRTH OF THE TORNADO: Legendary coach Clarence Schutte took Santa Barbara from nowhere to being recognized as a perennial prep football power throughout the region from San Diego to Santa Maria. The Dons had adopted the nickname Golden Tornado for the playoffs when they took their first shot at a CIF title in Long Beach, where Poly High stopped them, 14-6.
1935-40: THREE FOR FIVE: The Golden Tornado’s first championship came in 1935 at the Rose Bowl, where it scored a late touchdown to edge Monrovia, 14-12. Two years later, Santa Barbara began a streak of four consecutive appearances in the championship game. 1937: In the only final played at Santa Barbara’s Peabody Stadium, quarterback Frankie Albert led Glendale to a 15-14 victory. 1938: The Golden Tornado won at Covina, 13-0. 1939: Alhambra prevailed over Santa Barbara at the L.A. Coliseum, 26-18. 1940: The Tornado posted a 26-0 shutout over Whittier to win its third title at the Coliseum. Inspirational 5′4″, 190-pound fullback Peter Zucco was CIF Player of the Year. He later spent 2½ years at a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp and came out weighing 100 pounds.