The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Long Beach has always been a big city that feels like a small town, and that couldn’t be more true for the Wilson football team.
The Bruins hit the field on Friday night for their home opener and Centennial game, as they celebrated the school and football program’s 100th year. The game ended in a 31-6 loss to Huntington Beach, but the night was highlighted by a Centennial celebration with dozens of alumni and former football players in attendance.
The Bruins were strategic in scheduling their Centennial game against Huntington Beach—the first team Wilson ever played during its inaugural 1926-27 season. The Bruins won that matchup 100 years ago in a 15-7 battle, beginning what would become a century’s worth of family lineage within the program and school.
When the Bruins hit the field on Friday night, they were led by one of their captains in senior Kingston Meyer, who is part of that history as a fourth-generation Bruin along with his two older brothers. Meyer’s great-grandfather, Clifford Meyer Sr., was also a captain at Wilson 100 years ago on its first team in 1926 and is now the namesake of the school’s football stadium.
Clifford Meyer Sr., also known as Cliffy, had a son named Jon Meyer, who would later begin coaching at Wilson in 1975. Jon’s son, Scott, followed in his footsteps and was hired as Wilson’s head coach in 2021. Scott then had the opportunity to coach his son, Kingston, for a season before stepping down as head coach in 2024.
Jon Meyer, the eldest living member of the Meyer family, was present at the game and drew plenty of attention from alumni and former players he coached during his time at Wilson. Jon and his son, Scott Meyer, then took the field Friday night, joining Kingston and his fellow captains at midfield for the pregame coin toss.
“It was special to get my dad there and see the warm welcome and joy from everyone to see him and to see the smile on his face when we saw former players,” Scott said of his father, Jon, who was also a longtime LBUSD Boardmember. “My grandfather was pretty successful as a coach, but I never knew him as a coach, and all I always heard about was how great of a person he was rather than just a coach. I kinda had a flashback to him on Friday night by seeing how many people felt that same way about my dad as a coach as they did with my grandpa.”
The Meyer family’s ties to Wilson also intertwine with another familiar name who was present Friday night in former CIF Commissioner and football coach Rob Wigod. Wigod’s family history at Wilson dates back to his father, Richard Wigod, who played for the Bruins in 1947-48 under coach Cliffy Meyer.
That connection continued when Rob Wigod played for the Bruins in 1975-76 under Cliffy’s son Jon. Scott Meyer (Jon’s son) was a ball boy for that team as a young kid and would later play football at Wilson himself. Scott was then coached by Rob Wigod in 1980, bringing the connection between the Meyer and Wigod families full circle.
Rob Wigod and Scott Meyer later coached together at Lakewood from 1989-92. During Wigod’s final years as an athletic director and teacher at Lakewood, Scott’s father, Jon Meyer, became the school’s principal.
“I owe everything to Jon Meyer,” Rob Wigod said. “He made high school football so enjoyable. He was a history teacher and a football coach, and that was exactly what I wanted to be because of him. I met him as a 15-year-old kid, and then many years later he was my principal. Everything that I ended up doing, as a teacher, athletic director and then CIF Commissioner, I owed to Jon Meyer.”
The Meyer family isn’t the only one with ties dating back to Wilson’s earliest days. The first-ever touchdown in Wilson history was scored by William Smitheran against Huntington Beach, and Smitheran later graduated that year as part of Wilson’s first-ever graduating class. Smitheran and his son’s, Jack and Bill Smitheran, are all etched into Wilson history as Hall of Famers.
The family’s connection to Wilson continued into the next generation with Jack and Bill Smitheran’s sons. Bill’s son, Warren, would later become an athletic director at Wilson, while Jack’s son, Bobby, is now the athletic director at Long Beach State. Jack and his nephew Warren were both at Friday’s game and joined the captains at midfield for the coin toss.
There were plenty of other alumni present, including legendary Wilson football player Jeff Severson, who graduated in 1967 and later had an eight-year career in the National Football League. Fellow Class of ’67 graduate Bobby Grich was also in attendance. Grich was Wilson’s starting quarterback before going on to become a six-time MLB All-Star.
Multiple alumni from other sports were also at Friday night’s game to be inducted into the Wilson Hall of Fame. Those athletes included Nicole Grayson Bodnar (Class of 2003), Maria Sop (2008), John Sagehorn (1971), Matt Sagehorn (2006), David Hodges (1986) and Nyjah Cousar (2009).
