• Merle Millam, year 2000 inductee to the "Wall of Fame" in the Koplitz Fieldhouse, was born December 8, 1903 in Lowry, Missouri.

    As a child his family moved to Darby, Montana and later to South Bend where he attended his sophomore and junior years of high school. He excelled in all sports, especially track. During the 1922 Pacific County track meet he took first in the 100, 200, and 440 yard dashes, second in the 50 yard dash and third in the discus. He returned to Darby his senior year and graduated in 1923. He continued his education, graduating in 1929 from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. There he also starred in football, basketball and track.

    Mr. Millam returned to South Bend to teach and coach in 1934. He coached football, basketball, and track from 1934 through 1943. His teams won league championships in football and county championships in track.

    He became principal in 1943 and served in that capacity until his retirement at the end of the 1961 school year, In 1962, in front of a packed house School Board chairman, Bob Gerwig dedicated the football field to be named "Millam Field."

    Merle and Josephine (Markham) also a teacher whom he married in 1936 moved to the Long Beach peninsula after retirement. He died April 27, 1990. The Millams had no biological children but dedicated their lives to the growth and development of young people through teaching and community involvement.