by Tim Robinson

He was my roommate, he was our starting center and most of all he is my friend. In 1973 I help start a semi-pro football team at Highline stadium. I named the team the Sea-Tac Flyers, mostly due to the proximity to the airport.

Phil Pompeo was an original member of the Sea-Tac Flyers team. Phil had just completed military service (Navy). I was the sports editor of this paper. I never met Phil but watched him play in a memorable game (Highline vs Mt. Rainier in the fall of 1969. Phil played for the Pirates against a great Ram's team led by all league quarterback Dave Lutes. Many will attest that it was a game of games. The Rams prevailed 15-14 very likely instilling a desire for Phil to find redemption after the military by joining our semi-pro club.

In the first game, not five minutes into the game, Phil headed downfield in punt coverage where he was leveled by an opposing player. That hit took out Phil's knee, basically ending his career. Not one to be denied, Phil joined us in the press box, atop Highline Stadium, to assist and contribute where he could. It's not easy climbing those steps in crutches.

Phil is a "numbers guy" easily handling trigonometry and algebra. In football that translates to X's and O's so Phil was right at home designing plays.

Phil was 22, eager to help and the timing was good. Understanding numbers also means he was organized. So well; he made up practice schedules, ran drills, did bookkeeping and even checked gear in and out for players.

The Flyers weren't stellar that first year but Phil was so well liked I made him general manager of the team. The next year I hired him to be the sports editor of the paper. A good move since it meant lots of coverage for our team. Months later he became my roommate in Gregory Heights. I often sang around the house which must have irritated him enough to voice his disapproval. "you can't sing…without a guitar or a piano", he said in a muffled plea for me to stop. I don't recall if I ever did stop. Eventually Phil moved out, taking a job on a recommendation from his good friend Cap Prier. Prier owned the Burien Ice Chalet. The Ice Follies offered Phil a job as a front man, traveling from city to city to set up the shows. He did that for a year or two, coming back to Burien to rejoin me on the football team while accepting a job with his dad at a Steel fabricating business in South Park. I think Phil got homesick and sick of traveling constantly for the Follies.

Phil's arrival was just in time. In a bit of irony, Dave Lutes had joined our team, helping the now Burien Flyers to the league title and ultimately to the national playoffs in Southern California where the team was edged out of a victory, losing 10-7.

It was my last year with the Flyers. I sold the team but Phil was not done. He stayed on with the new ownership, eventually changing teams for the next several years and usually in a coaching/general manager role. Each team owner had recognized what I saw in Phil back in 1973. He's a winner.

Wes Fischer, of Everett, saw his talent too, nominating Phil as a candidate for enshrinement in the American Football Hall of Fame. Phil's 30 years in the game, his steady leadership and attention to detail are not the only qualities for that honor. He's also a fine person, good husband to his wife Kathy (who should be in the Hall too) and a big fan of Jimmy Buffett, who sang with a guitar and a margarita.

Phil must have known something about music as he would go to Seahurst Park to sit on a rock at the beach and strum his own guitar. I don't know if he ever sang though.

*Pompeo, in his induction speech, said "I wanted to still be a part of the team so after surgery, I crutched to every practice and spent every game in the booth helping the coaches. I discovered I had a real knack for reading defenses; and the rest is history..."  Pompeo coached for almost 30 years, coaching the Seattle Cavaliers, the West Seattle Hawks and the Snohomish County Vikings.  In 1984 he founded and was general manager of the Auburn Panthers.  The Panthers, under Pompeo's ownership and management, went undefeated for the next four seasons, 57 consecutive games; a record which still stands today.  The Panthers won the National Championship in 1986.  Pompeo ended his coaching career with the Portland (Oregon) Prowlers of the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL.)