In Memory

Ed Pepple (Teacher)

Ed Pepple (Teacher)

 

Many of us remember MHS' basketball coach, Ed Pepple, in 1964 and 1965 before he moved on to Mercer Island High School where he earned accolades as a Hall of Fame basketball coach. Ed died on Sept. 14 at the age of 88.  For any of us who interacted with Mr. Pepple, we remember his inspiring attitude toward kids and his guidance as a teacher. I have shared the obituary as it appeared in the Seattle Times, Sept. 15, and hope you can read it okay, here.  If not, I have also attached the link to the Times. There you will find many great pictures of Ed.  -- Anne Mackie

copyright, Seattle Times

"Ed Pepple, Hall of Fame Mercer Island basketball coach, dies at age 88"

Sep. 14, 2020 at 12:34 pm | Updated Sep. 14, 2020 at 7:08 pm

By Craig Smith
Special to The Seattle Times

Ed Pepple, whose name was synonymous with Mercer Island High School boys basketball for 42 years, died in his sleep Monday morning at age 88. He  had cancer, said his son, Kyle.

“You play for him your whole life,” Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder said Monday, his voice cracking with emotion in a telephone interview after receiving the news.

Snyder, who played at Duke after being on the 1985 Islanders state-title team, said it was easier to write his feelings, and had earlier sent a text message: “Coach Pepple was the hub of a wheel that extended across states and generations. What he built he did so in foundational values that represented his beliefs. Basketball was the metaphor for those values. He was kind, he was tough when you needed him to be. And no matter how hard, he always told you the truth.”

Pepple is the winningest coach in Washington history with a record of 952-306 over 49 years. That includes early stops at Fife High School and Mark Morris High School in Longview. He was 882-237 at Mercer Island, where he won 23 KingCo Conference titles.

He is in six halls of fame, including the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame and the National High School Coaches Hall of Fame.

Pepple’s Islanders teams won four state championships, with three at the 4A level (1985, 1993, 1997) and the 3A title in 1999. His 1981 team lost to Shadle Park when what appeared to many to be a late basket by the Spokane team was counted as good. That game is generally cited as the most controversial ending to any prep championship game in state history.

Rainier Beach coach Mike Bethea once said of Pepple, “He’s THE legend as far as high school boys basketball goes. He set the standard. Every program out there has a little Ed Pepple in it.”

Born in Denver, Pepple lived in six states and attended 20 schools, in part because his stepfather was in the Army. He played three sports at Lincoln High School, where he developed as a 5-foot-9 guard on a state-tournament team coached by Bill Nollan.

After a season at Everett Community College, Pepple transferred to the University of Utah and played there. After college, Pepple joined the Marine Corps and served before starting his career as a teacher and coach. His first season at Mercer Island was 1967-68 with a team featured Steve Hawes, who later starred at the University of Washington and went on to a 10-year NBA career.

Pepple started the feeder “Little Dribblers” basketball program on Mercer Island in the early 1970s, and it gave him a pipeline of players. His high school teams were among the first in the state to travel to out-of-state tournaments during the Christmas holidays.

In team meetings each year he worked with players to develop what he called a “recipe for success.” First-person pronouns were to be avoided — “I, me, my and mine” and were to be replaced by “we, us and our.” A disciplinarian, Pepple disliked long hair, and players’ haircuts had to meet his approval.

Pepple retired from teaching at Mercer Island in 1988 but continued to coachthrough the 2008-09 season. As word of Pepple’s decline spread in recent weeks, the family received more than 100 notes, cards and letters from former players, opponents, managers and stat-crew members.

At a retirement dinner in 2009 attended by about 300, Pepple said, “No coach has been more blessed than I.” As the dinner concluded, Pepple took off his maroon blazer and left it on the podium for his successor, Gavin Cree. It was in keeping with the Islanders tradition of seniors taking off their blazers and leaving them at season’s end.

Along with his son Kyle, of East Wenatchee, Pepple is survived by his wife of 65 years, Shirley; sons Terry of Mercer Island; and daughters Jody (Page) of Enumclaw and Jill (Logie) of San Diego. Jill’s son, Matt, is a former Islanders player who now is the coach at Point Loma Nazarene in California. There are five other grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Ed and Shirley met when he was playing at Everett Community College and she was homecoming queen at Everett High School, Kyle Pepple said. Kyle Pepple said his father will be cremated and his ashes placed in Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.

By Craig Smith

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/ed-pepple-hall-of-fame-mercer-island-basketball-coach-dies-at-age-88/



 
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09/17/20 11:46 AM #1    

Jerry Steele

I didn't (and still don't) like working.  So, I failed sophomore English.  I had to re-take it in my senior year, and I got Mr. Pepple as my teacher.  I loved that guy!  He was a great teacher, and he paid attention to everyone, including real slackers, like me.  I was vaguely aware that he was coaching basketball, but me being very short, yet extremely slow, (and quite lazy), it seems Mr. Pepple wasn't too interested in recruiting me.  But he got me through English!


09/18/20 12:59 AM #2    

Dick Horch

Coach Pepple & I remained friends for over 50 years.  I saw him 2 or 3 times every year, & when I knew one of his players, maybe 10 times a years or more.  As great as he had become, he never once ignored me or looked the other way when our paths crossed, almost always at a basketball game, State Tournament, or a summer league game.  Over the years, he 3 times offered me coaching jobs at Mercer Island.  I never felt that I had what it took to be successful at the high school level, so I gave an excuse and never pursued any of the jobs.      I was very successful with 9th. grade boys teams, a couple Sophomore boy's teams & a high school Junior Varsity team, but always felt that I was a much better teacher than I was a coach.  Between my son's junior & senior year, I asked Ed if he would allow Rich to play on one of the 8 summer league teams at Mercer Island.    He said sure, & put Rich on one of his better teams.  Rich's school was in an A league, while Mercer Island was in the AA or AAA League.  Rich did really well & it did wonders for his confidence when he came back to his tiny little A school for his Sr. year.  I admired Ed for what he accomplished in his coaching career & for the way he treated me whenever we were together.  I feel very fortunate to have known him.                                            Dick Horch


09/18/20 05:23 PM #3    

Marty Marthaler

Wasn’t coach Pepple also the tennis coach our first two years??

 


09/19/20 01:00 AM #4    

Anne Mackie

Yes, Ed Pepple was the tennis coach as well as basketball coach. I found a photo in the yearbook addendum and will get it posted soon.


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