Lassen High class of 1964 standout Jerry Attaway was honored as the Alumni Association’s Alumnus of the Year at the annual picnic held Saturday at the Lassen County Fairgrounds.
Attaway was born in Susanville, attended Washington Elementary School and Roosevelt Junior High School and, after overcoming a childhood bout with Polio, played football, basketball, baseball and ran track for Lassen High, graduating in 1964.
From Lassen High, he went to Yuba College and then on to the UC Davis where he played cornerback on their football team.
After being sidelined for a while by a freak injury sustained while playing football, Attaway recovered for a year and a half traveling and working in Europe.
After returning home, a teammate, Paul Hackett became the Head Freshman Coach for the UC Davis and asked him to coach the defensive backs. This lasted for 3-years before he went to school where he could complete his degree. Next he coached for the College of Idaho for 3 years while earning a Masters Degree and a teaching credential. On to Utah State coaching for 2 years before moving to the University of Southern California to coach for 5 years.
From there it was on to the National Football League for 22 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, working for 5 different head coaches and two owners. Over the years he worked with NFL superstars like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott and Marcus Allen.
He retired in 2005 from the only National Football League team he had worked for. During his career he accumulated two Rose Bowl rings (USC); one Fiesta Bowl watch (USC); one National Championship ring (USC); thirteen National Football Conference West belt buckles (49ers); five Pro Bowl watches (49ers); and four Super Bowl rings (49ers).
Nearly 400 people gathered at the annual picnic to catch up with old friends and classmates from Lassen’s past. Alums traveled from as far away as New Jersey to attend and represented 11 different states across the country.
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