BELLINGHAM – After 46 seasons as the head football coach at Meridian, it was announced on Monday that Bob Ames has retired after coaching 500 games, and winning 332 of them.
The backwards hat. The black shorts. The Fu Manchu. The hilarious quotes. These might be a few of the things that football fans outside the Meridian Trojan program think of when Coach Ames is brought up.
If you bleed back and gold, there will be other things that you think of first when reminiscing about the legendary coach.
His genuine love for his players over the years. How he brought three state championships to the tiny town of Laurel. The twinkle in his eye when he smiles at you. His ability to get the very most out of his players. How he was everyone’s favorite history, physical education and driver’s ed teacher.
He’s a living legend that has touched the lives of thousands of athletes and students, and there will never be another person like him.
Ames grew up in Hawaii, and was a part of the last barefoot tackle football league in high school. They also practiced with leather helmets, and it was exciting when he and his teammates were able to use the new plastic helmets (that weren’t fitted) in the games during his final two years of high school.
He then walked on to the Western Washington University football team, and played four years at center and defensive tackle.
After graduation, Ames interviewed for a teaching/coaching job at Ferndale, but didn’t get the job, and he eventually took a job as an assistant coach at Mount Si High School.
In August of 1974, he and his wife Pam were in Whatcom County visiting Pam’s family. He was told by an old college friend that there was a head coach opening at Meridian High School. It was late notice, but Bob went to the school and was almost immediately offered the job. The timing couldn’t have been better, as Pam was pregnant with their first child, Christopher, and this was the perfect time to move closer to her family in Whatcom County.
Ames took the job just one week before practices began, and he had to play catch-up. There was a fair amount of talent on his first team, which was led by quarterback Bob Unruh who went on to kick briefly in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.
Coach Ames’ first Meridian team finished 3-6, and it got worse the next season when the Trojans finished 0-10. The program stuck with Ames, and it was a good thing it did. Meridian posted its first seven-win season in school history the following season, going 7-3, and finished 6-4 the next season.
The Trojans had their first AP All-State 1st Team performer in 1982 with junior outside linebacker Travis Welch, but a 5-4 record put the Trojans just out of reach of their first ever state playoff appearance. The early 80’s Trojan teams were also led by running back/linebacker Duffy Cox.
“There is no doubt Coach Ames was an incredible football coach,” Cox said in a text message. “Perhaps one of the best in the state. He has positively impacted so many lives through his career it would be nearly impossible to question the success of his program. The Meridian community has been especially fortunate because he was not only a great coach, but he was also a great educator and person.”
If you ask Coach Ames who the best player was that he ever coached, he will give you a small handful of names. Duffy Cox is always in that small group.
“I think a lot of his success as a coach came from his ability to connect with, and teach young people,” Cox added. “We didn’t always win our games, but we always knew our team was prepared to play. Many of us learned from him that there was more than just the play on the field; it was how we were challenged in all the things we do. Being respectful of our opponents, serving our community, and taking care of our teammates were a few of the best lessons I learned from him. I always felt Coach Ames prepared his athletes for so much more than the Friday night game. Many thanks to him for all his contributions to the community, the athletes, the students, his family and of course to the Game!”
Travis Welch was again named All-State in 1983 as a senior, and helped Meridian reach the state playoffs. Ames’ defense that season allowed just 2.1 points per game in the regular season. It was the first of 18 league championships that Meridian would win under Coach Ames.
“Coach was like my father, more than my real father to be honest,” said two-way All-State lineman Terry Toland, who graduated from Meridian in 1985. “He pushed me (us) everyday. He gave me an understanding of commitment and hard work and how that shapes a man. He was a lot younger then but winning wasn’t as important I felt as doing the right thing in practice and in games.”
Toland was a member of the first Trojan team to make the state playoffs, as well as the first Trojan team to reach the state championship game.
“I think he felt if you handled your business the right way, the rest takes care of itself,” Toland added. ” He made all of us better human beings. I can’t really put into words how important that man was to me and my life. I love him as a son loves his father.”
Toland followed Welch, and was named All-State 1st Team. They were the first two, and Coach Ames would go on to coach 38 other players to accomplish the same feat.
The Trojans remained one of Whatcom County’s top teams throughout the 1980’s, and it appeared that the Ames was going to hang it up as the decade came to a close.
While living in the Mount Baker school district, all of his children attended elementary school, and junior high school, at Mount Baker. Coach Ames was ready to help out the Mount Baker football program once Christopher got to high school. Christopher grew up cheering on his dad, and the Meridian Trojans, so when he decided to transfer to Meridian before his freshman year, it solidified the decision for Coach Ames to stay on at Meridian. All four of Christopher’s siblings; Patrick, Michael, Elizabeth and Kathryn, would go on to do the same, and attend high school at Meridian.
“To have my dad as coach and father was an incredible blessing,” Christopher said in an email. “Like so many other former Trojan players, my three years of playing are some of my favorite memories and most formative experiences. It almost seems unfair to my friends and football-brothers that I got to share that so closely with Coach as my dad. I have so much admiration, awe really, for what Dad’s accomplished in his career, and that’s has very little to do with wins and losses.”
A few years later, Coach Ames had another juggernaut team that was loaded with 17 seniors, including Christopher. A dynamic offense led by quarterback Bob Bennum and wide receiver Ty Harrison went along with a suffocating defense that was led by the pass rush of defensive end Josh Lehman. Christopher and Harrison were both named All-State 1st Team.
“Sad day for Whatcom County, but hopefully an amazing day for Coach Ames” Lehman said in a text message. “I have a team of 45 sales reps that I coach and manage everyday, and not a day goes by where I don’t think about him or use a philosophy I learned from him. I am a better man, a better husband, and better father because of Coach Ames, and I am so grateful to have learned from such a great man.”
Lehman went back to Meridian after college to help out as an assistant coach.
“The sacrifices the Ames family as whole have made for the last 46 years is absolutely unbelievable,” Lehman added. “The amount of lives they impacted can never be counted. GATA MATA.”
The 1992 team saw the first time Coach Ames got back to the semi-finals in eight years, but heartbreaking 27-24 loss in double overtime to Eatonville ended the season. The Cruisers went on to win the state championship.
Despite a winless season in 1993, Coach Ames dominated the rest of the decade, going 57-10 from 1994-1999. His teams reached the semi-finals in 1995 and 1996, and his 1999 team became the first team in Whatcom County to win a football state championship with an undefeated record.
In my opinion, the 1999 team was as dominant as any team in Whatcom County history, right up there with the 2005 Ferndale Golden Eagels and the 2012 Lynden Lions. The key to the 1999 team was the depth of its talent. In fact, seven different players on that team scored at least 10 touchdowns in 1999, including senior wide receiver, Corey Culp.
“Mr. Ames, to me, was an amazing motivator,” Culp said in a text message.”He made us feel that we could do anything, and in turn we wanted to go out and perform for him! Even though we were just from a little school in Laurel, we knew we could play with anybody.”
Culp was usually the fastest player on the field, and averaged almost 28 yards per reception.
“I’ll never forget hugging Coach after winning our first state championship,” Culp added. “I was really hoping my son would get to have the same experience of playing, and winning, with Coach Ames, but I knew it was a long shot. What Coach did for our community will never be forgotten, and what he did for me and my group of friends who played for him, in showing us how to be leaders of men, and work hard, will be with us forever. I have a very special sense of pride to be able to say I played for the Legendary Coach Ames!”
“In the words of Coach Ames, “What didn’t get done ain’t gonna get done, and that’s just the way it is! So let’s take our lunch boxes out there and get after it.”
The Trojans’ greatness continued into the 2000’s, and Coach Ames again won state championships in 2003 and 2006. Both teams went undefeated. Perhaps nobody at the time had a more unique perspective on Coach Ames than current Meridian Athletic Director, Bryant Michaelson.
“I watched the 1999 state championship as a fan, I played for Coach Ames on the 2003 state championship team, and I was an assistant coach on the 2006 state championship team,” Michaelson said in a phone interview. “I’ve had the great pleasure of cheering him, playing for him, coaching for him and then being his Athletic Director. He embodied what it meant to be a community leader. There’s a lot more to him than the goofy quotes, he cares so much about each one of his kids. The next person we hire will have huge shoes to fill.”
In 2011, Coach Ames was inducted into the WIAA Coaches Hall of Fame, and he has since become the third winningest coach in state history, only behind Tumwater’s Sid Otton and O’Dea’s Monte Koehler.
When I asked about the best Whatcom County players that he ever coached against, he was quick to bring up Nooksack Valley star running back and linebacker from the mid-90’s, Britt Lentz. Lentz was a two-time All-State running back that would go on to play linebacker at Eastern Washington University before returning to Whatcom County and be a defensive coach for his Pioneers during the last two decades.
“I’m going to really miss coaching against Bob Ames,” Lentz said in a text message. “Coach Ames got more out of his players than any coach in the history of Whatcom County. You only get so many opportunities to coach against a legend!”
The praise doesn’t end with ex-players, or even members of the opposing side, but media members will always remember Coach Ames.
“Bob was a reporter’s dream,” said Jim Carberry in a text message. “He’d never miss an opportunity to tell you how small, slow, young and frightened his team was going into the big game only to have the Trojans inevitably win the big game.”
Carberry covered Coach Ames from 1978-1995 for the Bellingham Herald.
“He was always good for a quote and a laugh, but he also was respected by the coaches he faced and the media that covered his teams.” Carberry added. “Thank you for the memories, Coach, and may you enjoy retirement even more than roaming the sidelines in shorts in 20-degree weather.”
More recently, Eric Trent, formerly of the Lynden Tribune, was also fast to sing his praises.
“I’m fortunate to have covered his teams the last two years and see his creative offenses,” Trent said in a text message. “He is much more than a football coach, and has one of my favorite personalities of any person I’ve worked with in sports. Should go down as one of the top high school coaches in state history, and not just from the titles but also his longevity.”
His recent assistant coaches also knew that they were in the presence of greatness, and were learning from a legend.
“It was a great experience working with one of the greatest coaches in the history of Washington State,” Meridian assistant coach Addison Perrin said in a text message. “He was a great teacher, role model, and above all he is a great person. It was an honor, and a privilege, to be on his staff these last five years.”
I feel incredibly fortunate to get to know Coach Ames over the years, especially these past four seasons. I can’t thank him enough for all of the access he gave me during practice, when my questions about his upcoming football team inevitably turned into discussions about his favorite John Wayne movie. His eye was still as sharp as ever, as we discussed football strategies from the sidelines at practice, but he would interrupt quickly to point out a teaching moment on the football field to one of his young players.
Coach Ames – Season by season:
1974: 3-6
1975: 0-10
1976: 7-3
1977: 6-4
1978: 4-6
1979: 1-8
1980: 4-5
1981: 4-5
1982: 5-4
1983: 9-1
1984: 12-1
1985: 6-3
1986: 5-4
1987: 8-3
1988: 10-2
1989: 5-4
1990: 3-6
1991: 4-5
1992: 10-2
1993: 0-9
1994: 6-3
1995: 10-3
1996: 11-1
1997: 10-1
1998: 7-2
1999: 13-0
2000: 12-1
2001: 7-3
2002: 9-1
2003: 14-0
2004: 9-3
2005: 7-4
2006: 14-0
2007: 11-1
2008: 5-6
2009: 8-4
2010: 12-1
2011: 8-3
2012: 6-5
2013: 6-5
2014: 5-5
2015: 6-4
2016: 6-6
2017: 13-1
2018: 8-4
2019: 4-8
He is the best coach ever, he was my sons coach. He was also a very caring person to his team’s family’s . The students and us as parents look up to this great man. You will always be this schools coach at heart. Thank you from the bottom of our families heart.
The Zapata family
I will never forget and will be eternally grateful for what he did for my son. Mark Newton was on one of the teams that went to the Tacoma Dome for State . Mark was a scrapper but he learned so much from Coach. As Mark lay dying at Hospice House 5 years ago this month, Coach came in to say goodbye and reminisce with a group of the players that were there too. We all laughed at the many stories remembered. Thank you Coach Ames and Pam