'He was always the best athlete on the field'
CLARK FORK — Forgive future passersby if they do a double-take when walking past the Clark Fork High School trophy case, which now features a shimmering gold NFL football, presented to the high school by alumni Ron Heller during a ceremony on Saturday night.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl, the NFL presented the high school of every former player and coach to ever take part in the game with sparkling gold footballs, and ceremonies have been taking place all around the country.
Heller, who went from Clark Fork High to Oregon State, and eventually all the way to the playing field of Super Bowl XXIII as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, gave a short but emotional speech to a packed set of bleachers, which included family, friends and proud community members.
“This isn’t about me. It’s about the school, the people, the community, everyone that supported us over the years,” said Heller, whose eyes welled up briefly when thanking everybody. “They pushed you to be something more than just somebody that’s taking up space in life. To present the ball to the school is pretty amazing.”
Heller was able to accomplish what select few ever do: Playing a sport at the highest level. He caught touchdowns from Joe Montana, played for one of the greatest coaches in NFL history in Bill Walsh, and caught passes alongside the greatest receiver of all time in Jerry Rice.
The career’s genesis took root in Clark Fork in the late 1970s, when Heller learned the blunt reality of eight-man football, that freshmen often see the field whether they’re ready or not.
“There was no nurturing going on here. I came in as a freshman and I’m going up against seniors, thrown into the fire right away. That’s the way it was, they expected you to step up to that level,” recalled Heller, noting the school didn’t even have a weight room in a completely different era of football from today. “We put a bunch of weights in our garage, the old weights, with the sand in them. You shot elk after school. My son keeps saying ‘man, I wish I could do that.’”
Heller was the classic three-sport athlete, starting at running back and linebacker on the football team, earning all-state honors on the basketball court, and winning 100- and 200-meter state titles.
One of his favorite high school memories came in an 11-man football game at Bonners Ferry, a much bigger school.
“My junior year we played Bonners Ferry with 12 guys. We had a guy pull his hamstring and we ended the game with just nine guys, but we lost by just six,” described Heller.” That kind of sums up our football career. You fought, and you worked.”
At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds and blessed with exceptional speed and quickness, Heller earned a football scholarship to Oregon State, where he played linebacker for two years before switching to tight end as a senior. He did enough to draw the attention of NFL scouts.
One of his most memorable memories from a pro career that saw him catch 84 balls for 871 yards and five touchdowns over five seasons was the day Bill Walsh came up and put his arm around Heller to let him know he’d made the team.
“I thought he’s going to tell me I got cut, and he said ‘congrats,’” remembered Heller. “Randy Cross and all the O-line said let’s go buy his first beer as a 49er. They took me in as one of their own, the epitome of what team was about.”
Shortly thereafter, Heller found out he was going to be starting the season opener. Again, Walsh delivered the news in person, albeit with a wry sense of humor.
“Bill Walsh said, ‘I expect you to start the first game against Pittsburgh,’” described Heller of the memorable exchange. “Don’t worry though, there’s two all-pros playing across from you.”
Heller, now 52 years old and busy raising four kids ranging from age 16-25, manages a mutual fund on the New York Stock Exchange. He’s been coaching tight ends and the defensive line for the past two decades at Bishop Diego High School in Santa Barbara, where he’s currently coaching his youngest son, a sophomore three-sport athlete who is big and fast like his old man.
Heller still bumps into old teammates occasionally at functions, including Brent Jones, Tom Rathman and good friend and Hall of Fame signal caller Joe Montana.
“I see Joe whenever I’m up there, we try to have a glass of wine together,” said Heller, a far juxtaposition from his return trips back to Clark Fork, where his dad Don Sr. and brother Randy still live. “I come back and I’m not a celebrity here. I’m just one of the guys.”
The reason for his latest return home was to deliver one of just 11 football heading to Idaho high schools, an honor he earned by playing on nearly every special team in a thrilling 20-16 win over the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.
Football fans may recall the famous story about Montana pointing out late actor John Candy to teammates in the huddle, right before engineering one of the great drives in NFL history, marching 92 yards before hitting John Taylor for the winning score.
“Even though we trailed most of the game, we never panicked. Joe was Joe Cool,” said Heller, who still gets excited remembering the euphoric feeling when the game ended. “When that clock hit zero, knowing I get a ring was just phenomenal. I get a frickin’ ring!”
Amazing heights to reach for a kid who was born in California but moved to Clark Fork in junior high. There he quickly met one of his best friends in Todd Johnson, a teammate and fellow linebacker at Clark Fork whose son Mason Johnson is now a center at the Oregon State team Heller played for three decades ago.
Johnson told a story about how Heller had a job cooking at the old Litehouse from 3 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays, and after one of those shifts, came by to wake Johnson up to go for a late night run. Like many in the tight-knit North Idaho community, Johnson followed Heller’s college and pro career closely.
“Incredible sense of pride, knowing what he accomplished and what he did to get there. He’s 6-foot-3, 240, and fast enough to win the state 100 meters,” described Johnson. “But the thing that made Ron different was the work ethic. His work ethic was as strong as anybody I’ve ever been around.”
Johnson recalled a time when he and teammates had been practicing for more than a week on the discus, trying to eclipse 100 feet, when Heller decided to come over and give it a try. His first throw traveled 135 feet, to everyone’s amazement, and he eventually finished third at state in the discus.
“It didn’t matter what the sport was, he was always the best athlete on the field. He drew the double team,” said Johnson, one of many former teammates on hand for the special night. “Everybody knew Ron Heller was going to get the ball, and there really wasn’t anything you could do about it.”