THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE:Ted Page remembered as a coach, grandpa and friend

To some, Ted Page was a coaching colleague, as well as a friend. 

“He knew how to motivate kids,” said Larry Schwenke, who coached football and baseball with him at Coeur d’Alene High in the 1970s and 80s. “I really miss the guy; he was an amazing guy. I had a few fishing trips with him. He always had a one-liner; he was just a great friend.” 

To others, like former Post Falls High basketball star Marcus Colbert, he was grandpa. 

“It was a nice buffer,” Marcus said. “Having my dad (Marsell, who played basketball at North Idaho College, and later coached basketball at NIC and at the high school level), who was strict and tough on me, and then my grandpa was super cool, laid back, and would give me little pointers here and there. It was the best of both worlds.” 

Page, who was the head baseball coach at Coeur d’Alene High for 22 seasons (1973-94), and before that a two-time Grey Cup champion in the 1960s, died on Dec. 20. He was 82. 

“As a basketball coach, I appreciated getting Ted Page-coached baseball players,” former Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach Jim Kravik said. “They understood the discipline that was needed for the task at hand.”

TED PAGE was a football and baseball star at Lynnwood (Wash.) High, then played at Compton College before signing with the Montreal Alouettes. He played 10 seasons in the CFL, and was a safety on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Grey Cup champions in 1965 and ‘67. 

On his way from his native Canada to Denver for a tryout with the Broncos, the story goes, he passed through Coeur d’Alene and took note. 

When his football career ended, he moved to Coeur d’Alene and coached football and baseball for the Vikings. 

When Page coached defensive backs at Coeur d’Alene High, Schwenke coached receivers. Page later hired Schwenke as his head junior varsity baseball coach, before Schwenke eventually transitioned to coaching softball. 

“He was awesome; so knowledgeable, always developed game plans for the kids,” Schwenke recalled. “He was one of the best around. He had a lot of experience, growing up playing baseball in California.” 

When Page coached baseball, Coeur d’Alene played its home games downtown at McEuen Field. Two years after he retired as baseball coach, a baseball field was built on-campus. In 2009, the field was named Ted Page Field. 

Page taught the popular life sports class at Coeur d’Alene High. 

“He made sure the kids followed the rules,” Schwenke said of that class. “Because he didn’t want to go back to teaching history, and they would have to go to pottery if they messed up.” 

Ted and his wife, Anna, moved from Coeur d’Alene to Nakusp, British Columbia, in 2002. They also lived in Concrete, Wash., and Arizona before living in the Spokane area in recent years. 

Appearance was important to Ted Page, who stood roughly 5-foot-8 — from his baseball uniform to, well, team pictures. 

“We’d line up to have our team photos taken, and if you look closely, Ted would be on his tip-toes,” Schwenke recalled. 

TED PAGE was done playing and coaching when Marcus Colbert got into sports as a youngster. So at that time, he was a family member, supporting his grandson. 

"He was everything you’d want in a grandfather,” said Marcus, whose mom, Amy, is Ted’s daughter. “Inspirational, spend time with you, go to your games ... take you on trips. I just got to spend a lot of time with him growing up.” 

Eventually, as Marcus got older, he learned more about his grandfather’s athletic history. 

Marcus got to see pictures of his grandpa during his playing days, saw his Grey Cup rings, his CFL jerseys ... 

“When I got into high school, I would hear stories about my grandfather from people in the community.” Marcus recalled. “It was awesome, because my bloodline had some success in the sporting community.” 

Marcus said Ted was an inspiration. 

“I had my dad, who taught me the tempo and attitude I need to play with,” Marcus said. “And my grandfather, he hit me more with technique stuff, just little pointers here and there.” 

Like his grandpa, Marcus also played safety for a time in high school, and heard from family members that they played football similarly, “the way we fly around and pop people,” Marcus said. 

Growing up, Marcus also played baseball, until giving up that sport when he entered high school. 

“One time in junior high I was struggling to hit the ball,” Marcus recalled. “And he messed with my swing a little bit the day before one of the all-star games, and I got up to bat and hit a grand slam.” 

Marcus also expressed joy that his daughters, Aniyah, 7, and Amari, 4, were able to be around their great-grandfather. 

“Every time we saw them, he would light up; the girls made his day,” Marcus said. “They felt that love from him. It was awesome that my kids got to meet my grandfather, and got to spend some quality time with them.” 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports. 

    Courtesy photo Ted Page, the outdoorsman.