Ron Morris (inside left) and Bill (inside right) are flanked by Brooks Morris (left) and Jon Switzer (right).

Former vaulting protégés, coaching colleagues, friends and family gathered on July 8, 2006 at Alpine Village in Torrance, California to help Coach Bill Blewett blow out 75 birthday candles. The pole vault coach - renowned for working with many of Southern California's top pole vaulters from the '60s to the present - was taken on a jog down memory lane as speaker after speaker regaled party-goers with tales of Bill and "Bill's Boys". The event was organized by former Blewett vaulter Clark Millman, who also served as emcee. As the stories began to unfold, it became abundantly clear how infuential Bill has been to all of his vaulters, and to sports in general. Among Bill's Boys, Rich Yates (70's), Tom Hinthaus (70's & 80's), and Kimo Morris (80's & 90's) thrilled the crowd with tales of Bill and his signature effect on teenage angst, competition and life lessons. Even Steve Smith, long-time competitor of Bill's vaulters throughout the 70's and 80's, shared some warm words with Bill, echoing the recurring theme of the evening of Bill's unmistakable impact on the sport of pole vaulting. Steve presented Bill with a vintage cover of Sports Illustrated magazine featuring him as a young athlete in the early '70s, signed to Bill with the words "Thanks for doing so much for so many for so little."