It’s very rare that you get to meet someone who can say that they were part of your school’s first graduating class. Yes, that’s right. First, And I myself had the chance and honor to meet a member of San Marino High School’s first graduating class — Ms. Sharon Doty. Ms. Doty resides at a senior facility center in Pasadena, so I took the trip over to find out more about her time at SMHS and life story.
Born in 1938, Doty is a Southern Californian and San Gabriel Valley native, living near the border of South Pasadena and San Marino. Her parents attended South Pasadena High School, and she herself attended Stoneman and Huntington Middle School. Back then, prior to 1952, students from both San Marino and South Pasadena would go to the same school — South Pasadena San Marino High School. Yet in 1952, the school split into two for the respective cities, and based on Ms. Doty’s proximity to San Marino, she ended up attending SMHS.
“Both my parents attend South Pasadena, so when I ended up attending San Marino after the split, they would tease me about going to that “baby” school,” Doty said. Though there was no adamant rivalry at the time between South Pasadena San Marino yet, as the schools had just split, the playful teasing Doty encountered with her parents and how others regarded San Marino as a new school might’ve been indicative of the origins of the great rivalry we know today.
Here at SMHS, she began as a freshman in a grade of about 60-70 students and on a campus that extends to barely half of what our campus looks like today. Doty was an exemplary student, both in the honors society and taking high level classes. One of these high level classes was her Latin class, which introduced her to many different linguistic and historical facts, but more importantly it taught her what a Titan was. I think you know where this is going. Doty’s freshmen class as they progressed into seniors were responsible for naming the school’s mascot, and Doty along with other Latin students suggested the Greek-origin word of “Titan.” At the time, the word “Titan” was not nearly as common as it is today, so this suggestion brought attention and may have even rolled some eyes, yet as the first graduating class eventually settled on “San Marino Titans,” the rest was history as we know it.
Moreover, another reason I wanted to learn more about Ms. Doty’s story was not only about her experience as a Titan, but also as a female athlete in a time where girls’ sports weren’t even a thing. Doty was an avid swimmer part of the Pasadena Athletic Club, where she competitively swam throughout her youth. As she came to SMHS, her coach from PAC was approached by the San Marino boys’ swim coach in a meeting, asking for swimmers to help train his boys. Doty’s coach offered for Doty to train with the boys, and the next thing you know, Doty was swimming along with the other boys on the swim team, which was never seen before. Though she was unable to compete as she was a girl, she continuously trained with the team.
“In training at the time, most people trained for sprints and other shorter-formatted events, yet as I was good at long-distance, it came to a shock to everyone when I would be swimming for them at what seemed to be ages,” Doty said.
Doty has children and grandchildren in Southern California (who, ironically, went to South Pasadena). She enjoys talking about her stories and just spending time with people in general. From the story she has told me, I truly believe that Ms. Doty’s journey exemplifies what it means to be a Titan and a female athlete, and many of us can learn many helpful insights from her amazing story.
