Mack McDermott was a Moorpark High legend. The school’s boys basketball record holder for most points in a season for nearly three decades. The first Moorpark grad to be selected in the Major League baseball draft. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound three-sport athlete was a leader for programs that became league and postseason contenders. People noticed. And for a magical 1967-68 school year, McDermott made history.
He was one of the first Ventura County athlete to land the rare triple crown of CIF-Southern Section postseason honors: selected to the first teams for football, basketball and baseball. In McDermott’s junior and senior years, the Moorpark football program won a combined 12 games – its best two-year record over a nearly four-decade stretch. It included a second-place Tri-Valley League finish in 1966.
McDermott was named to the 1967 CIF-Southern Section Division A first team as a tackle. When the football season closed, McDermott switched to basketball. With McDermott occupying the lane,
Moorpark placed one game out of first place in the Tri-Valley League standings, posted the program’s first 20-win season and qualified for the postseason. Moorpark made the most of the opportunity, advancing to the 1A quarterfinals. Facing Tri-Valley League rival Santa Ynez, Moorpark lost 60-56 in overtime. McDermott averaged 20.8 points per game. His 555 points would be a school record for 30 years. At the time, it was the sixth highest total in county history. He was named to the section’s Division A first team.
Baseball, however, may have been his best sport. The first baseman made the CIF-SS Division A first team. Moving on to Cal State Los Angeles, McDermott was an all-conference pick in 1972.
McDermott and his wife Barbara reside in Modesto. His children are Jillian Harvey and Nicholas
McDermott.