Val Bichekas was the equivalent of a four-star football prospect when he visited Arizona for the 1982 Territorial Cup game.
His coach at Gilbert High School was an ASU alumnus who hoped to steer Bichekas to the Sun Devils. But the 280-pound guard visited Tucson anyway, and on that night, the Wildcats stunned the No. 4 Sun Devils 28-18, knocking them from the Rose Bowl for the first of “The Streak” — an 8-0-1 run against ASU from 1982-90.
Some maintain it was the most significant Territorial Cup victory in UA history. It impressed Bichekas, who decided that weekend to attend Arizona and in 1985 and 1986 was a starting guard on UA teams that went 8-3-1 and 9-3.
If you ever find a more loyal Wildcat than Bichekas, you’ve got a scoop. Every time I saw him over the years, he would add “I never lost to ASU.”
Sadly, Bichekas died last week at 52 after a brief illness. One thing is certain: He didn’t get cheated.
He made his career as a security official for VIPs, touring the world with such musical groups as Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne and spending about 25 years working for security firms contracted for game days at Arizona Stadium and at other sports events such as the Super Bowl and even Arizona’s 1994 Fiesta Bowl victory over Miami.
On the night Arizona parted ways with Dick Tomey in November 2000, Bichekas was his escort to and from the field at Arizona Stadium. Although the school didn’t announce Tomey would be asked to resign after the Territorial Cup game, Bichekas knew.
When Tomey was safely back in the UA locker room, Bichekas walked alone back to the field. He stopped at the entry to the dressing room, pounded his fist on the door and let his unhappiness be known.
The UA lost a great Wildcat that night. And last week another.
