Local Legend’s Jersey Re-Retired, Honoring Legacy
September 30, 2026
By:
Nina Culver
Matt McLean, known for his football talents as well as a minor acting role in “VisionQuest,” had his Deer Park High School jersey re-retired during the Stags homecoming game. Photos by Gabe Carpenter.
Former Deer Park High School football player Matt McLean wasn’t just known for setting records on the football season, he was also a minor local celebrity for a role he had in “VisionQuest,” a movie about a high school wrestler in Spokane. McLean, who was also a championship wrestler during high school, played himself in a 25-second scene in the movie. In a 1985 Deer Park Tribune story, McLean said he just Nina Culver Contributing Writer Nina Culver Contributing Writer “thought I would give it a try” after his wrestling coach recommended him for the role.
“It was a big deal back then,” said Jenna Phillips, president of the Deer Park Football Booster Club. McLean, who graduated in 1982, played football all four years of high school as a tailback. He was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Frontier League more than once, Phillips said. “His senior year, his team did not win a single game and he was still named the MVP for the Frontier League,” she said. At the end of his senior year, his number was retired. “He smashed records for rushing yards,” Phillips said. Newspaper stories written at the time praised him.
A story in the Spokane Chronicle quoted his coach, Monte Pittz, describing him as “a heckuva athlete and a heckuva kid.” Phillips said head football coach Dane Wadkins was passing out jerseys at the beginning of the school year and found himself holding number 34, McLean’s number. Phillips said he asked her to look into why the jersey was back in circulation.
Phillips said she wasn’t able to determine what happened. “Somewhere in the time of that 40 year span it got forgotten or something,” she said. “We’re going to make sure it stays out of circulation.” Phillips said she organized a second jersey retirement ceremony that was held Friday, Sept. 25, just before the homecoming game. Family and friends of McLean, who died in 2022, were able to attend. The jersey will be on permanent display in one of the trophy cases at the high school, Phillips said. “We’re doing it as an apology for getting it lost,” she said. “I’ve tried to make it something special.”