Tacoma’s Iconic Coach Cheers on Majestic Retirement at Seniority Record!
Born in 1936, he coached the Foss Falcons to the Class 4A state football championship in 1975.
Keith Brown figured he had earned a day off. He was playing well for the 1975 Foss football team and the Falcons were rolling. So he told his coach, Jack Sonntag, that his ankle was a little sore, and he planned to take the day off to rest.
Sonntag looked him up and down. “Well, if you can’t practice, I guess I’ve gotta find somebody to take your place,” Sonntag told him. Brown’s ankle magically felt better.
“That just shocked me,” Brown, 68, told The News Tribune over the phone on Monday afternoon. “From that day on, I didn’t care how hurt I was, I was playing. He just instilled that fire in you.
I’m just blessed that was my coach. ” Sonntag, born in 1936, coached the 1975 Foss Falcons to the Class 4A state championship that year, part of a career in coaching, teaching and administration at Tacoma Public Schools. Sonntag died on March 4, 2026 at the age of 89, a few months after the 50th anniversary of the Foss state championship team.