{"id":2555,"date":"2025-10-13T23:30:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T23:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/2555\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T23:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T23:30:15","slug":"san-pedro-honors-six-athletes-at-the-annual-sportswalk-of-fame-ceremony-daily-breeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/2555\/","title":{"rendered":"San Pedro honors six athletes at the annual Sportswalk of Fame ceremony \u2013 Daily Breeze"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Pedro\u2019s Sportswalk of Fame honored six recipients on Monday, Oct. 13, on board the Battleship Iowa Museum.<\/p>\n

Now branded as the Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame, the gathering has a long and storied history in San Pedro, a town long known for its passion for sports.<\/p>\n

The event recognizes individuals for their athletic accomplishments and contributions to their individual sports while also raising scholarship money for local high school senior athletes. The 2024 event raised $12,000, which went to eight high school athletes in May.<\/p>\n

\"Oncologist<\/p>\n

Oncologist Dr. John Link, winner of the John Fer Humanitarian Award, speaks at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d concludes with an awards luncheon on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Oncologist<\/p>\n

Oncologist Dr. John Link, winner of the John Fer Humanitarian Award, speaks at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Inductee<\/p>\n

Inductee Philip D\u2019Amato speaks at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Boardmember<\/p>\n

Boardmember Ed Arnold is remembered at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Petros<\/p>\n

Petros Papadakis greets Dr. John Link, winner of the John Fer Humanitarian Award, at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Councilman<\/p>\n

Councilman Tim McOsker speaks at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Crystal<\/p>\n

Crystal Perez Sepulveda sings the National Anthem at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201don board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d concludes with an awards luncheon on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike Pentecost holds his plaque at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Petros<\/p>\n

Petros Papadakis greets inductee Philip D\u2019Amato at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Oncologist<\/p>\n

Oncologist Dr. John Link, winner of the John Fer Humanitarian Award, speaks at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Inductee<\/p>\n

Inductee Marina Vitalich speaks at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The colors are presented during the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 14<\/p>\n

Oncologist Dr. John Link, winner of the John Fer Humanitarian Award, speaks at the annual Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame celebration, honoring individuals\u2019 accomplishments \u201cIn sports and life,\u201d on board of the USS Iowa Museum ship in San Pedro on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s celebration paid tribute to:<\/p>\n

John Link: John Fer Humanitarian Award (track and field).
\nPhilip D\u2019Amato: National Award (thoroughbred racing).
\nMarina Vitalich: National\/International Award (softball).
\nMurphy Su\u2019a: Trani Award (baseball).
\nMike Pentecost: Local Award (yacht racing).
\nMike O\u2019Donnell: Local Award (lifeguard\/Dory Racing).<\/p>\n

Attendees gathered on board the World War II-era battleship for the popular event,<\/a> known for its bronze sidewalk plaques honoring the athletes. The ceremony, which includes a lunch and the announcement of scholarship proceeds raised from the gathering, has been one of the more popular traditions in the port town.<\/p>\n

Its purpose, according to the event\u2019s official description, is to \u201cpromote and vitalize sports through education in the Los Angeles community, provide a scholarship program for youth in the South Bay community, and continue and expand the concept throughout the Harbor Area\u2019s waterfront district.\u201d<\/p>\n

The initial San Pedro Sportswalk debuted on Oct. 5, 1978, in a ceremony that also marked the revitalization of San Pedro\u2019s Downtown Commercial District at the time. In the 45 years since, the organization has changed and evolved with the times.<\/p>\n

In 2004, the San Pedro Peninsula Chamber of Commerce\u2019s Board of Directors unanimously adopted the proposal for a nonprofit foundation to assume all responsibilities related to continuing the Sportswalk. In 2018, the foundation changed its name to the Los Angeles Sportswalk of Fame, and recognizes athletes and sports celebrities who have both regional and national significance to the sports community.<\/p>\n

Past honorees have included Jerry West, Jackie Robinson, Mando Ramos, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Tommy Lasorda; their plaques can be seen embedded in the sidewalks along Sixth, Seventh, Centre and Mesa streets in San Pedro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Pedro\u2019s Sportswalk of Fame honored six recipients on Monday, Oct. 13, on board the Battleship Iowa Museum.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[3415,7,3172,131,133,132,47,137,100,1439,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-2555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-awards","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-harbor-area","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-los-angeles-county","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-san-pedro","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}