After multiple decades, my wife, Andrea, and I started playing tennis again about a year ago when our son bolted for college on the East Coast.

She and I played together regularly during our courting years, often during the evening at a Costa Mesa apartment complex where I lived. The facility boasted two lighted tennis courts, as well as a weight room, sauna, pool and Jacuzzi.

We would usually play tennis at night, and then bask in the Jacuzzi with a soda pop. They were fun, spirited and memorable times. We also attended professional tennis matches and competed annually in the Orange County Press Club tennis tournament at Newport Beach Tennis Club.

Tennis was a part of a low-cost, entertaining and physical fitness-based pastime.

But following our nuptials, and subsequently raising two children, our tennis dates ended as fast as a Taylor Dent power serve.

However, our return to the local hard courts has been filled with steady improvement, a good feeling of getting back into “tennis shape” and the joy of shared activity.

We began our reentry into the game by rallying back and forth in an effort to reclaim the groove and swing, while realizing we aren’t as nimble, athletic or flexible as we used to be, and chasing down balls and lunging for shoestring shots continue to be a point of strenuous objection.

These days, we are back to playing games and keeping score, and fortunately we’re equal opponents. Our next goal is to finish a full set. We’re taking baby steps.

We play at public courts in Newport Beach — Bonita Canyon Sports Park, Irvine Terrace Park, Grant Howald Park, West Newport Park and San Joaquin Hills Park, which is our favorite because of its court availability (there are four courts and the facility doesn’t seem as busy as the others). Grant Howald and West Newport are the most popular. At West Newport, we complete our tennis with a short stroll to the beach and cool off in the ocean.

It has been a blissful rekindling of our tennis relationship, and with the tremendous history of the game in our backyard, it feels like love 40 forever.

Many fine tennis players and coaches come from Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, where legendary former USC men’s tennis coach Dick Leach lived and raised his family, including sons, Rick and Jon, both of whom played on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Rick Leach was the world’s No. 1-ranked doubles player in 1990 for nine weeks.

Former ATP standout Dent (Corona del Mar High) is the top junior player to come out of Newport Beach, winning four ATP championships and once walloping the fastest serve ever recorded in ATP Tour history at 144 mph.

With pro exhibitions, World Team Tennis, two U.S. Davis Cup events and a long, storied background, many of the game’s marquee players have grazed courts in Newport Beach.

Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Boris Becker, as well as old-school titans Roy Emerson, Pancho Segura, Alex Olmedo, Bobby Riggs, Pancho Gonzalez and Rod Laver, have smashed volleys and serves on these local courts. Among those on the women’s side who’ve played here are stars such as Lindsay Davenport, Billie Jean King, Tracey Austin, Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis and Chris Evert.

There might be more private tennis clubs in Newport Beach than anywhere in the world in such a tiny region, with the likes of Lido Isle Tennis Club, Beacon Bay Tennis Club, Big Canyon Country Club, Balboa Bay Resort Tennis Club, The Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach, Newport Beach Tennis Club and Palisades Tennis Club, all seven within just a few miles of each other.

One longtime and renowned Newport Beach resident, silver screen icon John Wayne, helped turn a gulch in the Upper Newport Bay into a private tennis club, initially called the John Wayne Tennis Club, now known as Palisades Tennis Club. The Duke set the groundwork for the club, which opened in 1974. The John Wayne Club changed its name to Palisades in 1995.

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

From Jim Kelleher, the oldest living Mr. Irrelevant from 1977, to Kobee Minor, the 257th and last pick in the 2025 NFL draft by the New England Patriots, this year’s Irrelevant Week was highlighted by the Lowsman Trophy banquet at the Balboa Bay Resort, where all 20 toasted together on stage to conclude the event.

Earlier in the evening, with Minor sitting on stage as Lakers broadcaster John Ireland emceed the banquet, Tae Crowder, the 2020 honoree who never had a banquet or other Irrelevant activities in his honor because of the pandemic, joined Minor on stage in a poignant exhibit of fraternity.

“We call him COVID Crowder, because he never had an Irrelevant Week celebration,” said Irrelevant Week CEO Melanie Fitch, daughter of Irrelevant Week founder Paul Salata. “We never got to meet Tae in person. This is the first time – this week – that we got to meet him.”

A linebacker, Crowder was a rare Mr. Irrelevant who became an immediate contributor, starting 31 games for the New York Giants. Crowder was the first defensive Mr. Irrelevant to score an NFL touchdown.

Minor, a cornerback out of the University of Memphis, is hopeful of making the team with the Patriots and enjoying a successful career in professional football.

“There’s been a lot of media attention since I became (Mr. Irrelevant),” said Minor, who has a quiet demeanor. “I don’t really care for all the attention like that. I play football with a lot of passion, because I love this game and (playing in the NFL) is something I can do for my family.”

Minor participated in myriad activities, including visiting the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguards, attending a VIP luncheon at The Cannery with local dignitaries and restaurant host Ron Salisbury, taking surfing lessons and “getting up” on his second try, touring a series of Saturday night “eateries” near Newport Pier, going to Disneyland, being interviewed for a Fox Sports show and receiving the Lowsman Trophy in a jam-packed ballroom on Friday.

The Lowsman Trophy is the so-called cousin to the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the best player in college football. The Lowsman bronze figurine, however, depicts a player fumbling the ball.

“It’s much better to be the last pick than being the second-to-last pick,” Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton said to Minor.

Minor, who spells his first name with two “e’s” at the end, is named after legendary Lakers star Kobe Bryant, a favorite player of his father, Darryl, and mother, Zsa Zsa. “That’s a great name to have in Newport Beach – Kobee,” Ireland said to Minor, before awarding him the Lowsman Trophy.

In addition to Minor, Kelleher and Crowder, Mr. Irrelevant attendees included Bill Kenney (1978), Kevin Scanlon (1980), Mike Travis (1986), Matt Elliott (1992), Marty Moore (1994) and Sam Manuel (1996), along with his identical twin brother, Sean, who was drafted just ahead of him.

The twins enjoyed confusing people during their visit almost three decades ago, wearing name tags that read “S. Manuel.”

Other past Irrelevant recipients at the 50-year anniversary banquet were Tevita Ofahengaue (2001), Ryan Hoag (2003), Andy Stokes (2005), Kevin McMahan (2006), Tim Toone (2010), Justice Cunningham (2013), Gerald Christian (2015), Caleb Wilson (2019), Desjuan Johnson (2023) and Jaylen Key (2024).

“Thanks for putting on this event,” Minor said. “You really didn’t have to. I’ll keep working hard. Thank you.”

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

“In today’s tennis world, it’s disheartening that many top-ranked Southern California juniors often opt out of high school tennis, claiming the ‘level’ isn’t high enough,” said McBride, who grew up playing at Mesa Verde Tennis Club in Costa Mesa and is entering her third season as girls tennis coach at Louisville High School in Woodland Hills.

“But I believe they’re missing something far more valuable,” McBride said. “All of my children played high school tennis, including my older daughter (Jordyn), who was ranked No. 1 in Southern California and among the top 26 in the nation, and she still chose to play for her school. Why? Because of the friendships, the fun and the memories that come with being part of a team.”

Before becoming a certified Elite United States Tennis Association teaching professional, McBride played for Estancia High in Costa Mesa, earned a tennis scholarship to the University of San Diego and was a touring pro on the Women’s Tennis Association.

She is proud that all three of her children, Parker, Jordyn and Chloe, played tennis growing up and advanced to the collegiate ranks. Jordyn is playing on the WTA Tour and Chloe at Chapman University.

“High school tennis plays an incredibly important role, especially for young women,” McBride said. “It teaches teamwork, leadership, commitment, and perseverance – skills that serve them far beyond the court. What makes it even more meaningful is how it gives young women a voice, helping them build confidence and find joy in competition.

“While the USTA circuit and weekends can become stressful, filled with rankings, UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) scores, college implications, and pressure, high school tennis brings back the pure joy of the game,” she added. “It’s about representing your school, playing with your friends and creating moments that will be remembered long after rankings fade. Those experiences are truly priceless and I always recommend it to all the parents.”

McBride (née Birch), also the teaching pro at Malibu Racquet Club, was scheduled to speak at the 15th annual Southern California National High School Tennis All-American Awards at the Newport Beach Yacht Club. But her Louisville All-American, Ania Zabost, a CIF-Southern Section singles semifinalist last season, was awarded a wild card in a prestigious tournament and could not attend the banquet.

We still caught up with McBride, who once gained Hollywood notoriety after her playing career.

She was cast in three commercials and two television movies, including “When Billie Beat Bobby,” a 2001 show that aired on ABC and starred Holly Hunter and Ron Silver, depicting the famous 1973 Battle of the Sexes match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome. McBride played Hunter’s tennis-playing body double. McBride performed similar roles in the movie “Costly Affair.”

McBride said she simply had the right look and tennis swing for the parts.

These days, McBride plays USTA Mother-Son national events and has captured more than 25 gold balls (national championships) in every adult age division. On May 9, McBride was honored to receive the bronze ball (third place) at the USTA 50s national championship in La Jolla.

What advice would she give to young players?

“I would offer advice to parents first,” McBride said. “I’d say this: Make sure your child is having fun. That comes first. Put them with a coach who creates a positive environment, someone who teaches strong fundamentals, but also keeps the love for the game alive. Start competing around age 9, and help your child understand that competition is just another part of learning. It’s not about the outcome, but it’s about gaining experience, building resilience and growing through every match, win or lose.

“And honestly, it’s the parents who often need the most coaching,” she added. “Step back from being the sideline coach. Instead, enjoy the car rides to tournaments, the lunches in between matches, and the excitement of watching your child’s competitive spirit grow. That’s the real gift.”

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

Ross, who won three Olympic medals, was an indoor volleyball All-American at Newport Harbor High and USC.

After earning Gatorade National Player of the Year in high school and NCAA Player of the Year at USC, and leading the Trojans to two national championships, Ross played three years of professional indoor volleyball in Puerto Rico.

But the injuries piled up and she was prepared to enroll in graduate school.

“My body just kind of fell apart,” she said. “You have a whole team of managers (in the U.S.). You have your coach, obviously, and then your physical therapists that work on you. You have your weightlifting coach, who keeps you strong so you don’t get hurt. When I went down to Puerto Rico, I didn’t have any of that. My body broke down. I came home, had surgery on my knee and I was like, ‘I’m done with volleyball. I’m not playing ever again.’”

Ross said weightlifting was a vital part of her training in high school and college, but she struggled doing it on her own in Puerto Rico. Ross couldn’t lift her arm above her shoulder by the end of her third season, and her knee hurt so much that she didn’t even finish her the season.

“It was a really tough time for my body,” said Ross, who quit playing volleyball and wanted to come home. She was unsure of her future and briefly worked as a hostess at House of Blues in Anaheim.

“I did not want to play volleyball anymore,” Ross said. “I was completely burned out. I was hurt and just not having any fun. I was missing my friends and family too much. I had made some money, which I was going to use to go back to school and earn a graduate degree.

“For that summer, during an interim period of time, I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do. My stepsister was the manager at House of Blues in Downtown Disney and she offered me a job, so I went through the whole application process and she helped me get a job there and I worked there for a summer,” Ross said. “I remember once the men’s U.S. national team came in and I seated them at one point. It’s kind of funny. They trained right down the street in Anaheim and they all came in one night to eat. They enjoyed it and had a good time.”

Then, fate intervened.

A former college teammate and roommate, Keao Burdine, called and asked if Ross could play with her in a couple of beach tournaments.

“I was just doing it for fun,” said Ross. It took some time and a few bumpy rides before Ross could fully settle into the beach game.

“My knee had healed and so I just said ‘why not,’” Ross said. “I was really bad, so it was like starting over again, starting a new sport. I had to learn so much. But I fell in love with the sport and the culture and the people.”

Ross had no plans to make a career out of beach volleyball, she said. “I didn’t know the basic differences, which now would be considered pretty stupid questions, and I had a lot to learn.”

Ross said. Ross and Burdine failed to advance past six qualifiers on the AVP Tour, and, well, that hostess job at House of Blues was sounding better and better.

Ross retired in 2024, fulfilled after winning a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games and earning silver and bronze medals in the previous two Olympics.

“There was a lot of relief after (winning gold), and we (her partner was Alix Klineman) were elated and on cloud nine,” Ross said. “You accomplished what you set out to do. At the time, even when we were still in Tokyo, I felt a lot of closure, because I was 39 at the time and pretty decently older in terms of beach volleyball and Olympic volleyball and playing at that level.

“After that, I knew it was unlikely I would continue to play, regardless of how I did in tournaments. The gold medal sealed the deal for me,” Ross added. “Honestly, I was ready to go home. I played more (AVP Tour) volleyball after the Olympics at Manhattan Beach and Chicago, and we ended up winning those two tournaments. But it was hard to get motivated.”

Ross said she started to consider life after beach volleyball.

“I went through an identity crisis while coming down after the Olympics and I think that happened because I knew I had accomplished that final thing,” she said. “I am so grateful that I was able to reach my goals at the pinnacle of our sport.

“From my time at Newport Harbor, I don’t know why I’m like this, but it’s always about the next step. I made varsity, then can I get starting spot? We won CIF, now can we win state? Then I wasn’t even thinking about a scholarship, until I received my first (college recruiting) letter. Then it was OK, which college should I go to? And can I earn a starting spot? Can we win a national championship? What is the next step? I did that my whole career,” Ross said. “Can we win the gold medal at the Olympics? Once that was checked off, my job is done here.

“Even when I came back last summer on the AVP Tour, after having my son, the motivation wasn’t there and I didn’t have an ultimate goal to chase,” she added. “I had fun, and I’m glad I got to play with Alix and I did that. But it was a very different feeling.”

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

Even rarer is a pitcher and catcher who can also succeed in the batter’s box.

Meet Newport Harbor High senior Lucas Perez, who performs both ends of baseball’s battery at an all-star level.

One of the top defensive backstops in Orange County, Perez threw out the first 15 attempted base stealers this season, before Fountain Valley’s Anthony Zamora swiped a bag on April 18.

“While that was the first successful stolen base against us, I have to credit to my pitchers, who obviously were doing their job by holding runners on well and getting to the plate quickly, giving us a shot to throw people out,” Perez said.

The Sailors’ pitching staff is led by juniors Tyler Clark (1.11 earned-run average) and Gavin Guy (1.22) and sophomore Keaton Anderson (1.47). But Perez has also been solid on the mound, giving up only one extra-base hit in 23 innings pitched.

At the plate, the Chapman University-bound Perez had a team-leading .346 batting average, two home runs and a squad-high on-base percentage of .557 last week.

The Sailors were 17-6 and ranked in the Orange County Register’s Top 20. They’re in second place behind the county’s top-ranked team, Huntington Beach, in the Sunset League and ranked No. 2 in CIF-Southern Section Division II.

It requires an iron arm to play both catcher and pitcher, and most youth and travel-ball coaches avoid using the same player at the most demanding throwing positions on the diamond.

But Perez, who has been outstanding at both, raised his hand to pitch one day his sophomore year when the Sailors needed help on the mound and struck out six Fountain Valley batters in two innings. Newport Harbor Coach Josh Lee has since turned the ball over to him often.

“It’s a pretty little niche thing,” the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Perez said of his unique dual positions, which he will continue to play at Chapman, where he committed in April.

As a Newport Harbor freshman, Perez earned the starting catcher position and made second-team all-league in 2022, the first of three consecutive years as an all-league choice, including first team as a junior. Perez will likely garner his fourth all-league selection this year.

Perez will also play for the South All-Star team in the Orange County North-South All-Star Game June 4 at Great Park Stadium in Irvine. Lee will be an assistant coach for the South. Burt Call of Villa Park will be the head coach.

On the mound, Perez throws a four-seam fastball in the mid-to-upper 80s, cutter/slider, change-up and 12-6 curveball.

When mentioned that he probably ices his right throwing arm a lot, Perez said, “I really take that recovery stuff seriously. It’s a big part of my life. I love working out and taking care of my body. I’m always stretching and working out, and I take pride in that. I try to keep my body loose and I’ve never had an issue with any arm pain.”

Perez’s value goes beyond his catching, pitching and hitting.

“As a pitcher, he is a true gamer,” Lee said. “Being that he has also been my starting catcher for all four years of his high school career on varsity, it is so nice as a coach to have basically another pitching coach on the mound. He will come back in between innings and have feedback on what he’s seeing with hitters’ swings from his angle. And that collaborative process between us has been awesome to watch flourish, especially these last two years (while) he’s been one of our frontline starters.

“He has great stuff, lands all his pitches in any count, and has the confidence in himself to beat anyone at any time,” Lee said. “Bulldog is an apt description.”

Lee added that “what stands out most to me is his leadership and maturity this year on the field. He has been a captain since sophomore year and that is no easy task. Yet as a coaching staff we’ve been able to see him adapt and refine leadership skills each year.

“On the field, his contact rate has gone way up and he’s still able to hit with power. He has confidence and has come through in some really big important moments already,” Lee said. “Anyone who knows Lucas knows he’s what a Newport Harbor Sailor baseball player should be: tough, smart and a great work ethic.”

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

These days, beach volleyball has become another popular niche sport, and no one is more qualified to coach than Dan Glenn.

Glenn, a member of the CIF Southern Section Hall of Fame, was a math, history and economics teacher for 37 years who retired in 2022. He has coached the Newport Harbor High boys and girls beach volleyball teams since before the COVID pandemic.

Beach volleyball became an official CIF Southern Section-sanctioned girls sport in 2022. Newport Harbor’s boys play in the 18-school Orange County Beach Volleyball League, which has been operating for more than a decade as a club league with playoffs, as well as innovative five-against-five, four-person matches and all the way down to singles.

“Boys beach volleyball is like surfing, in that it has its own league and playoffs (not governed by CIF), and I kind of like it that way. We create our own little (system), and I like that,” said Glenn, a generational coach who has coached many of his former players’ children, and is one of Orange County’s foremost volleyball coaches.

The Newport Harbor boys won a seventh beach volleyball league title in 11 years last fall. There were about 26 in the program.

The girls play in the spring and host matches and practice at Grant Street in West Newport. There are 28 girls in the program.

Prior to coaching beach volleyball, Glenn spent more than 35 years as an indoor volleyball coach, mostly at Newport Harbor.

Glenn has led the Newport Harbor girls to seven CIF Southern Section championships and five state titles while coaching seven CIF Southern Section Players of the Year and guiding the Tars to 17 league titles. The Sailors’ girls posted a record of 683-299 under Glenn.

Glenn, who coached at Edison and University before arriving at Newport Harbor in 1986, also coached the Newport Harbor boys indoor volleyball program to three CIF Southern Section titles and coached two CIF Southern Section Players of the Year. The Tars’ boys went 495-176 during Glenn’s tenure of more than two decades. At Edison, Glenn’s boys won two Sunset League titles.

Several of Glenn’s former players have gone on to become successful coaches, including former UC Berkeley women’s volleyball head coach Jennifer Carey Dorr and Eric Vallely, who coached the Sailors’ boys indoor team to the CIF Division 1 championship in 2022.

Another triumphant Glenn protégé, Jenny Evans Griffith, is the women’s beach volleyball coach at Concordia University in Irvine, which has become an NCAA Division II powerhouse.

Evans, a National High School Player of the Year at Newport Harbor in 1987, an NCAA champion at UCLA and a standout on the Association of Volleyball Professionals Tour, was a junior at the beginning of Glenn’s reign at Newport Harbor in 1986.

“Danny Glenn was a breath of fresh air,” she said. “He came in and was very positive and you could tell he really liked teaching us, and he started teaching us different ways of playing volleyball. High school was a lot of fun. We had a good time.”

Jeannette Hecker Bakke, a setter on two state championship teams at Newport Harbor under Glenn (1992 and ’94) before a decorated career at Loyola Marymount and the AVP Tour, still sees Glenn in the close-knit volleyball community. Hecker Bakke, who coached at Mater Dei, has been a nurse for 17 years and is preparing for her doctorate in nursing at Long Beach State.

“Let me tell you something about Coach Glenn,” she said last week. “You see him and he still makes you feel like you’re the most important thing to him, even though he has coached thousands of girls. He still makes you feel like you’re his favorite.”

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

Thirty years ago this week – there were no tournaments in 2017 and 2021 – George Archer shocked the field and won the inaugural Toshiba Senior Classic. (The tournament rebranded to the Hoag Classic in 2019.)

Gentleman Archer, a grandfather type when I covered the first Toshiba in 1995 at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa, had been suffering from a painful, degenerative hip condition that later required joint-replacement surgery. Archer was considering retirement, and few expected him to be a strong contender to win.

There were iconic names in the field such as Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Tom Weiskopt, Lee Elder and Al Geiberger, while Dave Stockton and Jim Colbert were among the tour’s money leaders.

Archer overcame injuries before in his career, but his right hip had been deteriorating steadily for 18 months prior to the Toshiba Classic and he couldn’t play golf unless he loaded up on pain medication.

The night before the final round, Archer discussed retirement with his wife, Donna. But on Sunday at Mesa Verde, the 6-foot-6 veteran, who won the 1969 Masters, shot a final-round 64 to win the Toshiba by a stroke.

“Golf is a crazy game,” Archer said. “You do things you’re not supposed to do.”

In a pulsating finish, Archer came back to pull even with Saturday’s leader, Tom Wargo, and Stockton at seven-under. His putter caught fire on the back nine as Archer birdied 10, 12, 15 and, amazingly, 17 with a 21-foot putt that spurred the 55-year-old and his bad hip into an ecstatic cap-wagging dance.

The long putt moved Archer to 11-under, one stroke ahead of Stockton, the two-time defending money leader on tour. When Stockton’s tee shot at 18 found the trees, Archer only needed to make par on the last hole to seal the unlikely triumph.

“You’re thinking about retiring and then you have a day like that. What are you going to do?” said Archer, whose drive and approach shot landed to within 15 feet of the cup at 18, where he easily two-putted to finish an improbable comeback.

Archer died in 2005 after a 13-month battle with Burkitts Lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was hampered by wrist and back problems for much of his career, but still managed to win a dozen PGA Tour events, including a green jacket at Augusta, Georgia, and 19 more titles on the Champions Tour for golfers 50 and older.

With past players like Archer in mind, as well as those playing on a sponsor exemption or as a Monday qualifier, the three-day, 56-hole Hoag Classic is not only Orange County’s only PGA event, but represents everything that is good in the game with the possibility of a magic weekend carpet ride.

This year’s Hoag Classic sponsor exemptions are John Daly, Bill Andrade, Boo Weekley and Steve Holmes, a teaching pro and Southern California PGA senior champion.

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

From the inaugural Crosby Southern Pro-Am in 1975 to the 2025 Hoag Classic on the PGA Tour Champions, the venerable hospital and staple of Newport Beach has changed its name a few times through the decades, but will always have a distinguished legacy thanks to community and philanthropic leaders Charlie Hester and Marshall Duffield.

Because of their efforts and connection with friend and golf buddy, singer, actor and entertainer Bing Crosby, they started a mini-tour event and pro-am, which lasted for 23 years. It was a “drop area” for pros not making the cut at Crosby’s famous National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, now the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour. An avid golfer, Crosby wanted to offer a place to play for those with an unexpected open weekend.

Upon giving Hester and Duffield authorization to use his name, the two Newport Beach businessmen and Hoag Hospital volunteers (through the fundraising 552 Club) quickly scrambled to launch the inaugural Crosby Southern, or “Little Crosby” as golfers referred to it.

The Crosby Southern Pro-Am provided good golf theater on a tight budget, supported fully by volunteers, as the field featured PGA journeymen, up-and-coming stars and older players trying to extend their careers. Crosby presented the check, a whopping $1,700, to the first winner, Billy Ziobro, in 1975.

Once in the 1970s, for a bit of flare, a sponsor came up with an idea of “pop-out cups” in the hole on each green.

It was an invention that didn’t last, but for a while golfers in the Crosby Southern could stand over the hole and catch their ball as it popped up.

“You wouldn’t have to bend over and get the ball out of the hole,” said former PGA Tour rules official Mike Crosthwaite, who served at the Crosby Southern.

“What we were concerned about was, if you hit the ball into the hole (from a long distance), it wouldn’t stay. It would hit the bottom of the cup and bounce out,” Crosthwaite said. “But this guy, who I think was a member (at the club), thought the pop-up cups would be great notoriety for the tournament. It was something else.”

There will be no pop-out cups at the Hoag Classic on March 21-23, but a star-studded field will be vying for a piece of the $2 million purse. Among those committed to play are Fred Couples, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker.

Prior to its rebranding to the Hoag Classic in 2019, the event was called the Toshiba Classic, and before that, the Toshiba Senior Classic, which began in 1995. The former Crosby Southern and its crew of Hoag volunteers merged with the Toshiba Senior Classic in 1998.

In addition to ranking among the longest-running events on the PGA Tour Champions, the Hoag Classic has raised more than $1 million for charity each year since 2000.

The Hoag Classic holds the distinction of having the longest tenure at the same club, the Newport Beach Country Club, on the tour.

Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, who played once in the event in 2004, will serve as keynote speaker at the Hoag Classic Community Breakfast on March 18 at the Balboa Bay Club. Tickets for all events are available on the Hoag Classic website.

The Senior PGA Tour was formally established in 1980, mainly to keep players like Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead relevant in the public eye and cash in on their prestige. In October 2002, the tour was rebranded as the Champions Tour and in 2015, it was adopted as the PGA Tour Champions.

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

Daniel Amaral’s “Steal a Base, Change the Game” digs deep inside the art of base stealing. It is written for the advanced baseball player, but it is a fascinating read for anyone interested in learning more about the intricacies of the game, insights of the stolen base, technical details, helpful drills and a peek into the mind of a professional base stealer. It is available on Amazon.

“Daniel came out and helped my team learn the shuffle steal and during that fall season (in 2024), which was 10 games and six intrasquads, we stole 81 bases,” Orange Coast College Coach Nate Johnson said.

The author is the son of former major leaguer Rich Amaral, an OCC and Estancia High product, and younger brother of Beau Amaral, the baseball coach at Pacific Christian High School in Newport Beach after a 12-year professional career. All three played at UCLA before their pro careers.

Daniel Amaral, a veteran minor leaguer in the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations and entering his eighth year as a professional baseball player this year in Mexico, has penned an entertaining instructional book exploring the nuances that are often unnoticed or overlooked to the untrained eye in pitching, catching, hitting and base stealing. The antidotes, accounts from Major League Baseball and uncovered secrets to stealing bases at the highest level provide a rare glimpse into one of the game’s most exciting and interesting plays.

The family shares a profound passion for the game and a relentless pursuit of stealing bases and gaining the upper hand on the field.

Daniel Amaral was drafted in the 14th round by the Pirates out of UCLA – he played in the Bruins’ alumni game Feb. 1 and was able to tell friends, ex-teammates and coaches about his new book. Known for his speed and base-stealing abilities, Amaral set three team records in the minor leagues, one league record and led the league in stolen bases three times, amassing 279 steals in his American pro career.

Rich Amaral played 18 years of professional baseball, including 10 in the majors, eight with the Seattle Mariners and two with the Baltimore Orioles. Amaral played a key role in the Mariners’ momentous 1995 comeback, which saved baseball in Seattle, according to M’s Manager Lou Piniella.

Seattle trailed by 13 games in the American League West standings in August, while the Mariners’ future Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr., was sidelined with an injury. But the Mariners rallied late in the season and erased the improbable deficit to force a one-game playoff against the Angels, which the Mariners won to advance to the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.

In the postseason for the first time, they stunned the heavily favored Yankees in the playoffs, and the well-documented season led to the building of a new ballpark, Safeco Field, after reports earlier in the year of the team moving out of Seattle.

“It’s crazy that it’s been 30 years,” Rich Amaral said last week. “We might have a reunion for that anniversary team. They’re trying to get everyone together.

“The crazy part of that season is that it was borderline like a dream, but really another part can be as real as it can be,” he said. “It was amazing with the momentum we gained in August and September, and the fact that Griffey got hurt and we still did it. It’s a really cool story. (The MLB Network) did a really good job on the show (‘The 1995 Mariners, Saving Baseball in Seattle’).”

At age 31 in 1993, Amaral became the oldest rookie to crack the majors, when he beat out Bret Boone for the Mariners’ starting job at second base.

As a speedy leadoff hitter, Amaral was the first batter in the history of Jacobs Field in Cleveland in 1994. Dennis Martinez was the pitcher for the Indians and Sandy Alomar Jr. was the catcher. After the first pitch, the ball was quickly tossed away for keepsake purposes.

“The first pitch was a foot outside, but they called it a strike,” Amaral said. “I followed the ball all the way into Alomar’s glove. He caught it, then quickly underhanded it back to the dugout.”

Amaral, now a scout for the Baltimore Orioles, stole 112 bases in his major league career. What are his thoughts on the “shuffle steal” in his son’s book?

“I wish I knew this when I played,” he said.

In a packed facility at The Ranch at Laguna Beach, 400 people attended Stewart’s service on Jan. 18, many from the volleyball community. There were 300 in a standing-room-only ballroom and 100 attendees in an outside courtyard. Among the speakers were several coaches, including Evan Chalmers, who provided a variety of amusing quips and tales about his Laguna Beach High classmate and multiple-sports teammate. Chalmers spent the bulk of his football and baseball coaching career at Newport Harbor High, and, like Stewart, has a deep volleyball background.

Considered the finest athlete in Laguna Beach history as a three-sport standout in the early 1980s, Stewart was a longtime club and high school coach in the area, mostly at Laguna Beach, where he coached boys and girls in several different stints.

“Lance was a great coach who coached both of my kids at Laguna Beach, and they’re now 52 and 48,” said Byron Nelson, whose daughter, Sara, was the 1989 Orange County girls volleyball player of the year at Laguna Beach. Sara Nelson went on to play at UC Santa Barbara, one of hundreds of former area players to compete at the collegiate level.

Stewart coached the Laguna Beach boys from 1988 to 1990, 2004 to 2011 and 2020 to 2024, winning seven league titles, three CIF state regional championships and a CIF Southern Section banner.

His Laguna girls won 10 league titles, CIF championships in 2006 and 2007 and a CIF state regional title during his time from 2004 to 2012 and 1989 to 1990. Known as the Artists in 1989-90, they compiled a 37-7 record in Stewart’s first two seasons and were No. 2 and No. 3 in The Orange County Register final rankings.

Stewart coached the Corona del Mar girls volleyball team to an unprecedented two consecutive state championships in 1992 and 1993. Both squads were named the Mizuno-USA Today national champions.

“Lance Stewart was an incredibly confident and passionate coach,” said Kimberly Coleman, a three-time All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection for Corona del Mar in all three of Stewart’s years with the Sea Kings. “He made me believe I could do anything no matter who I was competing against.”

Stewart coached at the collegiate level and worked in real estate and health and wellness, all while enjoying great success as an artist. He earned a degree in fine arts at UC Berkeley.

Stewart stepped down as Laguna Beach’s boys volleyball coach last summer after the 2024 season. Stewart was a special education teacher’s assistant with the Laguna Beach School District and also assisted his daughter’s Thurston volleyball program.

As an athlete, Stewart served as a record-breaking quarterback for Laguna Beach’s football team, was an All-CIF player on the basketball team and was a four-year varsity letterman in volleyball, in which he led Laguna to an undefeated and CIF championship season in 1981 as a setter, meriting Orange County, CIF Southern Section and California State High School player of the year honors. Stewart played football at Cal and led the Golden Bears to their first Collegiate Club national championship.

He is survived by his wife, Deanna, and children Chanel McConnell, Larry and Lance, granddaughter Stetson, mother Judy Blossom and sisters Gretchen and Shawna.

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.