Huntington Beach Sports Hall of Fame inducts first class this weekend

A long list of athletes, coaches, sports media members and others have made their mark in Huntington Beach over the years.

For all of that talent, Surf City hasn’t really had a place for them to be collectively enshrined.

Until now.

The newly created Huntington Beach Sports Hall of Fame will induct its first class on Sunday afternoon at the Huntington Club.

The inaugural class includes Hall of Fame football tight end and Huntington Beach High graduate Tony Gonzalez, as well as Ed Arnold, longtime broadcaster at KTLA and KOCE at Golden West College. Huntington Beach resident and former pro basketball player Ann Meyers Drysdale, former world surfing champion Peter “PT” Townend, longtime Golden West College women’s volleyball coach Albert Gasparian and members of the 2011 Ocean View Little League team that won the Little League World Series will also be enshrined.

“I think it’s a really good class,” said Ryan Broccolo, a Huntington Beach native and sports marketing professional who is on the Huntington Beach Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors. “We’re excited. I think it’s a good representation of the city in multiple sports.”

Peter “PT” Townend, former world surfing champion shown in 2022, is an inductee into the Huntington Beach Sports Hall of Fame.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The Huntington Beach Sports Hall of Fame has been a passion project for Dave Garofolo, the Hall of Fame’s executive director and former mayor of Huntington Beach.

He said he started building the Hall of Fame in 2023, when Tony Strickland was mayor. Strickland, a former college basketball player, is also part of the board that selected the class, along with legendary swim coach Mark Schubert and acting Golden West College Athletic Director Tim Bremen.

Garofolo said he wanted the Hall of Fame to include more than just players, and he worked with an advisory committee including Huntington Beach Union High School District athletic directors to create a list of 200 candidates.

“We’re also including deserving coaches, media,” Garofolo said. “A team is hard to do because of the cost of the awards, but we’ll always honor a team as exceptional as the 2011 Ocean View team.”

Garofolo said he hopes to hang the Huntington Beach Sports Hall of Fame plaques in the Central Library, with a new class being inducted each year.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder and recent U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey will serve as the event’s emcee, along with his daughter, Olivia Garvey, a sports anchor at NBC 4.

Limited tickets are available for Sunday’s ceremony at the Huntington Club, which runs from 2 to 4 p.m., and the reservation deadline is Friday at noon. A $60 donation per person is requested.

For reservations and information, email [email protected] or call (714) 914-9797.