100
SUMMER 2020
Stars come This lovely little hamlet in the lap of the Los Padres National Forest that we call home certainly sees more than its fair share of stars and even superstars of the sporting world. I was born in Las Vegas, grew up in Hollywood, hung out in the Turf Club at Santa Anita with my grandpa and uncles and then worked as a writer in Los Angeles for 10 years. So I have never been one to be “starstruck,” and have asked for only one autograph in my life (Dodger manager Walter Alston when I was 12) and came early in life to realize
that these fabulous athletes whom we have the privilege and good fortune to cover are really “just people,” like you and I, navigating the waters of family, finances and today, COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been at least a little agog on those special occasions when, as a reporter for the Ojai Valley News, I was
fortunate enough to find myself in the presence of greatness. The first bonafide star I met on the “beat,” as we like to call it in the media, was Steve Hovley back in the ‘80s. Hovley, who graduated from Villanova Prep and Stanford, enjoyed a successful MLB career that included a stint with the Oakland A’s during their glory years in the ‘70s.