Editor's Note: There will be an unveiling celebration of a new exhibit honoring local athletes tonight (Jan. 20, 2011) at the Rec Center. Below, we have re-published two relevant articles from our print edition. Immediately below, you'll find our article from Jan. 5, 2011, announcing the unveiling party. Further down, you'll find our article from March, 2010, talking about the creation of this exhibit.
From the News-Ledger Jan. 5, 2011
A photo exhibit of past and current prominent athletes of West Sacramento opens at the Rec Center, 2801 Jefferson Blvd. West Sacramento on Thursday, January 20. The unveiling ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m.
This display is a photo collection of athletes from 1940 to 2010. The effort was to focus on West Sacramento athletes who were born here or have resided in the community. Each photo has the name and background information of each athlete including professional or amateur record.
This display can be considered a work in progress with photos being rotated over time, said co-organizer Louie Campos. Not all the photos that were collected will be displayed at once.
“This has certainly been a very exciting chapter in my life in terms of meeting some of the athletes – in particular, the boxers that became famous coming out of Bryte and Broderick,” Campos told the News-Ledger.
Pro-baseball standout Steve Sax has told Campos he will be at the opening, as will brother (and fellow baseball player) Dave Sax. Other celebrities may be on hand as well.
The project was conducted in partnership with the City of West Sacramento, Parks and Recreation Department, the West Sacramento Historical Society and the Photo Documentation Project, created by Campos. The Historical Society took the lead in this project with the Photo Documentation Project taking the role of collecting the photographs and interviewing many of the athletes and West Sacramento sport historians. The project took about a year to complete.
There will be approximately eighteen photographs on display and each photograph is about 2.5 feet by 3.5 feet in size. Large portions of the images are of boxers and some are baseball players. Basketball and football players (such as West Sacramento’s Malcolm Floyd, now of the San Diego Chargers) are also represented.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Below, we have republished our article from the beginning of this project to create an exhibit honoring West Sacramento's great athletes. This article was published on March 10, 2010.
LOUIE CAMPOS with a poster advertising his search for photos and information on the best high school, amateur and professional athletes of West Sacramento’s past. The boxer pictured at the upper right is the late, great Joey Lopes (News-Ledger photo)
From the News-Ledger March 10, 2010
By Steve Marschke News-Ledger Editor
There’s still time to nominate some of the
“greatest” athletes in West Sacramento history
to be part of a display on the walls of the city recreation center.
Louie Campos has put out the call for photos
and nominations, as part of a project he is undertaking with City backing.
“I am looking for as many athletes as I can
get,” Campos
told the News-Ledger. “So far, most of the response has been regarding boxers
and a little bit from baseball.”
Campos
has boxed himself. At age 70, he has lived in the city for about five years and
is retired from the state health
department.
His goal is to make a poster with a photo and
information about each of the city’s great athletes – professional and amateur,
high school and beyond.
“I’m collecting stories and photos of the
athletes,” he said. “I have had responses regarding boxers going back to (the
late) Joey Lopes, who was a world lightweight contender. He fought some of the
best, if not the best, in the world. He was a boxer in the late ‘50s and into
the ‘60s.”
Campos
has also herd from former baseball player Eddie Samcoff, and from boxers
including former bantam weight champion Willie Jorrin.
He hasn’t had any luck – yet – getting a
response from heavyweight boxer Oleg Maskaev, race car driver Burney Lamar or
former L.A. Dodger Steve Sax.
“I’d like to have more photos from other
sports,” said Campos.
Anybody with information or photos for him is
welcome to email Campos
at louiecampos@aol.com, putting “photo display project” in the subject line.
“The next phase is to start looking at all
the photos and pick the ones we want,” he said. “Then there will be a
poster-like exhibit at the Rec Center in Southport.
There will be action photos, with text assigned to the photos.”
