Freeth Stolen By Vandals!

The bronze head of George Freeth, “the first surfer in America,”* has been stolen from its pedestal in Redondo Beach, California, possibly by people who just wanted to melt down the metal.

“Wow, that’s been there forever,” said Hugo Garcia, a 1973 graduate of North High School in Torrance who was at the pier on Thursday.

The bust was mounted in 1977, which means Garcia has been out of high school for like, longer than forever.

But the theft is distressing. If nothing else it puts my Freeth piece out of date.

* Except for some Hawaiian princes who probably surfed near Santa Cruz before Freeth in the 1800s.

UPDATE: Bob Meistrell, founder of Body Glove wetsuits, is offering $5,000 for the return of the head. If that doesn’t work I hope Redondo Beach commissions a new one. Otherwise I’ll have to change the first sentence of that Freeth piece. (Link fixed.)

     posted 10 August 2008 by Michael Scott Moore

  1. I go to Hawaii a lot and, trust me, he was a false idol! :)

    e

    — e    Aug 11, 06:42 am    #

  2. ... Excuse me?

    — Mike    Aug 11, 10:16 am    #

  3. I was just joking about the fact that there are still Hawaiians who have no problem saying they were in California first, as you noted…but the word play was poorly executed because I was referring to the bust, not the person.

    e

    — e    Aug 11, 08:16 pm    #

  4. Okay. Just watch your step. Around here we’ve come to like George Freeth a whole lot.

    — Mike    Aug 11, 08:37 pm    #

  5. Damn. I bet it’s the same n’er-do-wells who stole Jim Morrison’s head in Paris. Btw the link is missing to your Freeth piece, but I guess it’s this one ? Funny you mention in the article the memorial’s claim being already outdated—by three Hawaiian princes.

    — Ben    Aug 13, 02:51 pm    #

  6. Thanks Ben. My link was funny. Those Hawaiian princes have undermined Freeth’s place in history (“first surfer in America”), but not his legend, or his importance to lifeguarding in general and Baywatch in particular. He invented those bullet-shaped “rescue cans” that David Hasselhoff liked running into the waves with…

    — Mike    Aug 13, 03:26 pm    #

  7. I bet it’s more distressing the amount on metals stolen from phone exchanges!

    e

    — e    Aug 14, 06:41 am    #