Council Institutes Sports Hall of Fame

The San Clemente City Council Tuesday voted to institute a local Sports Hall of Fame program.

The program, initially proposed by Mayor Jim Evert, will be administered by the Friends of the San Clemente Beaches, Parks and Recreation Foundation. Each year, individuals or groups in the community will nominate a number of adult athletes who either grew up in San Clemente or lived in San Clemente during their careers.

The final picks will be installed as part of an annual fund-raising dinner for the foundation.

Councilman Bob Baker was the sole dissenting vote in creating the Hall of Fame.

"I'm going to be opposed to this Hall of Fame thing," he said. "How much is enough? We already do enough for athletes in this town. Do these people really need another trophy?"

Baker cited all of the banners and lists of high school athletes displayed throughout San Clemente High School. He also cited formerly great, but now disgraced athletes like Michael Vick, Tiger Woods and O.J. Simpson, among others.

"These are all people we could have on our wall if they had lived in San Clemente," he said.

Read more about the Sports Hall of Fame here.