Jack Haley "1999 Local Hero"
Mythological figure who helped pioneer surfing in Orange County during the 1940's and 1950's
PHOTO: Courtesy of LeRoy Grannis
Seal Beach’s Jack Haley actually perfected his surfing in the waves of Huntington Beach. He holds the title of the first-ever winner of the West Coast Surfing Championships held at Huntington Beach in 1959. His brother Mike Haley won the event the following year.
Known to friends as “Mr. Excitement,” Haley was extremely successful in many facets of life — he opened Jack Haley Surfboards in Seal Beach in 1961, and four years later opened the still-popular restaurant Captain Jack's in Sunset Beach. Sadly, he passed away in 2000 after battling with cancer. His son, Jack Jr., played two seasons of professional basketball with the Los Angeles Lakers.
August 1994
Fletcher 1995
Corky Carroll 1996
"Gordie" 1997
Dent 1998
Jack Hayley 1999
Llamas 2000
Nuuhiwa 2001
Gerlach 2002
Linnen 2003
Harbour 2004
Hayward 2005
"The Greek" 2006
Farnsworth 2007
Chew 2008
Baxter 2009
"Rockin Fig" 2010
Fury 2011
Draper 2012
Crump 2013
Mike Haley 2014
Boozer 2015
Turner 2016
Reyes 2017
Lewis 2018
Hawk 2019
Downey 2021
Gabrielson 2022