Presented by the California Surf Museum and the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, the Silver Skater Awards – Rolling From the ’60s Into the ’70s ceremony was held on Saturday, August 24, 2024 at the Veterans Association of North County hall in Oceanside, California. A lively crowd consisting of dozens of pro skateboarders from the 1960’s and ’70s and their families and friends gathered in mass to honor a half dozen groundbreaking legends of the sport. Looking around at the sea of grey hair, I felt like I had entered the rec room of a retirement home… or maybe even the Twilight Zone.
The 2024 Silver Skater honorees from left: Frank Nasworthy, Curt Stevenson for his father Larry Stevenson, Herbie Fletcher, Tom “Wart” Craig, Michael Mel and Dean Torrance.
First up was a silent auction to benefit the California Surf Museum and Skateboarding Hall of Fame museums, complete with rare decks on offer from Alva, Bahne, El Gato Classic (signed by many pros), G&S, Logan Earth Ski, Makaha and Nash, plus a few Cadillac Wheels posters, vintage Skateboarder and TWS mags and more. And just like the Price is Right, there was a prize wheel up on stage. If you bought a ticket for a minimum of $10, you were guaranteed to win a prize after you climbed up and spun the wheel. Funnily enough, someone gave me a free ticket and I won a copy of the Tracker book, which I spent 1.5 years of my life working on a decade ago.
There was also a nice buffet dinner going on, complete with lasagna, eggplant, pasta, salad, etc. Despite the fact the microphone kept cutting out, the master of ceremonies Brian Logan soldiered on anyway through a live auction to support the CSM and SHoF museums in which several big ticket items like an e-bike, a surfboard and a one-of-a-kind Alva complete were offered up for sale. Following that was the Silver Skater Awards ceremony, which honored the heroes who laid down the foundation of modern skateboarding in the ’60s with a lifetime achievement award.
The award recipients included: Herbie Fletcher, who was one of the very first guys to ride a pool back in 1963. Larry Stevenson (RIP) founded the first modern skateboard brand, Makaha, in 1963 and invented the kicktail in 1970. Frank Nasworthy was the first to ever put urethane wheels on a skateboard (also in 1970) and the first to sell them to the public with his Cadillac Wheels brand in 1973. Michael Mel was a member of the original Hobie team and appeared in the first-ever skateboarding film, Skater Dater, in 1965.
With his collection of memorabilia, Tom “Wart” Craig charted the early history of skateboarding and surfing, and appeared in the first issue of Skateboarder himself in 1964. Dean Torrence was one half of the singing duo Jan and Dean, who released the first-ever skate-rock song “Sidewalk Surfing'” in 1964. Top ’70s pro Tony Alva wrapped up the first annual Silver Awards with a rousing speech about his influential life and times, as well as offering up a few nuggets of wisdom and stoke.
– Garry Davis
