Joey Buran To Receive 2009 Surfers’ Hall Of Fame Honor
March 30, 2009 – 11:52 pm PT by MeTags: Joey BUran, Surfer's Hall of Fame —
There are plenty of people who can be considered a “California Kid”. Arnold Schwarzeneggerger comes to mind. Oscar de la Hoya is another. But for right now, there is only one “California Kid. The “California Kid” JOEY BURAN will be joining Jeff Hakman, Bruce Brown and Pat O’Connell as the 2009 inductees into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, at 10 a.m. Friday, July 24 in front of Huntington Surf & Sport. Joey is a former Pipeline Masters Champion and the first California surfer to win a World Tour event, Buran’s foot and handprints will be forever immortalized in concrete alongside surfing’s greatest heroes and pioneers.
“Wow! We just received confirmation that Joey Buran will be here for this year’s Surfers’ Hall of Fame Ceremony and everyone is so stoked including me,” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame Founder, Aaron Pai. “Joey Buran is ‘The California Kid’ and he showed us how to surf Pipe back in the day. Joey has done so much for our Sport of Surfing in the past and is still contributing to our sport today as the Coach of the USA Surf Team! We are very much honored to be able to induct Joey Buran into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame!”
Buran began life landlocked in the mid-west (Cleveland), but moved to Carlsbad in 1972. He started surfing in 1973 at the age of 12 and by 1975 was already ranked as the top amateur surfer in California. After turning pro in 1978 Buran defeated Rabbit Bartholomew in his inaugural man-on-man event, won his first pro title in Oceanside and reached the final round of the Pipeline Masters in Hawaii defeating, among others, two-time reigning champion Rory Russell. He received the nickname “California Kid” from ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
