Tony Gwynn memorial unveiled at Lake Poway
Poway’s long-awaited Tony Gwynn memorial was finally made reality in May.
The memorial statue and plaza was dedicated on May 9, on what would have been the Hall of Famer’s 57th birthday, at Lake Poway. Gwynn died in 2014 at the age of 54.
The 11-foot-tall bronze statue by Texas artist Seth Vandable shows Gwynn in his San Diego Padres uniform tipping his cap with his left hand and holding his young daughter in his right arm. The statue is the centerpiece of a baseball-shaped concrete plaza near the park’s baseball field and concession stand. A donor wall lists the names of those who contributed over $190,000 toward the monument’s costs. Also recognized are businesses that donated an estimated $108,000 in goods and services.
In October 2015 the council hired a consultant to shepherd the process through the design and construction phases. A nationwide call for interested artists was put out in January 2016 and resulted in nearly 200 applications. The list was narrowed down to seven finalists, whose proposals were reviewed by a panel including Gwynn family members, local art experts and Vaus. Vandable was selected as the artist and his design was approved by the City Council in April 2016.
Eleven local and regional businesses helped complete the memorial by donating materials and labor. A concert held in April 2016, led by Vaud, raised about $40,000.
At the end of the dedication ceremony small replicas of the statue, called “maquettes,” were presented to top donors Alexander and Heather Favelukis, Alexander and Amber Pellegrino and Swinerton Builders. Another was given to the Gwynn family. Vaus offered another maquette to anyone willing to donate $10,000 toward plaza maintenance costs. Vaus said, the offer was accepted by Poway residents Bill and Tina Howe within 30 seconds.
Gwynn spent all 20 years of his career as a Padre, earning eight batting championships, five Golden Glove awards for his defense and 15 All-Star selections. He raised his family in Poway and was often spotted attending a game at Poway High School or shopping at a local market. After retiring in 2001 he served as head baseball coach at his alma mater, San Diego State University, until succumbing to cancer in 2014. In 2007 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Last year the annual award given to the National League player with the highest batting average was named in his honor.
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