Notes on a Scorecard - May 4, 1992

Today is not business as usual. Slam dunks, home runs and hat tricks are for another column. This one is about real heroes. Here are some of those who have touched my heart the past few days:

Kevin Evanahen --The 24-year-old Inglewood man was killed trying to save a store from burning down when the roof on which he was standing collapsed. . . .

Edward James Olmos --The actor, director and activist began the cleanup campaign on Western Avenue Friday and worked virtually around the clock after spreading his message on numerous television stations Thursday. Olmos’ concerns about civil rights were expressed long before the Rodney King verdict. . . .

T.J. Murphy and Tee Barnett-- Along with two other black people, they rescued white truck driver Reginald Oliver Denny and drove him to safety in his 18-wheeler after Denny was nearly beaten to death Wednesday night. . . .

Dr. Leslie Geiger --The neurosurgeon performed surgery on Denny at Daniel Freeman Hospital to repair a skull fracture and remove a blood clot. . . .

Valerie Newfield --The nurse was about to leave Wednesday night when the emergency room at Daniel Freeman became inundated with riot victims. She stayed and worked until the next morning. Her shift lasted 22 1/2 hours. . . .

Jim Brown-- The Hall of Fame football player needed no directions to South Central L.A., where he has spent so much of his time the past few years trying to improve the economy. . . .

Michael Strawberry-- The LAPD officer was attempting to restore order on the streets of his hometown when he was wounded by gunfire. “Michael was my rock,” said his brother Darryl, the Dodger outfielder, about their days growing up in the Crenshaw district. . . .

Scott Miller --The firefighter was shot in the cheek while riding on a fire truck. . . .

Olden Polynice --The Clipper center lent his 7-foot, 250-pound presence to the cleanup effort near the Sports Arena, where his team had been scheduled to play the Utah Jazz. . . .

James Ogino --The manager of the Ralph’s market at Olympic Boulevard and Western Avenue kept his store open, under the most difficult circumstances, to serve people who were “begging us to do something to help them.” . . .

Tom Petty --The rock singer recorded “Peace In L.A.” . . .

Elmore Dingle --The 31-year-old black man helped to clean up a mini-mall in Koreatown. “The violence last night wasn’t real,” he said. “ This is real.” . . .

Teresa Martinez --The seafood restaurant and taco stand owner served food to volunteers cleaning the debris outside her places of business. . . .

Rev. Cecil (Chip) Murray --His First AME Church was the hub of positive energy and the home of a Red Cross disaster shelter and food center. . . .

Yong J. Cha --The reporter for radio station KCB was one of many broadcasters who kept Koreatown residents informed about developments during the riots and helped to organize the rally at Ardmore Park. . . .

Michele Kaemmerer --She is the captain of a fire company that encountered automatic weapons fire and also had cartridges exploding around it while trying to douse flames at an ammunition shop. . . .

Bill Smith --The Long Beach Press Telegram employee helped an elderly woman flee a burning apartment building in downtown Long Beach. . . .

Jeff Kramer’s rescuers --After calling paramedics and waiting 30 minutes, a South Central L.A. family covered the free-lance reporter, who was bleeding from gunshot wounds, with a blanket to conceal his identity and drove him through the neighborhood until they were able to get help from the police. . . .

Robert Casteel --The heavy-equipment operator used a water-sprayer tank trunk to wash down curbs and sidewalks in front of the Crenshaw Square shopping center. . . .

Roy Harvey --He helped to direct traffic at a busy intersection in South Central L.A. after the traffic lights went down. . . .

Toetuu Maama --The airline cargo agent from Inglewood and his entire, eight-member Tongan-American family spent Saturday afternoon working with the broom-and-shovel brigade. . . .

Rev. James T. Thompson --

The associate minister of the Alpha and Omega Baptist Church was one of about 40 clergymen who helped avert what had been shaping up as a confrontation between an angry crowd of youths and police officers on West Adams soon after rioting began Wednesday night. . . .

I have lived in Los Angeles all my life. Too much of what has happened the past week has embarrassed me. But much has made me feel proud, too.