27 years ago today, CdM resident Jim Abbott pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees.  Only 10 Yankees pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in the franchise’s 120 years.  What makes Abbott’s no-hitter even more remarkable is he was born without a right hand. ​

We recently came across this photo of President Franklin D. Roosevelt driving through CdM in July 1938 on his way from LA to San Diego. The Sherman Library has an excellent blog posts that tells the backstory of this trip which you can find here.
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Looking at this photo, we were left wondering where exactly the ‘Corona Del Mar Civic Center’ was located. The photo says it was taken at Marguerite and Coast Highway but we wanted to pin down the exact location. Some of our group thinks it was just south of Marguerite, near the building with BofA and UPS while others think it was just north of Marguerite between Papa’s Liquors and Zinc.
What do you think? Does anyone remember this building that held the Civic Center in the 1930s and may have had other uses later on?

​Chuck Jones, the legendary animator and director who gave life to cartoon greats such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Road Runner was a longtime Corona del Mar resident.  In an almost 70-year animation career he directed more than 300 films, three of which won Academy Awards, received an Oscar in recognition of his life’s work, and created some of the most famous and beloved cartoon characters.  He is credited as a co-creator of Bugs, Daffy, Elmer Fudd, and Porky Pig and as the sole creator of Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, Marvin Martian, Pepe Le Pew, Michigan J. Frog and dozens more memorable characters.  

​In the headline of his obituary, the Los Angeles Times called him the “Grandest Angel of Them All.”  After a 35-year career in baseball that included 18 seasons in a Los Angeles Angels uniform, Arnold ‘Jigger’ Statz died at home in Corona Del Mar on March 16, 1988 at age 90.  With Mike Trout not born for another three years, the headline was not hyperbole.  To this day, Statz has the 4th most hits as a professional baseball player behind only Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, and Hank Aaron.  Wondering why he isn’t as well known as these three Hall of Famers?  3,356 of his hits came as a member of the Angels back when they played in the Pacific Coast League.

​Artist Rex Brandt, who lived and worked in Corona del Mar for most of his life, is considered one of the most important and influential California watercolorists.