Corky Carroll

If it's daylight and you're looking for Corky Carroll, you'd better head to the beach. He's had a permanent suntan since he was 4 years old. That's about his age when he first wandered to the sand near Sunset Beach and begged his way onto a surfboard ride. Carroll, now 48 and of Huntington Beach, went on to win five national surfingchampionships and three international titles.

If it's daylight and you're looking for Corky Carroll, you'd better head to the beach. He's had a permanent suntan since he was 4 years old. That's about his age when he first wandered to the sand near Sunset Beach and begged his way onto a surfboard ride. Carroll, now 48 and of Huntington Beach, went on to win five national surfingchampionships and three international titles.

Corky Carroll once made $30,000 a year as a professional surfer, but when the sport's popularity waned in the early '70s, he had to forge a meager existence in such endeavors as a dishwasher, waiter, ski boot riveter and musician. He supported himself in the summer of '75 by selling balloons at the Orange County Fair. Today, he is back doing what he does best--selling himself and the life style created by his friends of the 1950s and '60s.

Corky Carroll is learning how to ride the nose again . . . which is akin to saying Sam Snead is reacquainting himself with the bunker shot or Jean-Claude Killy is trying to remember how to make a sharp turn on skis. Carroll, a five-time U.S. surfing champion, quit competitive surfing in a fit of disgust after the 1972 world championships. He was only 24. Now, more than two decades later, he's contemplating a comeback as a professional longboarder.

Surf star Corky Carroll, whose reputation for being out of a job was as big as some of the giant waves he has surfed, has--alas--found gainful employment selling cars. Carroll, 43, surfing's iconoclast, forged a surfing career while supporting himself with such odd jobs as dishwasher, waiter, ski-boot riveter and musician. Those who recall a beer commercial featuring Carroll probably remember its punch line, playing on the surfing hero's lifelong job defiance.

Corky Carroll is learning how to ride the nose again . . . which is akin to saying Sam Snead is reacquainting himself with the bunker shot or Jean-Claude Killy is trying to remember how to make a sharp turn on skis. Carroll, a five-time U.S. surfing champion, quit competitive surfing in a fit of disgust after the 1972 world championships. He was only 24. Now, more than two decades later, he's contemplating a comeback as a professional longboarder.

At one time or another in the 1950s and '60s, nearly every great California surfer rode the waves at San Onofre. Phil Edwards, considered the best surfer in the world during the 1950s and early '60s, spent his teen-age summers inventing surfing maneuvers at San Onofre, along with Mickey Dora. Dora later became famous for his fancy surfing at Malibu.

Israel and Jonathon Paskowitz of Capistrano Beach head a field of 125 surfers from California, Hawaii, the East Coast and Australia scheduled to compete in the Jimmy'Z Longboard Surfing Championships, beginning today at the San Clemente Pier. The event features surfers performing a variety of maneuvers on boards that are 9 feet or longer. Three divisions--men (34 and under), masters (35 and older) and women--will compete in two heats Saturday and one Sunday morning.

1905 Main St. Huntington Beach 92648-2705 (714) 536-2514 * Enrollment: 2,240 * Established: 1906 * Team name: Oilers * Principal: Frank Berry * Valedictorian: Jerry Lu * Famous alumni: Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Breen; surfers Corky Carroll, Nea Post, Brett Gerlach and Robert August; former NBA player Jack Haley; Kansas City Chiefs player Tony Gonzalez; Mike Martt of Low & Sweet Orchestra * Winning moments: Darrell R.

Two vastly different generations of surf rock fans might know the sound of Eddie Bertrand's guitar licks: those who dig his band the Bel-Airs, whose classic early '60s Southern California surf instrumentals are some of the earliest examples of the form; and followers of Orange County surf-punk band Sublime, who incorporated Bertrand solo into its song “Seed.” Bertrand, who died on Saturday after a fight with cancer, was a key figure in the...

Surf star Corky Carroll, whose reputation for being out of a job was as big as some of the giant waves he has surfed, has--alas--found gainful employment selling cars. Carroll, 43, surfing's iconoclast, forged a surfing career while supporting himself with such odd jobs as dishwasher, waiter, ski-boot riveter and musician. Those who recall a beer commercial featuring Carroll probably remember its punch line, playing on the surfing hero's lifelong job defiance.

Corky Carroll once made $30,000 a year as a professional surfer, but when the sport's popularity waned in the early '70s, he had to forge a meager existence in such endeavors as a dishwasher, waiter, ski boot riveter and musician. He supported himself in the summer of '75 by selling balloons at the Orange County Fair. Today, he is back doing what he does best--selling himself and the life style created by his friends of the 1950s and '60s.