Late Hall of Fame Dodgers great Tommy Lasorda will officially have a stretch of the I-5 Freeway dedicated in his name on Saturday, March 4. In 2021, the California legislature passed ACR 67, a bill authored by Los Angeles and Orange County representative, Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D – Fullerton). The legislation designated a specified portion of Interstate 5 within the County of Orange as the Tommy Lasorda Memorial Highway.
Fullerton, California has been acknowledged as the “second hometown” to the legendary Dodgers Hall of Fame Manager, and the Los Angeles Dodgers partnered to help fund this permanent memorial which will honor Lasorda in an area that was very close to his heart. The exact location of the sign is Southbound I-5 before Lincoln Avenue and Northbound I-5 before Ball Road.
“Tommy Lasorda embodied the spirit and love of the game of baseball, dedicating his life to the game by managing one of the most successful baseball franchises and encouraging the success of his players. It was Lasorda’s humanitarianism and spirit of goodwill towards kids everywhere that made him a legend,” said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “Because of Tommy Lasorda’s generosity to provide opportunities for kids, it is only fitting that we celebrate his recognition at the West Fullerton Little League Opening Day. He was an icon; a generous humanitarian with boundless enthusiasm. I thank the Dodgers organization for working with my office and the state of California to honor a Dodger hero.”
“We are very happy to be partnering with Assemblymember Quirk-Silva to honor Tommy Lasorda in such a meaningful way,” said Stan Kasten, President & CEO, Los Angeles Dodgers. “Fullerton held a very special place in Tommy’s heart, and we know how proud he would be to be standing here today.”
The ceremony will serve as the kickoff to the West Fullerton Little League opening ceremonies at James Carter Field (1015 W. Hill Avenue, Fullerton, CA) beginning at 10 a.m.
Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva will be joined by Tommy Lasorda’s daughter, Laura Lasorda, as well as Dodgers great Eric Karros, who played for Lasorda during his 14 years in the big leagues. Lasorda, who had lived in Fullerton since the Dodgers headed west in 1958, won two World Championships, four National League championships, eight division titles, and won 1,599 games.
Media interested in attending should RSVP to dodgersmedia@ladodgers.com by Friday, March 3 at 5 p.m.
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Categories: Community Voices, Local Government, Local News
Typical Sharon. Spends more time on naming freeways and none getting money to Fullerton fix its darn roads,
Our streets are only being fixed as much as the are because of the so called “gas tax” SB1 passed by the state and the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds (both passed by democrats only). The really funny thing is the same people who complain most loudly about the terrible roads and point fingers fail to point at themselves for opposing the couple cent local tax that would have fixed them, and voting to recall the senator who voted for the state measure SB1 which is fixing roads – and opposing the Federal ARPA that now fixes at least some of them.
Our streets are so bad here in Fullerton that we have to dedicate a stretch of the 5 freeway to Tommy. How pathetic.
Well, you can’t dedicate a pothole, can you?
How funny. The signs are already up.