Sunday Aug. 30, marked the Venice Basketball League’s (VBL) third annual celebration of Ron Beals Day—a recognition of one of the legends of Venice basketball, 82-year-old Ron Beals and his contribution to the Venice culture.
For 45 years, Ron Beals played basketball on the legendary courts of Venice Beach where he aided the evolution of the game by being one of the first to utilize and develop the jumpshot. Beals was so much of an iconic figure after playing at the beach for so long that in 1992, he was chosen to play a role in the movie “White Men Can’t Jump.” He traveled the world to play basketball, but still returned to the Venice courts. Beals still continues to bless the Venice crowd with his presence even though he can no longer play the game. Today, he is still an active member in the VBL providing support, encouragement, and wisdom to players of all ages. When Beals made his grand appearance on Sunday, all festivities were stopped in order to allow everyone to pay their respects to the cultural icon. It was surreal to witness a sea of people stroll over to Beals just to be a part of that moment in history and pay homage to a great basketball player.
“Ron Beals is one of the older heads out here,” commented Mouthpiece, the legendary MC of the VBL. Beals was also truly an instrumental force in the beginnings of the MC’s career. “He’s always opened his arms to me after I first got here. He was the man that first let me get on when I first started hooping here, and ever since I got on, I got respect and love from Venice. Then I wound up being the voice of the league.” Mouthpiece has now been emceeing the VBL for the past seven years and has expanded to MC various events outside of basketball such as commentating at Hollywood High School football games.
The Ron Beals Day was packed full of events from early morning to early evening, so it was hard to miss out on any of the action. The event was sponsored by names such as Muscle Milk, BET, And One, Purps, and Brand Black. There was a Kids VBL game followed by the Legends game, which is where past players age 50 and older who have made a name for themselves come back to play a friendly game. The High Jump contest followed where players tried to jump as high as they could in an attempt to ring a bell at the top of the backboard. Shortly afterward, an extremely explosive dunk contest really got the crowd ready for the VBL championship game; here team Brand Black faced off against team Hall of Fame for the second year in a row.
Brand Black won the championship last year against Hall of Fame, but this year, the tables were turned during the VBL World Games; Hall of Fame defeated Brand Black. This year was one of the most physical and nail-biting championship games yet. After trailing the entire game, and Hall of Fame made an amazing comeback to win 53-51, snapping Brand Black’s undefeated streak this season.
The festivities continued throughout the afternoon with a celebrity basketball match and bikini basketball game.
With the end of Ron Beals Day, the VBL has now turned its attention to hosting the VBL World Games Tournament set to take place this month. The World Games will feature many teams that participated in the VBL this past summer season as well as new squads that are making their debut on the legendary Venice courts. For more information, visit the VBL website at www.veniceball.com and follow them on Instagram @veniceball.
