Sportswalk: Bobby Balcena

The names of many famous athletes are bronzed and embedded in the concrete along the San Pedro Sportswalk. As you stroll down 6th Street from Pacific Avenue to Harbor Boulevard, you might walk over the names of Wilt Chamberlain, Tracy Austin, Don Drysdale or Lisa Leslie. This is the story, however, of a man whose name you probably wouldn't recognize: Bobby Balcena.

Not all the athletes honored on the Sportswalk have a natural connection to San Pedro, but Balcena does. He was born here in 1925, died at his home in Pedro in 1990, and even worked as a longshoreman here during the winters. His summers, however, were reserved for baseball. The 5'7", 160 pound Balcena played professional ball for 15 of his summers in places such as Mexicali, Seattle and Buffalo. Though he was well known in those minor league towns--he led the Sunset League in hitting for the Mexicali Eagles one season and was a beloved member of the 1955 Seattle Raniers team that won the Pacific Coast League pennant--most baseball fans never knew him.

In September 1956, Balcena became the first Filipino to play in the major leagues. The Raniers sent him to the Cincinnati Reds to help them compete for the National League pennant (they would finish 3rd). He didn't have many opportunities to contribute: only seven games, with two at bats and no hits. He did, however, score two runs, probably in appearances as a pinch runner since he only played in the field twice. Balcena never returned to the Reds or any other major league team, but instead went back to the minor leagues to finish his professional career.

Yet despite what many would consider a lackluster major league record, Balcena left a baseball legacy. His official Sportswalk bio calls him "one of the greatest athletes in San Pedro history," citing his talents for football and track as well as baseball. In his minor league career, he seemed to make his mark as a fan favorite in places all across the country. The Buffalo Bisons' official web site, for example, claims that "Balcena...impressed with his hustle and sharp hitting." He was apparently a bright light on the 1958 team that finished seventh.

Though it is only his name cast in static bronze that stands watch on 6th Street in San Pedro, Bobby Balcena's own flesh and blood carries on his legacy not far to the north in Westwood. He is the great-uncle of Jodie Legaspi, junior shortstop for the UCLA Bruins softball team. Today, Legaspi wears number 12, the same number Balcena wore as an outfielder for the Reds. She carries on another of his traditions, as well. She is the first Filipina in the UCLA softball program. Legaspi was also a member of the USA National team in 2004.

Balcena led an obscure baseball career, and he died an obscure death. On January 4, 1990, he sat in his chair in front of the television at his home in San Pedro, and he died. It was two days before anyone discovered the body. The Sportswalk remembered him with a plaque on 6th Street five years later.