The Rec & Park Commission decides today whether to move forward with the planned renovation of the four Beach Chalet soccer fields. Converting these fields to synthetic turf will add 9,000 hours of play time each year, not to mention saving countless ankles from being sprained on the abundant gopher holes. See an editorial by Phil Ginsburg and Susan Hirsch in today’s Examiner for a full explanation.
NEW! Calling all teens for our new 2010 Summer Cadet Academy.
Apply today! See our cadet program page for application (due Friday April 23, 2010 at 5:00 PM)
— 4-week intensive Summer Cadet Academy at the San Francisco Police Academy
— Up to 40 new cadets will be selected
— June 21 to July 16 M-F 9 AM to 3 PM
— Graduates will be immediately eligible for internships at SFPD stations/bureaus and PAL Cadet weekly activities
Benny Legere, who refereed basketball and umpired baseball for PAL, CYO, Rec & Park and other city leagues for more than 50 years passed away on Wednesday. He was 77 years old.
Ken Garcia wrote a touching tribute to Legere in the Examiner. Scroll down the page to the second section.
Check out our first electronic newsletter. Look for it quarterly.
This edition features profiles of our late founder Commander Gus Bruneman and judo coach Bill Wong, as well as news about soccer and cheer/dance programs.
PAL Gals Model New Logo Sweatshirts
Lorraine, Joanna, Jennifer, and Anne sport our new coach sweatshirts. The orange hats are out. Coaches throughout the city will be wearing their sporty new PAL logo sweatshirts. Coaches will be notified when t-shirts and sweatshirts are ready for pick-up.
Gus (Bruce) Bruneman, long known as the cop who saved SFPAL, passed away at his Santa Rosa home on December 12. He was 81.
Bruneman was named to the SFPAL Hall of Fame at the 50th Anniversary Dinner in October. The honor was bestowed on Bruneman for his work in helping to found SFPAL and ensuring its success.
In 1959, Bruneman co-founded the San Francisco Police Athletic League with a cadre of like-minded officers. As he told the story, SFPAL was not an instant hit. The founders had to work hard to sell the concept to a skeptical police and wary public.
At one point, SFPAL was dangerously low on funds, as well as support. Bruneman and a fellow officer took matters into their own hands. The two police went to the San Francisco Police Credit Union and took out personal loans for $3,000. It was SFPAL’s lifeline.
Today, that would be like asking for a $20,000 loan.
In an interview with SFPAL last fall, Bruneman said he never worried that the fledgling organization wouldn’t fly. “We knew it was going to go. We just had to round up the teams.”
Bruneman was also SFPAL’s second president — a role he never actively sought, but which he admirably discharged. One of his earliest decisions was to sponsor a circus. A circus promoter had approached Bruneman and guaranteed that SFPAL would receive $3,000 for its part in selling tickets and promoting the event.
“That was big money and we were in trouble financially,” he said. The circus was held on a weekend and was popular — and lucrative — enough to become an annual event for many years.
Fellow Hall of Famer and SFPAL co-founder Ray White remembers Bruneman as a “top-flight policeman” and a “champion wherever he was assigned.”
“He was the logical choice to become [SFPAL] president, mainly because of his enthusiasm,” White says. “He was an effective boss, too. That’s what we needed — someone to keep the kettle going.”
White says his friend was dedicated, straightforward and not easily intimidated. This combination made him especially effective when it came to persuading the top police brass to lend their support to SFPAL.
Bruneman was born and raised in San Francisco. He attended St. Brigid Elementary, Galileo High School, San Francisco State, Golden Gate University and USC. He served as a private in the U.S. Army during World War II before joining the S.F. Police Department.
His police work spanned 30 years and ran the gamut. He started out in the SFPD Dog Unit with his dog Tonka, implemented the Tactical Squad Unit, and eventually worked in the bureau of investigations, vice, juvenile, on the streets, and community relations. He was a detective, sergeant, and captain. He retired in 1979 as a commander of patrol, 4th ranking officer. After that, he was chief investigator in the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office until 1990.
Bruneman is survived by his wife Esther of 55 years and his four children Mark, Lorie, Kurt and Erik, along with their spouses Sandee, Karen and Patrice. In addition, he leaves 14 grandchildren — Jennifer, Jana, Jacob, Justin, Beau, Brett, Brooke, Heidi, Anthony, Perry, Tammy, MJ, Maxwell, and Vivian; a great-granddaughter, Dasie, and two faithful dogs, BJ and Hershey.
Bruneman also leaves behind his twin sister Marianne Hanley, nephews John, Matt, Michael, niece Kathleen and brothers-in-law James and Pera Daniels.
Bill Wong instructs students in his SFPAL judo class.
Bill Wong was working as a cook in 1975 when a co-worker invited him to check out a judo class the friend taught.
Judo? He was curious. The 21-year-old Wong showed up at the Hall of Justice where the PAL Judo Club class was taught and quickly realized that, apart from the instructor, he was the only adult in a room full of kids. Nevertheless, he started showing up each week. After two months, his friend challenged him to take on a young boy.
At the time, Wong was a white belt — a beginner. Nevertheless, he weighed 200 lbs and was strong. His opponent was a green belt — an advanced beginner — but was only 12 years old and weighed a mere 90 lbs.
“The first thing I remember, the boy grabbed me,” Wong remembers, “and before I even could do anything, the boy threw me. I just had to laugh. Because how the heck did this little boy throw me? I used to play football in high school! I was very athletic.”
It was at that moment that Wong got hooked on judo. Read more
A touching interview with the San Francisco PAL Seahawks Midgets dance team at the Pop Warner championships in December 2009. Many of these kids grew up in our program and are graduating this year. Congratulations and best of luck!
San Francisco PAL Seahawks Midgets on YouTube
Thanks to African American Art & Culture Complex, Creative Image Solutions, Lennar Urban and many individual donors for making this trip possible for our kids.
Give today to help us serve 5,000 youth annually, including our city’s most vulnerable, providing them with year-round sports and activities. This year volunteer officers from Ingleside station organized a 6th grade basketball team from the Sunnydale Housing Development. They didn’t win a single game, but the kids learned important skills like ball handling and teamwork. More importantly, they are eager to sign up for soccer in the spring.
We can only offer these programs with help from donors like you. Give now and help at-risk youth today!
San Francisco Police Activities League (SFPAL) would like to invite you to participate in the 2009-10 soccer season, in partnership with California Youth Soccer League (CYSA.)
We are accepting new teams in the U11-U14 age group (kids born between 1995 and 1999.) Age division will be determined by the age of your oldest player. Kids can play up a division, but not down. Teams in these age divisions need 14 to 18 players. All players must be residents of San Francisco or attend school in San Francisco.
You must also have a minimum of two coaches for each team. A coach is any adult who will be giving direction and wishes to have access to the player/coach area at games.
If you would like to form a new team, please call Joanna at 401-4666 or joanna@sfpal.org so we can help you put together your team. Please be aware of two important deadlines. You need to file an “intent to register” form by Thursday, December 24, 2010. All team registration forms must be turned in by Monday, January 25, 2010.
You can find all the forms you need in the soccer section of our website.
