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SURFING LEGENDS - Doc Ball
Doc Ball The First Surfing Photographer
"Early California Surfriders:
A Tribute to Doc Ball"
John Heath Ball was born in 1907, the same year that George Freeth became the first California surfer. His interest in photography began in Redlands, California when as a kid he was given an old folding autographic camera to take pictures of his family and friends.
Jack Ball first started surfing in a canoe in 1929 at Hermosa Beach while attending USC as a dental student. During this period of time he saw a picture of Tom Blake riding a wave in a Los Angeles Times article. "That was what really stoked me on surfing," said Jack. Later. Jack met Tom Blake and they became good friends. Soon Jack bought a redwood plank four feet wide and 24 feet long. From this he shaped his first board, ten feet long and four inches thick, which weighed 125 pounds. He named it "Na Ali’i" - Hawaiian for "The King." In 1929 there were only 18 to 25 surfers who surfed at Palos Verdes Cove. Long Beach and San Onofre. In between surfing, Jack took pictures of all facets of surfing, from riding the waves to just hanging out and partying at the beach. Jack soon discovered he needed to build a special camera box to waterproof his camera while he was shooting pictures in the water.
By 1935 Jack Ball had become "Doc" Ball while practicing dentistry in Los Angeles. He was also one of the first surfers to form the Palos Verdes Surf Club. In fact, when the waves were really good, Doc would close his dentist office early and go surfing. Now he laughs as he tells this story of angry patients calling to ask where he was and why the office was closed. Doc Ball is best known for his book, California Surfriders, published in 1946, which consisted of 510 copies whose sole purpose was to present pictorially "the thrills, spills, personalities, and places of California surfing." Today it is being reprinted to present a history and testimony of how it was to ride back in the pioneer days.
This irrepressible surfer/skateboarder remained ever youthful in spirit until he passed away on December 5, 2001.
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