SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Two of the greatest baseball players in Major League Baseball history are Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn. Williams was born in San Diego and attended Hoover High School, while Gwynn played 20 seasons with the Padres.
The two hall of fame players will now forever be a part of the Hoover High School thanks to a brand new campus mural for all students and faculty to see.
"I'm really excited that our students now get to walk by this and see the excellence that has been at Hoover High School, and see them in the reflection of the mural itself," says Hoover Principal Jason Babineau.
The project came to be through the efforts of the San Diego Unified School District. SDUSD wanted a mural of both Williams and Gwynn to represent a source of inspiration. The two San Diego icons not only are hall-of-fame baseball players, but they also had a relationship that extended well beyond the field of play.
"These two men who became friends were from unlikely backgrounds," says artist Jonny Pucci. "They had a baseball relationship that transcended their ages, the times in which they played, and their racial backgrounds."
With the strokes of a paintbrush and the vision of artist Jonny Pucci, the two San Diego baseball legends now sit side by side on a wall overlooking the students as they walk from class to class.
"In my own art practice," says Pucci. "I think that I have a responsibility to highlight important figures from our communities and to use their stories to tell and to educate our communities."
While Gwynn didn't attend Hoover High School, his wife Alicia says she is honored and humbled to see the mural.
"Two days before Tony passed away, one of his requests was don't let the people forget about me."
Principal Babineau says the mural represents the power of sports which translates to life in general.
"Our students are going to be the ones who are going to be changing society for the better. So for them to see a representation of that in a visual perspective is an amazing experience for them."
