Charlie Saikley, Godfather of Beach Volleyball, Dies at 69
NY Times
Charlie Saikley, who ran the Manhattan Beach Open volleyball tournament for decades and whose nickname was the Godfather of Beach Volleyball, died on June 17 at his home here. He was 69.
The cause was multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, the city parks and recreation director, Richard A. Gill, said.
Saikley worked for the parks department for more than 40 years, leaving last month, Gill said. He was involved with tennis, swimming and other recreation programs, but was known worldwide for organizing beach volleyball tournaments .
“He took an indoor sport and took it outdoors,” Gill said.
Steve Napolitan, a former city councilman who is also a beach volleyball player, said, “Charlie did it first and did it right, whether it was amateur or professional tournaments.”
