Bill Walton street honor
The La Mesa City Council approved remembering Bill Walton with an honorary street sign near Helix High, his alma mater. When that happens, “Billy from La Mesa” will officially be home where he belongs.
The late Bill Walton never shied away from telling the world where he was from.
For that, San Diego, and La Mesa in particular, can be thankful.
Walton, who died in 2024 from cancer, will be honored in La Mesa, where he was born and attended high school. The city will set aside an honorary street in his name near his alma mater, Helix High. The decision to do so was made at Tuesday’s La Mesa council meeting.
While an official date for the ceremony has not been set, a portion of Lowell Street at Normal Avenue will be officially known as “Bill Walton Way.”
Before all the success he had as a center with the UCLA basketball team, and then in the NBA with the Trail Blazers, Celtics, and the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers, Walton was a star basketball player for the Helix Highlanders. He led Helix to a pair of CIF San Diego Section titles in 1969 and 1970.
Once in Westwood, playing at UCLA, Walton doubled things up again by winning a pair of titles with legendary head coach John Wooden.
Walton moved on from the college ranks and won the first of his two NBA titles in 1977 in Portland.
Trailing Philadelphia 2-0 in the championship series, Walton led the Trail Blazers back to victory and captured series MVP honors.
He would go on and win his second ring in Boston during the 1985-86 season. That season, he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Later, after his playing days were over, Walton transitioned to the broadcast booth.
Calling college basketball games for ESPN for more than a decade, Walton was a must-hear commentator. Along with his high basketball IQ, Walton would go off on an array of topics during a broadcast — honestly, you never knew where he was going.
Losing a legend
While I had heard he’d been suffering from cancer, he was one of those figures you thought would be around forever. He was a guy who had crammed so much life into his 71 years on this planet.
One thing that made Walton proud was giving back to the community. Whether it was La Mesa, San Diego, or somewhere else he had spent time, Walton never forgot those who helped him along the way.
My first memories of Walton were during his days at UCLA.
Following in the footsteps of the legendary Lew Alcindor (later to be known in life as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Walton carved out his own legacy in Westwood.
Whether Walton was playing basketball or talking about it, he had a way of getting you to listen to him. When I learned he had died two years ago, another small piece of my childhood passed away.
When Walton ultimately gets his name on the street by Helix High, it will be yet one more honor for the redheaded kid from La Mesa.
When that happens, “Billy from La Mesa” will officially be home where he belongs.
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