GODS to GHOSTS Volleyball

Ron Lang.   First Interview.  May  20th, 2018 Ron Lang Discusses: -  His start in the sport when he went to the beach  in 1954 to surf as teenager and couldn't surf due to the jelly fish  in the ocean, and saw Richie Cooper and Harry Cohen from the Hollywood Y volleyball team playing beach volleyball, and played with them,   how they were hard on him while teaching him the nuances of the game...

Fred Zuelich Part 2 ( Conclusion). Fred Discusses: -  Some of the talented players he competed against when he played, his "foggy" memory of the after party when he won the '73 Manhattan Beach Open, the surreal experience of driving back down to San Diego after he won the MBO,  the amazing comradery between the players back then, what it was like seeing his and Bobby Jackson's ...

Fred Zuelich Part 1. Fred Discusses:    - His start in the sport as a surfer surfing at 42nd Street in El Porto and the infamous "Black Ball",  which meant you couldn't surf, so he played beach volleyball during the break from surfing, his time at SDSU where he went to college, earning his way up through the ranks on the beach through the ranking system,  the EPIC story from 1970 in...

John Vallely. John Discusses: - His youth growing up in Newport Beach surfing, working for his dad, playing basketball, and learning the sport of volleyball, his journey as a talented basketball player starting out at Orange Coast Community College where he met his amazing wife, Karen, transferring to UCLA and playing guard for John Wooden at UCLA and winning 2 NCAA Championships in '69 &...

Holly McPeak Interview. Holly Discusses: -Her start in the sport as a  kid in the South Bay on the beach with her dad, brother, and sister, the pro players she witnessed in her youth that inspired her, playing indoors at Mira Costa high school  for legendary coach Dae Lea Aldrich, and some of the amazing players she played with there in the Mustang program, her collegiate volleyball career startin...

Tom Chamales - Part 3 ( Conclusion) Tom Discusses: - The 4 most memorable/MAGIC plays from his career ( including the time he ran down a ball and set it perfectly, the time he hit a ball at Sorrento during a practice game and it SHOOK the sand, and the time he bounced a ball OVER the Sorrento wall into the Hilton families yard and who he met there when he climbed the wall to retrieve the ball!), t...

Tom Discusses: -  Winning the Sorrento Beach Open in '74 with Marshall Savage over Von Hagen & Menges after he showed up at the beach partnerlesss, his  IVA career from '75 - '77, playing in the '76 World Championships with Von Hagen against Menges & Lee when the lighting was crashing, and he was CRUSHING BALLS even though they lost in the finals, going to Hawaii in &ap...

Tom Chamales - Part 1. Tom Chamales Discusses: - His start in the sport at Santa Monica HS in the late 60's, going to Sorrento Beach with all his SAMO HS friends, including Jim Menges, and Randy Niles, how amazing Sorrento Beach was during that era with the Steere Family, Yoshi and her husband Wally Busby., witnessing Ron Lang and Ron Von Hagen hold court, the infamous Sorrento Wall, playing...

Kathy Discusses: - Mike Stormin' Normand, her best friend, Kathy Hanley, the best women's and men's beach teams and players she saw over the years,  her thoughts on the new rules on the beach ( including how she would do against Misty May & Kerri Walsh playing old school sideout rules, one game to 15, and who she would pick as her partner),  title 9 and how it affected the sport...

Kathy Discusses: - Her start in the sport as a teenager, including the impact her older brothers that she adored,  Bill and Bob, had on her, playing in a mixed open on the beach with Alika "The Panther" Smith when she was 14 years old and how his fiery personality and dialogue that tournament made an impact on her for the rest of her life, playing indoors at Santa Monica Community Colleg...

Buzz Discusses: - His thoughts on the rule changes to the short court and rally scoring, how he would do competing against a modern day dominant team like Dalhausser & Rogers playing them under the old school rules ( including his strategy and partner he'd pick to battle them), the 5 best men's beach players he ever saw ( including an amazing story about seeing a 15 year old Karch Ki...

Buzz Discusses: -  His start in the sport as a volleyball player in his youth growing up as surfing legend Hoppy Swarts' son (including the role Vietnam Vet and and fellow South Bay player Mitch Malpee played in it), plus  the other established South Bay players he looked up to:  Mike Bright, Mike O'Hara, and John Gonzalez,  working his way up through A, AA, and AAA , and the partners he...

Matt Gage Discusses: - How he would do competing against a modern day dominant  team like Dalhausser & Rogers playing old school rules,  some of his most memorable moments as the AVP Tournament Director ( including a classic OB story when OB mouthed off, Sinjin taking a stand, a tussle in Muskegon, Michigan between Brian Lewis and Kent Steffes he had to break up in the food tent, and Pat Power...

Matt Gage Discusses: - His recollection of some of the talented players who played the sport during his era between 1970 and 1983 hat I asked him about as a competitor  ( Ron Lang​, Ron Von Hagen, Jim Menges, Chris Marlowe, Gary Hooper​, Steve Obradovich, and Greg Lee), the best hitters he saw over his entire career as a player and tournament director, the best diggers he saw, the 3 best teams he...

Matt Gage Discusses: -  His start in the sport (playing collegiality at LBSU with Buzz Swarts, and Bill "Blowfish" Imwalle , playing with Patti Bright, and friend and LBSU teammate Bill Imwalle), working his way through the ranking system on the beach from A, AA, and AAA,  the players he looked up to on the beach when he was coming up, including his IDOL, Larry "RAGS" Rundle, a...

After listening to Bob Vogelsang's recent parts 3 & 4 podcast interview, Lang was compelled to call Vogie out on some of his comments and lack of facts...  :)  Support the show

John Taylor discusses:       His start in the sport as a youth at the Santa Monica Beach Club, meeting a fellow young volleyball player there by the name of Dennis "The Condor" Duggan, and how the two of them were inspired to pursue the sport to the highest level by Doc Burroughs, playing in the State Beach Open at the age of 17, and beating LEGENDS Gene Selznick & Ron Lang in the fi...

Bob Vogelsang  Discusses: - His thoughts on the new beach rules,  how he would do playing against a team like Phil Dalhausser & NickLucena under the old rules, what he's most proud of about his career and how he would like to be remembered, what he misses the most about the old days and competing in the sport, his answers to  fan questions ( playing basketball against the Harlem Globetrot...

Bob Vogelsang discusses:     -   Some of the other legendary players he competed with and against, including, Doug Dunlap, Jim Menges, Randy Niles, Wilt Chamberlin, Greg Lee, Gene Pflueger, Steno Brunicardi, Mike Stormin' Normand, Kathy Gregory, the Best Hitters he ever saw, the best diggers ( including Manny Saenz)..... Support the show

Vogie discusses: -  His recollection of some of the players he competed against ( Larry Rundle, Henry Bergmann, Ron Lang, Ron Von Hagen, Gene Pflueger, and Mike Bright),  his favorite beer he drinks these days, a CLASSIC Mike Bright story when Vogie decided to go spear fishing one day, and stopped by Mike Bright's dive shop for some spear fishing advice on his way to Point Dume, and Bright gi...

Vogie discusses:   - His youth growing up in LA and going to Sorrento Beach as kid with his parents, shagging balls for the legends playing there, and being immediately in awe of the players, the energy at the beach, and the lifestyle...,  playing volleyball with Pete Hogan as a teenager at Sorrento, State, and Muscle Beach,  his memories of Gene Selznick ( watching him play, parking cars for him,...

Adam Johnson Part 3:    Adam discusses: - Playing and winning on both sides of the court on the AVP,  his 3 most memorable wins, the experience of visiting the Manhattan Beach Pier and seeing his name on it among all the legends who won there, the CUERVO parties!, the 5 best hitters he faced, 5 best diggers, the best blockers, and best players he competed against, what it was like playing with Kar...

Adam Discusses: - Playing with legend Pat Powers and getting his first win with him in '91 at Santa Barbara and then being dumped by PP shortly there after, teaming up with Ricci Luyties that season and winning the first NBC live televised event in Milwaukee when he and Ricci beat John Hanley & Mike Whitmarsh in an epic final on live TV, the success Adam and Ricci had the rest of that sum...

Adam Johnson  -  Part 1    Adam discusses:     His start in the sport as a kid growing up in Laguna Beach,  his illustrious Laguna Beach high school career, winning 3 CIF titles along side some incredible volleyball talent playing for coach Bill Ashen, his collegiate volleyball career as a USC Trojan, playing for Coach Bob Yoder  (where he was the NCAA Player of the Year in ’86,  a 3 x All-America...

Lang Discusses: -  Why he thinks Gene Selznick is the best American Volleyball player ever despite my argument that Karch Kiraly is,  his recollection of his time on the '64 Olympic team, how he would have played against Dalhausser on the beach ( regardless of his partner), classic stories of playing against Jim Menges back in the day when Lang served a sky ball that was going to land out on...