Former USOC chairman honored in Los Angeles

As Los Angeles readies itself for the LA28 Olympic Games, they honored a key member from the last time the City of Angels hosted the Olympic Games.

Peter Ueberroth, 85, was honored with a plaque in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s Court of Honor. He served as the president of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Organizing Committee.

“Everybody that I can see, and everybody that can be behind us or in front of us, we can make a difference,” Ueberroth said to the crowd gathered at the Coliseum. “We can all make a difference.”

Dealing with a Soviet-lead boycott of the Games, the Los Angeles 1984 Games generated a $223 million profit, despite the lack of government funding. On the heels of that, the LA84 Foundation was launched, which has supported thousands of youth-serving sports organizations in the area through grant making, funding facilities, training coaches and aiding research.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Olympic legend Edwin Moses, who won a gold medal in the 400m hurdles in 1984, were also there to honor Ueberroth.

After the Los Angeles 1984 Games, Ueberroth was the commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984-1989 and chairman of the United States Olympic Committee from 2004-2008.

Ueberroth’s plaque is the 66th in the Court of Honor, which was created to honor individuals and events which have impacted the history, glory and growth of the Coliseum and the former Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

Other people who have received a plaque include His Holiness Pope John Paul II, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Robinson, Bruce Springsteen and former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley among others.