Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela was honored Wednesday morning with a public funeral in downtown Los Angeles, attended by many former teammates and family members.
The event started at 10am in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angelslocated at 555 W. Temple Street, and was open to members of the public on a first-come, first-served basis. The parade for the event started at 9:45 am
Valenzuela died at the age of 63 on Oct. 22, just days before his beloved Dodgers completed their quest to become the 2024 World Series champions.
His son, Fernando Valenzuela Jr., and his former catcher and longtime friend Mike Scioscia were among the eulogists expected to deliver remarks at the funeral.
“Everyone knows he was a unique talent, a great pitcher and had the heart of a lion,” Scioscia said during his eulogy. “You couldn’t take him out of the game. And every time he took the mound, he took it for his faith, his family, his team and his country. … He carried that burden from the first time he pitched in the major leagues until the last time.”
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His endearing legacy, which began as a 20-year-old captivating Angelenos amid “Fernandomania” and continued for more than two decades as a Spanish-language broadcaster for the Boys in Blue, has been the subject of both celebrations and memorials in the weeks since his death.
“I can’t tell you how blessed we were to experience him coming up as a 20-year-old and doing things we’ve never seen such a young pitcher do,” Scioscia said. “Fernando was always humble in victories and very graceful in his defeats. I think it was a real inspiration to us that he lived that way. And those leadership qualities really blossomed.”
On Sunday, a six-story mural was created in honor of the man known to many as “El Toro.” unveiled in Boyle Heightswhile Dodger players wore a patch featuring his number 34 during their postseason run. In a fitting turn of events, the Boys in Blue held their festive parade on what would have been Valenzuela’s 64th birthday.
Read more: A Dodgers fan kept a box of cereal signed by Fernando Valenzuela for 40 years. He took it to the parade
Valenzuela stepped away from the broadcast booth weeks before the 2024 postseason due to undisclosed health reasons that led to his hospitalization. A cause of death has still not been revealed.
Valenzuela was born in Etchohauquila, Sonora, Mexico, the youngest of 12 children. He made his big league debut for the Dodgers in 1980 when he was just 19 years old, and took the league and Los Angeles by storm in the summer of 1981, a wildly popular period known to many as “Fernandomania,” which saw him fascinated. the city’s Latino population.
He was named an Opening Day starter in 1981 and embarked on an incredible season that saw him take home both the National League Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award. He was named to six All-Star Games, won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981 and took home one Gold Glove Award and two Silver Slugger Awards over the course of his career.
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Valenzuela’s career as a Dodger player came to an end in 1990, but not before he left town with one last taste of “Fernandomania,” throwing his only career no-hitter. Are number was retired by the Dodgers in 2023.
The news of his death was received messages of support from former teammates, Angelenos and Los Angeles city officials.
