Manhattan Beach Dedicates Wall at Big Marine Field

"Let every action, every reaction, every thought and every emotion be based upon love, care and development of our youth." is etched into a wall at Big Marine field. 

After the inscription at the top, is etched "On April 9, 2009, Henry Pearson, Courtney Stewart and Nick Adenhart were killed by a drunk driver. Jon Wilhite miraculously survived and recovered. They remain an inspiration to us all."

On Saturday Feb. 11, friends, family and the baseball community gathered at the field to dedicate the commemorative wall. On that fateful night, Adenhart had pitched his debut game with the Angels at Angel Stadium just hours before the deadly vehicle collision. He had thrown six scoreless innings against the Oakland A's in Anaheim.

With TV crews and media on hand Saturday, Angels pitcher Jered Weaver threw the first pitch for a high school baseball game that followed the ceremony. Wilhite, who is one of four people known to have survived his injury of internal decapitation, caught the throw and said loudly into a microphone, "Play ball."

Wilhite had this to say to Fox Sports West about the wall, "It's going to do a lot of good. It starts the dialogue of drinking and driving between a young kid and his family early on. Kids are real impressionable at a young age so I think it's going to do a lot of good. Manhattan Beach stepped up and put some money and funds (for the wall)."

On Feb. 1, 2011, the Manhattan Beach City Council approved the wall's installation and directed the city's Public Works Department to prepare the site, which brought the estimated project cost down approximately $10,000.

Private donations raised $9,488.22 for the wall and City Council approved covering the remaining balance of $10,925.28 from the Public Art Trust Fund, according to a city staff report.

Last March, when the first Henry Pearson Classic was held at Big Marine field, a new scoreboard with a quote from Pearson, “Play For Fun.” was unveiled. Henry wrote the phrase down as one of the goals he would pursue with his teammates as captain of the Mira Costa baseball team his senior year.

"When we look at the scoreboard and see Henry's words, we realize it's a new day and the sun is shining and it's time to play ball," Henry's dad Nigel Pearson told the Daily Breeze Saturday.

The Pearson Classic is an annual double-header between two crosstown rivals: Mira Costa and El Segundo high schools. 

“Having this double-header annually is a wonderful way to celebrate what Henry was about and we will be reminded of that message ‘play for fun’ each year,” Henry's father, Nigel Pearson told Manhattan Beach Patch in an article published on March 28, 2011.

“Henry was the ultimate team leader," said Mira Costa High head baseball coach Cassidy Olson. "He was a scrappy second baseman who knew he didn’t have the skills to go beyond high school as a player, but loved the game and wanted to stay involved.”

Pearson, who attended Arizona State University, was an aspiring sports agent who represented two professional athletes.

Known to his Mira Costa High teammates as “The Diesel,” Pearson was an upbeat and popular figure in the South Bay baseball scene. In his memory, every Mira Costa player’s uniform bears the initials HP on team hats.

Pearson and Wilhite had played baseball together since the age of 6, playing in the Manhattan Beach youth leagues and then at Mira Costa, according to Olson.

Said Wilhite in 2010, "Henry was not just a glass is half full type of person. With Henry, the glass was overflowing with energy and joy of life.” 

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At the wall dedication Saturday, as current Mira Costa and El Segundo high school baseball players lined the baselines, friends remembered the victims--from time spent in childhood Little League and college adventures to lessons learned from the deeply felt and senseless loss of the innocent victims of the accident.

The man convicted of causing the accident, Andrew Thomas Gallo is serving a 51-year sentence in prison.

• Previously: 

Manhattan Beach Mayor Pro Tem Way Powell made opening remarks Saturday. Other city officials in attendance for the ceremony included council members Amy Howorth, David Lesser and Richard Montgomery and City Manager Dave Carmany.

• More about how the "Pearson-Wilhite-Stewart-Adenhart Commemorative Wall" got started: 
• Yesterday: