Paul Salata

I was very disappointed in the Daily Pilot's editorial of Sept. 20 ("Skip the deception in upcoming election") contending that the Greenlight Implementation Committee is an attempt to deceive the public. Many people who have agreed to let us use their names in support of a "yes" on Measure G voted for the Greenlight Initiative. It was their desire to send a message to City Hall that a more reasonable approach was needed for future development and not stop all development in the city as some of the opponents of Measure G have contended.

For any young boy, being drafted by one of the 32 professional teams in the National Football League would be a dream come true. But if he’s been paying attention to the festivities in Newport Beach, he may say that part of that dream is to be drafted last, which means being Mr. Irrelevant. Consider this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, David Vobora, a linebacker from the University of Idaho. Vobora was surrounded by cheerleaders, lavished with gifts, whisked away to the Happiest Place on Earth at Disneyland and then taken to the second Happiest Place on Earth, the Playboy Mansion.

Paul Salata is 81, yet he still knows how to have fun. Salata sat down with the Daily Pilot and talked about his favorite week of the year. Irrelevant Week in Newport Beach. The founder of the event honoring the last player chosen in the NFL Draft is ready to make David Vobora, a linebacker from the University of Idaho, feel like the No. 1 pick and not No. 252. The party kicks off at 5 p.m. Monday, when Mr. Irrelevant XXXIII will be showered with gifts and have a press conference at the arrival party at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.

In the parking lot of a golf course once home to the likes of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Paul Salata networked in Toluca Lake on Wednesday. The founder of Irrelevant Week handed out literature about Ryan Succop. The last player selected in April’s NFL Draft — 256th by the Kansas City Chiefs — has it hard as it is. He’s a kicker and his last name is pronounced “suck-up.” No celebrity playing at Lakeside Golf Club was going to think that’s cool.

When Paul Salata attends the Rose Bowl today, his thoughts will be with the late President Ford. Not because of any of the 38th president's achievements in office or even on the football field, but rather because of a personal connection: Ford was one of Salata's closest friends, and the former college football players — Ford for the University of Michigan and Salata for USC — placed bets whenever their teams met in the Rose Bowl....

Paul Salata is a living testament to the all-American ideal that hard work, perseverance and a bit of luck will pay off for any person living under the stars and stripes, regardless of race, creed, gender or national origin. "I made it from L.A. to Newport Beach," said Salata, 85. "For me, that's success. That's the so-called American dream. " The second-born son of a Serbian family grew up northeast of downtown Los Angeles in Highland Park. His American-born mother, Melania, and father, Chetko, who had emigrated from the Herzegovina region in the former Yugoslavia, knew of nothing more important than family, church and hard work.

Iowa All-American offensive tackle Robert Gallery was picked second overall Saturday to head up the Oakland Raiders' 2004 NFL draft class. But the Silver and Black won't be done until they use the last pick today, the final of 32 compensatory choices that follow the first seven rounds and the 255th choice of the two-day draft, to tab Mr. Irrelevant XXIX. The official last pick of the draft, announced by Irrelevant Week founder and Newport Beach resident Paul Salata today in New York, will be celebrated in June at the annual Irrelevant Week festivities in Newport Beach.

QUIRKY KIRK Today’s Irrelevant Week fact: In 1976, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected the first Mr. Irrelevant, Kelvin Kirk. A press conference for him was set to kick off the inaugural event in Newport Beach, but Kirk missed his flight to Southern California. When IW founder Paul Salata learned of Kirk’s absence, he scoured the neighborhood for an impostor. And so, the event began with a Safeway butcher filling in as Mr. Irrelevant. Kirk arrived in the middle of the press conference, relieving his body double of his duties.

Paul Salata, the creator of Mr. Irrelevant, has some history with the team making the final pick in the NFL Draft that starts Thursday and ends Saturday. Salata, a Newport Beach resident, played for the Colts when they were in Baltimore in 1950. He connected with future Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle, catching 50 passes in 12 games after being traded from the San Francisco 49ers early in the season. Salata, 85, likes to find connections to the team making the selection and later with the player drafted as Mr. Irrelevant.

Paul Salata is a living testament to the all-American ideal that hard work, perseverance and a bit of luck will pay off for any person living under the stars and stripes, regardless of race, creed, gender or national origin. "I made it from L.A. to Newport Beach," said Salata, 85. "For me, that's success. That's the so-called American dream. " The second-born son of a Serbian family grew up northeast of downtown Los Angeles in Highland Park. His American-born mother, Melania, and father, Chetko, who had emigrated from the Herzegovina region in the former Yugoslavia, knew of nothing more important than family, church and hard work.

Does no one notice you? When you tell your doctor, "Doctor, it hurts when I do this," does he say, "So don't do that?" When you go to the airport, do the security people wave you through and tell you to just leave your shoes on? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, you might be irrelevant. Not to worry. Worse things can happen. Look at Cheta Ozougwu. He's irrelevant, and he's thrilled about it. Ozougwu was the last pick in this year's NFL draft, which means of course that he is the centerpiece, the hero, the exceedingly big dog of Irrelevant Week XXXVI — that's Irrelevant Week 36 if you're not an ancient Roman — which begins with the not-at-all traditional high-octane, pure fun, always bizarre waterside kickoff at the Newport Dunes from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Paul Salata, the founder of Irrelevant Week, hesitated a bit before naming the biggest celebrity coming to Wednesday's All-Star Lowsman Banquet. As he thought, his daughter, Melanie Salata-Fitch said, "Oh, here it comes. " Salata, acted cool, as he said, "Clay Matthews Sr. " Matthews' son, Clay Jr., the former ironman linebacker of the Cleveland Browns, has also been confirmed for attendance to roast and toast Mr. Irrelevant Cheta Ozougwu of the Houston Texans. It will be a family affair at the banquet at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa. Clay Jr.'s son, Casey Matthews, the Oregon product who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles, is also coming to the party.

There is irony usually intertwined with Irrelevant Week when you think of the owner of the quirky concept. Who could find relevance with so much laughter, joking and silliness? Look deep. Look at the man who owns the trademark of Mr. Irrelevant and Irrelevant Week. Paul Salata, 84, has built a nationally known product based on celebrating someone for no reason at all. It seems crazy to think there could be so much fun when throwing a huge party for the final pick of the NFL Draft.

ANAHEIM — Most NFL players ride to special events in limos or in exotic sports cars. When the player is the dead-last pick in the draft, he rolls in the back of a vehicle more ideal for a soccer mom. Welcome to the life of Tim Toone, Mr. Irrelevant. There was no need to valet park the van for Toone at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa on Friday. Toone jumped into the van with his parents, brother, two Mr. Irrelevant Week volunteers, and his agent. Before the seven left the hotel for a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game, a couple of guests in the lobby rolled their eyes at the choice of transportation and then grinned.

Being from Texas, Homer Bludau knows a little bit about football. He probably wouldn't be hanging around a throwback player like Paul Salata if that weren't the case. As the former city manager of Newport Beach, Bludau jokes that it was his job to make sure the garbage man picked up Salata's trash. He must have collected at Salata's house on a daily basis. Salata, a former USC and San Francisco 49ers player, has no complaints about Bludau's 10 years on the job. As a reward, when Bludau retired in September, Salata gave Bludau a new job in town to stay busy.

In the parking lot of a golf course once home to the likes of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Paul Salata networked in Toluca Lake on Wednesday. The founder of Irrelevant Week handed out literature about Ryan Succop. The last player selected in April’s NFL Draft — 256th by the Kansas City Chiefs — has it hard as it is. He’s a kicker and his last name is pronounced “suck-up.” No celebrity playing at Lakeside Golf Club was going to think that’s cool.

NEWPORT BEACH — Rowers led a future NFL player to his party Monday. In the background, a drum beat more appropriate for a powwow played. Girls dressed in Pocahontas outfits waited for the player to arrive on the sand. An old woman chanted “Suck-up! Suck-up!” while clapping. The player’s name is Ryan Succop. “Suck-up” is the correct way to pronounce his last name. Succop never wore the headdress onboard because he isn’t totally a Kansas City Chief yet. Chief “Suck-up” just doesn’t sound right.