Legends Sports Bar

If I look, there are “Legends” sports bars all over the U.S. and Canada and maybe further afield.  But this one is in Long Beach, California and bills itself as the first, the original modern Sports Bar in America.   Ok…..

Let’s go back to the late 70s when a couple of guys were in a bar as the NFL game of the week was coming on…almost certainly Monday Night Football at that time.  The bartender had to get some rabbit ears antennae to afix to the bulky TV set to get the game in.   The pair had an idea, one that led to buying a bar and installing massive 12-foot satellite dishes; that move got them direct station feeds for football games, no commercials! They opened in 1979 in the Belmont Shores area of Long Beach, and Legends was born.

Co-owner John Morris grew up poor in England and went on to become more of a Long Beach businessman and sports philanthropist; Legends is not his only establishment in the southern California city.

But co-owner Dennis Harrah’s story has more depth.  Raised in West Virginia, he played college football in the early 70s with the Miami Hurricanes, being named an All-American in 1974, his senior year.  In 1975 he was drafted 11^th in the first round by the Los Angeles Rams, where he played right guard for 12 of his 13 seasons.  He was an NFL pro-bowl pick 6 times.

There appear to be at least two different matchcovers for Legends, both black and gold; one has the single original location; the other features both the Long Beach and Santa Monica locations.  I think I passed over a lot of these in my sorting, so if you want to find one for your Sports celebrity album, I think there are lots out there!