Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela honored with public funeral in downtown LA
Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela was honored with a public funeral in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, with many former teammates and family members in attendance.
The event started at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, located at 555 W. Temple Street, and was open to members of the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. Entry processions for the event began at 9:45 a.m.
Valenzuela died at 63 years old 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 the eulogists expected to deliver remarks at the funeral.
"Everybody knows he was a one-of-a-kind talent, tremendous pitcher, had the heart of a lion," Scioscia said during his eulogy. "You couldn't get him out of the game. And every time he took the mound, he was taking it for his faith, his family, his team and his country. ... He held that burden from the first time he pitched in the major leagues until the last time."
His endearing legacy, which began as a 20-year-old enthralling Angelenos in the midst of "Fernandomania" and continued as a Spanish language broadcaster for the Boys in Blue for more than two decades, 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 what he was as a 20-year-old coming up and doing things that we've never seen done by such a young pitcher," Scioscia said. "Fernando was always humble in victories and very gracious in his defeats, and I think by him living that, it was a real inspiration to us. And those leadership qualities really took off."
On Sunday, a six-story mural honoring the man known to many as "El Toro" was unveiled in Boyle Heights, while Dodger players wore a patching bearing his No. 34 throughout their postseason run. In a fitting turn of events, the Boys in Blue held their celebratory parade on what would've been Valenzuela's 64th birthday.
Read more: A Dodgers fan kept a Fernando Valenzuela-signed cereal box for 40 years. He brought it to the parade
Valenzuela stepped away from the broadcast booth weeks ahead of the 2024 Postseason for undisclosed health reasons that led to his hospitalization. A cause for death still has not yet been revealed.
Valenzuela was born in Etchohauquila, Sonora, Mexico as the youngest of 12 children. He made his big league debut for the Dodgers in 1980 at just 19-years-old, and took the league and Los Angeles by storm in the summer of 1981, a wildly popular period of time known to many as "Fernandomania," which enthralled the city's Latino population.
He was named the Opening Day starter in 1981, beginning 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.
Valenzuela's Dodger playing career came to an end in 1990, but not before he left the city with one last taste of "Fernandomania," tossing his lone career no-hitter. His number was retired by the Dodgers in 2023.
News of his death was met with messages of support from former teammates, Angelenos and Los Angeles city officials.
