By Dave Schwab / sdnews.com / April 29, 2025
Point Loma muralist Jack Stricker’s latest endeavor is a real crowd-pleaser: a nostalgic portrayal of Padre greats Trevor Hoffman, Tony Gwynn, and Ken Caminiti in friar garb on the back wall of Harbor Town Pub.
The formal unveiling followed the Padres game on Saturday, April 19 in the rear of the popular neighborhood eatery and hub at 1125 Rosecrans St.
Large-scale Peninsula murals are becoming the stock and trade of Stricker, a hometown artist. His last community-based effort was a year ago at the United Portuguese S.E.S. Hall at 2818 Avenida De Portugal. Stricker combined with Austin Gosswiller to paint a two-sided mural there, a collaboration between UPSES and the Point Loma Association. That mural is a re-creation of “azulejos,” blue-and-white Portuguese tiles using acrylic paint. The tile mural was done on the historic building to highlight the 75th-anniversary celebration of the United Portuguese S.E.S. in Point Loma.
Peninsula Beacon caught up with Stricker before the unveiling of his latest community contribution to talk about his career and the inspiration for his latest mural.
“Harbor Town approached me and wanted a Padres mural, and I had a vision of doing some kind of painting of the Padres,” noted Stricker adding his latest mural “has a renaissance feel to it because I went to Mission San Diego de Alcalá in Mission Hills and noticed that, in a painting there, the monk was carrying rose bulbs in his friar’s robe. The bulbs (to Stricker) looked like baseballs. That’s how the idea sprouted. Then it just grew from there.”
Added Stricker: “[The mural] was inspired by Saint Diego de San Nicolás (a Spanish Franciscan) the guy our city’s named after. I wanted a story to it, with [the Padres] in a divine-looking setting as idols, because that’s what they were to me when I was growing up as a kid. I wanted to portray that.”
Of the three Padres Stricker selected, Gwynn and Hoffman were obvious choices. Of why he chose Caminiti, the muralist said: “He’s the only MVP the Padres ever had and he was my favorite player, a blast to watch, the most exciting Padre. He had personality and was a switch hitter too. There are so many interesting stories behind some of the things he did. He was amazing.”
And then there was Cammy’s appeal to the opposite sex. “I had so many moms come up to me while I was painting the mural and say, ‘Oh my God, Caminiti, I had such a crush on him in the ’90s,’” Stricker said.
Of the theme of his Padres mural behind Harbor Town and its future, Stricker said: “I just wanted San Diego to be able to tie into every part of this mural. It’s very special to me as well because I grew up in this area and I played Little League right up the hill. I’m a local and I love the people around here. I want it to be here after I’m gone. I want it to stay here and be a Point Loma landmark.”
NEW MURAL
Tony Gwynn: “Mr. Padre,” played 20 seasons (1982–2001) for the Padres winning eight batting titles, tied with Honus Wagner (1897-1917) for the most in NL history. He was a 15-time All-Star and won seven Silver Slugger Awards and five Gold Glove Awards. He played with the Padres during the team’s only two World Series appearances in 1984 and 1998. Having hit over .300 for 19 straight seasons, Gwynn retired with a .338 career batting average, the highest mark since Ted Williams retired in 1960. After a Hall-of-Fame baseball career, Gwynn was SDSU’s head baseball coach, led the team to four Mountain West Conference championships, and won Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2004. Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer in 2014 at age 54.
Trevor Hoffman: One of the greatest relief pitchers ever, Hoffman played 18 years in the major leagues from 1993 to 2010. A longtime closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers, as well as 15 years for the Padres. He was the first MLB relief pitcher to reach the 500- and 600-save milestones and was the all-time saves leader from 2006 to 2011. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, “Hoffy” serves as senior advisor for Padres baseball operations.
Ken Caminiti: “Cammy” was a third baseman who spent 15 seasons in the majors playing for the Houston Astros, the Padres (1995–1998), the Texas Rangers, and the Atlanta Braves. He was named the NL Most Valuable Player with San Diego in 1996. He was a three-time MLB All-Star and is a member of both the Astros and Padres Hall of Fames. A switch hitter, he was the first player to ever have three games with a home run from each side of the plate. He died of a drug overdose in 2004 at age 41.
Caminiti to me is a stretch. it’s like saying Garvey to me.
Am I the only one who thinks this mural is in bad taste? This kind of imagery is sacrilege and undermines the reverence due to genuine faith and tradition. I personally believe that this is one of societies most problematic issues, the veneration of athletes and sports figures. Afterall, do we value the contribution of baseball players more than we value to contribution of cancer researchers, educators, nurses, first responders, etc., more than baseball players?
No, I think we would be much better off as a society if we were to venerate those whose contributions made a difference in people’s lives, rather than those who get paid exorbitant amounts of money because they can throw or hit a baseball better than most.
Nice one John. Yet, don’t forget the actual padres don’t exactly have a great reputation under the Spanish colonization.
The art work is terrific, I admire anyone who can create something like that just with their hands.
I can’t explain why though, but there is something about it that is off-putting for me.
Yep, very good artwork.
But John, what those ‘padres’ actually represented was death and destruction of entire populations and cultures who had lived in this hemisphere for AT LEAST a minimum of 14,000 years ago who built huge civilizations long before Europeans crawled out of their mud holes and crossed the ocean to ‘subdue’ them for the benefit of their new religion. And of course the profits that comes along with stealing all their gold and jewels and lands then enslaving them…
So actually John, it IS rather appropriate to have veneration of sports figures and athletes wearing those robes impersonating Catholic Padres. It always was about power and wealthy after all, and those guys make bundles of cash for the owners of the sports teams just like the originals made a bundle to send back to Europe on Treasure Ships, eh?
sealintheSelkirks
Well sealintheselkirks, I’s tired of people getting their panties in a twist over things that were done to a population by another population several generations ago. Get over it already! Besides, the establishment of Catholic missions by padres in California and the western territories brought several important benefits that shaped the region’s cultural, social, and economic development. This spiritual and educational effort, while complex and controversial by modern standards, was viewed at the time as a way to provide moral guidance and a structured way of life.
Additionally, the missions acted as centers of agriculture, technology, and craftsmanship. The padres taught Native communities how to farm European crops, raise livestock, and use new tools and methods for building and production. This helped transform the economy of the region, and kept many indigenous peoples from starving to death!
The missions also acted as the foundation for many of California’s modern cities—places like San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles all grew out of mission communities.
While the legacy of the missions is complex and includes serious challenges and consequences, the Catholic padres’ efforts significantly influenced the cultural and economic development of California and the American West.
So, unless you and Frank G. plan on deeding your property to the Kumeyaay tribe upon your demise, you have no place to talk.
John, that’s absolute bullpucky that we can’t criticize the Spanish missions. Besides the diseases brought by Europeans that decimated native populations, here’s one little tidbit of local history. You mentioned the cattle that was brought in. Well, the cattle disrupted natives’ gardens and planting methods and added to their starvation and then dependency on the Spanish. They were doing quite nicely, thank you, before the Spanish invaded the territory and forced the Kumeyaay into living in an occupation zone.
By your standards, we can’t criticize slavery in this country cuz it happened so loooooong ago. How far back can we go? Can we go back maybe 60 years when Black Americans couldn’t safely vote or go into certain restaurants, trains, buses, restrooms? Geez, dude, go have some more coffee. Didn’t mean to twist your pants but you’re way out on a limb. Usually, you write very cogently and accurately but I guess we stirred some deep feelings. BTW, are you very religious?
Frank, I am not saying that we should turn a blind eye to injustice. It’s just that I, and many others, are simply tired of being indignant about all of the injustices committed by one “civilization” to another “Civilization” throughout the entire course of human history. You ask how far we can go back, Gee, I don’t know. Shall we go back and lament the Egyptians enslaving jews?
I, for one, have not committed atrocities and will focus on preventing the injustices of today, rather than those committed by prior generations.
In answer to your other question, no, not particularly religious, but I do believe that there is a loving God who wants us to be the best we can be and strive toward compassion and love towards all.
I take it you are deeding your property to the Kumeyaay upon your demise then?
Dude! C’mon be real. But also keep commenting as I enjoy 98% of them.
98% huh, well, that’s pretty good I guess :-)
You complaining about others getting their panties in a twist. Priceless!!
Wow. So you believe the imposition of the Catholic religion was a benefit for the indigenous people? Only a Catholic would say such a thing. It was a disaster for those people as it has been all over the world. The history of that religion, right up to today, is deplorable. Or maybe you think all those little children benefited from being sexually abused. All in the name of a fantasy.
A “real crowd pleaser”? Huh…
Maybe start a mural below the windows because they don’t blend in. It’s near a pub…why not paint a scene inside the pub with the players and local patrons? I appreciate the artist talent just not the mural.
If so many people in San Diego are against the impact that Spanish missionaries had (and there are just look at the former Serra High School) then shouldn’t they be petitioning the league to change the Padres name instead of simply criticizing a mural? Seems like if beliefs are that strong, that would be a better use of time.
Like you said ToniOB, I personally have better things to do with my time.
Oh I completely agree, Chris, that WAS freaking hilarious since I could almost feel his testes twisting up in his whitey-tighties in indignation from being so ‘tired’ to have to think back a pitifully few hundreds of years of recent history. Made me want to cross my legs to protect mine it did!
Well hell, John, you must be REAL tired of hearing about that Arab Semite being nailed up by the Romans along with tens of thousands of other criminals between Rome and Palestine because, after all, that was a LONG couple of thousand years ago not just 600 or so…
And I agree because I am so tired of having Roman crucifixes dangled in my face trying to remind me of something my Northern European ancestors had NO PART OF! We had enough trouble dealing with Loki…until unfortunately they were forced to adopt that new Western Asian religion at the point of a sword by those same Romans…
Oh wait! Then came the creme d’ la creme with your claim of “no, not particularly religious” while saying in the same breath “but I do believe in a loving god who wants us…” Ahahahaha! I spewed a little tea on that one laughing while trying to swallow. Never be taking a sip of tea when reading comments on the RAG…and I keep forgetting that rule I mad for myself!
So which ‘god’ are you talking about, John, that you aren’t particularly religious about? Perhaps you were thinking of LOKI the mischievous god of the Northern Europeans who causes so many problems? Or maybe Dionysus who just wanted everybody to party and have fun together? That Greek god was really into loving one another I understand!
John, you may want to have someone re-read what you write before you post to point out some of the inconsistencies so you can correct them…but then they wouldn’t be nearly as fun to read I guess.
sealintheSelkirks
Thank you Mr SealintheSelkirks & Frank for smacking Lil John’s verbal legerdemain re religion & history stuff.
As you may recall, the great Danny Thomas was the best, the very best at spewing liquid at high velocity on his TV show.
Yo, John, John, John, religionists have had thousands of years to produce proof regarding the supernatural; and yet we have nothing. There is no proof supporting the contention of supernatural beings or supernatural realms. Nothing. There now is only religious dogma.
Yes, there are many atheists here on this platform, obviously. Yet, many of our fellow citizens and fellow planitarians have beliefs from a variety of religions, although atheism has been a growing stance for decades. We have to get along. For our own survival.
Growing up in the Episcopal church, we always joked we are “Catholic Lite”. Unlike other denominations in Christianity (or all religions for that matter), Episcopals admit to cherry picking what they will abide by and what they wont (tho not necessarily using that term). Truth is, all people of all religions do exactly that but few admit to doing so. My sister was an attorney for many hears (Western State) and made a career change to Episcopal priest. Her husband was an atheist. The loved the confused reactions they got from non Episcopals.
Insert Danny Thomas spit take here, ala Sofia Petrillo.
Thank you Unwashed WalmartThonG, for the compliment. I try for historical accuracy using as much as I know about different subjects that I comment on.
__
And for a last needle into your ass along with a blow to your conscience, John, about that comment about being “tired…over things that were done to a population by another population several generations ago. Get over it already!”
I want you to think about this REALITY:
My good friend and nearby neighbor Dr. Catherine, an 85 yr old Inuit woman that endorsed my book Massacre Sites, Working for the Dead published in 2020 that is currently unavailable as my website is being rebuilt after the hosting company destroyed it and only available in a couple local shops and through contact at LinkedIn at the moment until the Updated and Revised Edition copyright comes and my site comes back up…but Her LIFE STORY is that HER MOTHER was kidnapped from the family by government goons and sent to an ‘Indian School’ run by those religious zealots where they tried mightily to beat and rape and Christianize the Indian out of her by turning her into a Catholic. Her mother watched as other kids were murdered by their zookeepers, broken and tortured, and those are Dr. Catherine’s one-generation removed experience. Her son my friend the classical concert pianist is 51 has his grandma’s memories in his brain, too, from hearing her stories before she died.
So your ‘generations ago get over it’ crap is so far from reality that you have proven yourself to be incredibly ignorant to anyone/everyone that read your words on this thread.
Bluntly, you really need to shut the f&&k up about what you have no experience with. I recommend spending a few years in a library…
sealintheSelkirks
Sealintheselkirks, I hear you, I acknowledge you. I wonder if her grandson of 51 could ever have become a concert pianist if it wasn’t for those pesky European religionists? Probably not, he would probably be carving a canoe or hunting a polar bear instead. Thank you for your recommendation, I think I’ll pass if it means ending up like you.
I take it this means that you will be deeding your property to the Inuit’s then instead of the Kumeyaay? Because if not, then you are not putting up, you are just spouting off!
Actually John, I think you mean the Salish-speaking people as the Inuit are far to the north of the Canadian Border where I live. You know, north of Denali?
Nice gaslighting by the way with the concert pianist thing. Here’s one back at you: He also might have become an amazing Native flutist if it wasn’t for those pesky European religionists…and his grandmother might not have been repeatedly raped in a Catholic-run so-called Indian School.
Ever listen to the Native flutist Old Man Coyote? Another suggestion to you! The power of music, dude, isn’t just in European instruments. As a life-long musician, it’s a lesson I learned a long time ago.
I guess I should add the thought that maybe the polluted rivers and lakes of this continent might even still be drinkable…and forests wouldn’t have been repeatedly decimated by industrialized logging, if those pesky European Religionists hadn’t run away from/been booted out of their home countries. Seems like the previous civilization on this continent took much better care of the land they lived on than our civilization.
As for your ‘be like you’ comment, you mean you don’t like libraries? I have always had a library card in my wallet which is a very good way to stay away from television and engage the brain for thinking beyond the box with new ideas and concepts by intelligent people…
You also seem really stuck on the ‘deed your property’ type comments. So… you think maybe it is too late to sue the Roman Empire for their violent murderous invasion & pillage for what they did to my ancestors in Northern Europe? Ya think I might be able to get Italy to ‘deed’ me the Coliseum for the trauma? Then I could afford to deed back this property to one of the three tribal Rezs that I’m surrounded by!
Are you a descendant of those “pesky European religionists” that were converted by the threat of death with the swords of the Roman Legions at their necks, too? How about a class action lawsuit against the Romans?
sealintheSelkirks
Just as I suspected, all talk. You don’t seem to care that the property you “own” and reside in was forcibly taken from indigenous peoples, and you refuse to give it back!
This is the skipping record you’re stuck on? Pitiful, dude. Gaslighting is tiresome. No answer will be correct as in ‘When did you stop beating your wife?’
Just as I suspected, all talk…with the added non-benefit of having no experience behind the words. Best watch out for Loki, he’s a Trickster!
According to some of your commenting you seem to be against Trump policies but then why do you use some of the same verbal tactics employed by that regime? Interesting.
And yes, I did notice that you haven’t really answer a single question I’ve posed. But it seems I touched a couple of painful nerves in my comments.
But I did have to look up ‘Sofia Petrillo’ at one point as I had no idea what that reference was. Turns out it was a fictional television character so I still have no idea why you inserted that. Never having been much of a TV guy, it flew over my head. Since I never watched a single episode of the show it was on, I won’t ever get it. It should be obvious that I’ve always leaned towards books.
Time to end this thread and ignore you I think. Since I’m busy with Spring chores on this ‘stolen land’ I live on, best get to them before the next burst of rain comes in or it heats back up to the overly warm temperatures we have already been experiencing up here. I certainly wouldn’t want any locals thinking I’m a bad steward of this land.
sealintheSelkirks
Bottomline (Seal, John take note) We need to be fully respectful of other people’s views on religion. I work with some wonderful folks and they’re religious. That’s the way it is.