SMIRNOFF PRO '69: MONEY, VIOLENCE, BIG WAVES

Corky Carroll won the 1969 Smirnoff Pro-Am, at Santa Cruz, 44 years ago today. The surf pumped for the finals; double-overhead-plus Second Reef Steamer Lane, with bigger waves slow-grinding all the way through Cowell's. Carroll (above) took home a $1,500 first-place check, which at the time was the biggest ever awarded in surfing. The drama extended beyond the surf zone. Dan Levin covered the eve...

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