“The Best Surfers in the World,” SURFER Magazine, July 1964

On Saturday night, April 25, there was a historic first in the sport of surfing. Some of the best surfers in the world gathered in Dana Point to receive awards and recognition for being selected by thousands of surfer readers as “The Best Surfers In The World.”

One of the highlights of the First Annual SURFER Poll came in the sparkling performance of the Master of Ceremonies, Brennan “Hevs” McClelland. Hevs delivered a sometimes stinging and humorous oratory on the sport today, the significance of the Poll, and the merits and abilities of the Poll winners. With the introduction of Brennan, he leaped across the floor into an unsuccessful cartwheel, recovering nicely from his crash with a handclasp over his head. He was met with thundering applause. At this point he launched into an original poem that started:

Ought to be home with my nose to the stone

Instead of here where the tradewind blows

McClelland’s speech was a classic. He spoke of surfing as a relatively new sport, coming of age because of the new developments in boards. He described the Poll as a milestone. “We’ve had All-League this, we’ve had All-Pro that, we’ve had All-American this, and we’ve had All-Conference that, but think a minute—think a minute about surfing. Think what’s happened in your surfing lifetime. Tonight we’re going to recognize some men of the sea. Maybe you think so-and-so was this and so-and-so was that, but thousands and thousands of kids, of older surfers, of high school teachers, truck drivers, said these are the 20 best surfers in the world.”

Hevs continued. “This is a man by himself in the ocean. This is not a race. How can there be competition in surfing? And yet there is—there really is competition in surfing. Whether it’s man against man or man against the sea. How many of you have just barely made it over the top of that wave? How many of you have tried to drive just a little bit longer through a section? You’re not competing with Charley or Bill or Sam—you’re competing with the sea. It is a competitive sport and I don’t care who denies it, the only question is how do you take your competition? The sport has grown so wild and furious that it’s hard to keep up. Surfing contests here and there and everywhere.

“Tonight we’re going to recognize these men according to a Poll in which literally thousands of readers have responded. And when you see the 20 men who gather behind me on the speaker’s platform, you’ll finally shake your head and you may change the order a little bit in your own minds, but you’ll say, ‘By golly, there are some fantastic surfers up there.’ This is what we’re offering here tonight—the first of its kind—the response to who are the best surfers in the world in terms of surfing skill, contribution to the sport, and their knowledge of the sea and how well known they are by other surfers.”

At this point, Brennan introduced the 20 surfers who were to receive awards during the evening. The surfers who ranked 4th through 20th were to receive bronze medals, while the 2nd and 3rd winners received sterling silver medals. The first-place winner was to receive a solid gold medal, as well as a gold trophy cup. For all of the surfers on the Poll and for the sport of surfing there was a plaque with the names of the top 20 in their respective positions. The plaque will be made available to the USSA for surf shows and should there ever be a surfing museum, the plaques will be turned over for the benefit of all surfers.

 there was no women's division for the 1963 SURFER Poll Awards.]

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