Culver City sports Hall of Fame member Wayne Boehle keeps his apples close to the his family tree. The three apples that fall close to the family tree are family, Culver City and sports: in that order. The roots of the tree grow deep and the branches cover generations of Boehles’.
“Sitting here on the Culver City High School campus I well up with pride thinking about all the friends and teachers I met here,” Boehle said. “I still have friends from the days I went to elementary school, junior high and high school in Culver City. I had lunch with two guys I met in the fourth grade just last week. A lot of us still get together about three or four times a year.”
Wayne Boehle was born in New York but came to Culver City when he was five. As a child growing up in Culver City the first thing he did was join the park leagues. That’s where Boehle realized that he had a future in sports. As a softball pitcher in elementary school he won 16 games in a row. He probably would have won 17 games in row if his father hadn’t taken him on fishing trip on the day of the game.
“My father read in the paper that we were 16-0 and the other team we were playing was 14-2, so he told me you will still take first place if you lose,” said Boehle. “We lost and my teammates told the paper that I was the losing pitcher even though I was not there. I guess they were kind of mad at me for not showing up.”
By the time Boehle reached high school he was a star athlete and played three years of varsity- basketball and baseball and won several league championships in both sports from 1959-1961.
“Sports was my life,” Boehle said. “Sports teaches you a lot of things about life. Sports instills characteristics in people that I think makes them a better person. Sports’ teaches you to be fair. I find that whether you are a player, coach, trainer or manager of a team you develop a concept of fairness by playing sports.”
After high school Boehle accepted a scholarship to Loyola Marymount University to play baseball and basketball. While he was at LMU they switched his scholarship to basketball only so he decided to try volleyball. The switch opened up another sports’ world for Boehle especially when he became an All-American in volleyball and all-league in basketball. Volleyball at LMU marked another turning point in Boehle’s life.
“I met my wife at LMU through my future brother-in-law who was on the volleyball team,” said Boehle with a smile. “He introduced me to her and we got married in 1965.”
After attending LMU Boehle started working on his master degree and coaching junior varsity basketball at Culver City High School. He also worked for the Culver City parks department and continued to pursue his dream of becoming an NBA player.
“When I realized I was not good enough for the NBA, I decided the next best thing was to go to law school and become a trial lawyer,” Boehle said. “I competed in the court room instead of the field.” Boehle has worked for the same law firm for the past 43 years and will celebrate 50 years of marriage to his wife Tina in December.
Wayne Boehle has four children: two sons and two daughters along with nine grandchildren. All of his children and grandchildren are very athletic. His son Michael played basketball and baseball at Loyola High School and after college he became a very good professional beach volleyball player. Michael is also the volleyball coach at Loyola High School. Under Boehle the Cubs have won several national and state titles.
His other son Daniel was a star baseball and basketball player at St. Bernard and he owns his own restaurant in Manhattan Beach. His daughters Jennifer and Christy both played volleyball for the University of California, Santa Barbara.
One of his grandsons is currently playing volleyball for UCSB and another grandson will join him next season on the team at UCSB, after graduating from Loyola and being a high school All-American. The third grandson from Michael Boehle’s family will play varsity volleyball for Loyola next year. Last weekend one of his granddaughters played in a 144-team tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center where her team placed seventh overall.
“I am very proud of all of my grandchildren,” said Boehle. “Watching them keeps me young.”
Not only can the Boehle play sports, but they can also sing. Wayne Boehle’s wife Tina is related to the famous Lennon sisters and the legendary boxing announcers Jimmy Lennon and Jimmy Lennon Jr.
Every Thanksgiving for the past 51 years the Boehle’s and the Lennon’s get together and play in the Lennon Family Turkey Bowl.
“I have played in at least one play in the Turkey Bowl since I was 19,” said Wayne Boehle. “Culver City is in my blood. My sister still lives in the house I grew up in. Being in the first inducted class in the Culver City Sports Hall of Fame means a lot to me but what’s really important is your family, your health and your happiness.”