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.