Mr. Irrelevant Chandler Harnish Celebrated at Newport Dunes

The 37th annual Irrelevant Week, which honors the last player chosen in the NFL draft and raises funds for Orange County organizations, begins today with a beach party at Newport Dunes marking the official arrival of honoree Chandler Harnish.

Harnish will be showered with gifts, all with a humorous subtext, such as a watch because it's unlikely he'll get the chance to retire from the NFL, said Melanie Salata Fitch, Irrelevant Week's chief executive officer and daughter of its founder, Paul Salata. The event begins at 5 p.m.

Harnish "doesn't know how he's arriving, but there will be a colt involved," Fitch said.

Harnish was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 253rd choice in the draft after setting 30 passing, rushing and total offense records at Northern Illinois.

Harnish and his family will visit Disneyland this morning, Fitch said.

"He can say, 'I'm going to Disneyland,' like the (Super Bowl most valuable player)," Fitch said.

Harnish  will be honored at the All-Star Lowsman Banquet dinner featuring Salata and former NFL referee Jim Tunney. The name of the banquet is a pun on the Heisman Trophy.

Before the banquet he will do an interview at the NFL Network studios in Culver City, Fitch said.

Wednesday, Independence Day, will be packed with events for Harnish, Fitch said.

Harnish will start the day at an American Legion pancake breakfast, followed by the Old Glory Boat Parade in Newport Harbor, a barbecue at the Balboa Bay Yacht Club and then guest-bartender stints at a two bars on the peninsula, Fitch said.

For Salata, the week will be tinged with some nostalgia because he played for the Baltimore Colts in 1950.

Salata was acquired by the Colts in their inaugural NFL season in a trade from the San Francisco 49ers, catching 45 passes in seven games during a 1-11 season.

Despite the record, "We had some good players," Salata said. Quarterback Y.A. Tittle and defensive tackle Artie Donovan are in the Hall of Fame, but the franchise folded at the end of the season.

A new Baltimore Colts franchise began play in 1953 and moved to Indianapolis in 1984.

This year's edition of Irrelevant Week will benefit the Goodwill Fitness Center in Orange County, R.M. Pyles Boys Camp, and the RITA Foundation.

The fitness center helps the disabled, the camp is for underprivileged children and the foundation provides transportation and other necessities not covered by insurance for those stricken with cancer, Fitch said.

Irrelevant Week usually raises an average of $50,000 annually for charity, Fitch said.

Salata said he founded Irrelevant Week in 1976 as a way to honor "underdogs and people who don't get much attention." He said he dubbed the event Irrelevant Week after hearing protesters in Berkeley in the 1960s frequently use the word.

The event's motto is "Doing something nice for someone for no reason."

-City News Service