Swell of 1939
Not so much an isolated swell as a long season of big waves; the sport's first year-identified big-surf milestone, beginning a chain that continued with the Swell of 1953, the Swell of 1969, and onward. "On May 17th, 1939, the waves got large. and I mean, large," surfing pioneer Wally Froiseth recalled in an interview decades later. "And then they got big, and then they got huge, and then they got...
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Long Beach, 1939Subscribe to view
Whitey Harrison, Dana Point, 1939. Photo: Doc BallSubscribe to view
LeRoy Grannis, left, and Hoppy Swarts, Palos Verdes Cove, 1939. Photo: Doc BallSubscribe to view
Long Beach storm damage, 1939Subscribe to view
LeRoy Grannis (right), Hermosa Beach. Photo: Doc BallSubscribe to view
Pete Peterson, Venice, 1939Subscribe to view
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/945953f30106d34bf4d41790dc395d3e2a9fa4db-900x690.jpg?rect=0,9,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Long Beach, 1939
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/2d6f14bce3b6a876e61cc6d90b411ed014c84151-900x597.jpg?rect=0,0,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Whitey Harrison, Dana Point, 1939. Photo: Doc Ball
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/b8b7535e4f28efd59ba3ed5ffa8713dd4ecfc524-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
LeRoy Grannis, left, and Hoppy Swarts, Palos Verdes Cove, 1939. Photo: Doc Ball
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/3ceb536f133557e84011dc49a6553f131451bf94-700x467.jpg?rect=0,23,700,394&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Long Beach storm damage, 1939
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/225ee6daf8b6cd60fbfb044db5ede788426e63ba-900x765.jpg?rect=0,227,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
LeRoy Grannis (right), Hermosa Beach. Photo: Doc Ball
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/5503a330974685b48b79ab1330594552926a7481-900x696.jpg?rect=0,121,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Pete Peterson, Venice, 1939