Remembering Paul Salata as we celebrate Irrelevant Week 2026
Paul Salata created the Newport Beach institution of Irrelevant Week; next week we get to remember him, while celebrating 2026’s arrival
It happens every year for me as we arrive at June. I begin thinking of my old friend Paul Salata, and the excitement he’d begin exuding as his Irrelevant Week drew near. And Paul would let anyone and everyone around him know all about it.
It’s what he lived for; that and USC football.
For Paul, Irrelevant Week was about honoring someone who had been drafted into the NFL and bringing them to Newport Beach to celebrate…not because they were famous, but because they weren’t.
Remember, we’re talking about someone who was the last and final draft selection of the NFL in that particular year. You see, Paul celebrated the underdog, and he loved every minute of it…and them. The recipients would become a part of his life forevermore.
The whole IW thing started all the way back in 1976, when a wide receiver from the University of Dayton, named Kelvin Kirk, was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 487th pick in the 19th round.
And with that, Irrelevant Week was officially born.
As luck would have it, Kirk missed his plane on the trip out west, but if you knew Salata, you knew he wouldn’t miss a beat. Salata simply found a “substitute” Kirk, put him up in front of the welcoming crowd celebrating “his” arrival to town…and allowing that person to experience all the accolades. No one knew the difference.
When the real Kirk finally arrived on another flight, Salata simply changed out the two guys and the party rolled on.
It was the perfect beginning for Paul Salata. You see, he was gifted with an incredible sense of humor that he always found ways to share with others, year-after-year, event after event, including from one Mr. Irrelevant to the next; all until he passed at the age of 94 in 2021.
Oh, is he missed!
Daughter Melanie Salata-Fitch, however, has stepped right in. This year, she and her crew will once again bring in 2026’s version of Mr. Irrelevant – this one with Red Murdock, a linebacker out of the University of Buffalo who was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 257th and final pick at this past April’s draft in Pittsburgh.
Melanie, as a matter of fact, once again represented the Salata clan by taking center stage at the annual draft to announce Murdock’s name to the throngs of onlookers.
Next Wednesday (June 24) Irrelevant Week once again officially kicks off with their Lowsman Banquet. It coincidentally is named after the trophy that will be presented to Murdock later that evening; think Heisman Trophy for the top collegian, and well, the Lowsman Trophy, as it made sense in Paul’s world, for the last pick.
To add some further authenticity and fun, Paul even designed the trophy to have the statue’s football player actually fumbling or dropping the football.
I spoke with Melanie earlier this week and talked about what’s upcoming. So far, no guarantee from the Broncos that Murdock will even be there Wednesday…but she, too, knows the game plan if he doesn’t (remember Kelvin Kirk?).
Don’t worry, these concerns happen every year because early NFL camps are underway and the coaches want their rookies there; but my bet is that Murdock will indeed be there and experience something he’ll absolutely never forget.
The banquet, BTW, will be held at The Cannery. Tickets can be purchased at https://mrirrelevant.org/banquet.
The next day, Thursday, June 25, Red will move beachside in the a.m., where he’ll first attempt to learn to surf, with some appropriate lessons from a professional. He’ll follow that with a trip to meet the local youth participants in the Newport Junior Guard program, and followed that evening by a ride-along in the Beer Can Regatta out of the Balboa Yacht Club.
Surfing…lifeguards…yachting…you get the sense that Red will truly experience Newport Beach at its best.
Day three is Disneyland, followed by a trip to the Big A to take in an Angel’s game.
As Melanie would tell you, it would be too relevant to have Red throw out the game’s first pitch; so figure he’ll more likely be in a pair of coveralls, joining the field crew to drag the infield mid-game.
Saturday is a late afternoon/early evening opportunity for Red and the friends he’s made to enjoy Newport. You know the drill. They used to call it a Pub Crawl, but political correctness changed all of that. It starts with a meet and greet at Baja Sharkeez, moves on to the Stag Bar + Kitchen, to 22nd Street Pizza and then to Mutt Lynch’s. Okay, enough, it’s a pub crawl!
And that, my friends, will conclude what’s planned for this year’s edition of Irrelevant Week. And I just know, somewhere, somehow, a guy, perhaps wearing a USC letterman’s jacket with angel’s wings on the back, will be smiling.
We had some times, miss you old friend!
This article was originally written by Tom Johnson and published on The Stu News at https://stunewsnewport.com/fair-game-061926/