The legend of Legends The angry flames early Tuesday morning that enveloped Legends did more than destroy a treasure-trove of priceless sports memorabilia.

They destroyed what had become a sacred part of this community, a Belmont Shore landmark, a historical monument in the competitive sports tavern business, a place visited at one time or another during its more than a quarter century of existence by almost every important athletic figure in Southern California as well as many other locales.

Its genesis can be linked to the fertile vision of a former clothing salesman from England named John Morris, who came up with this idea in 1979 of opening a sports bar on Second Street to be heavily ...