Surfing Pioneer Dale Velzy Dies at 77

Surfing Pioneer Dale Velzy Dies of Lung Cancer in California at Age 77

Dale Velzy, a surfing pioneer who helped popularize the sport along the California coast and was once the world's biggest surfboard maker, died at 77.He died Thursday of lung cancer at the Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, hospital administrative supervisor Brian Noakes said Monday.Velzy also helped launch the surfing-movie genre by providing money for the 1957 film "Slippery When Wet."