Peter V. Ueberroth plaque unveiled in the Court of Honor at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum bustled with the sound of triumphant horns Monday morning as Olympians and peers of Peter Ueberroth gathered to celebrate his induction into the Memorial Court of Honor for his work during the 1984 Summer Olympics. Speakers like Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and two-time track and field Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses expressed their gratitude in front of the Coliseum’s torch lit in Ueberroth’s honor.

“Our greatest angel in the city of angels,” Garcetti said of Ueberroth.

Ueberroth, 84, spoke briefly at the event saying, “In this society that we live in, we can make a difference, we can all make a difference.”

Peter Ueberroth served as the chairman of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee which brought the games to Los Angeles in 1984. After the 1976 Summer Olympic games in Montreal, which left the city 1.6 billion Canadian dollars in debt, the United States Government restricted funding for the 1984 games. However, Ueberroth convinced the International Olympic Committee that the games could be sponsored by private, corporate funding. The result: a $223 million profit.

“With Peter’s management, the city didn’t pay for anything,” said Don Matso, vice president of external affairs during the 1984 Summer Olympics. “The interest of [the profits from the 1984 Summer Olympics] is still paying for underprivileged children in sports in the U.S. Olympic Committee, so it was a rather significant contribution. In Canada, they’re still paying for the games they had in the seventies.”

With the Olympics making its return to Los Angeles in 2028, Matso believes that without Ueberroth’s contributions, “There would be no Olympic games,” he said. “That’s a hell of a legacy.”

Ueberroth’s close friends and family were also in attendance, celebrating his lifetime achievement. Alice Saviez has known Ueberroth and his wife Ginny Ueberroth since their freshman year in college.

“Pete knew that I knew Ginny, and one day he said to me, ‘Would you introduce me to that girl down there?’ And now they’ve been together for 62 years.” Saviez added, “I’m so glad they’re having this today because I don’t know that he’s really acknowledged for all that he has done for the Olympics.”

“The L.A. Games in ‘84 were the most successful ever,” said Debra Duncan, board chair of LA84, which managed Southern California’s endowment for the 1984 Games. George Pla, president of the Coliseum, credited Ueberroth with putting the city back together.

Ueberroth is the 66th inductee into the Memorial Court of Honor. He will join figures such as John F. Kennedy, Jackie Robinson and Nelson Mandela as recipients of the plaque.