Mr. Irrelevant Coming to Newport Beach

By City News Service

The 38th annual "Irrelevant Week" will begin Thursday in Newport Beach with Justice Cunningham receiving the "Lowsman Trophy" for being the final player chosen in the NFL draft.

"Irrelevant Week" activities will also include "Surf with Justice" Saturday at 9 a.m., followed by a welcome party from noon-2 p.m. at the Newport Beach Civic Green.

Paul Salata told City News Service he founded Irrelevant Week in 1976 as a way to honor "underdogs and people who don't get much attention."

Salata, a former end for USC and three NFL teams, said he dubbed the event Irrelevant Week after hearing protesters in Berkeley in the 1960s frequently use the word.

The event's motto is "Doing something nice for someone for no reason."

Irrelevant Week has given more than $1 million to charitable organizations, according to Meredith Cagle, its executive director. It has selected Special Olympics Southern California as its 2013 charitable recipient.

The 6-foot-4, 264-pound Cunningham, a tight end who played at the University of South Carolina, received the title Mr. Irrelevant by being chosen by the Indianapolis Colts with the 254th choice in the draft April 27.

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