LI's 'Karate Kid' Ralph Macchio Makes Suffolk Sports Hall Of Fame

MILLER PLACE, NY — Long Island's own 'karate kid' Ralph Macchio will be inducted into Suffolk County Sports Hall Of Fame for his contributions to educating about martial arts.

The Miller Place native, now Mount Sinai resident, is a special recognition-inductee for his culturally-significant iconic work in martial arts in "The Karate Kid" franchise and the continuation of the story in the Netflix series, "Cobra Kai."

Eighties movie icon Macchio had his breakout role as "Johnny Cade" in "The Outsiders," but his career did not skyrocket until he was cast as Daniel LoRusso in 1984's "The Karate Kid." He starred in three hit films about a karate underdog who fights back and wins. Macchio took up his role 30 years later in 2019 as a grown LoRusso, no longer the karate champ, but the owner of a lucrative car dealership and father to a daughter following in his footsteps of fisticuffs — in and outside the dojo.

Suffolk's Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 is one of the largest in its history, Executive Director of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame Chris R. Vaccaro says.

Vaccaro called the 2022 class "a heavy punch of historic significance."

“From athletes to journalists, coaches to local icons and officials, the class has an amazing blend of individuals who have made their mark and have reached the pinnacle of success in their respective disciplines," he said. "We’re looking forward to honoring them this spring.”

Macchio is being inducted along with about 20 others, including ESPN producer Chris Fallica, legendary surfing pioneer Charlie Bunger of the Bunger Surf Shop franchise, and Redskins' running back Darrel Young.

For a full list of all inductees, click here.

The ceremony has been scheduled for May 18 at East Wind in Wading River. The Hall of Fame is not yet selling tickets to the event and will monitor the situation in the coming weeks due to the uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Maureen Mullarkey and Michael DeSantis contributed additional reporting to this story.