Dusty Landwehr Inducted into Foster City Sports Wall of Fame

More than 50 people including family, friends and past inductees were among those who came to honor the youngest and newest member of the Foster City Sports Wall of Fame, Dusty Landwehr, at Sea Cloud Park Saturday morning.

“I never really expected to be up here today when I started coaching,” Landwehr said. “It’s really a big honor to join names of coaches and people in Foster City that I admired growing up. It really means a lot to me.”

Landwehr, 29, moved to Foster City when he was 5 years old and has been an active part of Foster City baseball leagues for 22 years.

In that time, he has inspired coaches and players alike.

“He could relate well to his players while commanding their respect at the same time,” 2006 Wall of Fame inductee Greg Chickman said of Landwehr. “This is a difficult balancing act for any coach, and Dusty made it look easy.”

“To quote my son Adam, ‘he was our friend and our coach.’”

Landwehr was notified of his induction about a month ago, and began to receive phone calls from a number of people, including current and former players he had coached.

Currently a varsity coach at Aragon High School, Landwehr said some of the players called and jokingly gave him a hard time.

“They give me a hard time because they are San Mateo kids and they always have to throw in a smart comment,” Landwehr said. “They’re probably upset because, when they were younger, my teams would take it to them.”

“They’ve been really great, giving me calls, telling me how much they appreciate me working with them.”

Landwehr is also a coach with Palomino baseball in San Mateo.

Landwehr said, what is most rewarding to him is seeing players after they have moved on from his teams.

“When I see a former player of mine playing college baseball, receiving a scholarship or even getting drafted, knowing that I might have had a slight impact on that happening is very rewarding for me,” Landwehr said.

Running into former players around Foster City and San Mateo and having them tell him the best times of their lives were playing on teams he has coached is also special to Landwehr.

His parents, Gary Landwehr and Sherry Lee, made the trip from Arizona, and once they heard of the induction, they filled the gas tank and drove back to Foster City.

“He spent more time here than he did at home,” Gary said. “He deserves every bit of it. Everybody appreciates him; all the kids talk about him.”

Landwehr won three championships and finished the league’s best record five times during his nine seasons as coach of the Pony White Sox.

He also coached the Foster City Colt team for eight seasons, simultaneously coaching the White Sox in six of those seasons, and went on to win the Peninsula Pony League three times, and four All-State Section titles.

Landwehr has served as a mentor off the field as well. He works for the Foster City Parks and Recreation Department, and as an instructor and counselor at Vibe, the Foster City teen center.

“When Dusty approached me to coach with him, I didn’t hesitate,” Chickman said. “Although he is 20-plus years younger than me, he taught me a lot about life and coaching.”

“This community has been a part of me since I was young,” Landwehr said. “I’ll never forget the good times and good memories I’ve made.”