Corky Carroll: Love him or not, Mickey Dora made a name for himself in the surfing world

I am constantly getting requests to write about the late Mickey Dora, also known as “The Black Knight” of surfing. I have written about him before, but it was mostly many years ago and probably most of you have not read me back that far. So, I will revisit Mickey today.

The dude was definitely one of the most controversial surfers ever to ride a board. Miklos Sandor Dora III was the stepson of legendary surfer Gard Chapin. Gard was a more or less rebel kinda dude and a lot of that rubbed off on Mickey.

By the way, he sometimes spelled his name Miki. This depended on the circumstance. But Miki, Mickey, however you wanna spell it, was not your average cat. And that was another of his nicknames, “da Cat.”

He was born in 1934 and died in 2002. His glory years were the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s when he stood out as one of surfing’s most colorful characters.

Some people loved him and some hated him; some people respected him as a fantastic surfer and some thought he was a fraud. Hardly anybody was in the middle — it was one way or the other.

Mickey was super famous, as much for his surfing as well as for a zillion capers, interviews and being seen in every “beach” movie that came out in those years.

His territory was Malibu. He did surf other places and actually did fairly well in Hawaii one year, but Malibu was his spot. It was there that his cat-like style shined brightest, and he did have an amazing “cat-like” style: front arm down, back arm up, super nimble on his feet and quick. It was the perfect style for Malibu.

I remember seeing him in the early surf movies and thought that I wanted to surf like that. Phil Edwards and Dewey Weber too. But Mickey’s style was truly classic.

My first contact with him was one afternoon when Mickey Munoz had taken me up to Malibu, I was probably about 14. I had come out of the water and was standing on the beach watching both the Mickeys — Munoz and Dora — surf. I was a student of surfing and loved to watch the big names of the era.

Dora came out of the water and I went up to him and babbled something about how great his surfing was, typical fan-type stuff. He looked at me and said, “Thanks kid, hey can I use your towel?” I gladly handed it to him. He blew his nose into it, looked at it and then handed it back to me. “Thanks kid, see ya around,” and walked off. I stood there wondering if I should put the towel on my bedroom wall or toss it out.

We became friends over the years, went to Peru together for the International Big Wave Championship in 1967, skied together a number of times and played tennis too. I always liked him. He was very charismatic and had a unique sense of humor.

The other side of the story, unfortunately, is that Mickey was a known thief.

So, there is the short version. He was a classic surfer with one of the most defining styles ever. Super charismatic and funny guy who had a million ways to make you laugh. Excellent skier and tennis player. Thief.

I considered him a friend and respected him as a surfer. But I watched him closely when he would come to visit.

Ask the expert

Q. How do I select a surf leash? I just started surfing and yesterday I bought a used board from my neighbor, but it needs a leash. Any tips on this?

Larry Sweet, Anaheim

A. Yes, I can help you with that. The basic rule of thumb is to buy a leash that is about the same length as your board. For instance, if your board is 9 feet long then you should buy a 9-foot leash. Most leashes come in 6-inch increments, so if your board is 8-foot-10 you would still get a 9-foot leash. But if you board is 8-foot-7 or so, you would want to buy an 8-foot-6 leash.

The leashes are always a little longer than they say they are, so if it’s a matter of an inch or two then get the shorter one; if it’s a matter of 4 or 5 inches get the longer one; if it’s in the middle flip a coin.

I hope this helps you. Good luck and happy surfing.