Charlie Bunger, Local Surfing Legend, Dies At 77

Surfing legend Charlie Bunger died Monday at the age of 77.

According to his bio on the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame website, Bunger was born in 1941 and raised in Brooklyn. He started surfing at the age of 18 after moving to Lindenhurst.

His favorite surf spot was nearby Gilgo Beach; it was a very popular break in the '60s, once hosting the East Coast Championships.

In 1961, Bunger started shaping surfboards for local kids as a hobby at the age of 20 before opening the Bunger Surf Shop in Babylon in 1962.

As the popularity of surfing continued to grow and word got out about Bunger's work, orders for his surfboards began to increase, according to the description on the surf shop's website.

After just six months, demand drove Bunger to move his operation from his basement into the two-car garage in his back yard.

He then hired his first employee, Pat Calabrese, to help with production.

He then moved Bunger Surfboards into a 2,000 square foot building in Lindenhurst and opened his first retail store in nearby Copiague.

"The store proved to be an ideal venue for Charlie to display is wares, which fueled even greater demand for Bunger Surfboards on the East Coast," the description reads. "Within just a few years, Charlie was cranking out 1,500 boards a season."

According to a post in NYsportsday.com, last month Bunger was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in critical condition due to remission from lymphoma which he suffered from for the past three years.

He ruptured his spleen and had to go in for emergency surgery, NYsportsDay.com reports.

Image: Facebook.com/Bunger Surf Shop