Harvey Edward “Eddie” Sheldrake, cofounder Polly’s Pies and former college basketball standout, has died. He passed away on Thursday, May 8 at the age of 98, according to a statement from his company’s public relations team.
The statement continued, “His vision and leadership laid the foundation for what Polly’s has become today — a beloved community staple for more than 55 years.”
Before making a name for himself in the food industry, Sheldrake made his mark at UCLA for his basketball prowess. “A fiery little guard on the early John Wooden teams of 1949-50-51, Eddie was captain of the UCLA team during his senior season,” according to the UCLA Bruins Hall of Fame website. “Eddie was named to the 1951 All-Conference team and was twice named to the ‘Little All-American’ team.” He went on to led the Bruins in shooting percentage in 1950 and ’51 “and also set a UCLA record with his 38-point effort against Stanford in 1951.”
Sheldrake, a Los Angeles native who served in the U.S. Navy, was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000; he also played for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and in the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL) for one season in 1952–53.
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Eddie Sheldrake co-founded the Polly’s Pies chain with his brother in 1968 after earlier starring with UCLA’s basketball team. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)Following his moves on the court, Sheldrake worked as a furniture salesman before pivoting into the restaurant realm, starting in 1966 when he and his brother, Donald, opened California’s first free-standing Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. After opening a handful of finger-lickin’ franchises, the brothers founded Polly’s Pies, a restaurant and bakery chain known for its titular pies.
The first Polly’s opened in Fullerton on Raymond Avenue in 1968.
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“I was too cheap, so I had to come up with a name that had ‘P’ in it,” Sheldrake told the Orange County Register in 2016.
In addition to pies and coffee, the brothers’ restaurant roasted its own coffee, a tradition that continued throughout the years. Polly’s expanded its menu to feature heartier fare like sandwiches, rotisserie chicken and burgers.
Sheldrake is survived by eight children, 16 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, according to his bio on the Polly’s Pies website.
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