Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.

I was walking through the Park at the Park late last summer when the sun perfectly caught Tony Gwynn’s statue.

Not only did the statue seem illuminated at the top of the knoll, the angle of the sun cast a shadow of the statue. I had never before been there to witness a shadow of the Gwynn statue.

As I paused, I was reminded of a movie title from decades ago -- Cast A Giant Shadow.

Which is what Tony Gwynn certainly did.

I am writing today on the fifth anniversary of Tony Gwynn’s death. June 16, 2014, is a sad day for all Padres fans as well as all San Diegans. At the age of 54, “Mr. Padre” passed away after battling parotid cancer for several years.

But Tony Gwynn isn’t gone. He never will be. There is that shadow he cast. It will forever be with the team and community he so loved.

Recently at Petco Park, I saw a little girl, wearing a jersey with “Gwynn” across the back, walking along the main concourse while clutching the hand of her father. I’m sure the dad had discussed the meaning of Tony with his little girl. The legend of Tony is being shared and passed on.

I find it appropriate that the fifth anniversary of Tony’s passing falls on Father’s Day. Not only was Tony a great father to his two children, he and Alicia were known to nurture a number of other children at their Poway, Calif., home.

I personally miss Tony Gwynn. Still, I will never miss him. The memories I have of Tony are stronger than most. I still hear the laugh, feel the passion and am warmed by the devotion.

Tony Gwynn was more than the greatest Padre ever. Two careers as an Aztec -- as a basketball and baseball player, then as the baseball coach -- bookended his 20 seasons with the Padres.

More than once, I discussed with Tony why he spent his entire baseball career with the Padres when there were more lucrative offers elsewhere.

“I’m a San Diegan,” he told me more than once.

And we haven’t even discussed Tony Gwynn’s Hall of Fame career.

During his 20-season career with the Padres, the Hall of Famer won a National League record-tying eight batting titles and finished with 3,141 hits and a career .338 batting average -- the highest mark by any Major Leaguer since Ted Williams. He was only the 17th player in history to spend an entire two-decade career with one team. He was a member of 16 National League All-Star teams and is the career leader in nearly every Padre statistical category.

R.I.P. Tony Gwynn.