Los Amigos Game to Give City Stars a Chance

Every year, many of the top graduated high school football players throughout Southern California have been rewarded with invitations to play in summer all-star games.

Being selected often is the realization of a dream for players whose goal was to compete against the best in their area before hometown fans one last time.

But that dream has not always been realistic for athletes who live near the downtown freeway bottlenecks. Although Orange County and the San Fernando Valley have long had their own all-star games, players who attended schools in the shadows of Los Angeles’ skyline have had no such game.

However, that will change this evening with the first Los Amigos All-Star game, matching teams representing the City and the Southern Section, at East Los Angeles College at 5 p.m. Part of the weeklong Hollenbeck-Alatorre Inner-City Games, which began last Sunday, this is an all-star game that has been overdue in the East Los Angeles community.

“We tried to get the game off the ground last year, but we did not have enough sponsorship,” said Alfredo Bejar, who along with City Councilman Richard Alatorre created the game.

“Originally, there were not any games at all in the East Los Angeles area. There was only the 605 All-Star game for players in the San Gabriel Valley and the City’s Senior Bowl, which has been controversial and poorly run.”

After failing to get started a year ago, Bejar and Alatorre regrouped to stage this year’s Los Amigos, which seems to have gained a great deal of support.

With actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Heisman Trophy winner Mike Garrett serving as the Games’ executive commissioners, the game is expected to draw 4,000 fans and pay for itself.

“The game has gone on like it is supposed to be done,” Bejar said. “It is set up so it is the kids’ game, the coaches’ game and the community’s game. This is our first time around, and we are looking to set this up as an annual game.”

Each team has players selected from 19 schools. The City team consists of players from the Northeast area, and the Southern Section team is made up of players from the San Gabriel Valley. Wilson’s Eddie Martinez and San Fernando’s Tom Hernandez will coach the City team; Alhambra’s Gil Ruedaflores will coach the Southern Section team.