Now as Then, Watts Games Help Unify in Troubled Times

What began as a promising idea has become a summer sports institution in Los Angeles.

In 1967, Bill Sims suggested to his fellow board members at the Los Angles Junior Chamber of Commerce that they create an Olympics-type program for city youths. His proposal was aimed at using the spirit of athletic competition to bridge the gap between Southern California’s diverse populations.

One year later, Sims’ dream came to fruition and the L.A. Watts Summer Games were born.

“From the inception I felt the L.A. games was a natural winner,” he said.

And it has been for a quarter of a century.

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When they started in 1968, the L.A. Watts Summer Games had nearly 250 athletes--boys only at that time--in basketball, volleyball and track and field. Last year, the competition had grown to 12,000 Southern California high school students of both sexes competing in 12 sports.

“One of the reasons that the games are successful is because they bring together kids of different backgrounds, who otherwise wouldn’t come into contact with one another,” said Bob Levey, a spokesman for the Junior Chamber. “(The games) allow players to meet and compete against players that they normally don’t play against during the season.”

The impetus behind the development of the games was the 1965 Watts.

Sims’ concept was the result of a brainstorming session with his fellow board members aimed at creating an event that would give young athletes the opportunity to meet others of different backgrounds and to learn from one another regardless of race, creed or national origin.

Sims, 56, a loan agent for Quaker City Federal Savings & Loan who was chairman of the games in their inaugural year, said he and others on the Junior Chamber board came to the conclusion “that if we got kids together to participate in sports, that they would have a lot more in common than they thought and perhaps this would promote understanding among the kids.”

The idea worked. Thousands of youths began to join in, from playground athletes to the top players at city high schools. In fact, some of the past participants make up a veritable Who’s Who of Los Angeles’s sports teams.

They include Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis of the Dodgers, former UCLA and NBA star Marques Johnson, Lakers stars Jamaal Wilkes, Michael Cooper and Byron Scott, and James Lofton of the Raiders.

Strawberry, Davis and Johnson are three of the 10 sports commissioners promoting the games.

Last year’s riots brought back memories of the 1965 riots that spawned the L.A. Watts Summer Games. Again, the games proved to be a unifying event in an otherwise troubled atmosphere.

“We thought some of the schools would pull out, but only two did,” said Steve Woroniecki, acting chairman of the L.A. Watts Summer Games. “The coaches and kids were encouraging us to go on and we realized how important the games were.”

Most competitors, 14- to 18-years-old, are from the inner city and are individual competitors or members of teams from local high schools.

Among the participating local teams, which must be from the school’s regular-season roster rather than an assemblage of the best talent, are Fremont, Jordan, Locke, Washington and Verbum Dei. Sports in which they will participate include baseball, football, basketball and soccer.

The basketball tournament, won by Dorsey last year with a 73-52 victory over Long Beach Jordan, has proven particularly popular. “There were 128 teams in the basketball tournament, which pulls the greatest variety of participants from different areas,” Woroniecki said.

Not that the athletes are less enthusiastic about other sports.

Among the teams returning for the baseball competition will be the South Gate, which on June 3 defeated Crenshaw to win the 1993 City 3-A championship. Rams coaches said South Gate’s 9-3 victory over Arcadia to take the baseball tournament in last year’s summer games set the tone for this year’s City championship season.

The summer games “gave us an idea of how good the team was and what we needed to work on,” South Gate assistant coach Rick Valencia said. “(All the schools) use (the games) to see what junior varsity talent they have.”

Pitcher Alonzo Lopez, was one of the junior varsity players who had a chance to show his stuff in the summer games last year. This season, he was South Gate’s top varsity pitcher.

“(The games) helped me make the transition from JV to varsity,” said Lopez, who was 11-0 this season. “It made me work harder, prepare more and reach my potential this season.”

Added Coach Mike Ryan: “Winning (at the games) shaped our attitude. . . . I also like playing against schools we don’t normally see because it helps us get respect and vise versa.”

Events for this year’s games began May 8 with the annual Cheerleading and Drill Team Competition at Compton Community College. More than 25 high schools competed in 10 categories. North Hollywood, Canoga Park and John Burroughs high schools each won first-place trophies in two events.

Sign-ups for the sports competitions, which started Saturday, will continue through the days of the individual events. This year, disabled athletes will be eligible to participate for the first time.

Preliminary competition for the L.A. Watts Summer Games continues today at Compton Community College, the main venue for the games, and 26 other locations throughout Los Angeles.

Finals will take place Saturday and June 20 at Compton College. Admission to all events is free.

Information: the Junior Chamber of Commerce at (213) 482-1311.