Joe Amaya; Longtime East L.A. Baseball Coach

Joe Sotero Amaya, often called “el abuelito “ or “the grandfather of East L.A.” for his more than half a century as a volunteer baseball coach to youngsters, has died. He was 73.

Amaya died Tuesday in Monterey Park Hospital of heart failure, his son, Guadalupe, said Wednesday. Amaya had suffered a heart attack and undergone bypass surgery in 1990.

This summer, a baseball field in Belvedere Park was named Joe Amaya Diamond in honor of Amaya’s work as a coach and sports organizer determined to keep youths out of gangs.

Amaya started coaching as a 15-year-old, when he wanted to play for a softball team sponsored by his employer, Morgan’s Laundry. Nobody wanted to coach, so Amaya volunteered--with the agreement that his older colleagues would not quit.

After service in World War II, in which he earned a Bronze Star Medal, Amaya made his living as a construction worker but continued to volunteer as a coach and organizer of youth teams in City Terrace. Soon he was organizing leagues, involving hundreds of eager young people.

“There were some good people in East L.A. who owned businesses and were willing to give money and time,” Amaya told The Times last year. “We formed a group called the East L.A. Sports Assn., which lasted for over 20 years.”

With the help of park directors, Amaya set up Little League groups at City Terrace, Laguna, Obregon, Belvedere and other parks.

To earn recognition and invitations for his players to play at the college or professional level, Amaya put together a showcase team called the East L.A. Monarks, which played such college teams as UCLA. He also created a Connie Mack team for 14- and 15-year-olds, and a Joe DiMaggio team for 16- to 18-year olds that won the state championship in 1971, 1972 and 1973.

“Hundreds of kids have gone on to the professional level or college level because of him,” Richard (Sopa) Campbell, a former Monark who played in the Mexican professional leagues and is a scout for the Kansas City Royals, said last year.

In addition to his son Guadalupe, Amaya is survived by his wife, Carmen, another son, Jerry, a daughter, Christine, and four grandchildren.

Rosary will be said at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 4018 Hammel St., Los Angeles. A funeral Mass is scheduled in the same church at 9 a.m. Saturday with interment in Resurrection Cemetery.