When Ken Dunn isn't competing in the World Championship Over-The-Line Tournament, he likes to hold court in La Cantina.
Not a minute seems to pass on Fiesta Island without someone stopping to chat.
“I'm a salesman,” said Dunn, who works in school supplies. “It's my job to meet people.”
Dunn, 61, has been a member of the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club since he moved to San Diego from Montana in 1991. He went looking to join a softball team and was invited to play OTL.
Competing in the Cadaver Division, for players 60 and older, Dunn and his Clairemont Surf Shop Old Buzzards teammates Pat O'Connell of South Carolina and Frankie Diaz of San Diego are optimistic about improving on last year's fourth-place finish.
“We just got Pat back, so we're in good shape,” said Dunn, whose team begins play today. “We might even win!”
Clairemont Surf Shop wasn't scheduled to play during the tournament's opening weekend, so Dunn kept busy cooking at the grill in La Cantina and socializing with friends.
O'Connell, founder of La Cantina, and his wife, Sue, were some of the first people Dunn met when he came to San Diego. They remain close friends, yet Dunn attributes the formation of their team to luck. He originally played with Pat's brother Steve, who owns Clairemont Surf Shop. But Steve was too young to compete in the Cadaver Division, so Pat took his place and Steve sponsored the team.
Injuries in OTL are not uncommon, but Dunn has been lucky. His only battle wound is six stitches on his right pinkie, which he sustained in a match against a team featuring OTL champion Don Buechler, the father of former NBA player Jud Buechler.
Dunn is one of about 450 OMBAC members. With thousands of OTL competitors and fans swarming booze-soaked Fiesta Island, it takes nearly every member to help run the event.
“The whole tournament is the culmination of a lot of hard work, and everybody is having a great time,” Dunn said. “There's a tremendous amount of work that goes on. We meet the day after the tournament to plan for next year.”
Over-The-Line is a lifelong passion for a lot of San Diegans, many with far more experience than Dunn.
“I'm a newbie,” he said, having played for 17 years.
Dunn said he knows of nothing that will keep him from continuing.
“I'd have to die,” he said. “I don't want to grow up. I'm Peter Pan.”
Mike Kranzler is a Union-Tribune intern: mike.kranzler@uniontrib.com
