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SAN DIEGO — It’s the party of the year on Fiesta Island, the 69th annual Over The Line tournament put on by the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club. 

“Imagine 50 3-on-3 softball games happening in the middle of Mardi Gras,” said Jeff Johnson, OMBAC Over the Line Coordinator. 

The party of the year is thanks in large part to Mike Curren, nicknamed “The Godfather” of the event.

“Strangers, tourists come up asking what we were playing, it was just over the line,” Curren said.

The 92-year-old is a founding member of the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club. Curren and his band of misfit “beach rats,” as he likes to call them, started playing over the line while waiting for volleyball courts to open up in the late 1940s.

“I’ve still got the moves but not the speed,” Curren continued. 

Now nearly 70 years later, the legendary tournament welcomes upwards of 50,000 from across the country.

“Anyone can play it,” Curran said. “Doesn’t matter if you’re tall, short, heavy, skinny, you just need some hand-eye coordination.” 

This upcoming tournament will be extra special as Mayor Todd Gloria will make a proclamation naming July 9 as “Mike Curren Day” in San Diego.