With the spring prep sports season looming on the horizon, one of the most beloved events of the Point Loma High sports year will take place for the 19th consecutive season. The baseball team’s Alumni Game is set for Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Pointers’ immaculate David Wells Field complex on the grounds of Dana Middle School. But starting last year, the game serves as the finale for a day-long celebration of Pointer baseball, including socializing, eating and opportunities among Pointer baseball’s current and past along with community members with a love of the sport. Gates open at 9 a.m. when an array of baseball items, memorabilia and gift items will be on display in both a silent auction and raffle. Last year’s items included autographed baseball items, many from the personal collection of Pointer head coach David Wells. Raffle items included a 50-inch high definition TV set donated by assistant coach Dave Camara. Food items available will take up several grills, offering burgers, hot dogs and tacos. At 10 a.m. a Home Run Derby begins, open to Pointer alums and perhaps a current player or two. Last year’s winner was alum Campbell Wear, now playing professionally in the Colorado Rockies organization. But putting on an event of this magnitude requires current team boosters to reach out to the Point Loma community for donations of raffle and silent auction items. Raffle prizes of $25-50 value are being sought from local businesses and groups. They could include gift certificates or cards for restaurants or popular stores and services. Silent auction items should be of $100 or higher value. Popular items have been as varied as restaurant dinners, fishing trips, personal services and use of cabins or vacation homes. Business owners or others with donations should contact boosters at [email protected]. In last year’s Alumni Game, the Alumni scored five runs in a dramatic ninth inning rally to tie the game at 6-6 before pushing across a 10th inning run for a come-from-behind 7-6 victory. The Alumni Game began in 1998 when, during a 25-year reunion of the Pointers’ 1973 CIF championship team, someone wondered out loud if they could still play well enough to beat the current team. A challenge was issued and the game began. Now in their early ’60s, few of those 1973 Pointers still play, but the Alumni roster overflows with players from more recent years including those who graduated last year. Wells knows that having his current players interact with alums is a great way to teach them about the traditions of Pointer baseball. And the alums love talking to the current players. “What’s been created here (David Wells Field) is phenomenal for Point Loma High School,” said 1973 team spokesperson Steve Grimes. “Eighteen years ago when we started this, we had no idea either the field or Alumni Game would look like this. Now, we have all these people (1973 to 2016) coming back and, hopefully, the youngsters on the varsity see they can be part of this at some point in time. Point Loma is like a big family, and we’re very fortunate to be able to get together and still do this.” The annual winner is awarded a large black ceramic bull, reportedly bought in Tijuana, that is a tribute to Mark (The Bull) Connors, one of the toughest players on the 1973 Pointer team, who is now deceased. Perhaps no other event better illustrates the school’s motto: “Once a Pointer, Always a Pointer.”