San Antonio’s pitch for the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival included a delegation of 187, mariachis, and a five-person team dedicated to just the audio-visual presentation. While the bid eventually went to Los Angeles, it was enough to convince people San Antonio could host a similar event, the 1989 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics.
So, on August 5, 1989, the AAU Junior Olympics arrived in San Antonio with a fireworks show over Alamo Stadium. More than 22,000 spectators were treated to the traditions of the lighting of the flame and the March of the Athletes. More than 5,000 young athletes from around the country participated in the march and went on to compete in 14 different sports, including table tennis, synchronized swimming and biathlon.
Of those young athletes, many found stardom in their athletic careers, such as 14-time MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez, Hall of Fame NBA center Shaquille O’Neal and Olympic gold medalist Josh Davis, who set two still-standing AAU records in the pool during these Games.
The success of the Junior Olympics, garnering an economic impact of $20 million, set the permanent tone for San Antonio’s participation in amateur sporting events. Just as it is today, the volunteer effort was outstanding with an estimated 5,000 people coming out to help.
Now with a major sporting event on their resume, the San Antonio Sports Foundation had what it needed to push forward in the journey towards sporting stardom, just as so many young athletes from the Junior Olympics were able to do.