Director Julio Quintana’s film The Long Game tells the true story of a golf team, exploring themes of identity, exclusion, and belonging along the way. The film follows five Mexican American high school boys in the 1950s who miraculously work their way up to winning a championship in a white-dominated sport. Throughout the story, these boys face unbelievable hardships and yet still persevere, with the fact that the film is based on a true story inspiring curiosity into the real events that unfolded all those years ago.

The Long Game is a sports movie based on real-life events, reproducing the tale of the San Felipe Mustangs and portraying the real way that the team formed, the real people involved, and the real outcome of the golf championship. The Mustangs’ narrative is powerful, on and off-screen, as life didn’t make this journey easy for either the real or fictionalized protagonists. Yet, while The Long Game tells a detailed account of the championship win, the golf movie is not necessarily a completely accurate portrait of the real history of the Mustangs.

The San Felipe Mustangs Were A Real Golf Team In The 1950s

And The Real Team Also Won The Championship

The Long Game follows the true story of five Del Rio Mexican American high schoolers in Texas with no experience in the sport. According to a Texas Monthly article documenting the true story, the boys were “poor Del Rio teenagers who attended segregated schools in the San Felipe Independent School District,” And yet, defying all odds, the boys harnessed their passion for the game, becoming the San Felipe Mustangs through determination and incredible skill.

The golf team became a great force to be reckoned with in the 1950s. Not only did the Mustangs combat the racial status quo in a time and place where segregation laws were fully in act, they brought immense pride to the Mexican-American community with their determination and athleticism.

The Mustangs learned the ins and outs of the sport, taking notes on the stride, the patience, and the skill it takes to master golf. While they lacked physical experience and could only practice using second-hand clubs, their intelligence and drive made the Mustangs a serious opponent for the other teams. Their determination to compete on the same level as everyone else made it painfully obvious that the Mustangs wanted the championship more and loved the sport more.

The Origins Of The San Felipe HS Golf Team Explained

How The Boys Became A Team

In the 1950s, public and private segregated facilities existed all over the United States – and golf courses were no exception. The boys were banned from an all-white country club Texas, further barring them from playing golf on city-owned properties. Two of the boys had caddie jobs at all-white country clubs, while the other three would trash-dive for clubs or even scavenge the creek for discarded clubs near the course.

Because they were banned from certain facilities – including being a player on the golf course – the boys defied the odds and simply created their own make-shift course using their dumpster or creek clubs. Via Texas Monthly, the team’s course, affectionately nicknamed the “El Llanito Country Club“, started out as “a single makeshift golf hole” before the boys expanded it into a nine-hole course.

After constructing their own golf course, the Mustangs self-taught themselves how to play by watching better players and formed their own club. The school superintendent, JB Peña, witnessed the boys playing on their self-made course, and soon initiated the creation of the San Felipe High School golf team.

Every Member Of The San Felipe Mustangs Golf Team (& What Happened To Them)

J.B. Peña (Coach): Peña was a World War II veteran – and golf lover – who took the job as the Del Rio school superintendent, later helping the boys form their team. Peña kept coaching the San Felipe golf team until he passed (via Today).

Joe Treviño: Treviño passed away in 2014 at 75 years old. He worked at California’s Laughlin Air Force Base and Travis Air Force Base, but enjoyed working on golf clubs and giving lessons. Treviño had four children.

Gene Vasquez: Vasquez passed away in 2023 at 83 years old. He taught at San Felipe public schools, later working in the real estate industry. Vasquez had seven children, 18 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Felipe Romero: Romero went to the PGA Business School in San Antonio after high school, and competed in golf tours while simultaneously working at the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Houston. Romero attended The Long Gamepremiere in March 2023.

Mario Lomas: Lomas worked on the PGA Tour as a caddie, and later as a greenskeeper at a country club. According to Texas Monthly, Romero and Felan lost touch with Lomas after their time together on the team.

Lupe Felan: Felan spent a long time working for the Marine Corps and later the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and still enjoys playing golf. He attended The Long Gamescreening.

How The San Felipe Mustangs Won The Texas State HS Golf Championship In 1957

The Tale Of How They Were Victorious

The Long Game movie provides a fairly accurate portrayal of how the team became champions. As the film depicts, after being banned and rejected from segregated facilities, the San Felipe Mustangs were begrudgingly allowed to enter a junior golf tournament. The team eventually reached the regionals after continuously winning in other tournaments, benefitting from the expert coaching of their school district’s superintendent, J.B. Peña, and Frank Mitchell – a veteran and member of the exclusionary golf club.

Eventually, the team won the 1957 state championship, causing the San Felipe Mustangs to be inducted into the Latin American Sports Hall of Fame (via Today). Although Quintana’s film The Long Game understandably fictionalizes aspects of the narrative, including dialog and specific incidents between rival teams, the chronology of the team’s triumph depicted in the film is fairly accurate. As a result, The Long Game is both an uplifting sports drama movie, and a fascinating insight into real history.

Sources: Texas Monthly, Today