Ex-Montgomery High, El Camino Player Is Selected by WLAF Team

In 27 days, Ken Sale may well become a football pioneer.

On March 23, the former Bishop Montgomery High and El Camino College standout could find himself in Frankfurt, Germany playing for the London Monarchs against the Frankfurt Galaxy in the inaugural game of the NFL-backed World League of American Football.

The Monarchs, one of the World League’s three European franchises, made Sale their third-round pick in Friday’s draft of linebackers, the 35th overall selection. The 10-team league is conducting a position-by-position draft of the 710 players it has signed.

“Everybody who’s ever been around him told us he’s a very good football player,” said London Coach Larry Kennan, the Raiders quarterback coach from 1982-87. “He didn’t run as fast as some of the guys did, he’s not as big as some, kind of ‘tweener’ size-wise, but is a real intense, tough and real good football player. That impressed us. Being a good football player is more important than being able to run 4.5 in the 40.”

The 6-1, 226-pound Sale will be competing with seven other players for what Kennan expects to be five or six linebacker spots on the 36-player roster. Kennan plans to use Sale as an inside linebacker, but said Sale could also see playing time as an outside linebacker because of the limited roster size.

The World League is providing Sale with his second opportunity to earn a job in pro football. Sale was signed by the San Diego Chargers as a free agent last year, but released during training camp.

Sale completed his collegiate career at Texas-El Paso, where he was the Miners leading tackler among linebackers in 1988 and 1989.

Sale is not the only player with South Bay ties to be chosen by the World League. Steve Williams, a 1985 Serra High graduate who later played at Illinois, was chosen by the Sacramento Surge in the sixth round of Monday’s draft of wide receivers. He was the 56th overall selection.