The El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame has selected the 2022 Ray Sanchez High School Student Athletes of Year Award. The awards were presented on June 21.

by Ray Sanchez 11.15.21

    I’ve encountered some strange, almost weird things, in my life as a sports writer. For example: 

• When I was in the Army during World War II, I was assigned to watch an enemy plane that had landed in enemy territory. I was a recent recruit in the Army and scared out of my wits. But luckily, the American Army plane soon came to pick me up. 
• Another occasion when I was in the Army I was assigned to go to parachute school. I got to jump from a platform with straps on me. It was the first step of parachute jumping. I don’t want to go through that again. The straps actually hurt. 
• I don’t think the Army knew what to do with me. I had ROTC in high school. I was immediately assigned to interview for Army officer. It was the first time I encountered racism in the Army.  The Army officer who interviewed me was a white Southerner and he quickly crossed me off. I could have been an officer and risen in the ranks.
• One of the weirdest things I encountered was a soldier who used to urinate at night regardless of where he was. One night he urinated in a person’s face. The next day at breakfast time the soldier he had urinated on his rifle “accidently” went off and hit him in the leg. 

• I also remember when a tough sergeant (I was just a private at the time) asked me to drive a tank up a steep incline to a garage. I had only driven a car once before so I was scared. But I managed to obey the sergeant’s orders. Whew! 
• But going on to much more mundane things, I heard that a golfer (Bill Nary, I’ll never forget his name) had set a number for fewer putts. That was in the 1950s. El Paso actually held two PGA tournaments in the Sun City. I went to interview him. But all he could say “But I missed a I missed a six-foot putt I should have made.” I laughed ‘til I cried. I thought here’s a guy who set a putting record and isn’t satisfied. (The record has since been broken). 
• Another incident in which I laughed ‘til I cried was interviewing Lee Trevino. I used to tip him 25 cents to shine my shoes. (That was big money then). But after he won the U.S. Open we were having a celebration in the clubhouse. He up and told me, “But the price for shining your shoes has gone up.” I didn’t ask how much.
• And to boot, I remember when a group of women used to hang a panty every time they won a race. It was all in fun.

Before I was appointed to cover big time sports by Harry Moskos. editor of the El Paso Herald-Post at the time, I had an unusual career as a sports writer.

I had a career as a high school editor then I was assigned to cover horse racing.

As high school editor, there were only four high schools. You can imagine how heated the confusion was. I got complaints from every high school in town that I was partial to El Paso High. I went to El Paso High School so I guess I was rooting for the Tigers whenever they played any sport. But I tried to hide it. Never mind. I still got a lot of complaints.

When I was covering high school for the El Paso Herald Post, there were only four in the city (El Paso High School, Austin High School, Bowie High School, and Ysleta High School).  Every high school except Austin, threw me in the shower after the game but only when they won.  They were so happy they would go to the press room and pick me up.  I was a young buck then in my 20s so I didn’t mind taking the shower and it was a lot of fun. 

When Sunland Park race track opened in 1959, Dick Alwan was turf editor.  When he retired as turf editor, I was assigned to cover horse racing.  Dick Alwan turned out a handicap of horses that was very popular.  I took over the chore of picking the horses myself.  I hope I lived up to his expectations.

Owner George Riley and general manager Bob Haynesworth were nice enough to name a horse after me.  It was a big brown colt foaled in 1966.  The horse, Ray Sanchez, went on to win at every racetrack in New Mexico, Arizona and Juarez Race Track.  He had 126 starts, 17 wins, 17 seconds, and 20 thirds.  I actually rode in a mile race unofficially and the horsemen were making fun of me for holding on to the saddle horn. 

I started playing golf at El Paso Municipal Golf Course when Bill Silver took me out for the first time.  He was a printer in the printing department of the El Paso Herald Post. He took me out in 1951. I fell in love with the game and I have been playing golf from 1951 to the present.  I played at every course in El Paso. I played in Hawaii and California, Nevada, Cloudcroft and Florida.  I actually covered a PGA tournament in Detroit Michigan and I was allowed to play on one of the other courses. 

I also played football in high school, ran track, intramural basketball in college, and tennis. I also took up bowling at Thunderbird Lanes, Bowlero Lanes, Five Point Lanes, and Freeway Lanes.  I miss covering high schools and my son Victor was a great basketball player at Coronado High School.  He led the team in scoring, assists, and rebounds. My daughter, Anita, and granddaughter, Pam, also played tennis.  Anita reached the finals in the Sun Carnival Tennis Championship and her daughter Pam started at age 7 when I took her to Santa Theresa and introduced her to Gene Stogner. My wife Helen, won the championship of Santa Theresa Country Club.

I have lived a happy life in sports.

Ray Sanchez

02/15/20 Whatever Happened to Ray Sanchez

“Funny how a little misstep can lead to six weeks of agony. I slipped and broke my right hip. The family took me to Providence Hospital where they repaired my broken hip. Then they sent me to rehab at MonteVista for three weeks. I was feeling great. They sent me home and then I contracted pneumonia, which is common among broken hip patients. They say I’ll need another month of recovery so I don’t know when I’ll return to writing columns again, but I hope it will be soon.

“Love my readers. Bless you all.”

Ray Sanchez

Hope spring eternal, so here are my hopes for the new 2020 year: 

• That UTEP ends its three-year funk in football. The Miners have won only two games in the last three years. Now that’s what I call an exercise in futility. Not even a change in athletic director nor a change in football coach could change the Miners’ woes. When a malaise like that sets in it’s hard to change. It perhaps becomes psychological. Maybe what the Miners need is a psychiatrist. 
• That goes for UTEP basketball, too. The Miners have trouble winning road games. Julius Lowenberg, one of El Paso’s greatest high school coaches, used to tell his players, “It doesn’t matter where you are, it’s still 20 feet to the basket either on offense or defense.” Maybe the Miners will heed such advice. 
• That the Sun Bowl keeps getting us good teams. Under the direction of executive director Bernie Olivas, the Sun Bowl has blossomed. He even got us Notre Dame in 2010, for gosh sakes. 
• That El l Paso’s Chihuahuas continue their extraordinary success in baseball. They won the Triple A Pacific Coast League title in only their third year in the league and have been strong contenders ever since.  

• That Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino keeps giving us great horse racing. Golly, the Sunland Derby, with its big purse, has put the track on the map. Now, horsemen from all over the country are interested. I was surprised at the opening of the 2019-2020 season. The place was packed with fans. 
• That Locomotive FC, El Paso’s new entry in the nation-wide United Soccer League, which made the playoffs in its inaugural season, continues to make the post season. You can bet MountainStar Sports Group, which sponsors the team, will continue to strengthen the team. 
• That our high schools keep turning out great athletes.  There are so many athletes playing in colleges all over the country it’s hard to keep up with them. 
• That our Athlete Halls of Fame keep existing.  The El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame is the main one, but we have halls of fame for baseball, golf, boxing and karate and even softball. Getting into either hall is a badge of honor. 

TRIVIA QUESTION: When was the last times UTEP had a winning season in football? Answer at end of column. 

SPEAKING OF HALLS of Fame, nominations for the class of 2020 for the El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame are now open. 

Check its web site at elpasobaseballhalloffame.org for details. 

Larry Hernandez, El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame president and 1999 inductee, says, “Baseball is ramping up this month and by April our coaches, umpires and baseball enthusiasts are in full swing with the season. The availability to submit starting now offers an opportunity to nominate a candidate before the baseball season gets hectic. We can help you with information or assistance before it gets to crunch time. Our deadlines and criteria remain firm so don’t delay.” 

TRIVIA ANSWER: The Miners went 7-6 in 2014 under coach Sean Kugler. 

Veteran sports journalist, historian and author Ray Sanchez welcomes suggestions for his column. Contact him at (915) 584-0626, by email at rayf358@yahoo.com or online at raysanchezbooks.com. 

https://cbs4local.com/sports/sports-headlines/el-paso-sports-writer-veteran-named-2019-sun-bowl-legen d

Ray Sanchez books.com

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — The Sun Bowl Association announced on Monday that local sports writer, Ray Sanchez is the 2019 Legend of the Sun Bowl for the 86th Annual Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

Sanchez, who currently works for El Paso Inc., began attending and covering the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in 1950. The graduate of El Paso High School and UTEP also served in the U.S. Army from 1945-47 and achieved the rank of Sergeant. Sun Bowl Association Executive Director Bernie Olivas was elated to be able to honor a local El Pasoan, who will be covering his 60th Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, as this year’s Legend of the Sun Bowl.

“Ray [Sanchez] has helped us in so many ways to tell the great story of the Sun Bowl,” Olivas said. “He helped put together our 75th-Annivesary team while also writing game stories for more than 50 Sun Bowl football games. He is a true historian and hall-of-fame writer.”

Sanchez was the sports editor at the El Paso Herald-Post from 1950 to 1990. He covered everything from high school sports, to golf, racing and bowling. He was also the first Hispanic sports editor ever in El Paso. Once Sanchez retired from the El Paso Herald-Post, he would go on to write columns for the El Paso Times and is currently writing columns for the El Paso Inc.

“The thing I like most about the Sun Bowl is to have seen it grow steadily from a high school game to one of the best games in the country,” Sanchez said. “What a thrill!”

He has written and published seven books on sports and written for numerous national publications, while also covering many major events such as the Dallas Cowboys, the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Triple Crown races and the U.S. Open (golf). Sanchez has interviewed many nationally known figures such as Tom Landry, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Larry Bird, etc., as well as El Paso’s most famous local sports stars.

The winner of UTEP’s most prestigious journalism award, “The Hicks-Middagh Award for Excellence in Journalism” in 1991, Sanchez has also been inducted into a various halls of fame including the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame (1978), the El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame (1989), the El Paso High School Athletic Hall of Fame (1985), El Paso Boxing/Karate Hall of Fame (1993), the El Paso Golf Hall of Fame (1995). He was also the recipient of the UTEP Gold Nugget Award, which honors graduates for their exceptional achievements and contributions to their professions, communities and UTEP (2011).

“The most memorable game I covered was the Miners’ victory over TCU. It was memorable because of the strategy coach Bobby Dobbs used to win the game. He punted deep in his own territory late in the game and the UTEP defense held. The Miners won, 13-12 [in 1965],” Sanchez described. “The second most memorable game was when Notre Dame came to play. It was a frigid afternoon and fans shivered throughout the game, but it sold out within 24 hours of the announcement the Irish were coming. Sure enough, the fans filled the stadium despite the weather and Notre Dame won, 33-17 [in 2010].”

Sanchez is married (Helen) and has four children (Anita, Victor, Daniel, David)

https://cbs4local.com/sports/sports-headlines/el-paso-sports-writer-veteran-named-2019-sun-bowl-legend

By Ray Sanchez 9/29/19

El Paso High School one of the most beautiful high schools ever constructed, has quite a history. It was first named Central High School and it opened in 1884 as a two-story building at Myrtle Avenue and Campbell Street. It had 10 rooms and an enrollment of 222. In 1885 a high school was established on the second floor. The first high school graduating class consisted of two students, Kate Moore and George Prentiss Robinson.

Then, in 1902, El Paso had a solidly built high school at Arizona and Campbell Streets but it was nothing like what was to come.

A NEW EL PASO High School opened in 1916. It was such a magnificent building it has received many honors, architectural and otherwise, throughout its existence. It was often referred to as “The Lady on the Hill.”

The firm of Trost and Trost designed it and it was built at a cost of $500,000, an unheard-of amount for a high school in those days. The Greco-Roman features included marble floors, classical columns, classroom floors of hard maple and one of the first concrete stadiums in the entire country that could seat 12,000 people.

It was the talk of the country.

I’M TELLING you all this because there will be big doings at El Paso High School this coming week. It’s not only Homecoming Week but the grand opening of the EPHS Alumni Association Museum is scheduled. It will be held on Friday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. It took four years of fundraising and construction but the museum became a reality.

The museum is located on the corner of Cliff Street and Virginia Street on El Paso High School property. If you plan to attend, RSVP to Araceli Almanza at 915-545-2246 by Sept 30, 2019

OF COURSE, there will be other festivities during the week. For instance:

Tuesday, October 1 – Discussion on safety issues with state representative Lina Ortega in the El Paso High auditorium.

Thursday, October 3 – EPHS Outstanding Ex luncheon at the El Paso Club at 5 p.m.

Friday, October 4 – Grand opening of the El Paso Alumni Association Museum from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., a pep rally in the C. D. Jarvis gym at 2:30 p.m. and a homecoming football game, El Paso High against Irvin High, at 7 p.m.

TRIVIA QUESTION: When was the last baseball game played in Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers? Answer at end of column.

UTEP WILL also be observing Homecoming next week, and the UTEP Alumni Association also has big plans. For instance:

Thursday, October 3 – Meet and Greet at the Hilton Garden Inn, 111 West University Avenue, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Friday, October 4 – Bar-B-Que from 12 to 3 p.m. at the McCall Neighborhood Center, 3231 East Wyoming Avenue.

Saturday, October 5 – Round Table Summit at 10 a.m. at Union Building East on the UTEP campus, Pickaxe Tailgate Party at 2:30 p.m. at Kidd Field, UTEP vs. UTSA football game at 6 p.m. at Sun Bowl Stadium.

As a graduate of both El Paso High School and UTEP, I can hardly wait.

IT’S GOOD TO see Oscar Leeser and his Hyundai of El Paso dealership connected with the Sun Bowl again. The Sun Bowl Association has announced that one of El Paso’s best holiday traditions will now be sponsored by his dealership. It will be renamed the Oscar Leeser’s Hyundai of El Paso Sun Bowl Parade.

The parade will again be run on Thanksgiving morning along Montana Avenue. This year marks the 83rd edition of the longstanding parade. The contract is a two-year deal with the option of automatic renewal.

TRIVIA ANSWER: September 24, 1957. Ebbets Field was demolished on Feb. 23, 1960.

Veteran sports journalist, historian and author Ray Sanchez welcomes suggestions for his column. Contact him at (915) 584-0626, by email at rayf358@yahoo.com or online at raysanchezbooks.com.

Nevil Shed, a member of the 1966 Texas Western College team that won the NCAA national basketball championship against University of Kentucky, has become such a treasure in San Antonio that I wish he had retired in El Paso.

After playing at Texas Western, Shed was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the fourth round of the 1967 NBA draft. His career ended when he tore up his leg while attempting a lay-up at a game in training camp. Because of that, he never played in the NBA or in other leagues. He later became an assistant coach for Coach Don Haskins at Texas Western.

SHED HAS lived in in the San Antonio area for more than 30 years. As such he has:

• Served as a coordinator for Student Activities at the University of Texas at San Antonio University Center.

• Is a San Antonio Spurs associate.

• A motivational speaker.

• A coach at the San Antonio Spurs basketball camp.

• And he does substitute teaching as a side job at Metzger Middle School in the San Antonio/Converse area.

WHEW! BUT NOT only that, he is constantly asked for interviews. Thanks to a close friend, Greg Dettman of Austin. He sent me one of Shed’s latest interviews, done by Jeph Duarte of the San Antonio Spurs:

Here, in part, and with some editing, is what Shed had to say about the 1966 championship game:

“We remember March 19 1966 where history was made …

“To other people it was just a white team versus a colored team. For us it was just having a chance to qualify to go to any school in the United States

“Yet our opportunities were limited. I remember one time that we’re playing a game and there were some bleachers behind us and they were calling those names, you know, like ‘black trash.’

“I TURNED AROUND and he (Coach Haskins) said, ‘Is that who you really are?’ I said, ‘No, sir.’ Then coach said, ‘Then you go out there and you show who you really are.’

“The day of the (championship) game I overheard some of the press saying, well, you know, they (the Miners) are gonna see what a championship team is really about now going

against the University of Kentucky, which had won the national championship four years prior to that.

“GOING INTO a situation such as that and feeling comfortable because of how we prepared ourselves one game after another we couldn’t wait to see what we could actually do out on the floor. It was a game of character against the negative action of people that surrounded us. You know, the Rebel flags and those things. We had to stay focused on what our goal was and I think if that would not have been accomplished I don’t think the history would be as colorful or as beautiful as it is today.

“We went out there and played one of the best games of our lives and the beauty of it is when the game was over and a couple was walking by we said we wondered what they were saying about us now,

“FOR ONE YEAR we were the national champions and when we went home I thought that it was gonna be a great thing but yet there was some jealousy from certain Uncle Tom people.

But eyes were opened and a lot of our southern schools, including the great state of Texas, decided to give minorities a chance.

“I think all we wanted was a chance. We worked hard for that. It’s amazing that that game became a movie and is on the top of the charts. It’s a learning tool and that’s something that I really enjoy seeing.”

(Note: There’s more to the interview and you can check it out on YouTube).

Veteran sports journalist, historian and author Ray Sanchez welcomes suggestions for his column.

Did you know that a new rap video, based on the book,” The Baron and the Bear,” is now out and celebrates Texas Western College’s 1966 victory over the University of Kentucky?

The game is historic because it changed the game forever in the South and teams from there started recruiting African-American players.

The rap is now on Youtube and thanks to fan David Snell, who sent me the words in the rap, I have them in my possession. They’re so clever, I thought you might enjoy them.

THE WORDS:

Let me tell you the story of a team of glory

And the history they made one day

When tiny Texas Western played mighty Kentucky

To be champions of the NC-Double-A

(Refrain)

The crowd gave a shout when Rupp’s Runts came out

Big Blue would be champions once more

Against all-white Kentucky five blacks would be lucky

Not to be run off the floor

(Refrain)

Two steals in a row by our man Bobby Joe

And a romp had turned into a game

And when it was done the black team had won

And round-ball was never the same

(Refrain)

Now you’ve heard the story of a team of glory

Of a David and Goliath bout

Of a team to remember when we celebrate our history

Of that there can be no doubt.

(Refrain)

They were something to see with Big Daddy D

With Harry, the Willies and “O.”

There was young Nevil Shed on a team that was led

By a point-guard they called Bobby Joe.

OF COURSE, Big Daddy D was David Lattin, the center on the team. Harry is Harry Flournoy, starting forward in the championship game. The Willies are Willie Cager (forward) and Willie Worsley, guard who played many minutes.

Nevil Shed, was the forward and Bobby Joe Hill, the team-leader and point guard.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Which 1966 team had a better graduation rate, Texas Western College or Kentucky? Answer at end of column.

LATEST NOMINATIONS for induction into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame held Feb 11:

Franklin High School football coach Tony Grijalva,, bowling coach/administrator Karl Kielich and Irvin and Parkland High School football coach Erwin Bloxdorf.

Other nominations will be accepted on Feb. 25 and March 11 at El Paso Community College at 5:30 p.m.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Texas Western, .750 to .712. Dr. Mimi Gladstein of the Texas Western College English Department at the time reported that nine of the 12 Miners graduated to only 10 of the 14 Kentucky players.

October will be a humdinger of a month in El Paso sports. Besides all the UTEP and high school sports going on, extra-curricular events are on the schedule.

Actually, the fun began on Sept. 21 when UTEP held its annual Hall of Fame induction banquet. The inductees were David Bishop (men’s golf), Camilla Carrera (softball), Jareica Hughes (women’s basketball), Willie Worsley (men’s basketball) and Barron Wortham (football).

But look at what’s coming up in October:

Saturday, Oct. 6 – UTEP will observe Homecoming with a football game against University of North Texas. Tailgating, I’m sure, will be extensive. My son Victor, a basketball star at Coronado High School in the 1960s, is coming in for the game from Austin. My daughter, Anita, a former tennis star at Coronado, and I also graduated from UTEP and will be there

Monday, Oct. 8 — El Paso High School Alumni Association will host a golf tournament to raise money for the construction of a new museum.  The 8 a.m. shotgun start will take place at Painted Dunes Golf Course.

Saturday, Oct. 13 – Bowie High School will hold its annual “Bear Day.”  The school will honor some of its greatest champions in the Bowie Cafeteria.

Arnulfo Hernandez Jr. will be named 2018 Outstanding Shine Award recipient while 10 persons will share the Hilario Tovar Shine Award honors. They are Alfredo Chavez, Gonzalo Delgado, Elias Campos, Grace Hernandez, Albert Gomez, Alex Mendez, Pete Rivera, Alicia Valdespino, Raul Valdez and Elias Campos.

Other awards will include the Nolan Richardson Team Champions Award to be presented to members of the 1953 district football champions and the 1958 and 1959 district baseball champions plus All-District, All-City and All-State honorees.

In addition, Olga Peralta and coach Alfredo Silva will receive Honorary/MVBB awards.

The breakfast will start at 10 a.m. For tickets call Liz Tovar at (915) 241-0674.

Friday, Oct. 26 – The 8^th annual Moye’s Boys Foundation Golf Tournament at the Sunrise Course at Fort Bliss will be held. Its mission is to makes a profound difference in the lives of disadvantaged students currently enrolled in elementary, middle and high schools in the Thomas Jefferson/Silva Magnet High School area.

The fun will continue into Nov. 5 when UTEP will hold its next fundraising event, the El Paso Ford Dealers Miner Day at Coronado Country Club. Miners coach Scott Lieberwirth says, “Again, our format is playing all holes as par 3’s and scoring will be the best two balls from your 4-person team.”

TRIVIA QUESTION: In 1922 El Paso High School was known by another name. What was it? Answer at end of column.

HOW MUCH good do fundraising golf tournaments do? A lot.

For instance, the UTEP men’s golf team would not exist except for fund raising meets. And scholarships are raised for elementary and high school students by various meets. And other charities benefit, too.

For example, The Candlelighters of El Paso sent a thank you letter to the El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame for its contributions. Their golf tournament was held in August.

TRIVIA ANSWER: The Ku Klux Klan was very powerful in El Paso in those days. In 1922, Ku Klux Klan board members changed the school’s name to honor their Texas hero, Sam Houston. The new name lasted only a year. The name was changed back to El Paso High School in 1923 because of community protests. The Ku Klux Klan eventually faded away.

Veteran sports journalist, historian and author Ray Sanchez welcomes suggestions for his column.  Contact him at (915) 584-0626, by email at rayf358@yahoo.com or online at raysanchezbooks.com.