AFTER 80 YEARS, CONTRERAS LOOKS BACK ON SPORTS LIFE

(We ran into our old friend Ray Contreras at Capt. Bob's where he was trying to collect donations to help his granddaughter Alyssa Contreras Garcia attending college in Sugarland continue her career trying to get a fast-pitch softball scholarship. The Contreras from San Benito enjoy fame as some of the best semi-pro baseball players in the Rio grande Valley when Baseball was King here. We run this article that originally appeared on November 2009 in this blog.)

By Juan Montoya

When he was playing semi-pro baseball as a young man for teams in Brownsville and San Benito, Rey Contreras never thought that at 75 he would have been named to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The San Benito native, who has lived in Brownsville since he returned from military service, said he was honored earlier this year (2009) when he was inducted into the Mission-based Hall of Fame during the 38th Annual Leo Najo Day celebration in October.
“My dad, my two brothers, and I played ball for many years,” said Contreras, who turns 80 Nov. 11, on Veterans Day. “I remember playing in San Benito
for the Merchants, in Brownsville for the Regals, and also in San Benito for Pearl Beer. You don’t even hear of Pearl Beer anymore.”
The observance of Leo Najo Day is named after Leonardo Alanis, (1899-1979), who was one of the first Mexican-born players to play professional baseball in the United States, first in 1924 with the San Antonio of the Class A Texas League.

In 1925, he was drafted by the major league Chicago White Sox. Racism and a severe leg fracture limited his permanence in the majors.

Later, he became the first player selected to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, known as Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Profesional de México. In 2001, Minor League Baseball named Leo Najo's 1932 Tulsa Oilers team as one of the top 100 minor league teams of all time, in part because of his contributions.

“It was an honor for me to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame because my dad and I knew a lot of the early players,” Contreras said. “My dad, Jesus, and my brothers, Robert and Rico, would sometimes play together. Those were great memories.”

Contreras wielded a mean bat. His batting average while with the San Benito Merchants was an incredible .538, and led the local Valley Semi-Pro League teams.

But while baseball was his passion, Contreras was also a football and track standout and was named a co-captain of the 1952 San BenitoGreyhounds along with teammate Vernon Hallbeck. He played guard on defense and fullback on offense.

Also on the team was Bobby Morrow, a native of Rangerville, who would go on to win three gold medals four years later in the Melbourne (Australia) Olympics.
“Bobby was the unassuming sort,” said Contreras. “He would go out there and run circles around everyone else and then walk around as if nothing had happened. I asked him why he didn’t cash in after he got his Olympic medals and he said that it was a gift that the Lord had given him and he didn’t want to go around selling it. He was that kind of guy.”

Contreras was the only Bloodhound named to the 1952 8-AAA All-District team. He earned that spot because of his defensive work as guard. Newspaper articles of the day described his performances as “sparkling” and “stingy.”

He and Morrow and the rest of the Bloodhounds played under legendary coach Jim Barnes, who after he left San Benito, would go on to superintendent positions in Mission and later in Seguin. Barnes was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame for his coaching achievements. Barnes died in 2002, but before he died, Contreras traveled to Seguin to visit him.

“He was getting along in years, but he was still like a father to us,” Contreras recalled. “If we had a problem, he would always be there to help out and guide us. If you got the wind knocked out of you in the field he would stand next to you and asked you if you were going to bellyache and feel sorry for yourself, or if you were going to get up and face life.”

In 1992, Contreras organized Old-Timers Baseball Reunion in Brownsville, where former standouts gathered to commemorate their days on the baseball diamond.
“There were fewer of us left,” Contreras remembers. “We even received a letter from Sam Ayoub, who worked with the Atlanta Braves as a player trainer.”
Now Contreras is happy to watch his children and grandchildren enjoy baseball and football just as he did. His daughters excels at golf.

"When you reach 75, you can look back over the years that you spent in sports and I can tell you that every bit of it was worth it,” he said. “Sports isn’t just about hitting a ball with a bat or tackling someone. It’s what you learn about the character of the people you play with and how they react to a changing situation that keeps things interesting. It’s about life itself.”

(If you want to contribute to Contreras' granddaughter Alyssa, you can call him at (956) 546-8384 or email her at acg485@yahoo.com  )