Manuel “Meme” Cavazos †
Inducted 2016
Hometown: Mission
High School: Mission High School
Best Known for: Athlete – Baseball
December 3, 1924-November 17, 2012
One of the most feared sluggers of the early baseball era in the Valley, Cavazos is the only player ever to clear the left-field wall at Brownsville Charro Park, and once hit .354 with 34 home runs one season for Laredo in the minor leagues.
Raised in Mission, Cavazos quit school to help support his family in the Depression, and ended up a semi-pro star with the Mission 30-30 team as an outfielder. He played for the respected McAllen Palms and Edinburg Ginners and when minor league baseball came to the Valley in the 1940s, starred for the Donna Cardinals, McAllen Palms, and Laredo Apaches.
A knee injury ended his pro career, but Cavazos still managed two seasons in the Mexican League before rejoining the local semi-pro circuit. The old-timers will tell you: there have been few Valley men who could swat the long ball like Cavazos.