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Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame
 
 

RGV Sports Hall announces seven inductees for Class of 2025 and five teams into the Team Hall of Honor.

By Mark May, RGVSHOF Board Member

The Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame announces seven new inductees Seven inductees have been selected for the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025. The group includes three athletes, three coaches, and one game official. All will be inducted at the 37th annual RGV Sports Hall of Fame banquet on Saturday, June 28 at the Harlingen Convention Center. They are Roberto Garza of Rio Hondo, Jake Gautreau of McAllen, Juan Escobar of Roma, Monty Stumbaugh of Port Isabel, Diana Lerma of Mission, Mario Rodriguez of Weslaco and Ford Sasser of McAllen.

“This is an outstanding class,” RGV Sports Hall of Fame President Gus Torres said. “Each one has contributed to the history of sports in the Valley.”

In addition to the individuals, the RGV Sports Hall of Fame will recognize five teams for its Hall of Honor; these are the 1977 Edinburg High School Boys cross country team, the 1979 McAllen High School girls cross country team, the 1977 and 1980 St. Joseph Academy football team and 1977 Texas Southmost College baseball team.

Roberto Garza played 14 years in the NFL including starting in the 2007 Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears. Before his NFL career Garza was an All-American lineman for Texas A&M-Kingsville and All-Valley at Rio Hondo High School.

Jake Gautreau played baseball at Mcallen Memorial from 1994-1998 and during his junior year of high school he led the state in home runs. In college at Tulane University he was All-American, and was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. Currently he is an assistant baseball coach at Mississippi State University.

Juan Escobar was a force on the basketball court leading the Valley and Laredo in scoring with more than 24 points per game. In 1969, he was selected to the first team All-State basketball squad. After high school he served in the Marine Corp. He was wounded in action and received a purple heart plus other military honors and distinctions. He is a former Texas State Representative of District 43.

Monty Stumbaugh is best known for his 16 years coaching at Port Isabel where he won nine district titles and reached the playoffs 15 times. He is a nine-time Coach of the Year award winner. In 2003, Port Isabel reached a rare feat only a handful of teams from the Valley have achieved. The Tarpons played in the state semifinals. That year, Stumbaugh was named Texas High School Football Coach of the Year.

Diana Lerma has achieved a goal that very few volleyball coaches have accomplished – post 800 career victories. In her 23 years of coaching, she has won 18 district titles, 17 Bi-district titles, 11 area titles and 4 sweet 16 appearances.

Mario Rodriguez has accomplished what no other Rio Grande Valley softball coach has done. He won a state championship. During his 18 years as head coach at Weslaco High, he has been to the state softball tournament twice. In 2024, he became the first coach in RGV sports history to lead his softball team to a state championship. His team won in dramatic fashion with a walk-off grand slam after being down 9-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Ford Sasser is widely known as a respected football official. His extensive experience includes high school, college and arena football. His high school officiating experience has taken him all over Texas, including to a state quarterfinal game between West Orange Stark and LaMarque in the Houston Astrodome. The highlight of his officiating career has been officiating an NCAA Division II playoff game between Henderson State University and Missouri Western University.

This year’s class will bring the Hall of Fame’s total membership to 304.

The RGV Sports Hall of Fame also has a Hall of Honor which is for teams that excelled at the highest level of sports winning championships and making deep runs in the post-season. In 1977, Edinburg High’s boys cross country team won a state title. The 1979 McAllen High School girls cross country team was a state runner up. The 1977 and 1980 Brownsville St. Joseph Academy football team won TCIL state titles and the 1977 Texas Southmost College baseball team qualified for the NJCAA Baseball World Series.

Founded in 1985, the RGV Sports Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization whose mission it is to recognize men and women who have brought honor and recognition to the Rio Grande Valley through their participation in sports as an athlete, coach, official, trainer, journalist or other sports-related position.

 
 

 Your Hall of Fame

The RGV Sports Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization whose mission it is to recognize men and women who have brought honor and recognition to the Rio Grande Valley through their participation in sports as an athlete, coach, official, trainer, journalist or other sports-related position.

The RGV Sports Hall of Fame collects, preserves and exhibits memorabilia and statistical data of Rio Grande Valley sports for historical preservation, database collection, and enjoyment.

Some memorabilia is housed at Doubleday’s Bar and Grill’s museum in Port Isabel. We are working with cities, businesses and individuals in the Rio Grande Valley to partner with us so that the Valley can have a permanent museum that we can all be proud of.