Our History

Some of the founding members at the first meeting of the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors on June 16, 1985. (Seated, from left) Adrian Flores†, Pikey Rodriguez, Jim Brooks†, Craig Smith†. (standing) Camilo Rodriguez†, Max Cavazos†, Tomas Esparza, Ph.D.†

The Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame was founded in the summer of 1985 by a group of nine sports-oriented people. Their purpose was to provide appropriate recognition to deserving people of the Valley for their accomplishments. The group of eight people formed the first Board of Directors in 1985.

Members of the first Board of Directors were:

President: E.C. Lerma
Vice-President: Thomas Esparza, Ph.D.
Secretary/Treasurer: Robert Peña Sr.
Parliamentarian: Eduardo “Eddie” Alaniz Sr.
Directors: Lewis C. Callis, Camilo Rodriguez Sr., Pikey Rodriguez, Craig Smith.

The group wanted to honor the Valley’s greatest in sports. Since then, the RGVSHOF has become a repository of Valley sports history and memory, with a goal to honor a select group of the area’s best sports heroes.

First Induction Ceremony, 1988

Starting something new is never easy. The group had a lot of ideas but knew that the only way to recognize individuals was to have a recognition event.

Three years later, in 1988, the plans blossomed into the first Induction Ceremony held at the Edinburg City Auditorium. The guest speaker was Bill Patterson, a Hillsboro native who played football at Baylor University and in the NFL for the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The first group of inductees was some of the greatest heroes of Valley sports history: Leo “Najo” Alaniz, C.W. “Napper” Davis, Tom Landry, Bobby Morrow, Charlie Williams, and Sam Williams.

We hope that future generations will want to continue the tradition of honoring our Valley sports heroes for many years to come.