|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, In the 1950s, the golf team of San Felipe High School |
|
in Del Rio battled adversity and defied expectations to become the |
|
best in Texas, and Mario Reyes Lomas was an important member of that |
|
storied squad; and |
|
WHEREAS, The team got its start after J. B. Pena became the |
|
superintendent of the San Felipe Independent School District in the |
|
mid-1950s, and he and a friend introduced golf as a school sport at |
|
San Felipe High; they were surprised and pleased to discover that |
|
there were some very talented golfers among the students in the |
|
then-segregated school, including Mr. Lomas and the other players |
|
that joined the Mustangs golf team; and |
|
WHEREAS, These students had learned much about the game while |
|
working as caddies at the exclusive San Felipe Country Club, a |
|
course that they were initially prohibited from playing; determined |
|
to take part in the sport, several of these aspiring athletes |
|
decided in 1954 to build their own course, which they dubbed the El |
|
Llanito Country Club; it was, by necessity, a rather crude design: |
|
one hole surrounded by multiple tees with a "green" that was |
|
actually made of caliche instead of grass; nonetheless, the boys |
|
used the hardscrabble course to hone their skills through long |
|
hours of practice, often playing until after dark; and |
|
WHEREAS, After the harsh conditions of El Llanito, the team |
|
members found that competing on regulation courses as part of |
|
school matches was relatively easy, and they quickly established |
|
themselves as winners, even as they had to ignore verbal abuse and |
|
other forms of discrimination; the San Felipe Mustangs were |
|
regional champs in 1956 and finished second to Ranger High in the |
|
state championships; in 1957, the team qualified once more for the |
|
finals and traveled to the Austin Country Club to battle for the |
|
title, where they were the only minority players in the tournament; |
|
there, Mr. Lomas and his teammates turned in an outstanding |
|
performance, shooting a combined 643; this bested runner-up |
|
Shamrock High by 35 strokes and earned San Felipe the state title; |
|
and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Lomas, who won the bronze medal as the |
|
third-best individual golfer of the tournament, was born in Del Rio |
|
in 1940; he had first been introduced to golf by his grandfather, |
|
Gregorio Reyes, the head greenskeeper at the San Felipe Country |
|
Club, and sometimes hit balls on the course while his grandfather |
|
worked; after graduating from San Felipe High, he spent many years |
|
as a professional caddy on the PGA Tour, working for a number of |
|
well-known players, including George Archer, before a knee injury |
|
ended his career; he is now employed at a golf club in Abilene and |
|
continues to be an avid player, crediting the game for giving his |
|
life direction in his youth; and |
|
WHEREAS, Through talent, determination, and ingenuity, Mario |
|
Reyes Lomas and the other members of the Mustangs golf team overcame |
|
difficult circumstances to become state champions, and their |
|
achievement is a continuing source of pride for the residents of Del |
|
Rio and an inspiration for all who have heard their story; now, |
|
therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
Legislature hereby honor Mario Reyes Lomas for his contributions to |
|
the title-winning San Felipe High School golf team of 1957 and |
|
extend to him sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for Mr. Lomas as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
House of Representatives. |