Brownsville Herald
Rio Grande Valley/border sports historian and writer Rene Torres, 73, of Brownsville was inducted Saturday into the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame in Laredo.
Torres was inducted along with former NFL player Anthony Munoz and former Major League Baseball pitcher Jose Guzman, also the Spanish voice of the Texas Rangers, plus six others.
“It means a lot to me, and I’m very proud of it, especially to be recognized like this because I’m not from Laredo,” Torres said of the honor. “The president (of the Latin American Sports Hall of Fame in Laredo) read some of my stories and told me, ‘You’re somebody special,’ so that made me feel pretty good.”
Previously, Torres was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Leo Najo Hall of Honor in 2000.
Torres played shortstop on the Brownsville High baseball team that advanced all the way to the Class 4A state final before he graduated in 1965.
He played baseball at Pan American College in Edinburg from 1966-69 before graduating with an undergraduate degree in history in 1971 and a master’s degree in secondary education in 1976.
Late Pan Am coach Al Ogletree described Torres as a “standout outfielder,” who only committed one error as a three-year starter in the outfield.
Torres spent 33 years teaching in the Brownsville Independent School District and at Texas Southmost College before retiring in 2004.
Torres also served as a member of the TSC board of trustees from 2008-2014.
Torres also served as a member of the TSC board of trustees from 2008-2014.
Torres’ promotion of Valley baseball was most recently highlighted when he was selected to be the featured speaker during the Smithsonian Institute Sports Traveling Exhibition last year at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Rene and his wife, Lucy, have been married 46 years.
They have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Along with Torres, Munoz and Guzman, also inducted Saturday were former Roma basketball player Juan Escobar, former Corpus Christi boxer Jesse Benavides, South Texas philanthropist Blackstone Dilworth, South Texas baseball legend Leo “Najo” Alanis, Laredo Martin basketball state championship MVP Andy Santos and Texas Special Olympics 2017 coach of the year Olga “Gogi” Gutierrez.