Inducted as part of the 2012 El Paso Baseball  Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary Class
Selected All City and All District all 3 years of varsity competition at Coronado High School
Played for El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame coach Juan Orozco
T-Birds enjoyed 3 District and 2 Bi-District championships, 2 “Elite 8″

appearances, 2 National top rankings, and a 1992 Texas High School State Playoffs Final 4 spot
Hit .487 as a sophomore with a 2.05 earned run average

Hit .536 with 13 home runs as a junior with a 1.25

earned run average.

Hit .585 with 15 home runs as a senior at Coronado with a 0.85 earned run average
Finished high school with a 25-4 pitching record
Turned down a scholarship to University of Nebraska

 to pitch Hill Junior College to a Conference Championship
Earned All American honors at Hill Junior College with a

.465 batting average, led the Nation with 63 RBI’s and

struck out 103 batters.

Signed with the Baltimore Orioles
Recognized as the Orioles #1 prospect
Made his Major League debut in 1996 just 4 years after

finishing his high school career at Coronado El Paso, TX.
Pitched for the playoff bound Orioles and compiled a

10-6 record finishing third in the “Rookie of the Year” balloting
Played with the Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland A’s

before injuries ended his playing career
Coaches off-season high school level play
20 years later when baseball people say the name "Rocky

everyone knows his last name is Coppinger – - legendary probably, memorable definitely

(more information visit http://www.elpasohalloffame.org )

Inducted in 2011( more info visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )
Product of El Paso baseball community from youth through high school
Played youth baseball in Frank Manning League for Joe Gomez
Played secondary and high school baseball for Coach Tom Carillo and Coach John C. Miller
Three year letterman for Coronado High School earning All District and All City honors in 1987 and 1988
Batted .407 his senior year for Thunderbirds with 9 home runs and 30 RBI
Named 1-5A District MVP
Co-Selection of El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame first ever President’s Award in 1988
Played 4 years at Northwood University where he was a member of 2 conference championship teams in 1990 and 1991
Named to NAIA District 4 team as a Senior
During his 4 seasons at Northwood, he batted .320 with 21 home runs and 105 stolen bases
Represented Mexico in international competition
Participated in XVI Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y Del Caribe in 1990-1991 on the Mexican Olympic team
In 1990, he played in Los Juegos de la Solidaridad in Monterrey Nuevo Leon
In 16 games, as a lead off batter he hit .326 with 5 RBI, 6 SB, 1 HR in 16 games
In 15 games as a lead off batter he hit .298 with 8 RBI, 8 SB, 1 HR in 15 games in the X Copa Intercontinental IBA in Barcelona Spain in 1991
In 1994 he signed a one-year contract with the Industriales de Monterrey of the Liga Mexicana
El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame Board of Directors

Inducted in 2007 (http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )
Born in Torreon Mexico on April 17, 1934
As a child, he witnessed some of the best professional baseball players primarily from the United States Negro Leagues play in Mexico
Key among these players was Martin Dihigo of Cuba and Roy Campanella who starred in the Negro Leagues before his career as a star catcher with the Brooklyn Dodgers
In 1945, at the age of 11 he organized a baseball team of adobe brick makers sponsored by Carta Blanca Beer
In 1948, at the age of 14 he played baseball with the Hortex Company team that was made up of grown men
From 1950 to 1952 he pitched American Legion baseball with a team sponsored by Rollins-Mercury
He pitched four years of varsity baseball for EL Paso High School from 1949 to 1953
He lettered and was named All District three years
From 1953 to 1963, he pitched Semi-Pro baseball with Lionel Forti’s team
In 1954, he pitched a shutout game against the Ft. Bliss Falcons
Worked under El Paso Baseball Hall of Famer Coach Nemo Herrera at Bowie and Coach Tom Chavez at Jefferson High School
He also served the baseball community as an umpire from 1963 to 1965
In 1965, he was voted the “Outstanding Umpire” in El Paso
Served as an volunteer Assistant Coach in charge of pitching for K C Brown at Austin High School in 1965 as the Panthers marched to Texas State Final Four
In 1966 and 1967 he was the assistant coach with Red Runkle’s Boys Concessions Little League team
From 1973 to 1975, he served as the B-Team and Baseball and Basketball Coach at Coronado High School
He was inducted into the El Paso High School Hall of Fame in 1993
In 1995 he retired from a 35 year career as a professional educator and Coach

(for more information visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )

Class of 2010
Hall of Fame Board of Directors ( for more information visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )
2 year letterman in baseball at Coronado High School
In 1971, he was named to the All District team as an Outfielder for the Thunderbirds
Hit .384 with 2 home runs, 4 doubles and 7 triples
Received a baseball scholarship to the University of Texas at El Paso
Four Year Letterman for UTEP baseball from 1972 to 1975
All-Western Athletic Conference Baseball Academic Honoree in 1974
In 1974, he hit .323 with 51 hits, 28 walks, 28 runs scored and 29 runs batted in
All-Western Athletic Conference Baseball Team Honoree in 1975
In 1975, he was the Miners Team Batting Champion with a .324 batting average and led the team with 46 hits, 25 walks, 26 RBI, 26 runs and 11 doubles
Honored as one of the “Best I’ve Ever Coached” by Andy Cohen after Coach Cohen’s final season in 1978
Selected to Sports Ambassadors All-American team in 1975 and 1976 touring Central and South America on the Summer Overseas Crusade
In 1975, he also played outfield for the Parma Bernazolli baseball team in Italian Professional Baseball League
Head Baseball Coach at Parkland for 9 seasons
When he left the Matadors, he held the school record for most coaching wins with 46
In 1990, he returned to Italy to be the pitching coach for Bologna Longbridge in the Italian Professional League
Head Baseball Coach at Austin High School
In 1991, he led the Panthers to their last winning season with a 13-12 record
Played and Coached in Italian Professional Leagues with Parma Bernazolli and Bologna Longbridge
Trained Pitchers for Italian National team for 1992 Olympics in Spain
Active with Fellowship of Christian Athletes Chapters in El Paso
Professional educator who continues his coaching journey
Coached baseball, tennis and golf
Recognized by many for his genuine character and concern for all his players and peers

More information visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org

Inducted in 1995 ( for more info visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )
In 1963, he led the Auburn Tigers to the Southeastern Conference Baseball Championship
He pitched the Tigers to the College World Series Regionals also in 1963
1963 was a banner year for him as the honors continued as he was Named “Most Valuable Player” and “All Southeastern Conference Pitcher”
Started his professional career in 1963 when he signed with the San Francisco Giants
In 1964, he pitched in “AA” with the Springfield Giants and led the Eastern League with a 1.72 Earned Run Average
He won 14 games pitching for the Tacoma Giants in 1965 in the Pacific Coast League
Retired in 1969 after winning 54 games in his professional career
Accepted a position as the El Paso Sun Kings pitching coach
From 1976 to 1984, he coached the Coronado High School Varsity Baseball team
Enjoyed his best season winning the District and Bi-District Championships with a 14-0 record in 1984
Voted “Coach of the Year” in 1984 his final season coaching high school

Inducted in 1998  (More info visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )
Played in Lower Valley, Babe Ruth, and Pony Leagues earning All Star honors
Played Outfield and First Base for El Paso High School earning two letters
Helped lead Connie Mack teams to State Championships and Regional Championship and 5th Place Finish in World Series hitting .400 earning All Tournament recognition in 1965
His 1966 Connie Mack team again won State Championship and finished second in Regional Tournament
In 1967, hit .336 as a Freshman for Texas Western as the team’s starting first baseman
Played Semi-Pro in Forti League and earned Player of the Year and Sportsmanship Award in 1967
In 1968, he led Texas Western with a .348 batting average and set a team record with 8 runs batted in against New Mexico State
He was the 1968 Batting Champion hitting .493 in the Forti League
Led UTEP in stolen bases with 22 in 1969 and played in Pioneers-Central Illinois Collegiate League and earned All League honors
His Senior year at UTEP he finished his four year college career with a .313 batting average in 160 games played
Selected as one of the “Outstanding Athletes of America”
Started his coaching career in 1970 as an Assistant with the Galesburg Pioneers
Served as Assistant Coach at UTEP in 1971
Started baseball program at Lincoln and won the school’s first District Championship in any sport in 1981
Became varsity Coach at Coronado High School in 1985 and won 1988 District Championship
His varsity teams were 87-43-1
Member El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame Board of Directors
http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org

Inducted in 2008 (For more info visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )
Known to El Paso and Texas broadcasting and journalistic audiences as “Joe Fan”
Started covering baseball with a weekly newspaper called Sportsweek in 1982
Began his radio career in 1983 working at KFIM-FM as a part-time sportscaster
In 1986, he moved on to KTSM-AM and TV Channel 9
El Paso Baseball Hall of Famer and legendary sportscaster John Phelan took him under his wing and mentored his broadcasting career
Baseball and being a part of the game is his first love
He was the first ever to use a cellular phone to broadcast El Paso High School baseball regular season games
Also used the same technology to broadcast El Paso High School Texas State Playoffs at Dudley Field and Cohen Stadium plus out of town venues
Served as play-by-play broadcaster and color analyst for the Coronado Thunderbirds march to the Texas State Final Four in 1992
Served as play-by-play broadcaster and color analyst for the Riverside Rangers march to the Texas State Final Four in 2000
Served as color analyst for the Socorro Bulldogs in their 2009 Texas State Championship title run
Pioneered the first ever El Paso High School baseball telecast featuring the Hanks Knights against the Franklin Cougars in 2010
Received numerous awards from the Texas and New Mexico Associated Press Broadcasters and the El Paso Press Club
Best Radio Sports Story-1st Place, Texas Associated Press Broadcasters 1992
Best Radio Sports Program-1st Place, New Mexico Associated Press Broadcasters 1992
Best Radio Sportscast-1st Place, Texas Associated Press Broadcasters 1987
Best Radio Sportscast-1st Place, El Paso, Texas Press Club 1992,1990,1989,1988,1985
Best Radio Sports Program-Honorable Mention, New Mexico Associated Press Broadcasters 1988
Best TV Sports Story-Honorable Mention, Texas Associated Press Broadcasters 1988
Man of the Year, El Paso Parks and Recreation 1994
Honorary Buck, Alpine High School, Alpine, Texas – for radio football coverage 1992-1993
Serves as a mentor to many aspiring broadcast and journalism students through 2010
Member El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame Board of Directors
Serves as Media Coordinator for the organization
Inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006

Visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org

   Head Coach (2012) Coronado Thunderbird Baseball

Inducted in 2009  ( more info visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org )
Hall of Fame Board of Directors
Started playing baseball from Little League to Pony league in El Paso
At Coronado High School, his high school years were focused on football and track
Started his coaching career in 1979, after graduating from University of Texas at El Paso
Started his coaching at Terrace Hills Middle School
Coached all three levels of high school baseball
Coached youth baseball and softball from T-Ball to 14 and Under level
Won District Championships at Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity levels
Varsity Head Coach at Coronado High School 1990 – 1994
District Champions 1991, 1992, 1993
Bi-District Champions 1994
Area and Quarter Finals Champions 1992 and 1993
Regional Champions 1992
Texas State Final Four 1992
Four of his Coronado players named to Texas All State Team: Jim Wadworth, Ray Herrera, Jordan Fisher and Will Steinmann
Coached Rocky Coppinger (CHS Alumni) who pitched nine seasons of professional baseball including five season on the major league level with the Orioles and Brewers

Inducted in Hall of Fame Original Class of 1988  (more info visit http://www.baseballhalloffame.org )
Coached the Bowie Bears to El Paso’s first High School State Championship in 1949
Coached baseball and basketball in Texas for 43 years
Coached Jim Ochoa and Nolan Richardson and many other players who went on to star in high school, college and professional baseball
Became Coronado High School’s first baseball coach and won the District title the first 2 years the school was eligible to compete
Recognized for being “strict but fair” and always “stressed discipline and respect for teammates and opponents”
School named in his honor in El Paso Texas
Named to Texas High School Coaches Hall of Honor
Member of the Texas Athletic Hall of Fame
Member of the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame
Recognized by players and opponents as a “hell of a man and a hell of a Coach”

More information visit http://www.elpasobaseballhalloffame.org