𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗬𝗦 & 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠 𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗕𝗘𝗟 𝗜𝗡 𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟲

submitted by Rene Torres

Port Isabel G.I. saw a need for summer recreation.

Creates the perfect diamond.

As WW II veterans were returning home with perhaps deep physical and emotional scars inflicted by war—Valley communities were trying to ease the pain as they welcomed their boys with celebrations made for heroes.

Port Isabel made merry with the ex-GIs: they attended church en masse for morning services; later had a barbecue luncheon and the day festivities ended with the dough boys dancing the night away.

As the lights of celebration subsided and all returned to their pre-war routines—one Port Isabel veteran noticed that something was missing in his community.

Corporal James “Jimmy” LaRoche, who was a boat builder by trade, was bothered that too many kids were sitting idle and getting into mischief in his neighborhood. So, his idea of establishing a summer sports program started close to home.

He formed a recreational softball league for the neighborhood kids, a sandy retreat mere steps away from their front porch. LaRoche said then, “We had a few bats and softballs around, so I gathered the kids and asked them if they wanted to play ball and they did.” 

So, within days, the sweet music sound of the crack of the bat echoed throughout the streets of the city.

The self-appointed director along with the neighborhood kids got to work, clearing a vacant lot and creating the perfect diamond. With a backstop in place and player benches filled with eager youngsters ready to play—it soon became the busiest place in town.

“Some of the best games we had were the ones between the girls and boys and sometimes they were close, “said La Roche.

Unlike today, the idea blossomed without raising taxes or selling bonds— the games were so popular that there was a need for “tripleheaders.” With a wave of popularity on his side, the program was on a fast track of becoming a city-wide juvenile softball league.

Jimmy LaRoche, son of Frank LaRoche of Port Isabel, said he was spending his time with kids in order to lead them into a constructive way of life that would better equip them to accept the responsibilities of adulthood.

One person can make a difference… and LaRoche’s story is a good example of that.

Join a cause and make a difference.

Note: Pvt. LaRoche was an anti-aircraft gunner who lost sight of one eye partly from 90mm gun concussions and partly due to having had eight attacks of malaria. The P.I. veteran ended his military service as an instructor. 

He was born and raised in Port Isabel and prior to the war, worked on his dad’s pleasure boats operating from the port. He volunteered for army service in Brownsville in June 1942 and less than two months later was sailing toward the South Pacific for active service. 

Upon returning to his roots in Port Isabel, Jimmy declared, “that Port Isabel was the most peaceful place on earth.”

Photo I and II—LaRoche’s Kids on the Diamond in 1946