𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗦

From the editor:  The story below, along with the photos, was submitted by Rene Torres, a close friend and former teammate of Mr.  Richard Cortez, who passed away this past week.

1969 Pan American College Broncs(Mr. Cortez is No.6 on the front row.)

Richard Cortez: He died a PSJA legend

By Rene Torres

Richard was born a “Natural Athlete,” his physical attributes placed him in a situation where he was consistently head and shoulders above the rest. 

His transformation from playing on the

sandlots of PSJA to playing in competitive sports was flooded with brushes of success.

Evidence of his achievements comes from the words of his former Hall of Fame coach, Charlie

Williams, when he said the following: "There has not been an athlete to match Richard’s

achievements in the last ten years that I have coached at PSJA."

Richard was selected to the first team All-District in football, basketball and baseball. At the time, no other boy had reached such a pinnacle, which is quite an honor.

When he played his last football game, he participated in 39 consecutive games in three years, which made him the most experienced high school football player in the Rio Grande Valley.

After Leaving the high school ranks…

Richard was selected to the 1964 baseball RGV

All-Millennium honorable-mention team.

He earned a baseball scholarship to Pan American College. I was fortunate to be his teammate where I witnessed his extraordinary talent as an outfielder. He was blessed with speed, finesse and could hit with the best.

His affair with baseball continued when he became a member, along with his brother, Queenie, of the 1967 Edinburg Salazar Grocers. A semi-pro team that won the prestigious National Baseball Congress (NBC) Texas Championship.

He again broke ranks from the rest, as he was selected to the NBC all-tournament team.

Richard went on to secure the batting trophy the following year as a member of the Mercedes

Lions. 

Cortez played one year of professional baseball in the AA Mexican League.

During the 1972-73 season, he served as head baseball coach with the Brownsville Eagles.

Leading the team to a District Championship. Cortez went on to coach at PSJA as a varsity

baseball and football coach before joining the U.S. Customs Service in 1974 where he retired

from in 2004.

Ricardo was not big in stature, but he made it up with his heart, which was immeasurable. He

will never be forgotten, especially by me, and by those who knew him.

He was one of a kind! They don’t make them like they used to.

Note: The RGV Sports Hall of Fame should take a pause and review Richard’s resume. In

my eyes, and in the opinion of many others, he should be considered as a prime

candidate to be inducted into the RGV Sports Hall of fame