Mustang Miracle
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Julio took a deep breath and sighed as he handed him the four-iron, which he knew the doctor could not hit well enough to get the ball there. Dr. Bender set himself up and took a wicked swing at the ball in an effort to get to the green but almost missed it entirely. Instead of flying toward its intended destination, the ball trickled into the waters of San Felipe Creek.
“Give me another ball!” he barked at Julio, and Julio quickly complied. The doctor dropped it and attempted to hit it again but with the same result. Julio had already pulled another golf ball from the bag by then, and he gave it to him. This time the doctor made better contact, but the ball shot straight down toward the water. Without skipping a beat, he flung the four-iron in the creek before Julio had a chance to say anything to try to convince him not to take out his frustration on the equipment as he had done many times in the past. Before he could do or say anything else, Dr. Bender grabbed the golf bag from Julio while the strap was still across his shoulder. Julio knew too well what the doctor was about to do.
“No, Doc! No, Doc!” he pleaded but to no avail. Dr. Bender flung the bag toward the water, not realizing that Julio was still hanging on to it in a desperate attempt to keep the doctor from throwing it in the creek. Both Julio and the bag hit the water with a big splash. Dr. Bender quickly realized what he had done.
“Oh my God! I’m sorry, Julio!” he exclaimed as he then jumped into the creek to pull Julio out. Julio had sunk under the weight of the bag and could be seen struggling to swim under the crystal-clear waters of the creek.
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About the Book
In 1957, when very few Mexican-Americans were familiar with the game of golf, and even less actually played it, a group of young caddies which had been recruited to form the San Felipe High School Golf Team by two men who loved the game, but who had limited access to it, competed against all-white schools for the Texas State High School Golf Championship. Despite having outdated and inferior equipment, no professional lessons or instructions, four young golfers with self-taught swings from the border city of Del Rio, captured the State title. Three of them took the gold, silver and bronze medals for best individual players. This book tells their story from their introduction to the game as caddies to eventually becoming champions.
About the Author
Humberto G. Garcia was born and raised in the San Felipe area of the City of Del Rio. He attended the schools in the San Felipe Independent School District and would have graduated from San Felipe High School in 1972 but for the consolidation of the district with the Del Rio Independent School District by a federal court order in the summer of 1971. In fact, his witnessing of the events in the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas involving the battle between the San Felipe and Del Rio school officials served as a factor in his seeking of a legal education. Following graduation from high school, he attended the University of Texas at Austin where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Government in 1975. He then attended the University of Texas, School of Law and received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1978. While in law school, he developed a strong interest in golf, having been introduced to the game by two of his study partners. He is quite familiar with golf as he has competed in several professional tournaments and continues to do so today. While as an undergraduate he took several courses in Mexican-American studies where he learned the history of the treatment of his ethnic group by American society. He also experienced firsthand discrimination and unfair treatment while growing up as a migrant farm worker with his family. His tripartite knowledge of the subjects covered in this book gives him a unique perspective into the experience of the San Felipe High School 1957 Golf Team. It is with the clear understanding of this experience that he is able to describe the significance of a bright moment in American history for a people who were otherwise deprived of an equal opportunity.