Ramon O. Cantu†
Inducted 1995
Hometown: Rio Grande Valley
Best Known for: Promoter-Baseball
Known as Mr. Baseball, Cantu was a major promoter of baseball in the Valley for more than 20 years, and one of the leading stewards of the strong semi-pro tradition in the area.
Cantu helped shape the careers of hundreds of local baseball players by sponsoring and organizing teams Valley-wide. He was part of the push to create the Harlingen Capitols in 1950 and also led the Edinburg Merchants in the mid-1950s.
He backed the famed Joe Davis Ginners in 1963 when they won the National Baseball Congress state title in Lubbock, a team led by Felipe Leal and Johnny Flowers, among others.
Cantu was instrumental in the success of the Salazar Grocery All-Stars, who were dominant in the late 1960s in the South Texas League of the National Baseball Association.