San Francisco Examiner February 8, 2001

Latino Museum
a Labor of Love for One Man
by CHARLES McDERMID

Memory lane: The Alou brothers from left, Jesus, Matty
and Felipe were the Giants 1963 outfield, helping create
inroads for Latino players.

Wandering through the Hispanic Heritage Museum exhibit alongside the museums' founder Gabriel "Tito" Avila," quickly re-minds the casual fan that baseball -America's pastime and most famous export -is
a game not only of power, precision and grace, but also of serious cultural
implications.

Showcased in the Skylight Gallery on the sixth floor of San Francisco's Main Library is a display dedicated to the accomplish- ments and influence of Latin American baseball players over the course of the game's 250-year history. Here the flavor and passion that Latinos brought to the game is celebrated, and the racism and loneliness endured by their pioneers is acknowledged.

The exhibit is a dizzying array of baseball artifacts. Among cards, bats and uniforms are images of Roberto Clemente and Martin Dihigo showcasing their skills. An old image of a youthful-looking Fidel Castro pitching for Cuba's Los Barbudos (the Bearded Ones) is alone worth the trip.

Among it all, Avila coos over his pains- takingly-collected memorabilia like a proud father. A New York City native who slugged it out in the Hispanic leagues of Central Park, Avila is dedicated to providing a center for the preservation of Latin Amer- ican baseball culture.

"My relationship with baseball goes back to the 1961 season when Roger Maris hit 61 home runs," Avila said. "My dad would take me to Yankee Stadium to see the Latin players when they came to town. I saw Minnie Minoso, Luis Aparicio, all those people. I was taken by the roar of the crowd."

With the help of present and former play- ers, Avila hopes his collection will soon be located permanently in San Francisco. The nonprofit museum was incorporated in 1998 with the backing of former Giants Orlando Cepeda, the Alou Brothers, Tito Fuentes as will as current Giant manager Dusty Baker. The Giant's Spanish langu- age broadcaster Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, is the museum's treasurer.

"Tt's a great fit for the city, "Giants spokesman Bob Rose said. "The Giants have a rich tradition of Latino players, and

certainly the shapers of the early San Francisco Giants were Latino. There is a tremendous Spanish-speaking fan base here."

Avila already has retained an architect to draw plans of the museum. He projects the cost for the 2-story, 55,000 square foot building to be between $15 million to $20 million, which he says is worth every penny considering that the museum in Coopers- town has been slow in recognizing the contributions of Latino players.

"I figured that of the (251) players in the Hall of Fame only seven of them were of Latin descent," Avila said. "The museum we are proposing will be a cultural museum based not only on what players accom- plished on the field but what they did off the field to contribute to their community. Hispanic players brought color to the game and class."

That thought is echoed by Giants center- fielder Marvin Bernard, the only Nicaragua-born major leaguer on an Opening Day roster last season.

"When you think about it, the big super- stars today are mostly Latin players," Bernard said. "It's important to show how far we've come. It's great to bring out the past so you know who paved the way for us now."

"Latino players
have been involved in the game for more than 100 years, and today they dominate it.
Here is a look back..."
(CLICK HERE)

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