San Francisco Examiner May 16, 2000

Shrine to Hispanic players in works

Avila and Giants Spanish-language broadcaster Amaury Pi-Gonzalez were among the participants Monday in the unveiling of plans to erect a building in The City to house the museum, which aims to acknowledge the contributions to baseball of Latino players.

"We have to do something ourselves our selves, because otherwise nobody else is going to tell the story of these players, who might have played 10 or 15 years and then were forgotten," said Avila, founder of the nonprofit museum.

Avila would like the museum to honor the accomplishments of Hispanic players at all levels, and to serve as a learning center that would inform visitors about the diverse backgrounds and countries the players hail from.

"A lot of the youth today see these players and they don't know where they came from, they don't know what

hardships they endured to get here," Avila said. "We want to be able to tell their story."

Avila spoke while standing next to a display at Willie Maya Plaza that depicted current and former Latino stars, such as Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Dennis Martinez, Sammy Sosa, Juan Gonzalez, the Alou brothers, etc.

The location for the future home of such displays, as well as the memorabilia items the museum's organizers are already gathering, has yet to be determined. Avila would love to find a site near Pac Bell Park, so the museum can benefit from the foot traffic the ball park generates.

He's currently negotiating sponsorships to fund the museum. For information on getting involved, call toll free (877) 228-4426, or on the Web, visit www.hispanicbaseballmuseum.com.

Museum would be
in The City, has
backing of Cepeda

By JORGE L. ORTIZ

Not a single Hispanic player was included in last year's All-Century team, which some saw as an indication of the lack of recognition afforded Latino players.

Now a group of baseball enthusiasts, headed by retired Air Force officer Gabriel Avila and supported by Giants Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, seeks to change that with Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum.

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