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(February 17, 1899 - April 25, 1978)
Leonardo Alaniz, better known as Leo Najo, was one of the first Mexican-Americans to play professional baseball in the United States. Born in the Mexican community of La Lajilla, Nuevo Leon, he moved to Mission with his mother, Rosario Alanis, in 1909. As a youth, he became interested in baseball and in 1918, he helped form a team called the Mission 30-30 Rifles (later Mission 30-30s).
During the early 1920s, Najo, whose nickname came from an alteration of conejo (rabbit), played for teams in Mexico and Laredo. He was known for his high batting average and baserunning speed. In 1924, Najo joined the San Antonio Bears minor league team and played for several others before the Chicago White Sox major league franchise acquired him in 1925. He did not make the lineup and was sent back to the minor leagues. Najo continued to play impressively but suffered a serious leg injury in a collision during a game, ending his major league possibilities.
Najo continued to play in the minors until 1933, when he returned to Mission. He helped operate his family's tavern on West 6th Street and invested in real estate. Najo managed the Mission 30-30s from 1933 to 1937, and played and managed in Mexico for two more seasons. By the early 1940s, he married Elida Garza; the two reared eleven children. Najo continued to teach and manage baseball. In 1973, "Leo Najo Day" was proclaimed, the street in Mission where he lived (7th Street) was renamed Leo Najo Street, and the high school baseball field was renamed in his honor. In 1973, he was the first player formally inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame. Today, Leo Najo is remembered as a positive role model whose skills on the diamond were only surpassed by his character and class. (2009) |
