DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — my job is just to do it justice. Now, every now and then you come across a name that almost nobody outside the Rio Grande Valley knows, and you think to yourself: how did the rest of the country miss this man? Leonardo Alaniz.
Better known, from Laredo to Chicago, as Leo Najo. He came into this world on February 17, 1899, born in the Mexican community of La Lajilla, Nuevo Leon. Ten years later, in 1909, his mother Rosario Alanis brought young Leonardo north, and they settled in Mission, Texas.
That's where the story really starts to move. As a youth he found baseball, and baseball — you get the feeling — found him right back. By 1918, the teenager helped form a team right there in Mission called the Mission 30-30 Rifles.
Later they'd go by the Mission 30-30s. But Leo was already building something bigger than a local squad. Now about that nickname.
Najo came from conejo — the Spanish word for rabbit — altered just enough to roll off the tongue a different way. And if you knew how this man ran the bases, you'd say whoever coined that name had an eye for the truth. During the early 1920s, he played for teams in Mexico and Laredo, and his reputation traveled ahead of him: high batting average, baserunning speed that made infielders nervous before he even got on base.
In 1924, Leo Najo joined the San Antonio Bears in the minor leagues. He played for several others after that. And then — 1925 — the Chicago White Sox, a major league franchise, acquired him.
Let that land for a moment. One of the first Mexican-Americans to reach that level. Professional baseball in the United States.
And there he was. He did not make the lineup. The White Sox sent him back to the minors.
Now, some stories end there. Leo Najo's did not. He kept playing, and he kept playing impressively — right up until a collision during a game dealt him a serious leg injury that ended his major league possibilities for good.
The marker doesn't dress that up, and neither will I. That was a door that closed. But Leo Najo kept going.
He played in the minor leagues all the way through 1933, then returned to Mission. He helped operate his family's tavern on West 6th Street. He invested in real estate.
And he went right back to the game that had shaped him — managing the Mission 30-30s from 1933 to 1937, then heading south to play and manage in Mexico for two more seasons. By the early 1940s, he married Elida Garza. Together they reared eleven children.
And still, Leo Najo kept teaching baseball. Kept managing. The man never really left the diamond — he just stood on a different part of it.
Then came 1973. That year, the city of Mission proclaimed Leo Najo Day. They renamed 7th Street — the street where he lived — Leo Najo Street.
They renamed the high school baseball field in his honor. And that same year, 1973, he became the first player formally inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame. Leo Najo died on April 25, 1978.
But the marker leaves you with this, and it's worth repeating slow: his skills on the diamond were only surpassed by his character and class. That's not something you put on a sign unless the life earned it. And this one did.
What the marker says
(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)