Santana Saenz

Santana Saenz, Jul 26, 1911 – Jul 23, 1995

From left: Polo Trevino and Santana Saenz

From left: Santana Saenz, Robert Saenz, and Santana Saenz Jr.

Parents: Rosalio and Petra Ramos Saenz

Married: Eloisa Trevino

From left: Eloisa Saenz, Roberto Saenz, and Santana Saenz

From left: Roberto Saenz, Eugenio Saenz, Alfredo Saenz, Samuel Saenz, Juanita Saenz, Santana Saenz, and Eloisa Saenz. 1956.

Children:

Bio:

Santana Saenz was born on July 26, 1911, in St. Augustine County, Pleasanton, Texas, as the seventh child of Rosalio and Petra Ramos Saenz. During his early years, Santana recalls being tasked with feeding the farm animals by his father and picking cotton alongside his siblings during the summer months. One of his favorite stories from this period was getting only one haircut per year between the ages of one and twelve.

At the age of ten, Santana’s family moved to Alice, Texas, where they lived on Monterrey St. in a section known as “El Transporte.” He attended Nayer Elementary, Strickland Junior High, and William Adams High School. Santana had a great passion for sports, especially baseball. As an “All-Around” athlete, he lettered in halfback for the Coyotes for three years (1927-1929), ran track, and played baseball. He declined to play basketball, humorously noting, “I didn’t play, ’cause I didn’t want people to see my legs!”

During the Great Depression, Santana faced difficult times. After school and practice, he worked as a laborer at the Alice Cottonseed Oil Mill, sewing white cotton sacks for the cotton seeds. In 1930, during his senior year, his mother passed away, prompting Santana to drop out of school and work at the railroad station on twelve-hour night shifts. His duties included loading milk containers and repacking refrigerated cars with ice, which transported fruits and vegetables across the country. He recalled, “It was awful working nights and getting paid fifty cents a day.”

Despite the hardships, Santana’s love for baseball persisted. After work, he would get a few hours of sleep before joining the Alice Aces, a team in the South Texas Semi-Pro League. He played with the Aces from 1930 to 1945, earning a reputation as one of the better baseball catchers in the area.

After two years at the train station, Santana was offered a clerk’s position with Southern Pacific Railroad, where he worked for forty years until his retirement in May 1972. He spent thirty-eight of those years in Alice before being transferred to Corpus Christi from 1970 to 1972.

In 1931, Santana met Eloisa Munoz Trevino, who also lived in “El Transporte.” He fondly remembered, “She used to live right by our ballpark. She fell in love with me because my home run balls used to roll right up to her backyard.” They married in January 1932 and had ten children: Santana Jr., Alfredo (who passed away at one and a half years old), another Alfredo (named to keep Santana Jr. happy, but who died at birth), Samuel, Eugenio, Roberto, Panchito (who died at one month), Juanita, and Martha. Santana has 16 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Santana’s wife, Eloisa, passed away in 1969 at the age of 52, and his son, Santana Jr., also died at the age of 52. Santana spent his last eight years in San Antonio with his daughters Juanita and Martha.