Champion of the Barrio | What Readers are Saying
Buryl Baty was a winning athlete, coach, builder of men -- and an early pioneer against bigotry. In 1950, after serving in World War II, quarterbacking the Texas Aggies during glory days of the old Southwest Conference, and being drafted by the NFL's Detroit Lions, Baty became head football coach for the Bowie High School Bears in the Segundo Barrio of El Paso. Coach Baty quickly inspired this all-Mexican American team of athletes from the south side ghetto with his winning ways and personal stand against the era's extreme, deep-seated prejudice to which they were subjected. Decades later, the school and its former players memorialized Coach Baty's legacy by dedicating Bowie High's stadium in his name, and inducting him into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame. Champion of the Barrio: The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty is written by Gaines Baty, son of this legendary coach, who came to know his dad, and learn from him, through the eyes of over 100 people whose lives he touched.
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What Readers are Saying

  • "Highly recommended"..."Champion of the Barrio: The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty is a biography of Buryl Baty (1924-1954), a successful athlete and coach who is especially notable for taking a stand against bigotry and discrimination. A breakout high school football player turned star quarterback of Texas A&M University, and drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1947, Baty chose to focus on coaching. He coached teams at Luling High School in 1949, and in 1950, he earned the position of head football coach at Bowie High School in El Paso. Baty observed that the athletes he coached, all Mexican-Americans from the Segundo Barrio, suffered greatly from the ingrained racism of the time. His inspirational efforts to resist discrimination and usher his team to championship status spread pride throughout the barrio community. Yet, in 1954, just as his team had the chance to win its third district title, a sudden highway accident shattered their world and ended Baty's life far too soon. In 2013, Baty's legacy was commemorated with a posthumous induction into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame. Champion of the Barrio is more than a biography; it includes firsthand memories of author R. Gaines Baty, Buryl Baty's son, and the testimonies of nearly one hundred individuals who knew Baty during his life."

    James A. Cox

    Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI

  • "This is an evocative, heartfelt book about borders--a border town; the invisible border that divided Texans in the mid-20th century; and how Buryl Baty, an Anglo man with a football pedigree, reached across that line to influence scores of Latinos through the game he knew and loved. Champion of the Barrio is an important contribution to our understanding of the power of sports to reach, teach, and transform, and a vivid portrait of an inspirational figure who was cut down too soon."

    Alexander Wolff

    Author, Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure, and Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated

  • "The spirit of Buryl Baty lives on so strongly in our hearts and minds because this man was a hero to us all. Coach Baty was a God-send, touching so many lives. He left us too soon but he left his legacy of inspiration, social consciousness and love. This book is a ‘Must Read!"

    Nolan Richardson, Jr.

    National Collegiate Basketball, Naismith Memorial and Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, NCAA National Championship coach, SEC Coach of the Year, and graduate of Bowie High School in the Segundo Barrio of El Paso

  • “Perhaps the most talented and gifted athlete to ever come out of Paris High School…a coach would consider himself mightily blessed to get one Buryl Baty during his coaching career.”

    Raymond Berry

    NFL Hall of Fame player and Super Bowl coach, NFL All-Time Team, Retired Number #82 for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts

  • “You could not grow up in Paris, Texas without knowing about Buryl Baty. I’ve heard about him all my life, and now I know why. He took on the world, and he won. This is an inspiring account and a great read.”

    Gene Stallings

    Former Head Coach of Texas A&M Aggies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Alabama Crimson Tide National Championship team, College Football Hall of Fame inductee, and former “Junction Boy”

  • “It’s fun learning about Coach Baty. He could run. He could pass. He was a great leader on and off the field. It’s a great story about a great man.”

    Roger Staubach

    Executive Chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle, Heisman Trophy winner, Super Bowl champion, and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback

  • “A great story about a man who touched lives and is still touching them even though he is gone. His son, Gaines Baty, was a student of mine at Texas Tech and played football for the Red Raiders. He is a fine man who had a great dad. This book is a good read about character and football.”

    Kent Hance

    Former Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, U.S. Congressman, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman, Texas State Senator

  • “The author describes his father as a hero and a legend, and by the end of the story the case is made. Buryl Baty was an athlete and a coach, but he is a legend because he inspired young Latinos to reach for a better life. The young people of El Paso’s Segundo Barrio faced prejudice every day…many readers will be shocked at the vicious treatment Coach Baty’s young players received…. Discrimination against Latinos is not as familiar to most Americans as discrimination against African-Americans. Coach Baty’s fight against racism and bigotry should resonate with readers.”

    Michael Barr

    Author of Remembering Bulldog Turner: Unsung Monster of the Midway

  • "I believe in this story and in the power of one person to change the lives of the young people entrusted to his care—in this case a football team who Coach Baty would not allow to be discriminated against. It is powerful and uplifting."

    Frances B. Vick

    Coauthor of Petra’s Legacy and Letters to Alice

  • “I knew Buryl Baty well. He created a glorious era and legacy for his team and school, and it was unbelievable how he captured El Paso’s heart. This is a gripping story – that brought tears to my eyes. Buryl Baty’s name lives on.”

    Ray Sanchez

    Former writer and Editor of The El Paso Herald-Post, Author of seven books, member of five Halls-of-fame, recipient of several journalism awards, consultant for the movie “Glory Road”