by Mike Magers
Cody Ross grew up in Carlsbad, Eddy County, New Mexico where he was a great baseball player for coach Thomas Forni. He was drafted to play Major League Baseball right out of high school. Many players go their whole careers and don’t get to experience playing in a World Series game, but Carlsbad rejoiced and declared a Cody Ross Day when Cody not only played in the series but was a member of the winning San Francisco Giants team when they took the series in 2010.
by Mike Magers
Brian was born in Pasco, Washington but moved with his mother to the unlikely location of Lovington, New Mexico where his maternal grandparents lived, after a family separation. His mother supported Brian and his two siblings by often working several jobs at a time, becoming quite a respected and beloved person in town. In Lovington, Urlacher developed his natural affinity for sports, focusing on basketball and football. He graduated in 1996 and his last three years in high school, the Wildcats went 9-3, 11-4 and 14-0, winning the State Championship in 1995 under Head Coach John T. “Speedy” Faith. Coach Faith sent film of his highlights to Texas Tech, where Brian had wanted to play, but Tech never responded with a scholarship offer, so Brian accepted an offer to play for University of New Mexico.
by Mike Magers
(image credit: fanmail.biz)
Robin Cole was born in Los Angeles, California in 1955 and played football at University of New Mexico from 1973 to 1976. At UNM, his career statistics rank highly in many categories. The following are just a few of them. In career tackles, his 406 tackles place him at 5th, just behind Brian Urlacher, his career sacks at 36 rank him second behind Johnny Jackson. He is highly ranked in career fumble recoveries, career fumbles caused and also season records for most of these categories.
by Mike Magers
Born in Detroit, Michigan, former NFL player Terance Mathis grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia and graduated from Redan High School in DeKalb County, where he played defensive back, halfback and finally quarterback for the Raiders. His highlights included connecting on a Hail Mary pass with time running out to defeat district rival Peachtree High in 1983. It was a quarterback’s dream play. Mathis just threw a long bomb and his receiver leapt over three defenders to make the catch and fall just over the goal line.
by Mike Magers
Dr. Larry White graduated from Hobbs High School in Lea County, New Mexico in 1950. He played center and linebacker at University of New Mexico, having the distinction of being the first All-American football player from that university. In 1952, the Lobos earned a 7-2 record despite not having a strong offense. That year the Lobo defense was ranked number one in the nation, allowing 46 points the entire season with White on defense.
New Mexico Sports 