Cesar Faz was given an impossible task. He was asked to manage the Industrial Little League team in Monterrey, Mexico. The year was 1956. The team was made up of the best players employed by three factories. They had virtually no equipment, no uniforms, or even shoes in some cases.
Cesar was born in the U.S. and had been a batboy and clubhouse attendant for a minor league baseball team. He moved to Monterrey, Mexico, and was asked to be the manager of the little league team. Cesar was an incredible coach who developed and motivated his young team. None of the players compared in size to those on other teams, but they had baseball smarts from the coaching of Cesar.
In 1957, Cesar felt the team was strong enough to compete against U.S. teams. First, he needed to get his team sanctioned as a Little League team. Since Mexico did not have a direct entry into the Little League World Series, the team from Monterrey had to qualify first by winning the Texas State Championship and then the Southern Regional Championship.
The journey began in McAllen, Texas. They had to walk for miles to enter the U.S. Eventually they were able to find a ride to a motel where they would spend the night. For many on the team, this was the first time they had ever slept in a bed.
They weren’t expected to be competitive, but they surprised everyone by winning the first round of the championship journey. They had no money, so they would pass around their hats during the game for contributions.
The journey continued, and they beat teams from Houston and Waco to become the Texas State Champions. The next step was the Southern Regionals in Louisville, KY. By this time, they were receiving financial support and were able to fly to the site of the championship. Again, they surprised everyone by winning the championship. They had qualified to compete in the Little League World Series in Williamsport PA.
They won their first game and made it to the championship game against the team from La Mesa, CA. No one expected that the little giants from Monterrey, Mexico would be competitive. But what the little giants had was Angel Macias, an extraordinary pitcher. He faced only 18 batters in that championship game (Little League games are 6 innings). He struck out 11 of them. The other 7 could not get the ball out of the infield.
Angel pitched the first and only perfect game in the history of the Little League World Series. The Los Pequenos Gigante (Little Giants) became an international story. Their story became the most meaningful game in the history of the Little League World Series.
How did an undersized team achieve such a feat? Was it coaching or maybe extraordinary talent? Probably. But there was something else: Hope and faith in themselves.
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“Cesar lived a long life and gave most of it to developing young baseball players.”–Stephen Keener (Little League International Resident and CEO)