Señor Mustachio
The # 1 Astros Character Fan
At
Minute Maid Park
Sometimes it’s better to know a lot about a subject before you write about them. Other times it’s better to know as little about them as possible – for the sake of their reality not getting in the way of what you want to believe about them. It’s an easy prescription to follow. Just think of it as the last approach you hopefully would want to take on the road to falling in love and getting married. – Then go find your most often seen ball park present and unforgettable Astros fan character at Minute Maid Park once the 2018 season starts. If it comes up anyone other than the fellow we think of as Señor Mustachio, we shall be greatly surprised. We don’t really know his name. That’s just how we think of him. And our apologies go out to this gentle smiling fan, who may prefer to be publicly identified otherwise. The trouble is – when you make a big gaudy constant impression upon others by your departure-from-the-norm appearance – and you have no agent promoting you for some kind of financial gain – the public will – as we have done here – make up their own names for you.
All I say for you is that our impression is benevolent, admirable, and supportive of what your presence brings to our big league ball park. The old Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets field once had Hilda the Bell Girl, among others, to daily affirm the home presence of their guys, we have Señor Mustachio standing in the arches behind the Crawford Boxes for what seems like every home game.
You’ve been there in that large western straw hat, wearing that great elongated mustache and an Astros rainbow jersey since the days of Carlos Lee. In fact, that’s what a lot of us thought from the start – that you were there for Carlos Lee, but that you would be gone by the time his Astros days were done, but we were wrong.
Carlos Lee retired years ago, but you are still here. And thank you for that level of constancy.
Prior to 2017, I was beginning to think of you as Don Quixote, the tilter at windmills, the dreamer of impossible dreams – the man who always reached sky high with his expectations, but always wound up watching them fall around him as the rain of stormy disappointment.
Then came 2017. And you and the Astros proved that neither our ball club, our city, or you – our unknown friend – were destined to the limitations facing Don Quixote in perpetuity.
Please keep up the good work, Senor! And keep coming to every game. For all we know, you may be the conduit channel the baseball gods are using to pump all this winner’s energy into the bats of players like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Marwin Gonzalez, Yuli Gurriel, and Alex Bregman.
Thank you too, Destiny, for fan support heroes like Señor Mustachio. They are important to our baseball community – even when we don’t know their legal names or personal histories. In fact, if the truth could be known, we might find that many others attend Astros games with the same relentless regularity over time as Señor Mustachio. – They just don’t stand out in the crowd as he does.
But they all count. Every single one.
********************
Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
January 27, 2018 at 10:57 am |
Every year on my blog, we give out the Dubsy Awards in various categories in sports. Senor Mustache was an Honorable Mention for the Artis Gilmore Award For Achievements in Hair Boldness.
January 27, 2018 at 11:46 am |
j-Dub – That is both way too funny.and spot on the subject. I want to believe that Señor Mustachio was grateful for the nod hr received on your blog. He sure makes me take pride in the fact that we are both Astros fans. – Keep up the good work. – You too, Señor Mustachio. 🙂
January 27, 2018 at 1:00 pm |
“Senor Mustachio” is actually Valentine Jalomo of Houston. I met him when he drove over to Corpus Christi the night I was signing my book “Houston to Cooperstown” at the Hooks’ ballpark last summer. A great guy and super fan. He was actually treated as a celebrity at Corpus Christi that night. Every Astro fan has seen him on TV or at MMP. Long time Astro TV watchers may remember years ago when he appeared on the air Brownie and Deshaies would refer to him as Hil Thornal. They were actually referring to one of our directors who sported a handle bar mustache–although not close to Valentine Jalomo’s class!
January 27, 2018 at 4:28 pm |
Remember Batty Bob? I guess he got too old for the huge multi-colored Afro. He was the first I remember to go nuts for the Astros. But the number one fan didn’t dress the part. James Carver, a thin black man, came to all but two or three games in the Dome from 1965-2000. Like the Piied Piper, he attracted followers. He arrived in time to eat a bagged lunch in his car. Then he entered and sat in the bleachers in the front row to watch batting practice. That was Bach when the pavilion seats were really cheap. They were good seats too, especially in the front row. I know because I broadcast a few games from out there.
August 7, 2018 at 2:20 pm |
I have been trying to find information about James Carver. So many great memories of that man. I started sitting in his section when I was about 10yrs old around 1987. He would always let me help hang the K’s after a strikeout. Before the dome closed he gave me one of the old Yellow (green K). I lost his number and never saw him again. I remember there was a big write up in one of the Astros programs and I would love to have one.