Joseph "Salvy" Hernandez

Year Inducted: 1992 (p)
Nominated By: Robert James
Sports Competed In: Swimming, Track
Athlete, Coach or Contributor: Athlete

High School:
Attended Pueblo Centennial H.S., graduating in 1943...Played end in football (1942), basketball, swimming and track for the Bulldogs.

Achievements:
High School:
● Competed in the 1938 City Swimming Championship.
● Named Co-Captain of the football team for one year.
● Also was the Captain of the track team in 1942.
● Medley Relay team, state champions (1943).
● Won the Mile-Run in the South-Central League Meet, with a time of 4:24.
● Set the Centennial Invitational Record (and track record) in the Mile Run.
● South Central League champion in the Mile Run two consecutive years (1942-43).
● Also ran the half-mile and was the South Central League Champion in 1942.
● Won the mile, half-mile, pole vault and the medley relay at the Trinidad State College Track Meet (1943).
● Broke he medley relay record at the 1943 University of Denver Track Meet.
● At a track meet in 1943 at the University of Colorado, finished runner-up, losing by 1/10th of a second as he ran with a sprained ankle.

Honors:
College:
● Receive the "Merit Award" by the Centennial States Association.
● Earned a full track scholarship to Colorado University in 1943, but joined the Navy instead.

Related Activities:
Served in the U.S. Navy, competing in both baseball and boxing.

Quotes:
"I felt like he was one of the best athletes I had seen at Centennial. You name the game, marbles, pitching, hit the mark, sling shots, rubber guns, throwing, running, kick the can, hide-and-seek and any other game that boys and girls would use to see who was the best athlete and our neighborhood star, Salvy, would give anybody a run of their money.”
-- Robert James

Personal:
Lived in Pueblo with his wife, Lou...Passed away on June 24, 1991.