Formed on 1920 September 28 by eight boys living in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, the Buckeyes Athletic Association provided organized activities for local youth for the next fifteen years. Association with the group remained an important bond for former members, who remained in contact throughout their lives.
The primary organizer of the Association was Herbert C. “Unc” Hammons, then fourteen years old. Its stated purpose was “to encourage and sponsor athletic activities; to insure friendship and fraternalism among the members; to promote cooperation between the parents and the members.” Collecting dues and holding regular meetings, the Buckeyes organized teams and competed in football, basketball, baseball, and track against teams from other neighborhoods and local schools. The teams enjoyed several successful years, capturing the San Antonio Junior football championship on several occasions.
Membership grew to over thirty boys and the group collected money to pay for athletic equipment, awards, and charitable contributions.
Hammons continued his association with the Buckeyes, serving as president and coach throughout its active years. Many team members continued their athletic activities at nearby Main Avenue High School.
The Buckeyes disbanded as a youth organization in 1935, but former members remained in contact and began to meet again in the 1970s. Dues and contributions were once again collected, and the first reunion of the group was held in 1975, drawing about one hundred people, including thirty-six of over eighty former members. Another successful reunion was held the following year, and members remained active in ensuing years, meeting and making charitable donations in memory of deceased members and their families. Upon the 75th anniversary of its founding, the remaining Buckeyes decided to cease organized activities and donate their remaining funds to charity.
Correspondence, financial records, printed material, photographs, and artifacts are part of the Buckeyes Athletic Association Records, representing its activities as a youth organization in the 1920s and 1930s and gatherings of former members in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
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[Identification of item], Buckeyes Athletic Association (San Antonio, Tex.) Records, 1920-1996, Col 8742, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Gift of Ferdinand F. Arredondo, secretary of the Buckeyes Athletic Association, 1996 March.
Processed by Warren Stricker, 1997 April.
Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2010 October.
Club records were maintained during the organization’s active years. Significant items include two notebooks containing bylaws and membership records, including lists of members and notes on dues, attendance, and individual activities. A small amount of material is related to athletic competition, including a few football game summaries and diagrams of football plays. Newspaper clippings chronicle athletic events, particularly the Buckeyes football team. Photographs include a football team portrait and a number of unidentified snapshots. Included with the club records are three scrapbooks kept by individuals and concerned with athletics at Main Avenue High School. Two of these were the product of Kearney J. Kivlin, a Buckeyes member and outstanding high school athlete.
The Alumni Records deal with the organization of reunions and other meetings and are largely the work of Ferdinand F. Arredondo. Included are letters sent and received, a series of rosters of former members, files associated with reunions held in 1975 and 1976, and financial records. A series of vouchers provides a detailed accounting of income and expenditures, including contributions in memory of deceased members. These often have attached obituaries and other information. A small photograph album contains snapshots of one of the reunions.