It has been two years since Javier Cavazos passed away.
He was born in San Juan, Texas, on Christmas Eve in 1946. He was meant to be named Xavier, but the nurses at the hospital changed the X to a J on his birth certificate, so Javier he became.
The Cavazos family moved first to Joliet, Illinois, and then to Lansing, arriving in Michigan’s state capital in 1963, where Javier enrolled at Lansing Sexton High School and played youth baseball, pitching and playing first base for the Lansing Cardinals in the Latin American Baseball League.
In 1964, at 18 years old, he formed the Northside Athletic & Recreation Club, later renamed the Capital Area Youth Sports Association (CAYSA), which grew into an organized program of teenagers from around Lansing, joining the parks and recreation baseball league as the first all-Mexican youth team in Mid Michigan.
When he was 25 years old, Javier Cavazos formed the Lansing Original Little League for 8-12-year-olds. He coached Lansing youth baseball and basketball teams at all levels, including Sandy Koufax baseball, Babe Ruth baseball, Pony baseball, and Michigan Parks and Recreation baseball.
For decades, Javier Cavazos provided the opportunity for countless Mid-Michigan boys and girls to play ball. His teams won state titles in 1974, 1976, 1984, 1991, 1995, 1997, and 1999 and regional championships in 1976, 1986, 1994 and 2005. In all, his coaching legacy stretched over five decades and included such baseball standouts as John Smoltz and Bruce Fields in addition to coaching Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Dale Beard in basketball.
On June 17, 2021, Javier Cavazos was inducted into the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame. It was his night, and his night alone, attended by thousands of his former players and their families. They took over the terrace in right field and celebrated his impact and his legacy.
That legacy lives onward, as long as youth sports are played in Mid Michigan.
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With great thanks to “Javier Cavazos: Mentor of Many, Amigo to Youth” by Noe Hernandez
