Sumith Prasad
Julio Quintana’s sports drama ‘The Long Game’ revolves around the San Felipe Mustangs, a golf team formed by J.B. Peña and led by Joe Treviño. Even though all five members of the group are integral parts of it, Joe makes the team tick in pivotal tournaments. Peña and his assistant, Frank Mitchell, see him as the golf player who can lead them to the state championship and eventual greatness. Joe fulfills their expectations by delivering on the big stage as well. The player cherished a long life that was attached to the sport he loved before passing away due to a condition.
Joe Treviño Overcame Several Prejudices to Become a Golfer
By the time Joe Treviño ended up in Del Rio, Texas, after moving from San Angelo, he had enough experience as a caddie. His father served in the Army, only to bid adieu to the force without any appreciation. Realizing that not everybody in the country was equal, Joe’s “old man” put up defenses to protect himself and his son from the privileged part of their community. Still, the young boy was able to learn the basics of golfing pretty quickly. “By the time he started caddying at San Felipe, the tall, slender, dark-haired 14-year-old had also learned to play the game quite well,” Humberto G. Garcia wrote in ‘Mustang Miracle,’ the source text of ‘The Long Game.’
Joe eventually teamed up with a few other caddies who worked with him at the San Felipe Country Club, which had no Hispanics as members. Since they didn’t have any money to join the establishment, the group, which eventually became the Mustangs, decided to set up their own country club. At the deserted southeastern edge of Del Rio, they found a plot of land that could be turned into a golf course for practicing the sport, marking the birth of El Llanito Country Club. The Mustangs were formed when J. B. Peña and Hiram Valdes came across the caddies. They tried their best to become members of the San Felipe Country Club, but their ethnicity came in the way.
Joe Treviño Was the Mustangs’ Best Player
In the early 1950s, J. B. Peña was the superintendent of the San Felipe School District. He was motivated to pursue golfing, even without a membership at an elite country club, by forming a high school team. After witnessing what Joe and his friends could do, he immediately formed the Mustangs. The prospect of having individual golf clubs and playing on different courses attracted the group to J.B.’s proposition. Furthermore, the experience they had playing on the course of El Llanito gave them confidence. “We’d have different areas to tee off, and we could keep score. We learned how to play golf out of the dirt, so when we finally got to play off of regular turf, it was a hell of a lot easier,” Joe told MySA.
The Mustangs didn’t take long to taste victory. They won regional championships in 1956 and 1957. In 1956, they even became the state runner-up. In the next year, the team traveled to Austin to earn the state championship they missed last time. In the film, Joe’s efforts to lead the Mustangs to victory are hindered by a white duo who leads a police officer to the boy for smashing the glasses of their diner. He gets arrested, forcing J.B. to take responsibility for the predicament. In reality, this incident never happened. However, there was another challenge Joe and his friends had to deal with: rain.
Even though the Mustangs were not used to heavy rains, they played exceptionally well in the championship. They won it by defeating the Shamrock High School by a combined 35 strokes. Joe emerged as the gold medalist in the tournament, fulfilling the goals set by J.B.
Golf Remained an Integral Part of Joe Treviño’s Life Until Death
After the state championship in 1957, more or less every Southwest Conference School wanted to sign Joe as the “star boy” of their respective golf team. Despite the tempting offers, he decided to remain in Del Rio, only to eventually join the Laughlin Air Force Base Golf Course’s maintenance division. Golf remained an unignorable part of his life as he often joined hands with his base commander to beat other officers. The duo was a prominent team during the period, which explains why he moved to the Golden State when the commander was transferred to a Southern California base. He ensured the quality of Air Force golf courses in the region after the transfer.
During his civil service term, Joe participated in local tournaments and tasted victory regularly. However, he never played golf professionally. After his retirement, he moved back to Del Rio, where he got back in touch with his former teammates. They played golf together and even celebrated the publication of ‘Mustang Miracle.’ In 2012, Joe was inducted into the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Mustangs. He also spent his free time at Kickapoo Eagle Casino, located in Eagle Pass, Texas.
On August 6, 2014, Joe passed away at the age of 75 in San Antonio, Texas, due to congestive heart failure. He battled the condition for two months before his demise. He is survived by his sons Joe Trevino, Jr. and Daniel Trevino; daughters Mary Jane Fernandez and Lisa Trevino; brother Richard Trevino; and sisters Rosie Ybarra and Rita T. Zuniga.
Read More: The Long Game’s True Story, Explained
