Three members of the 1961 San Benito Greyhounds Class 3A state semifinalist team include from left: Robert Cortez, Virgil Garcia and Rey Saldana’Hound heroes47 years later, ’61 San Benito team remains among Valley’s elite
July 10, 2008 - 11:50PM
by ARMANDO GARZA/Valley Morning Star
SAN BENITO -Everyone knows about the most successful football team in the Rio Grande Valley back in 1961.
As the 2A state champions, the Donna Redskins still garner all sorts of deserved notoriety.
But the second-best team that year was pretty good, too.
Make that VERY good.
Forty-seven seasons ago, San Benito went 12-1 and advanced all the way to the Class 3A state semifinals.
The Greyhound team viewed by many as the greatest to ever suit up in San Benito purple and gold is No. 47 in the Star's By the Numbers Series.
Coached by J.W. Helms, the 'Hounds streaked through the season and dominated.
San Benito went 10-0 in the regular season, blasting their opponents by a combined score of 314-40. In six district games, the 'Hounds allowed only 12 points (six each to PSJA and Falfurrias).
After winning two playoff games against Port Lavaca (15-12) and Del Rio (29-8), San Benito succumbed in the semifinals to Nederland, led by Coach Bum Phillips and his son, Wade, 22-15.
Yes, those Phillipses.
Against the Bulldogs, who fell in the 3A title game to Dumas the next week, a jam-packed Greyhound Stadium hosted the game that San Benito led late.
"There was so many people, it looked like a bowl," halfback/linebacker Robert Cortez said. "The whole town shut down and it was a good feeling to see everyone there supporting us."
But a turnover returned for a score broke the game and hearts of San Benito fans.
A pitch by running back Jim Helms went awry and was scooped by the younger Phillips who ran it in for the score.
Nevertheless, the Greyhounds had a magical run.
And how magical it was.
"Looking back we had some big-play guys starting with Jim Helms," said Cortez, who later starred at Texas A&M as a linebacker. "We were very team-oriented. And we had a pretty tough defense, too."
While Cortez wasn't too shabby of a player himself, one of the team's catalysts was indeed running back Helms, currently the head coach at Brownsville Rivera.
Helms, who stood at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds back then, averaged 8.9 yards per carry and had 12 touchdowns of 30 yards or more in '61.
He totaled 1,103 yards during district play on his way to a first team all-state selection. Also, Helms' 144 points were third-best in the Valley that year.
Helms turned in a solid senior year in 1962 with another first team all-state nod and went on to star for the University of Texas.
"He was a heck of a running back," Cortez said of Helms. "When we played Port Lavaca, we were behind, but Jim broke a couple of long ones for us. He had the speed and the vision. He could make things happen anytime."
Helms' father J.W., was regarded as a solid coach, was described as a disciplined and very fair mentor to his Greyhounds.
"He was the type that would let everybody play," said Rey Saldaña, a two-year lettermen whose brother Raul was a three-year letterman.
Saldaña recalled a preseason round-robin scrimmage in Kingsville where San Benito showed glimpses of greatness.
"We beat them all," Saldaña said. "And the coach of one of the other teams wanted to scrimmage another 15 minutes.
So we got off the bus and we beat them too. That's when we realized we had something special. That was the starting point."
Another later scrimmage with the eventual 2A state champion Redskins is also the stuff of legends.
The story goes that the two squads battled so fiercely, there were injuries that caused Donna to drop its first couple of games.
Some of the team's other stars included fellow first team all-stater Jerry Crow and honorable mention pick Tommy Goode. The Uptegraph brothers, Don and Gene were also catalysts, as were Virgil Garcia, Sonny Cortez and Uvence Galvan.
While a handful of the players have passed away, a good number of the team's players are still in and around the Valley.
The team was honored in 2001 for the 40th anniversary of their season complete with a parade just like they received almost 47 seasons ago.
Not bad for 1961's "other" team.
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MERCEDES TIGERS 
