Andy Cohen - El Paso, Texas

Andy Cohen (1904-1988) was a baseball star. His parents moved to El Paso when he was a little boy. He attended Alta Vista Elementary School and El Paso High School, where he played baseball, football basketball. Andy then attended the University of Alabama, where he was a running back for the football team, a guard for the basketball team and a second baseman for the baseball team. He signed a contract with the New York Giants in 1928. After three years, Andy Cohen played and coached for several minor league teams from New York to Arkansas to Colorado. In 1955, he was the first El Pasoan elected to the El Paso Athletic Hall of fame. His brother Syd, also a famous baseball player and coach, followed in 1963. For El Paso, Andy's contributions to the athletic program of the University of Texas at El Paso (then Texas Western) are important: He implemented the baseball team and coached it for 16 years (1960-1976), most of the years voluntarily. He later served as coach for the El Paso Texas League teams and was first base coach for the El Paso Diablos in 1979. Andy died in 1988 at the age of 84, shortly after his brother. The stadium of the Diablos was named in honor of Andy ans Syd Cohen in 1990. The baseball team played there from 1990 to 2013.

Area: Central / University