Hall of Honor
Benavidez was a ground-breaker for the Lubbock Christian baseball program. He ws the first bonafide All-American the school produced as a member of the NAIA. He was the first in a long line of outstanding center fielders in Chap baseball history. And he was a great power hitter with awesome speed.
He didn't display that power much (12 career home runs), but once in Oklahoma City he ripped a fastball some 500 feet (by actual measurement of coach Larry Hays). His arm was also powerful, as he tossed out 30 runners from the outfield in three seasons. He also had 15 errors in that tie, but many of those came about trying to make impossible plays that the average pastureman would have never attempted.
An excellent softballer, Benavidez was graduated from Odessa High in 1966 and then entered the Navy, where he was an All-Star in both 1967 and '68. He returned home and enrolled in Odessa Junior College, where he attended one year before latching on with the Chaparrals in the fall of 1972.
He was an instant success, batting .337 for the Chaps over the next three seasons, with 21 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs and 104 runs batted in. He was selected as the team's most valuable player in both 1973 (.375 BA) and 1974 (.337 BA), earning All-America Second Team honors as a junior and First Team honors as a senior.
He received his bachelor's degree in secondary education and went on to teach and coach after graduation.
