We would like to inform you of the passing of Mr. Jon Sanders, age 86, known by many as a quiet, humble person whom you would never have known by talking to him that he was a 1994 indictee into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.
Hall President, Mr. Ruben R. Ramirez said of Mr. Sanders, “He was a Hall of Fame President in 1995 and was a great two-sport athlete at then named Texas Western College in track and field and basketball.
Mr. Sanders was a high school phenom, at one time holding the State Long Jump Record in New Mexico at the age of 16. Sanders went on to Texas Western College and in the Long Jump set a then school record of 24’ 6” and later that year in the Texas relays his mark of 24’8” was the longest ever until broken by the legendary Bob Beamon.
In Basketball at Texas Western Mr. Sanders excelled as well in leading the team to being one of the top teams in the Border Conference, a two-year captain and named MVP and All Conference as a Senior.
After college he went on to get two master’s degrees and a little-known fact about him was he coached men’s basketball at M.I.T. for several years before coming back to El Paso.
He also had a Hall of Fame career in the education world and most people knew him for his many years of service with EPISD as the Assistant Principal at Coronado High School.
A podcast with Mr. Sanders titled “Welcome to the Hall’ was done three years ago and can be heard at the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame website by using the link below. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/epahof/episodes/Welcome-to-the-Hall-Podcast—Ep-30—Jon-Sanders-e16v9cu
Funeral Services for Mr. Sanders will be held Thursday, September 12th, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at St. Francis on the Hill Episcopal Church, 6280 Los Robles Dr.
Interment will follow at 12:00 p.m. at Memory Gardens of the Valley Cemetery, 4900 McNutt Road, Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
Ruben R. Ramirez
President, El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame