Valentin Jalomo, a legendary Astros superfan known for his whiskered mustache and infallible attendance record at home games, died Tuesday from COVID-19. He was 81.
Though a season ticketholder since 2007, Jalomo began attending games when the Astrodome opened in 1965, and later gained fame for his distinctive hairspray-styled facial hair, which stretched out on each side of his face in a pointed handlebar. He regularly appeared on television broadcasts, standing in the concourse beyond the left-center field wall at Minute Maid Park.
News of Jalomo’s death was shared on social media by family, friends and news media. Tijerina Elementary School, where Jalomo worked for more than 20 years, announced his death in a Facebook post and asked students and staff to wear Astros gear or orange attire Wednesday to pay tribute.
Jalomo was born in 1939 and grew up in the small town of Taft, just north of Corpus Christi. He graduated from Taft High School in 1958 before attending then-Texas A&I, now Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He went on to become a teacher at Houston ISD, retiring in 2002.
It breaks our hearts to announce that Tijerina lost a legend, Mr. Valentin Jalomo, who taught at @Tijerinaes for over 20 years. Mr. Jalomo, you will be truly missed. Sending love and prayers to the Jalomo Family. @TeamHISD @HISDEastArea @astros @AlesanderOlaiz1 @SjMottu pic.twitter.com/ksf0DuJZtw
— Tijerina ES HISD (@Tijerinaes) January 20, 2021
Jalomo gained prominence as a member of Los Caballitos, a fan club for former Astros slugger Carlos Lee, whose nickname was El Caballo, or The Horse. When Lee played for the Astros from 2007 to 2012, the group would gather beneath the second archway to the right of the Crawford Boxes and ride stick horses up and down the concourse whenever he would clobber a home run.
In addition to his easily recognizable mustache, Jalomo always could be seen sporting a cowboy hat laden with commemorative baseball pins, along with his square wire-rimmed eyeglasses.
He lived with his wife, Carmen Jalomo, in a North Side home, tending to the fruits that he grew in his yard: limes, kumquats, figs and pecan trees.
After he retired from teaching in 2002, Jalomo would wake up at 5 a.m. to read Catholic texts for two hours, then read the newspaper and visit a local farmers’ market to exchange drinks — beer, juice, water — for fresh pineapples and avocados, according to a Chronicle profile from 2015.
He devoted much of his free time to the Astros, too, even thinking about lineup decisions when he was not in the outfield stands.
A 2016 promotional contest to decide the Astros’ “top fan” claimed Jalomo, who was one of the nominees, had not missed an Astros home game in 10 years. He threw out the first pitch at a game in April 2017.
Fellow Astros fans and former students mourned Jalomo’s death across social media, recounting favorite memories and posting photos with him. Another Astros fan, Jason Jerome, wrote that he had “never seen (Jalomo) turn down anyone who wanted a picture with him or just to say hi.” He described Jalomo as “one of the nicest, coolest guys at the park.”
“Valentin Jalomo made me laugh, showed me how to make little kids laugh, and shared with me his love for teaching at Pilgrim Academy back in 2007,” Celeste Barretto wrote on Facebook. “Thank you, Mr. Jalomo. You are loved and so missed by the world already.”
One fan posted a photo of a business card from Jalomo that read, “Available for coffee drinkin’, piddlin’, & advice givin’” above the line “No Appointment Necessary.” In the bottom corners of Jalomo’s business card were two phrases: “Ain’t got much” and “Don’t want much.”
jasper.scherer@chron.com
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January 20, 2021 at 08:10AM
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Popular Astros superfan Valentin Jalomo dies at 81 - Houston Chronicle
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