Giving Up One Court for Another : Gonzalez Blossoms in Spanish Harlem

Innumerable stories have been accumulated over the years a baseball star who honed his talents playing stickball in the streets as a kid, or a basketball player who was discovered by a pro scout one day while playing at the schoolyard.

However, when considering the background of a professional racquetball player, one tends to think of an upbringing which included expensive lessons, $200 racquets and membership at a multimillion-dollar health club.

Ruben Gonzalez is a glaring exception to the latter stereotype.

Now in his fourth year as a touring pro, Gonzalez, 33, learned his sport while living in Spanish Harlem--as an adult.

Currently rated the number eight player on the men’s pro racquetball circuit, he will participate in the Ektelon National Championships, being held through Sunday at The Sports Gallery in Anaheim.

While growing up in the Bronx, Gonzalez was an ardent handball player, but it wasn’t until he was 26 years old that he played his first game of racquetball.

He began playing handball at age 8, and by the time he was 15, he was good enough to participate in the annual national tournament. He played in it 11 years consecutively and won it four times.

“Winning it meant a lot of prestige,” Gonzalez said. “You didn’t play for money or anything. It was just so you could say you were king of the hill. Just to try to be No. 1.”

Gonzalez was planning to give up competitive handball in order to earn an income which would allow him to move out of Spanish Harlem. That’s when an acquaintence of his suggested he take up racquetball.

“A friend of mine, who was a handball player, was building a racquetball court, so I decided to try playing racquetball,” he said.

The only problem was, his friend’s court was located on Staten Island, a two-hour excursion each way for Gonzalez.

“I had to travel from the Bronx to Staten Island,” he said. “I had to take a bus and a ferry every day to get to practice.”

Naturally, it was impossible for Gonzalez to make the trip every day. So, very often he was forced to play on a tournament handball court, which has three walls--a front, a back and a left one. Therefore, he was only able to work on half of his game at one time.

“I would work on my backhand for awhile, and then I’d switch around and work on my forehand. But it was OK, because I wanted to start working on my backhand more. My forehand was already pretty good because of handball,” he said.

After a few months of practice, rather than starting out playing against advanced amateurs, he immediately began challenging professionals.

“I didn’t want to play against any Bs or Cs (amateur players),” he said, “because I knew that wasn’t going to do me any good. So I went straight to (playing against) the pros.

“I did that for about a year--losing 21-0 and 21-1--just to get the ability. I think you’ve got to learn the hard way.”

But growing up in Spanish Harlem, Gonzalez has become accustomed to working hard for what he gets.

“Growing up in that neighborhood, you don’t get nothing on a silver platter,” he said. “You’ve gotta earn everything. Every penny is like gold.”

Always keeping his past in mind, Gonzalez is appreciative of what he has earned for himself.

“It’s a great feeling carrying your name around (as a top racquetball player),” he said. “Especially being brought up in the environment I was. No one had any imagination of what it was like out there--on the other side of the hill. You just thought of that neighborhood. The gang fights, stickball and all that. That’s all you ever thought about. Not no sponsor or million-dollar club or anything.”

Now in his fourth year as a touring pro, Gonzalez, 33, is one of the oldest participants in this weekend’s racquetball championships.

He doesn’t see his age as being at all detrimental to his ability, however. In fact, he believes he plays harder as a result of it, because he sees himself as being an inspiration for many of his fellow players.

“Being older doesn’t bother me,” he said. “It gives me more motivation because other players who are older (than most) are saying, ‘Can I still play at 30 or 33?’ And if they see me they might say, ‘Wow, Ruben’s still out there playing, so that gives me more of a chance (to keep on playing).’ That’s my goal.”

Gonzalez still marvels at how fortunate he is to be in his present position.

“Sometimes I say to myself, ‘Is this really happening? Am I really out of the ghetto?’ I mean, I get to play in these $10 million racquetball clubs, travel all over the country, when I could be working a nine-to-five job with a suit and tie.”

Or playing handball at a schoolyard somewhere in Spanish Harlem.