Gary Hughes, longtime Major League Baseball scout and San Mateo native, never forgot his local roots

He became enamored of the sport as a kid growing up in the Sunnybrae neighborhood in San Mateo. He was hooked right away. He attended St. Matthew’s Catholic Elementary School and was a 1959 Serra High School graduate. He played baseball throughout his early years on the Peninsula.

He never forgot his roots. He cherished his memories of growing up here. His 1959 Serra baseball team won the Catholic Athletic League championship. Hughes was the starting left fielder.

In front of him on that stellar ball club were two future big leaguers, the late Jim Fregosi at shortstop and Tim Cullen at third base. Between them, those two would go on to log a total of 25 seasons as MLB infielders. Fregosi later managed and worked as a scout.

Hughes was a contemporary of Bill Neukom, who was a 1959 San Mateo High School graduate, living less than two miles from the future managing general partner of the Giants.

Hughes was, first and foremost, a people-person. He was open, affable, easy-going, witty and always gracious. He was never too busy to talk baseball.

In spite of his far-flung duties as a professional scout, administrator, advisor and confidant for a variety of MLB teams through his more than 50 years in the business, he made sure to spend time back in San Mateo County. It was his home turf. He was often at local high school and college athletic events when his schedule permitted. He doted on the competition.

Some years ago, he showed up at a November Burlingame-San Mateo “Little Big Game” football game. On a long walk back to his mother’s house, he reminisced about his post-World War II days. He referred to that 1950s era as “a golden time.”

He was a member of several athletic halls of fame, including the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame and Serra's Athletics Hall of Fame.

His sense of humor was one of his enduring hallmarks. Two examples: After some elective surgery at Stanford Medical Center, he quipped that was “the only way I was going to get into Stanford.”

At a Serra benefit golf tournament, he was urged to take a stab at the sport; he declined, sardonically stating, “I respect the sport too much to participate.”

That was vintage Gary Hughes. There was no one else quite like him.