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Click on Tournament for Bracket & Game Stories
Hot Springs High never changed when the town of Hot Springs took on the new name of Truth Or Consequences in 1950. Since then, the Tigers have successfully made a name for themselves in NM high school tournaments.
Check out Hot Springs in the Roll Call of State Championships below…
Volleyball
1993…Seven straight championships for Tigers after Hot Springs knock off Animas in a four-game Class 2A finale
1992…A 19-3 campaign ends for Hot Springs with another 2A title after a four-game victory over Menaul
1991…Five straight Tigers’ championships after prevailing in a five-game title game battle: Hot Springs 3, Animas 2
1990…Coach Maria Cruz guides Hot Springs to a fourth first-place trophy in a row after a sweep of Animas
1989…Tigers start their championship match hex over Animas, who they would beat for titles three more times, with a sweep of the Panthers
1988…Hot Springs grabs 2A crown for a second straight year wih a four-game victory over Hatch Valley
1987…What a way to start seven straight state titles as Tigers finish perfect 21-0 season by shutting out Crownpoint
1985…A 20-1 campaign is topped off by Hot Springs outlasting Goddard in five games for Class 3A championship
1982…Remarkable run for Tigers and coach Maria Cruz begins – a 3A title match victory over Artesia starts a stretch of nine state crowns in 12 years
Baseball
1994…Hot Springs reclaims a little baseball glory from the past by crushing Hope Christian 17-6 in the Class 1A-2A title game
1959…For second time in the 1950s, Tigers finish year as New Mexico’s best in Class B
1954…First championship of any kind for Hot Springs High is achieved on the diamond
Boys Basketball
1991…Tigers claim first hoops title for the school as Hot Springs, coached by Tommy Morrow, beats Clayton 79-68 in 2A finale
Football
1968…Hot Springs grabs title for coach Travis Lee and go undefeated in the process. A 12-0 year culminates with a 23-0 shutout of Jal in Class B championship
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And now, a word from our Sponsor…
“Ole!” greets drive-through customers from the speaker box.
If that’s the case, it can only be one business: Taco Box.
From frijole burritos to Spanish fries to pig-in-a-panchos, and quite nearly everything in-between, the restaurant has been serving up its eclectic menu for 40 years.
According to owner Tom Martin, the number one seller is the simple-and-tasty frijole burrito while tacos, chalupas and cheese sticks follow closely in popularity.
A popular side item are Spanish fries, a Taco Box-invented title for another potato-based munchie (any guesses?). Martin says his restaurant has only occasionally ventured into making regular french fries and the attempts have ultimately always been futile with the Taco Box customer base.
“I always joke that I don’t make french fries so I can help keep McDonald’s in business,” Martin says.
Other items also remain popular to an extent even though not officially on the menu board anymore – a testament to the loyalty of the typical Taco Box consumer.
The Mexi-Burger was on the menu back in the early 1980s and still gets ordered today. By those in the know, at any rate.
“There’s probably at least a dozen different items over the years like that,” Martin says. “We took it off, just because of space, but we still make ‘em. We probably sell as many as we did when they were on the menu.”
Martin lists breakfast tacos, frijole tacos, guacamole tacos as other such “underground” items. And that’s not to mention the vast array of drink combinations, utilizing the different soft drinks and flavorings, that have actually never been listed on the big board at Taco Box.
Martin, raised in Cleveland and a graduate from Cornell University in New York, ventured west after college and tried his hand with the Taco Box brand. He took over Taco Box on June 1, 1970.
Remembering his first foray into Mexican food, Martin has an oft-repeated story with some variation or another.
“I never had a taco until I was 21. I remember having a mild green chile taco and I thought I was going to die,” Martin recalls.
After having a tastebud-adjustment and following countless tacos served to his customers at Taco Box, it’s safe to say one thing about the guy who originally thought he’d be in the Land of Enchantment for “a couple of years.”
Well Tom, you’re a New Mexican now.
