Port Isabel sports bar Doubleday's a memorable experience

PORT ISABEL --- Take one step through the doors of Doubleday's and you'll be mired in a state of awe.

Any sports fan, new or old, will find something in co-owner Manuel Hinojosa's myriad of sports memorabilia that will lock your jaw. Located in Port Isabel a few blocks from the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge, Hinojosa's establishment has been around for three years but during that time he has moved in all of his precious memorabilia.

"I started out as a kid," Hinojosa said. "I followed the Yankees and collected bubble gum cards."
An established painter and architect, Hinojosa is co-owners with his brother Rick, who four years ago convinced him to find a place to display his collections and some of his paintings.

"He talked me into it," Manuel said. "Opening up a place we had a couple things in mind, but there were so many boxes I couldn't put it in a house.

"We wanted to showcase them to the people."

Doubleday's Bar & Restaurant has been somewhat of a hidden gem to many around the Rio Grande Valley. The establishment is filled with autographs, jerseys, helmets and anything a sports advocate can desire. Manuel, the former city manager of Port Isabel, said his establishment is open to anyone and he gets satisfaction out of people of all ages who talk about the timeless history at Doubleday's.

"Sports is in a different time (now)," Manuel said. "A time when there were no steroids, cheating and it was just for fun. It was a place to educate the younger crowd."

Most locals call Doubleday's a "museum with a bar," including regular bar visiter Joe Ibarra.

"Locals love this place," he said. "You feel at home here. When Mr. Hinojosa walks in you feel his presence and he is great. He goes around shaking peoples' hands, asking if they need  anything. He just makes  you feel comfortable."

Other than local keepsakes, Doubleday's is filled with priceless state history, including Dallas Cowboys memorabilia.

Doubleday's "Field Generals Collection," located next to the boxing ring bar, is flooded with vintage Cowboys collectibles including multiple signatures from Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson's Apex brand jacket, Walt Garrison Sports Illustrated cover and a vintage Pepsi bottle with the score of the Cowboys' first championship in 1971 over the Miami Dolphins. The list, of course, goes on.

Nathan Dam, 24, who works at the University of Texas-Pan American's Coastal Studies Department and Beach Watch, was   taken aback the first time  he walked through the front doors of the Port  Isabel establishment.

"Initially I was blown away," he said.

"I thought this is the greatest place in the world."

Nearly every inch of the wall is covered with something special. On the ringside bar there are pictures and magazines of Muhammad Ali, including a pair of gloves signed by the all-time boxing great. On the left side of Doubleday's is a mini-Cooperstown, where you can go back in time by looking at pictures, paintings, jerseys and bats of some of the all-time greats.

"Before I was here I never really followed sports," said Omar Ortiz, who now works as a bartender at Doubleday's. "Now I don't miss a game. It's great here interacting with the customers and with the locals it's like one big family."