FLORESVILLE, Texas – The Floresville community honored its fallen hero and Floresville High School alumnus, Benjamin Marconi, a San Antonio police detective who was shot and killed in the line of duty in November 2016.
During Friday’s football game, Floresville ISD held a special ceremony to honor the retirement of football jersey No. 45 at the end of the season. Marconi wore the number as a junior and senior player in 1983 and 1984.
Marconi’s family and friends took the same field he played in, wearing T-shirts with his number. His older siblings, Tom Marconi and Debbie Marconi-Saldana, said he wore that jersey with such pride.
“All the things he learned here, the leadership roles he took on here within the school and in the community, absolutely provided him tremendous foundation for his ultimately being a detective,” Tom Marconi said.
The family was honored to see that the community holds the fallen detective in such high regard. They said it is helping them through the grieving process.
“Just hearing the kind words they said about him re-inspires us, and I hope the community too,” Marconi-Saldana said.
“It really helps us in our healing to know how much the community continues to wrap themselves around us,” Tom Marconi added.
This was the first time the school district retired a jersey in honor of a player in any sport.
Benjamin Marconi’s former football teammates remembered his incredible athleticism and his charisma.
“He was in everything, and in his school years, he won everything,” said David Trevino, a former teammate. “He was that type of guy. Everybody liked him.”
The crowd cheered as Marconi’s immediate family and family in blue took the center of the field for the ceremony. At the end, the football team formed a circle around the family, symbolic of how the community is surrounding them.
Benjamin Marconi’s family hopes his legacy will continue in the students.
“Maybe his story will touch them so they can be leaders in the community,” Marconi-Saldana said.
The team will wear a No. 45 with a blue line across on their helmets for the rest of the season.
