Raúl García-Ordóñez

Raúl García-Ordóñez was born in Littleton, New Hampshire, which was near the town of Bethlehem, a popular destination for Cuban golfers. He began his sporting career in Cuba in the late 1930s, but focused more on swimming at first than basketball. As a student at La Salle in Havana, however, he began to gravitate towards the latter sport.

After two years of education at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, García-Ordóñez returned to Cuba to attend law school at the University of Havana. In order to do this, however, he needed to complete his Cuban Baccalaureate Program, and only Baldor Academy would permit him to do so in one year instead of two. During his time there, he helped them win a championship against the basketball powerhouses of Belen and La Salle in 1942. He joined the Cuban national team in 1943 and had many years of international experience prior to his selection for the delegation to the 1948 London Olympics. There, Cuba was eliminated in the round robin and placed 13th overall in the classification round. García-Ordóñez was chosen to carry the national flag during the Opening Ceremony.

García-Ordóñez competed at the 1951 Pan American Games, where he took home a bronze medal with the national squad. A player for the Vedado Tennis Club, he won national championships with that team in 1956 and 1957, in addition to a junior title in 1943, and retired from active competition that same year. In addition to basketball and swimming (in which he held two premiere league records), he also rowed, competed in shot put, and played pelota, squash, and golf. He later had a career as an attorney in Cuba, but was exiled to the United States and built a second career with the Plough, Inc. company. His brother, Carlos, also played basketball and was a member of the Cuban team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.