Tomas Balcazar, grandfather of LA Galaxy forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and a legendary player in his own right at Chivas de Guadalajara in the 1950s, has died at age 88, Chivas revealed on Sunday.
Balcazar's decade-long career came to a close as the greatest era in his club's history was beginning. He was a part of the 1956-1957 league championship squad, the first of eight league titles the club would win over the next 10 years, but retired in 1958.
Internationally, he scored for Mexico in a dramatic 3-2, group stage loss to France in the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Hungary.
Like his grandfather, Chicharito also turned pro at Chivas before moving on to Europe to play for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Sevilla prior to his arrival at the Galaxy. Both men also scored their first World Cup goals at age 22.
