Nicolas (Nick) Lara was born in 1932 in San Antonio, Texas. He spent most of his childhood life running in and working the cotton fields of Levelland, Texas. He attended San Marcos High School where he was known as a gifted athlete. His achievements included a High School Golden Gloves Title in the flyweight division. In track and field, he set a district 28-A mile relay record with the time of 4:51-5. He was the only member of the team who advanced to the State meet that year.
In 1951, he joined the US Navy. He was stationed in Corpus Christi, TX. He and several others convinced the commanding officer to form a boxing team. He added another Golden Gloves title and when went on to compete in the Olympic trials, but lost his match in the semi-finals. He added the title of 8th Naval district titleholder and in Green Cove Springs, Florida, he added the South Central Crown title in his division. He also garnered wins in the all-Navy tournament held in San Diego, CA.
In 1958, he founded his business Lara’ Carpet Service. He was a member of the San Marcos City Council in the 1970’s and life member of Maurice T. Suttles V.F.W. post 3413.
