Official name	City of San Antonio
Settlement type	City
Nickname	River City, San Antone, Alamo City
Image seal	Sanantonioseal.jpeg
Map caption	Location in the state of Texas
Pushpin map	USA
Pushpin map caption	Location in the United States
Coordinates region	US-TX
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	Texas
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Bexar, Medina
Government type	Council-Manager
Leader title	City Council
Leader name	Mayor Julian Castro Mary Alice P. Cisneros Ivy R. Taylor Jennifer V. Ramos Philip A. Cortez David Medina, Jr. Ray Lopez Justin Rodriguez W. Reed Williams Elisa Chan John G. Clamp
Leader title1	City Manager
Leader name1	Sheryl Sculley
Unit pref	Imperial
Area total sq mi	412.1
Area total km2	1067.3
Area land sq mi	407.6
Area land km2	1055.7
Area water sq mi	4.5
Area water km2	11.7
Population as of	2010
Population metro	2,090,692
Population total	1,386,202 (7th)
Population density sq mi	3400.9
Population density km2	1313.1
Timezone	Central
Utc offset	-6
Timezone dst	Central
Utc offset dst	-5
Area code	210(majority), 830(portions)
Latns	N
Longew	W
Elevation ft	650
Elevation m	198
Website	www.sanantonio.gov

San Antonio () is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.4 million. Located in the American Southwest and the southcentral part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. San Antonio has characteristics of other western urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city. It was the fourth-fastest growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006 and the fifth-fastest-growing from 2007 to 2008. The metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.1 million based on the 2009 U.S. Census estimate, making it the 28th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S and third in Texas.

The city was named for the Portuguese St. Anthony, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. Famous for Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, the Alamo Bowl, and host to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest in the country.

San Antonio has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City-Base, with Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley outside the city. Kelly Air Force Base operated out of San Antonio until 2001, when the airfield was transferred over to Lackland AFB and the remaining portions of the base became Port San Antonio, an industrial/business park. San Antonio is home to five Fortune 500 companies and to the South Texas Medical Center, the only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region.

History

Native Americans originally lived near the San Antonio River Valley, in the San Pedro Springs area, calling the vicinity "Yanaguana," meaning "refreshing waters." In 1691, a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries came upon the river and Native American settlement on June 13, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padova, Italy and named the place and river "San Antonio" in his honor.

Early Spanish settlement of San Antonio began with the Martin de Alarcon expedition and the establishment of the San Antonio de Valero Mission (now the Alamo) as a means to reassert Spanish dominance over Texas from the nearby French in Louisiana. The viceroy, at the instigation of Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares, made the suppression of illicit trade from Louisiana a primary objective. He also pledged support for the Franciscan missions in Texas. Father Olivares had earlier visited a site on the San Antonio River in 1709, and from that time forward he was determined to found a mission and civilian settlement there. The viceroy gave formal approval for a halfway mission and presidio in late 1716, and assigned responsibility for their establishment to Martin de Alarcón, the governor of Coahuila and Texas. A series of delays, however, occasioned in part by differences between Alarcón and Olivares, postponed definitive action until 1718. The families clustered around the presidio and mission formed the beginnings of Villa de Béxar, destined to become the most important town in Spanish Texas. On May 1 on the San Antonio River the governor founded San Antonio de Valero Mission (later famous as the Alamo), and on May 5 established San Antonio de Béxar Presidio. San Antonio de Béxar Presidio, the center of Spanish defense in western Texas, was founded by Martín de Alarcón on May 5, 1718, on the west side of the San Antonio River one-fourth league from the San Antonio de Valero Mission.

San Antonio grew to become the largest Spanish settlement in Texas, and for most of its history, the capital of the Spanish, later Mexican, province of Tejas. From San Antonio the Camino Real, today Nacogdoches Road in San Antonio, ran to the American border at the small frontier town of Nacogdoches. When Antonio López de Santa Anna unilaterally rescinded the Mexican constitution of 1824 violence ensued in many provinces of Mexico. In a series of battles the Texian Army succeeded in forcing Mexican soldiers out of the settlement areas east of San Antonio. Under the leadership of Ben Milam, in the Battle of Bexar, December, 1835, Texian forces captured San Antonio from forces commanded by General Martin Perfecto de Cos, Santa Anna's brother in law. In the spring of 1836 Santa Anna marched on San Antonio. A volunteer force under the command of James C. Neill occupied and fortified the deserted mission. Upon his departure, the joint command of William Barrett Travis and James Bowie were left in charge of defending the old mission. The Battle of the Alamo took place from February 23 to March 6, 1836. The outnumbered Texian force was ultimately defeated, with all of the Alamo defenders killed. These men were seen as "martyrs" for the cause of Texas freedom and "Remember the Alamo" became a rallying cry in the Texian Army's eventual success at defeating Santa Anna's army.

Juan Seguín, who organized the company of Hispanic patriots, that fought and died for Texas independence at the Battle of the Alamo, fought at the Battle of Concepcion, Siege of Bexar, and the Battle of San Jacinto, and served as mayor of San Antonio. He was forced out of that office, due to threats on his life, by sectarian newcomers and political opponents in 1842, becoming the last Hispanic mayor for nearly 150 years.

In 1845, the United States finally decided to annex Texas and include it as a state in the Union. This led to the Mexican-American War. Though the U.S. ultimately won, the war was devastating to San Antonio, and, at its end, the population of the city had been reduced by almost two thirds, to only 800 inhabitants. By 1860, at the start of the Civil War, San Antonio had grown to a city of 15,000 people.

Following the Civil War, San Antonio prospered as a center of the cattle industry. During this period, San Antonio remained a frontier city, but its mixture of cultures also gave it a reputation as being beautiful and exotic. Frederick Law Olmstead, the architect who designed Central Park in New York City, once described San Antonio as having a, "jumble of races, costumes, languages, and buildings," which gave it a quality which only New Orleans could rival in, "odd and antiquated foreignness."

In 1877, the first railroad reached San Antonio and the city was no longer on the frontier but began to enter the mainstream of American society. At the beginning of the 20th century, the streets of downtown were widened to accommodate street cars and modern traffic, destroying many historic buildings in the process.

Like many municipalities in the American Southwest, San Antonio experiences steady population growth. The city's population has nearly doubled in 35 years, from just over 650,000 in the 1970 census to an estimated 1.2 million in 2005 through both steady population growth and land annexation (considerably enlarging the physical area of the city).

Geography

San Antonio is located near 29.5°N 98.5°W. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2000 the city had a total area of — (98.9%) of land and (1.1%) of water. The city sits on the Balcones Escarpment.The altitude of San Antonio is above sea level.

The primary source of drinking water for the city is the Edwards Aquifer. Impounded in 1962 and 1969, respectively, Victor Braunig Lake and Calaveras Lake were among the first reservoirs in the country built to use recycled treated wastewater for power plant cooling, reducing the amount of groundwater needed for electrical generation.

Neighborhoods

Climate

San Antonio falls near the western edge of the humid subtropical climate zone. Its weather is alternately dry or humid depending on prevailing winds, turning hot in the summer, warm to cool winters subject to descending northern cold fronts in the winter with cool to cold nights, and comfortably warm and rainy in the spring and fall. San Antonio receives about a dozen sub-freezing nights each year, occasionally (about once every couple of winters) seeing some sort of wintry precipitation (i.e. sleet/freezing rain), but accumulation and snow itself is not very common. Many winters may pass without any freezing precipitation at all. According to the National Weather Service, there have been 31 instances of snowfall (a trace or more) in the city in the past 122 years, for an average of about once every four years. However a decade or more may pass between snowfalls. In San Antonio, July and August tie for the average warmest months with an average high of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 °C). The highest temperature ever to be recorded was on September 5, 2000.

Culture

Demographics

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 1,144,646, ranking it the ninth-most populated city in the country. Due to San Antonio's low density rate and lack of significant population surrounding the city limits, the metropolitan area ranked just 30th in the U.S. with a population of 1,592,383.

Subsequent population estimates indicate continued growth in the area. The July 1, 2009, population estimate for the city was 1,373,668, making it the second-most populous city and the third-most populous metro area in Texas, as well as the seventh-most populous city in the U.S. The 2009 U.S. Census estimate for the eight-county metropolitan area placed its population at 2,072,128, making it the third-most populous metro area in Texas and the 28th-most populous metro area in the U.S. The metropolitan area is bordered to the northeast by , and the two metropolitan areas together combine to form a region of approximately 3.8 million people.

There are 405,474 households, and 280,993 families residing in San Antonio. The population density is 2,808.5 people per square mile (1,084.4 km²). There are 433,122 housing units at an average density of 1,062.7 per square mile (410.3 km²).

The age of the city's population is spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. In San Antonio, 48% of the population are males, and 52% of the population are females. For every 100 females there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $36,214, and the median income for a family is $53,100. Males have a median income of $30,061 versus $24,444 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,487. 17.3% of the population and 14.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.3% of those under the age of 18 and 13.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of San Antonio was as follows:

White: 68.9% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 28.9%)

Black or African American: 6.6%

American Indian: 0.6%

Asian: 2.0%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%

Some other race: 19.4%

Two or more races: 2.4%

Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 61.2%

Source:

Economy

San Antonio has a diversified economy with four primary focuses: financial services, government, health care, and tourism. Located northwest of the city center is the South Texas Medical Center, which is a conglomerate of various hospitals, clinics, and research (see Southwest Research Institute) and higher educational institutions.

The city is also home to one of the largest military concentrations in the United States. The defense industry in San Antonio employs over 89,000 and provides a $5.25 billion impact to the city's economy.

Twenty million tourists visit the city and its attractions every year, contributing substantially to the city's economy. The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center alone hosts more than 300 events each year with over 750,000 convention delegates from around the world. Tourism employs 94,000 citizens and makes an economic impact of over $10.7 billion in the local economy as revealed in the Economic Impact Study conducted every two years by the San Antonio Tourism Council and the research team of Dr. Richard Butler and Dr. Mary Stefl of Trinity University. Tourism also brings new annual revenues to the City of San Antonio and other governmental entities with the hotel & motel tax, sales taxes and other revenues from hospitality agreements and contracts. This number exceeded over $160 million in the 2004 study.

Of the 140 Fortune Global 500 companies headquartered in the US, San Antonio is home to two: Valero Energy Corp #33, and Tesoro Petroleum Corp #317.

San Antonio is home to five Fortune 500 companies: Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro, USAA, Clear Channel Communications and NuStar Energy. H-E-B, the 19th largest private company in the United States is also headquartered in San Antonio. Other companies headquartered in San Antonio are: Kinetic Concepts, Frost National Bank, Harte-Hanks, Eye Care Centers of America, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Enterprises, Taco Cabana, Whataburger, and Rackspace.

Other large companies that operate regional headquarters in the city include: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Lack's, Kohl's, Allstate, Chase Bank, Philips, Wachovia, Toyota, Medtronic, Sysco, Caterpillar Inc., AT&T;, West Corporation, Citigroup, Boeing, QVC, and Lockheed Martin.

In between the beginning of 1997 and March 11, 1998, San Antonio lost several major company headquarters. In 1997 Titan Holdings and USLD Communications had sold their operations to larger companies. After a Los Angeles buyout specialist purchased Builders Square, the company's operations were moved out of San Antonio.

Attractions

San Antonio is a popular tourist destination. The jewel of the city is the River Walk, which meanders through the downtown area. Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater, this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio. Also based along the River Walk is the newly restored Aztec On The River, the only surviving exotic-themed movie palace in Texas.

The Alamo, located nearby, is Texas' top tourist attraction, while the River Walk is the second most visited attraction. SeaWorld, located west of downtown, is the number 3 attraction. Also, there is the very popular Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Morgan's Wonderland is a theme park for special needs children.

The downtown area also features Cathedral of San Fernando, The Majestic Theatre, HemisFair Park (home of the Tower of the Americas and the Institute of Texan Cultures), La Villita, El Mercado, the Spanish Governor's Palace, and the historic Menger Hotel. On the northern side of the Alamo complex, beside the Emily Morgan Hotel, is the San Antonio Cavalry Museum, which features cavalry artifacts and exhibits and is frequented by local re-enactors.

The Fairmount Hotel, built in 1906 and San Antonio's second oldest hotel, is in the Guinness World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever moved intact. It was placed in its new location, three blocks south of the Alamo, over four days in 1985, and cost $650,000 to move.

San Antonio is home to the first museum of modern art in Texas, the McNay Art Museum. Other places of interest include The Woodlawn Theatre, the San Antonio Zoo, the Japanese Tea Gardens, Kumamoto, Brackenridge Park, the missions of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the Museo Alameda, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Witte Museum, the Texas Rangers Museum, the Buckhorm Museum, ArtPace, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Texas Transportation Museum, and Splashtown San Antonio. Visitors can also experience something of the cowboy culture year round, they can see the 40-foot (12 m) tall cowboy boots at North Star Mall.

Beyond taking in the sights and sounds of San Antonio, tourists can sample some of its world famous Tex-Mex cuisine at the many fine restaurants located throughout the city. Mexican restaurants are abundant in virtually all parts of town, and most—except for those in the Far North and some of the Uptown enclaves like Alamo Heights—are relatively inexpensive. Some outstanding examples of Tex-Mex eateries include Jacala, on West Avenue on the near Northwest side, La Hacienda de Los Barrios, on the North East side, Tommy's on Nogalitos at I-35 near downtown, and Los Barrios, on the near North side of town.

Sports

The city's only top-level professional sports team, and consequently the team most San Antonians follow, is the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. Previously, the Spurs played at the Alamodome, which was built for football, and before that the HemisFair Arena, but the Spurs built—with public money—and moved into the SBC Center in 2002, since renamed the AT&T; Center.

The AT&T; Center is also home to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League and the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA, both owned by the Spurs Organization. San Antonio is home to the Double-A Minor League affiliate of the San Diego Padres, the San Antonio Missions who play at Nelson Wolff Stadium on the west side of the city. (San Antonio is the largest city in the country with neither a Major League nor AAA baseball team.) San Antonio hosts the NCAA football Alamo Bowl each December.

San Antonio has two rugby union teams, the Alamo City Rugby Football Club, and San Antonio Rugby Football Club.

The city is also home to St. Mary's University and the University of Texas San Antonio who field the only two collegiate Mens Rugby teams in the city. Both schools compete in Division III Texas Rugby Union, both schools are city and division rivals.

The University of Texas at San Antonio fields San Antonio's only NCAA Division I athletic teams known as the UTSA Roadrunners. The University recently added football, hiring former University of Miami coach Larry Coker as its initial head coach. Roadrunner football will begin play in 2011.

The city is also home of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, played annually in the Alamodome and televised live on NBC. The Bowl is an East versus West showdown featuring the nation's top 90 high school senior football players. The game has featured NFL stars Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Adrian Peterson, and many other college and NFL stars.

City officials are said to be attempting to lure the National Football League permanently to San Antonio and have also said that a strong showing at the Alamodome for the three local Saints games was vital to showing that San Antonio can support an NFL franchise. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stated San Antonio was successful in hosting the team, and that the city would be on the short list for any future NFL expansions. The city has also hosted the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers preseason camps in the past, and they have signed a contract with the Cowboys in which the Cowboys will practice in San Antonio through 2011. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his support for the city's efforts to become home to an NFL franchise. Although it is the second largest city in the United States without an NFL team (after Los Angeles), San Antonio's smaller metropolitan population has so far contributed to its lack of landing an NFL, MLB, or NHL team.

San Antonio will be getting a National Premier Soccer League expansion team in 2010.

Government

The City of San Antonio runs under a Council-Manager form of government. The city is divided into 10 council districts designed to ensure equal population distribution between all districts. Each district elects one person to sit on the City Council with the mayor elected on a city-wide basis. All members of the City Council, which includes the mayor, are elected to two-year terms and are limited to four terms in total (except for those who were in office in November, 2008 and are limited to a total of two terms). All positions are elected on non-partisan ballots as required by Texas law. Council members are paid $20 a meeting, while the Mayor earns $4,000 a year. Most council members maintain full-time employment in addition to their positions on the council. The current mayor is Julian Castro.

The council hires the City Manager to handle day to day operations. The council effectively functions as the city's legislative body with the City Manager acting as its Chief Executive, responsible for the management of day to day operations and execution of council legislation. The current City Manager is Sheryl Sculley.

The city operates its own electric and gas utility service, CPS Energy.

The city stretches into several national congressional districts and is represented in Congress by the following:

Senate

* Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)

* John Cornyn (R)

House of Representatives

* Texas District 20: Charlie Gonzalez (D)

* Texas District 21: Lamar Smith (R)

* Texas District 23: Quico Canseco (R)

* Texas District 28: Henry Cuellar (D)

State Governor

* Rick Perry (R)

Growth policy

Unlike most large cities in the U.S., San Antonio is not completely surrounded by independent suburban cities, and under Texas law it exercises extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) over much of the surrounding unincorporated land, including directing growth and zoning. It pursues an aggressive annexation policy and opposes the creation of other municipalities within its ETJ. Nearly three-fourths of its current land area has been annexed since 1960. In the 2000s the city has annexed several long narrow corridors along major thoroughfares in outlying areas to facilitate eventual annexation of growth developing along the routes. The city planned to annex nearly forty additional square miles by 2009. In May 2010, the San Antonio agreed to release thousands of acres of land in its extraterritorial jurisdiction along Interstate 10 to Schertz. The agreement releases a total of of San Antonio's ETJ lands north of I-10 to Schertz. The ETJ lands are in an area bordered by FM 1518 to the west, Lower Seguin Road to the north, Cibolo Creek to the east and I-10 to the south.

Involuntary annexation is a controversial issue in those parts of unincorporated Bexar County affected by it. Residents, attracted to the outlying areas by lower taxes and affordable real estate values, often see annexation as a mechanism to increase property tax rates (primarily driven by school district taxes) without a corresponding improvement in services such as police and fire protection, while the city regards its annexation policy as essential to its overall prosperity.

State and federal representation

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Parole Division Region IV headquarters in the San Antonio Metro Parole Complex. San Antonio district parole offices I and III are in the parole complex, while office II is in another location.

The Texas Department of Transportation operates the San Antonio District Office in San Antonio.

The United States Postal Service operates the San Antonio Main Post Office. Other post offices are located throughout San Antonio.

Education

San Antonio hosts over 100,000 students across its 31 higher-education facilities which include The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas A&M; University–San Antonio, and the Alamo Community College District. Some of the private schools include Baptist University of the Américas, St. Mary's University, Our Lady of the Lake University, University of the Incarnate Word, Trinity University, and Wayland Baptist University. The San Antonio Public Library serves all of these institutions along with the 17 school districts within San Antonio.

The city is also home to more than 30 private schools and charter schools. These schools include: Central Catholic Marianist High School, Incarnate Word High School, Saint Mary's Hall, The Atonement Academy, Antonian College Preparatory High School, San Antonio Academy, Holy Cross High School, Providence High School, The Carver Academy, Keystone School, TMI — The Episcopal School of Texas, St. Anthony Catholic High School, Lutheran High School of San Antonio, Jubilee High School and Jubilee Academy.

Transportation

Air

The San Antonio International Airport (SAT)is located in north central San Antonio, approximately eight miles from downtown. It has two terminals and is served by 21 airlines serving 43 destinations including three in Mexico. Stinson Municipal Airport is a reliever airport located six miles (10 km) south of downtown San Antonio’s central business district. The airport has two runways and it is also home to the Texas Air Museum.

Mass transit

A bus and rubber tired streetcar (bus) system is provided by the city's metropolitan transit authority, VIA Metropolitan Transit. VIA's full fare monthly unlimited Big Pass is only $30 per month making VIA the most economically priced large transit authority in the nation. In August 2010, VIA Metropolitan Transit unveiled the next set of buses that are powered by diesel-electric hybrid technology. The 30 hybrid buses are being put into service on VIA’s express routes to serve daily commuters across the city. This set of buses follows the introduction of new vehicles powered by compressed natural gas, which were unveiled in May 2010. In the fall of 2010, VIA will begin taking delivery of three new buses that will be powered by electricity from on-board batteries. These buses will service the downtown core area, and they will be the first revenue vehicles VIA operates that have zero emissions. VIA offers 84 regular bus routes and three downtown streetcar routes. This includes express service from downtown to park and ride locations in the South, West, Northwest, North Central and Northeast areas of the city with service to UTSA, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld. VIA also offers a special service to city events including Spurs games and city parades from its park and ride locations. VIA has among its many routes, one of the longest local transit routes in the nation. Routes 550 (Clockwise) and 551 (Counterclockwise) travels one way as it loops around the city. San Antonio became the largest city in the U.S. to not have a intra-city rail system when Phoenix, the former city that had this title, got such a system in 2008. VIA is currently in the process of creating a Bus Rapid Transit line known as VIA Primo. A proposed passenger rail line, LSTAR, would link the city to Austin.

Rail

Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to San Antonio at San Antonio Amtrak Station, operating its Texas Eagle daily between San Antonio and Chicago's Union Station. Amtrak also operates its Sunset Limited three times a week in each direction through San Antonio between Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida (currently truncated to New Orleans due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina). The Texas Eagle section travels between San Antonio and Los Angeles as part of the Sunset Limited. The old Sunset Station is now an entertainment venue owned by VIA and neighbored by the current station and the Alamodome.

Road

San Antonio is served by these major freeways:

Interstate 10: McDermott Freeway (Northwest) runs west toward El Paso, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Jose Lopez Freeway (East) runs east toward Seguin, Houston, New Orleans and Jacksonville

Interstate 35: Pan Am Expressway (Northeast/Southwest)—runs south toward Laredo and runs north toward Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Minneapolis

Interstate 37: Lucian Adams Freeway (Southeast)—runs from San Antonio through its junction with U.S. Highway 281 south (Edinburg and McAllen) near Three Rivers and into Corpus Christi through its junction with U.S. Highway 77 south (Kingsville, Harlingen and Brownsville) to its southern terminus at Corpus Christi Bay.

Interstate 410: Connally Loop—simply called Loop 410 (four-ten) by locals is a inner beltway around the city.

U.S. 90: Cleto Rodriguez Freeway (West) through Uvalde and Del Rio to its western terminus at I-10 in Van Horn. Prior to I-10 East and US 90 West expressway being built US 90 traveled through the west side via West Commerce St. (westbound) and Buena Vista St. (eastbound) and Old Hwy 90. On the east side it traveled along East Commerce St. to its current alignment which runs concurrent with I-10 East to Seguin.

U.S. 281: McAllister Freeway (North) to Johnson City and Wichita Falls. Southbound, it runs concurrent with I-37, then I-410 for , then heads south to Pleasanton. Prior to I-37 and McAllister Fwy. being built US 281 traveled through the north side via San Pedro Ave. and the south side via Roosevelt Ave.

State Highway 151: Stotzer Freeway runs from US Hwy 90 West through Westover Hills which includes SeaWorld to its western terminus at State Loop 1604.

State Loop 1604: Charles W. Anderson Loop—simply called 1604 (sixteen-oh-four) by locals—is a outer beltway around San Antonio Other highways include: U.S. 87: Southbound to Victoria along Roland Avenue then Rigsby Avenue. It runs concurrent with I-10 for where it goes to San Angelo northbound. U.S. 181: Starts south of I-410/I-37/US 281 interchange and heads toward Corpus Christi via Beeville. Prior to I-37 being built US 181 traveled along Presa St. from downtown to its current alignment. State Highway 16: From Freer, it runs concurrent with I-410 for along southwest San Antonio, over to Bandera Road to Bandera. State Loop 345: Fredericksburg Road is the business loop for I-10 West/US-87 North. State Loop 368: Broadway and Austin Highway is the business loop for I-35 North. State Loop 353: Nogalitos Street and New Laredo Highway is the business loop for I-35 South.

State Loop 13: Is the city's inner loop on the south side serving Lackland AFB, Port San Antonio, South Park Mall and Brooks CityBase traveling along Military Dr. on the south side and WW White Rd. on the east side to its junction with I-35/I-410. The northern arc of the loop is now I-410.

Bicycle paths

San Antonio has approximately of bike lanes, routes or off-road paths. Off-road trails travel along the San Antonio River, linear greenways, or city parks. Although largely disconnected, the progress to create a bicycle-friendly environment was recognized when San Antonio was designated a Bronze-Level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.

Bicycle sharing

A bike sharing service was approved by the city council on June 17th, 2010. The initial program will consist of 140 bikes at 14 locations supported by a "central hub" and is expected to serve both residents and visitors. San Antonio Bike Share, a non-profit, is being formed to oversee the operation, which will be locally operated and maintained by Bike World. B-Cycle, the same system being used in Denver, will be supplying the bike share system. It is expected to be operating by January 2011.

Notable natives and residents

Media and entertainment

Print

San Antonio has one major newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News, which has served the area since 1865. Robert Rivard, who currently serves as the paper's executive vice president and editor, was named Managing Editor in 1994 and then Editor in 1997. The Express-News currently circulates as the largest newspaper service in South Texas. The Hearst Corporation, which owned a second newspaper, the San Antonio Light, purchased the Express-News from News Corp. in 1992 and shut down the Light after failing to find a buyer. Hearst, using the Express-News brand, also produces Conexion, a weekly magazine written by an entirely Hispanic staff with a Hispanic spin on weekly events. The San Antonio Current is the free "alternative" paper published weekly with local political issues, art and music news, restaurant listings and reviews, and listings of events and nightlife around town. In addition, the San Antonio Business Journal covers general business news. La Prensa, a bilingual publication, also has a long history in San Antonio. The San Antonio River Walk Current covers general San Antonio news.

Television

While the city is one of the ten largest in the United States, its television market is only the 37th in the United States, according to marketing research firm ACNielsen. This is primarily due to the relatively low population-density of the outlying areas and the close proximity of Austin, which truncates the potential market area. San Antonio-based TV stations are WOAI channel 4 (NBC), KSAT channel 12 (ABC), KENS channel 5 (CBS), KABB channel 29 (Fox TV), KCWX channel 2 (CW), KMYS channel 35(MyNetworkTV) and KLRN channel 9 (PBS). The market is also home to six Spanish language stations, three religious stations, three independent stations and one Internet-based station (210 TV). The San Antonio market has 65% cable TV penetration.

Radio

: See also: Broadcast media in San Antonio FM: 28 AM: 20

About 50 radio stations can be heard in the San Antonio area — 30 of them are actually located in the city. San Antonio is home to Clear Channel Communications, the largest operator of radio stations in the U.S. Its flagship, WOAI AM-1200, is known for its local news operation, considered among the best in the country. The first radio station to broadcast in South Texas was KTSA AM-550 in 1922. Some of KTSA AM-550's better known local talk show hosts include Jack Riccardi, Trey Ware and Ricci Ware.

There are three National Public Radio stations in San Antonio, which belong to Texas Public Radio (www.TPR.org); KSTX 89.1 FM is NPR news/talk, KPAC 88.3 is a 24-hour classical music station, and KTXI 90.1 is a mix of NPR news/talk and classical music broadcast for the West Central Texas Hill County. KSTX also broadcasts "Riverwalk Jazz", featuring Jim Cullum Jazz Band at The Landing, a fixture on the River Walk since 1963. KRTU 91.7 is a non-commercial radio station based out of Trinity University. Unlike other college radio stations throughout the U.S. the station plays jazz 17 hours a day and college rock/indie rock at night. College Alternative station KSYM, 90.1 FM, is owned by the Alamo Community College District and operated by San Antonio College students and like KRTU it plays the Third Coast music network during the day and alternative music at night.

Most Latin stations in the area play regional Mexican, Tejano or contemporary pop. On January 12, 2006, Univision-owned KCOR-FM "La Kalle 95.1" changed its format from Hispanic-Rhythmic Contemporary Hits to Spanish Oldies, then named "Recuerdo 95.1". However, Univision announced on November 10, 2006, that it flipped KLTO Tejano 97.7's format to Reggaeton in an attempt to reintroduce the format to San Antonio again. Then, 97.7 was flipped again to feature an rock format. The station no longer broadcasts anything in English and while still owned by Univision, it now broadcasts music from artists such as Linkin Park. On the other hand, 95.1 was then flipped back to the "La Kalle" format again after being flipped more than a year ago to feature an "95X" format. KLTO was acquired earlier in the year and operated as a simulcast of KXTN Tejano 107.5. San Antonio has quickly diversified in recent years, with the influx of non-Tejano Latinos, mostly from the East Coast, who are serving in the city's various military bases, as well as immigrants from Mexico. Therefore, just like in the rest of the country, radio station conglomerates have been changing formats in San Antonio to reflect shifting demographics.

Sister cities

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

Guadalajara, Mexico

Chennai, India

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Kumamoto, Japan

Kwangju, South Korea

Monterrey, Mexico

Western Galilee, Israel

Alliance cities

Dresden, Saxony, Germany

See also

Fiesta San Antonio

List of Registered Historic Places in Bexar County, Texas

Chisholm Trail

References

External links

City of San Antonio

San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau

San Antonio Neighborhood information

San Antonio International Airport

San Antonio area parks

South and West Texas, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan

Census quickfacts

San Antonio City Data

San Antonio Housing Statistics

Port San Antonio

Downtown San Antonio

Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce

Category:San Antonio, Texas Category:Populated places established in 1718 Category:Bexar County, Texas Category:Comal County, Texas Category:San Antonio metropolitan area Category:Cities in Texas Category:County seats in Texas Category:United States colonial and territorial capitals Category:Texas communities with Hispanic majority populations

Width	250px
Caption	Gary Neal in December 2010
Name	Gary Neal
League	NBA
Position	Point guard/Shooting guard
Height ft	6 | height_in = 4.75
Weight lbs	210
Team	San Antonio Spurs
Number	14
Nationality	American
Birth date	October 03, 1984
Birth place	Baltimore, Maryland
Highschool	Aberdeen High School Calvert Hall College High School
College	La Salle Towson
Draft	Undrafted
Draft year	2007
Career start	2007
Former teams	Pınar Karşıyaka (2007-08) AXA FC Barcelona (2008)Benetton Treviso (2008-10)Unicaja Málaga (2010)San Antonio Spurs (2010–present)
Awards

Gary Neal (born October 3, 1984) is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs. He is from Aberdeen, Maryland. He is also a former Towson Tigers and La Salle Explorers basketball star. He is 1.95 m (6 ft 4 ¾), 95 kg (210 lbs.) Neal is considered a combo guard.

High school career

Neal played at Aberdeen High School and one year at Calvert Hall College High School. As a junior, he led Aberdeen to a 21-4 record and won their state championship, while averaging a triple double per game. One of his Aberdeen teammates was former George Mason forward-center Jai Lewis. During his senior season, his Calvert Hall team went 22-9. One of his teammates on that squad was former Miami shooting guard Jack McClinton.

College career

See: 2004 La Salle University men's basketball scandal

As a Freshman, Neal was the Atlantic Ten Rookie Of The Year. He led the La Salle Explorers in scoring with an 18.6 average during his two seasons for the Explorers. Before the 2004-05 season, Neal was dismissed from the team due to a rape allegation by a University of New Haven women's basketball player who was working at La Salle camp. Neal was later acquitted.

Eventually, FC Barcelona bought out Neal's Pınar Karşıyaka contract. Neal was signed by FC Barcelona in January 2008. In Barcelona he played with Pepe Sanchez, the former Philadelphia 76er, and Juan Carlos Navarro. He averaged 2.3 points per game in the Euroleague and 3.3 points per game

Neal then joined the Spanish League club Unicaja Málaga, where he finished the 2009-10 season, averaging 12.6 points per game in Spanish League play. On July 22, 2010, he agreed to a three year contract with the NBA club the San Antonio Spurs.

References

External links

NBA.com Profile

Euroleague.net Profile

Spanish League Profile

Eurocup Profile

Italian League Profile

Turkish League Profile

ESPN.com Profile

Category:American basketball players Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:La Salle Explorers men's basketball players Category:Liga ACB players Category:FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Category:Pallacanestro Treviso players Category:CB Málaga players Category:1984 births Category:People from Harford County, Maryland Category:Towson Tigers men's basketball players Category:San Antonio Spurs players Category:Undrafted National Basketball Association players

Name	George Strait
Background	solo_singer
Alias	The King of Country
Birth name	George Harvey Strait
Born	May 18, 1952
Origin	Poteet, Texas
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer, Producer, Actor
Years active	1975–present
Label	MCA (MCA Nashville)
Associated acts	Ace in the HoleDean DillonAlan JacksonPatty LovelessLee Ann WomackJamey Johnson Mindy McCready Garth Brooks
Url	www.georgestrait.com

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, actor and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country western music. George Strait holds the world record for more #1 hit singles than any other artist in the history of music on any chart or in any genre. As of 2010 he has recorded 57 #1 hit singles.

Strait rocketed to success after his first single "Unwound" gave him his first hit in 1981. While contributing to the neo-traditional movement of the 1980s, he amassed seven number one albums in the decade with his most popular hits including "Fool Hearted Memory" and "Ocean Front Property". By the 1990s, Strait had influenced a new breed of performers while continuing his own successes, having charted upwards of 20 number one hits including "Heartland" and "Blue Clear Sky". The next decade for which he was named Artist Of The Decade by the ACM, he was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame and won his first Grammy award for his hit album Troubadour. Strait continued his previous successes during this time, producing a more contemporary sound with moderate cross-over hits including "She'll Leave You with a Smile" and "You'll Be There".

Strait won CMA Entertainer of the year in 1989 and 1990 and ACM Entertainer of the year in 1990. He has been nominated for more CMA and ACM awards and has more wins in both categories than any other artist. As of 2009, he holds the record for the most Number One hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with 44 number one singles on that chart. Counting all other music charts, Strait has amassed a total of 57 number one hits overall, breaking a record previously set by Conway Twitty.

Strait has sold more than 68.5 million albums in the United States and his certifications from the RIAA include 13 multi-platinum, 33 platinum and 38 gold albums. His best-selling album is Pure Country (1992), which sold 6 million (6× Multi-platinum). His highest certified album is Strait Out of the Box (1995), which sold 2 million copies (8× Multi-Platinum due to being a box set with four CDs). According to the RIAA, Strait is the 12th best-selling recording artist with the albums in the United States overall.

Early life

Strait was born in Poteet, Texas, just south of San Antonio, and grew up in the nearby town of Pearsall. His father, John Byron Strait, was a junior high school mathematics teacher, who owns a 2,000 acre (8 km²) cattle ranch outside of Big Wells, Texas. The family would work at the farm on the weekends and in the summers. Strait's mother, Doris Couser Strait, left with George Strait's sister Pency when he was in third grade, leaving him and his brother John Jr. to be raised by their father.

Strait began his musical interest while attending Pearsall High School, playing in a rock and roll garage band. His musical preference soon turned to country with singers Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Bob Wills, Hank Williams and Frank Sinatra influencing his style. Strait didn't tune to the country music radio often as a youth, usually listening to the news and the farmer's report. His introduction to country music came mostly by way of live performances, which, according to Strait, could be heard in every town in Texas. He eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma. The couple initially married in Mexico on December 4, 1971 but repeated their vows in a church in Texas a few weeks later. In 1971, Strait enlisted in the US Army. While stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as a part of the 25th Infantry division (light), he began performing with an Army-sponsored band, "Rambling Country", which played off-base under the name "Santee". After Strait was honorably discharged from the army in 1975, he enrolled at Southwest Texas State University (now known as Texas State University) in San Marcos, Texas, and received a degree in Agriculture. During his college years, he joined the country band Stoney Ridge, answering a flyer the band posted around campus looking for a new vocalist. Strait renamed the group the Ace in the Hole and quickly became the lead , they began to perform at different honky tonks and bars around south and central Texas, traveling as far east as Huntsville and Houston. They gained a regional following and opened for national acts such as The Texas Playboys. Soon, his band was given the opportunity to record several Strait-penned singles including "That Don't Change The Way I Feel About You", for the Houston-based D label. However, the songs never achieved wide recognition, and Strait continued to manage his family cattle ranch during the day in order to make some extra cash.

Music career

1980s

In the spring of 1981, Strait released his first single for MCA Records, entitled "Unwound", which climbed into the top ten of the Hot Country Songs chart that year, and was included on his debut album Strait Country. The record featured two more singles including "Down and Out," a #16 hit for Strait, and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)", which reached number three early in 1982, sparking a string of Top Ten hits that ran well into the '90s. Strait Country was hailed by critics as a traditionalist breakthrough that broke the trend of pop-influenced country prevalent at the time. The year 1982 also saw the release of Strait's second album, the critically acclaimed Strait from the Heart, which featured the first number one of his career, "Fool Hearted Memory" and the top five "Amarillo by Morning", regarded by many as one of the greatest country songs of all-time. In 1983, Strait made his first appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when the headlining star, Eddie Rabbitt came down sick with the flu. Strait has since become a mainstay throughout his career, making more than twenty appearances at the Rodeo, and playing to a total of more than one million fans.

Strait recorded seventeen subsequent #1's in the decade, including a string of five that lasted from 1983-84 from his next two albums Right or Wrong, his first number one album and the CMA award winning Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind. The next year, he won the CMA award for top male vocalist, and released his first Greatest Hits compilation, which featured songs from his first three albums. Also in 1985, Strait released Something Special, the third straight number-one album of his career, featuring the number-one single "The Chair". In 1986, Strait repeated as the CMA vocalist of the year and released his fourth #1 album #7. Strait and his family were struck with tragedy when his 13-year-old daughter, Jenifer, was killed in an one-car non-alcohol related accident. The incident did not hinder Strait's performance, as he went on to release 11 straight #1 hits, starting with "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her" in 1986 and ending with "Ace in the Hole" in 1989. Strait finished the decade by winning the CMA entertainer of the year award in 1989. A year later, he won the award again. It produced the #1's "If I Know Me" and "You Know Me Better Than That", but ended his streak of 31 straight top ten hits with the cover of "Lovesick Blues", which peaked at #24.

Strait completed the decade with the album Always Never the Same in 1999, which peaked at #2 on country charts and matched the cross-over success of Pure Country by reaching #6 on the Billboard 200. The record produced the hits "What Do You Say to That", "Meanwhile" and the #1 "Write This Down". Reviews of the album's material were generally moderate, but Entertainment Weekly observed that at this point in his career, Strait could record the "most lightweight" material and "make it soar" on the radio with his "grace". All in all, Strait scored 17 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country airplay charts in the decade, and carried his successes into the next century.

2000 – present: Career today

Strait released a self-named album in 2000, which despite a #1 and #7 showing on the country and Billboard 200 album charts, produced no #1 singles, and was the first studio album of his career to not be certified as platinum. The singles "Go On" and "If You Can Do Anything Else" were released from the record, with both peaking in the top five. In May 2001, The Road Less Traveled was released. Reviews for the album were mostly positive, Rolling Stone described it as sticking to the formula "but adds a few twists that make it superior to his last few releases." It featured "vocal processing," and was considered by some critics as an experimental album.

On October 3, 2006, Strait marked his 30th year in the music industry with the release of a new album titled It Just Comes Natural. It featured fifteen new songs. Strait's long-time friend and songwriter, Dean Dillon co-wrote two of the songs on the album. It received generally positive reviews from critics. People, in their four-star review, remarked that "If ever there was a natural in country music, it's Strait," while USA Today raved that "he continues to make such consistent quality look easy." The first single off the album, "Give It Away" reached #1 and the title track, "It Just Comes Natural" became his 42nd Billboard #1. In 2007, "Wrapped" reached No. 1 on the Mediabase 24/7 country music charts, giving Strait his 55th overall number-one single. From January through April of that year, Strait headlined a twenty-three date arena tour with country music legend Ronnie Milsap and newcomer Taylor Swift. He released a new album titled Troubadour on April 1, 2008. The CD contained 12 tracks, including a duet with Patty Loveless and another with long-time songwriter Dean Dillon. The lead single off the album, "I Saw God Today", debuted at #19 on the Radio and Records and Billboard charts. It is the highest debut ever for a single from Strait and the fourth highest debut for a song in country music history. Troubadour debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, selling over 160,000 copies in its first week of release. "River of Love" the 3rd single from the album became his 57th number-one song in 2009.

In April 2009, George Strait was honored by the Academy of Country Music with the Artist of the Decade Award. The artist of the decade award was presented to George Strait by the previous ACM Artist of the Decade Garth Brooks. In June of that year he headlined the first event at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Strait's single, "Living for the Night" was released on May 28, 2009, and was written by Strait, his son Bubba, and Dean Dillon. The song was the lead single off of his album Twang, released on August 11, 2009. "Twang" has been certified gold status, for selling over 500,000 copies. In 2010, Billboard ranked Strait #1 in the top 25 country artists of the past 25 years.

George Strait performed at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010.

Personal life

In 1981, Strait and Norma welcomed son George Strait, Jr., known as "Bubba." Their daughter Jenifer was killed in an automobile accident in San Marcos, Texas, on June 25, 1986, at the age of 13. The family set up a foundation, The Jenifer Lynn Strait Foundation, which donates money to children's charities in the San Antonio, Texas area. Bubba, who is a graduate of Texas A&M; University, is pursuing a career as a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) team roping competitor. Strait was able to watch his son compete at the Houston Rodeo in 2006 shortly before taking the stage for his own performance.

As pastimes, Strait enjoys hunting, fishing, skiing, playing golf, and riding motorcycles. Along with his son, he is a member of the PRCA and partners in team roping competitions. George and his elder brother Buddy, who died in April 2009, hosted the annual George Strait Team Roping Classic, in which they competed against some of the best team ropers in the world. Strait has also said that he very seldom picks up a guitar when not in the studio or touring. He and his wife live in far north-west San Antonio in the wealthy gated community The Dominion as well as on a ranch near Cotulla, Texas, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio. He is also a big fan of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and can be seen court-side at many of the Spurs' home basketball games.

Strait also is known for driving Chevrolets, as he is the spokesman for a local Texas Chevrolet dealership, and often refers to Chevys in his songs.

Of German descent on both sides of his family, he is a fourth-great-grandson of Johann Christian Streit (b.1672), a native of Kirberg, Bavaria, Germany, who immigrated to Somerset County, New Jersey prior to 1710. Within two generations, the family had relocated to Chester County, South Carolina, then on to Greene County, Alabama, and finally, to Texas. His oldest known ancestor, it should be noted, was one Johannes Streit (b.1596, Bavaria/d. bef. 1664).

Discography

In Strait's more than 30 years of recording, all of which have been spent with MCA Records, he has garnered 57 No. 1 songs on all country charts (including Mediabase 24/7, the former Radio & Records charts, and the now-defunct Gavin Report charts), and has more #1 hits than any other artist in any genre. His 44 Billboard magazine country No. 1's (to date) are a record, at the moment four more than previous record-holder Conway Twitty, who racked up 40, including several duets with Loretta Lynn. Additionally, Strait is also the first artist in the history of Billboard magazine to have at least one single enter the Top 10 of any given Billboard chart for 30 consecutive years, starting in 1981 when his debut single, "Unwound," peaked at #6 on the Hot Country Singles chart. (All of his Top 10 singles have been on that chart.)

Strait has sold more than 68.5 million albums in the United States and his certifications from the RIAA include 13 multi-platinum, 33 platinum and 38 gold albums.

Main albums

Twang (2009)

Troubadour (2008)

It Just Comes Natural (2006)

Somewhere Down in Texas (2005)

Honkytonkville (2003)

The Road Less Traveled (2001)

George Strait (2000)

Always Never the Same (1999)

One Step at a Time (1998)

Carrying Your Love with Me (1997)

Blue Clear Sky (1996)

Lead On (1994)

Easy Come, Easy Go (1993)

Holding My Own (1992)

Chill of an Early Fall (1991)

Livin' It Up (1990)

Beyond the Blue Neon (1989)

If You Ain't Lovin' You Ain't Livin' (1988)

Ocean Front Property (1987)

#7 (1986)

Something Special (1985)

Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind (1984)

Right or Wrong (1983)

Strait from the Heart (1982)

Strait Country (1981)

Filmography

Strait has acted in several films. He had a bit part in The Soldier (1982) and starred in Pure Country (1992). He also appeared as himself in Grand Champion (2002).

The film Pure Country featured George Strait in the lead role as Dusty Chandler, a famous country singer who strays too far from his country roots and traditional sound. It provided the opportunity for Strait to branch out from his own traditional country sound for a more rock-and-roll approach. The film saw little success at the box office, taking in only $15 million, but the soundtrack, also called Pure Country, produced several hit singles for Strait, and has become his best-selling album to date. Strait will have a limited role in the sequel to Pure Country, Pure Country 2: The Gift, which began filming in 2009. {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Movie !! Role |- |1982 ||The Soldier ||Himself |- |1992 ||Pure Country ||Dusty Wyatt Chandler |- |1998 ||The Horse Whisperer ||Soundtrack only |- |2002 ||Grand Champion ||Himself |- |2003 ||King of the Hill ||Voice of Cornell |- |In production || Pure Country 2: The Gift|| Country music star |}

Awards

plaque]] Strait holds the record for most number one albums, gold albums, and platinum albums in the history of country music and is 11th in the most number one albums in all other genres. Strait is third only to Elvis Presley and The Beatles with the most gold and platinum albums in the history of music. He is also the ninth best selling artist in American music history, and has recorded the most number one songs in the history of any genre. Strait is the only artist in the history of music to have a top ten hit every year for thirty years. He also is second all-time in top ten hits in the history of music currently ten away from breaking the all time record held by Eddy Arnold who had 92 in his historic career. Strait has also won 22 CMA Awards, including consecutive Entertainer of the Year honors in 1989 and 1990, and holds the career record for CMA nominations and as of 2008 holds the record for the most CMA awards. Strait also holds those same records for wins and nominations for the ACM Awards. Strait was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, performing his No. 1 hit "Give it Away" right before accepting his replica Hall of Fame plaque at the 40th CMA Awards. He was only the second artist (after Eddy Arnold in 1966) to be inducted into the Hall of Fame while still actively recording and producing chart-topping hits and albums.

As of June 8, 2010 George Strait was named the top country music artist of the past 25 years according to Billboard magazine. In October 2008, the Academy of Country Music Awards announced that named Strait their Artist of the Decade for the 2000s. He was presented the award by the previous winner Garth Brooks. Past winners of the award are Marty Robbins (1960s), Loretta Lynn (1970s), Alabama (1980s) and Garth Brooks (1990s). {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Awards !! Award |- |2009 ||Academy of Country Music ||Artist of the Decade |- |2009 ||Grammy Awards ||Best Country Album - Troubadour |- |2008||Country Music Association ||Album of the Year - Troubadour |- |2008||Country Music Association ||Single of the Year - "I Saw God Today" |- |2007 ||Country Music Association ||Album of the Year - It Just Comes Natural (Two Trophies: Artist, and Producer) |- |2007 ||Country Music Association ||Song of the Year - "Give It Away" (Awarded to Songwriter Jamey Johnson) |- |2006 ||Country Music Hall of Fame ||Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame |- |2006 ||Honorary Doctoral Degree ||Doctor of Humane Letters presented by Texas State University–San Marcos |- |2005 ||Country Music Association ||Musical Event of the Year - "Good News, Bad News" (with Lee Ann Womack) |- |2003 ||Special Award ||National Medal of Arts |- |2003 ||Academy of Country Music ||Special Achievement Award (in recognition of 50 #1 Songs) |- |2003 ||CMT 40 Greatest Men of Country Music ||Ranked #9 |- |2002 ||Country Weekly ||Favorite Collaborative Song - "Designated Drinker" (with Alan Jackson) |- |2001 ||Country Music Association ||Song of the Year - "Murder On Music Row" (Awarded to Songwriters) |- |2000 ||Country Music Association ||Vocal Event of the Year - "Murder On Music Row" (with Alan Jackson) |- |2000 ||Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards ||Album of the Year - Always Never The Same |- |2000 ||Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards    ||Entertainer of the Year |- |2000 ||Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards ||Male Artist of the Year |- |2000 ||Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards ||Single of the Year - "Write This Down" |- |2000 ||Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards ||Impact Artist of the Year |- |1999 ||Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards ||Album of the Year - One Step At A Time |- |1999 ||Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards ||Favorite Enteratiner |- |1999 ||Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards ||Favorite Male Artist |- |1999 ||Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards ||Favorite Video Enteratiner |- |1999 ||Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards ||Favorite Line Dance Song - "I Just Want To Dance With You" |- |1999 ||Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards ||Favorite Song - "I Just Want To Dance With You" |- |1998 ||Radio & Records ||Best Male Vocalist |- |1998 ||American Music Awards ||Favorite Country Album - Carrying Your Love With Me |- |1998 ||American Music Awards ||Favorite Country Male Artist |- |1998 ||Country Music Association ||Male Vocalist of the Year |- |1996 ||Billboard ||Most Played Artist (All Genres of Music) |- |1997||Radio & Records ||Best Male Vocalist |- |1997||Radio & Records ||Best Album - Blue Clear Sky |- |1997 ||Academy of Country Music ||Album of the Year - Carrying Your Love With Me |- |1997||Academy of Country Music ||Top Male Vocalist |- |1997 ||American Music Awards ||Favorite Country Album - Blue Clear Sky |- |1997 ||Country Music Association ||Album of the Year - Carrying Your Love With Me |- |1997 ||Country Music Association ||Male Vocalist of the Year |- |1997 ||TNN/Music City News ||Album of the Year - Blue Clear Sky |- |1996 ||Billboard ||Top Country Artist |- |1996 ||Radio & Records ||Most Valuable Performer |- |1996 ||Radio & Records ||Best Male Vocalist |- |1996 ||Radio & Records ||Best Single - "Check Yes Or No" |- |1996 ||Academy of Country Music ||Album of the Year - Blue Clear Sky |- |1996 ||Academy of Country Music ||Top Male Vocalist |- |1996 ||Country Music Association ||Male Vocalist of the Year |- |1996 ||Country Music Association ||Album of the Year - Blue Clear Sky |- |1996 ||Country Music Association ||Single of the Year - "Check Yes Or No" |- |1996 ||Music City News Country ||Single of the Year - "Check Yes Or No" |- |1996 ||TNN/Music City News ||Album of the Year - Lead On |- |1996 ||TNN/Music City News ||Single of the Year - "Check Yes Or No" |- |1996 ||TNN/Music City News ||Video of the Year - "Check Yes Or No" |- |1995 ||ASCAP ||Voice Of Music Award |- |1995 ||Academy of Country Music ||Single of the Year - "Check Yes Or No" |- |1993 ||ACM ||Tex Ritter Movie Of The Year - Pure Country |- |1991 ||American Music Awards ||Favorite Country Male Artist |- |1990 ||Radio & Records ||Country Performer Of The Year |- |1990 ||Country Music Association ||Entertainer of the Year |- |1989 ||Special ||Presidential American Success Award |- |1989 ||Academy of Country Music ||Entertainer of the Year |- |1989 || Special ||Connie B. Gay Award |- |1989 ||Country Music Association ||Entertainer of the Year |- |1988 ||Academy of Country Music ||Top Male Vocalist |- |1987 ||Billboard ||Top Country Artist |- |1986 ||Billboard ||Top Country Artist |- |1986 ||Country Music Association ||Male Vocalist of the Year |- |1986 ||Music City News Country ||Male Artist of the Year |- |1985 ||Academy of Country Music ||Album of the Year - Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind |- |1985 ||Academy of Country Music ||Top Male Vocalist |- |1985 ||Country Music Association ||Album of the Year - Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind |- |1985 ||Country Music Association ||Male Vocalist of the Year |- |1984||Academy of Country Music ||Top Male Vocalist |}

See also

George Strait Country Music Festival

List of best-selling music artists

List of best-selling music artists in the United States

Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame (2006 Inductee)

George Strait in Songs

Notes

References

Bego, Mark (2001). George Strait: the Story of Country's Living Legend. Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-2258-6

Dickinson, Chris. (1998). "George Strait". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 513–4.

"Discography". George Strait's Official Web Site. Retrieved August 27, 2004.

"Awards". George Strait's Official Web Site. Retrieved August 27, 2004.

Further reading

External links

George Strait Online

George Strait - biography, discography, lyrics, photos, videos

Official UMG Nashville Artist Page

George Strait at the Internet Movie Database

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

George Strait Team Roping Classic (GSTRC) homepage

Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American people of German descent Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:People from Atascosa County, Texas Category:People from San Antonio, Texas Category:People from Frio County, Texas Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Texas State University–San Marcos alumni Category:American Christians Category:MCA Records artists Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners