Luis Eleuterio Tiant Bravo[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwis ˈtjant]) (August 27, 1906 – December 10, 1976) was a pitcher in Negro league baseball, as well as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. He also performed with barnstorming teams. Tiant's career extended from 1926 through 1948. In the Negro leagues, he played for the Havana Red Sox, Cuban Stars West, Cuban House of David/Pollock's Cuban Stars, and New York Cubans, between 1928 and 1947.[1][2]
Tiant featured a screwball. Bill James and Rob Neyer ranked it the seventh-best screwball of all time.[3]
Tiant's son, Luis Clemente Tiant, was a major league starting pitcher from 1964 to 1982. In August 1975, the elder Tiant and his wife were granted permission by Cuban leader Fidel Castro to visit the United States, so they could watch their son pitch in the major leagues.[4] The Tiants' visit to the US is featured in the 2009 documentary film about their son, The Lost Son of Havana.[5] The Tiants remained in the US, and the elder Luis Tiant died 16 months later in Milton, Massachusetts.[6] He was often referred to as "Luis Tiant Sr." by contemporary press to differentiate him from his son.
References
- ^ a b SABR BioProject: Luis E. Tiant
- ^ "Luis Tiant Negro League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ James, Bill; Neyer, Rob (2004-06-15). The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches. Simon and Schuster. p. 52. ISBN 9780743261586. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ "Red Sox host Angels tonight; Tiant to pitch for parents". The Lowell Sun. Lowell, Massachusetts. United Press International. August 26, 1975. p. 17. Retrieved May 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Lost Son of Havana (Official Trailer)". Retrieved May 22, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ Botwright, Ken O. (December 12, 1976). "Luis Tiant, pitcher's father". The Boston Globe. p. 85. Retrieved May 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
Further reading
- Costello, Rory. "Luis E. Tiant". SABR. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- Hughson, Callum (September 22, 2010). "Luis Tiant Sr. Bio". Mop-Up Duty. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference and Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats and Seamheads