Dolf Luque
Dolf Luque | ||
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Strikeouts | 1,130 | |
Teams | ||
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Career highlights and awards | ||
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Member of the Cuban | ||
Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
Induction | 1957 |
Adolfo Domingo De Guzmán "Dolf" Luque (August 4, 1890 – July 3, 1957)
A native of Havana, Luque played winter baseball in the Cuban League from 1912 to 1945 and was also a long-time manager in the league.[3] Additionally, he managed in Mexico in all or parts of eight seasons spanning 1946–1956.[4]
United States
Luque debuted with the
Luque was an above average hitting pitcher in his major league career, posting a .227
Luque became a starting pitcher in 1920. Primarily pitching with a curveball, he led the National League in losses in 1922, then had his best year in 1923, leading the league with 27 wins and an ERA of 1.93. Luque also led the NL in ERA with a 2.63 in 1925. He was known as an adept mentor in the later years of his pitching career, and went on to become the pitching coach of the Giants from 1936 to 1938 and 1942 to 45.
As a blue-eyed, fair-skinned, white Cuban, he was one of several white Cubans to make it in Major League Baseball at a time when
Luque was known to have a temper. While with the Brooklyn Dodgers, a heckler in the stands hollered "Lucky Luque! Lucky Luque!" repeatedly. Luque went over to the dugout and told manager Wilbert Robinson, "I tell you, Robbie, if this guy don't shut up, I'm gonna shut him up." "Aw, come on, Dolf", said the manager. "He paid his way in—let him boo." Just then the heckler spotted the rotund Robinson and yelled, "Hey, fat belly!" Robinson said, "OK, Dolf—go ahead and clobber the jerk." Luque obliged his manager's request.
Luque also served as a coach at the major league level for seven seasons (1936–1937; 1941–1945) with the New York Giants, working under managers Bill Terry and Mel Ott. As a coach, Luque was a member of the Giants' 1936 and 1937 National League champion teams.[7]
In between, Luque managed in the
Cuba
Luque made his professional debut in Cuba for the
In 1919/20 Luque became a playing manager for Almendares and led the team to a championship in his first season at the helm, the first of seven championships as a manager. He contributed on the pitching mound with a 10–4 record, leading the league in wins. In 1922/23 he moved to Habana (where Miguel Angel González was manager) and again led the league in wins with an 11–9 record. The next season, he took over the helm as Habana's manager and went 7–2 as a pitcher. Later in the decade, Luque's Major League team, the Cincinnati Reds, did not allow him to play winter baseball in Cuba. Luque sometimes evaded the ban by playing under assumed names. [10]
By the 1930s, Luque had returned to Almendares as manager. He generally pitched only occasionally, though in 1934/35 he contributed as a pitcher to his second championship as a manager; he tied for the league lead in wins with a 6–2 record and led the league with a 1.27 ERA. As manager, he again led Almendares to championships in 1939/40, 1941/42, and 1942/43, led Cienfuegos to a championship in 1945/46, and returned to Almendares for his final championship in 1946/47. He continued to manage for various teams until 1955/56.[11]
Luque's career Cuban League pitching record was 106–71. Luque is the all-time Cuban League leader in years pitching with 22, ranking second behind Martín Dihigo in wins with 106, and seventh in winning percentage with .599.[12]
Luque is mentioned in Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novel The Old Man and the Sea, when Hemingway writes "Who is the greatest manager, really, Luque or Mike Gonzalez?."[13]
Luque died July 3, 1957,[14] and is buried at Colon Cemetery, Havana.
See also
- List of Cubans
- List of Major League Baseball players from Cuba
- List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
References
- ^ Jamail, Milton. "Dolf Luque | Cuban baseball player and manager". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ "Dark-tempered and great". La Vida Baseball. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ Figueredo 2003, pp. 487, 509.
- ^ a b Cuban, Minor, Negro and Mexican leagues statistics. Baseball Reference. Retrieved on March 23, 2016.
- ^ "Who is the oldest pitcher to win a clinching World Series game". Answers. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
- ^ "Adolfo Luque, the oldest pitcher to ever win a World Series Game | Billy-Ball". Retrieved 2020-06-29.
- ^ Retrosheet
- ^ SABR Biography Project. Article written by Peter C. Bjarkman. Retrieved on March 23, 2016.
- ^ Figueredo 2003, pp. 95–96, 99, 103, 110, 114, 119, 123–124.
- ^ Figueredo 2003, pp. 130–132, 143, 145–146, 148, 151, 174, 177.
- ^ Figueredo 2003, pp. 203–204, 229, 243, 247, 262, 276–279, 410.
- ^ Figueredo 2003, pp. 502–503.
- ISBN 978-9796500116.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
Sources
- Figueredo, Jorge S. (2003), Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878–1961, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, ISBN 0-7864-1250-X.
- Riley, James A. (2002). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. 2nd edition. New York: Carroll & Graf Publ. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Before El Duque There was Luque and Before Robinson There was Estalella
- Cuban League statistics and player information from Seamheads.com, or Baseball Reference (Negro leagues)
- Dolf Luque at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Adolfo Luque – Cuban Baseball Statistics and History. Data gathering on Desde mi palco de fanático by Rogério Manzano (Spanish)