Luis Francisco Rodríguez Olmo (August 11, 1919 – April 28, 2017) was a Puerto Rican

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and right-handed batter. Olmo played in the majors with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(1943–45, 1949) and

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

(1950–51).

Early years

Olmo was born in

Arecibo, Puerto Rico Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

. He began his professional career in 1938 with the Criollos de Caguas of the

Puerto Rican Winter League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

. In 1939, Olmo signed with the

Richmond Colts The Richmond Colts were a minor league baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1953. They played in the Virginia League in 1894, and in another Virginia League in 1900, and another Virginia League from 1 ...

of the

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Cities represented The following cities hosted teams th ...

and was assigned to the Tarboro Goobers and later the

Wilson Tobs The Wilson Tobs are an amateur baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league. The team plays its home games at Fleming Stadium in Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and th ...

of the

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

. The Dodgers acquired Olmo from Richmond in 1942 and assigned him to the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

after spring training.Luis Olmo, a Pioneering Puerto Rican Baseball Player, Dies at 97, New York Times
/ref>Luis Olmo Baseball Stats
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Professional career

Brooklyn called Olmo up to the major leagues in July 1943 and he debuted with the Dodgers on July 18, 1943. In 57

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, he batted .303 with four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 37 RBI. He gained regular status in the next season, batting .258 with nine home runs and 85 RBI in 136 games. On May 18, 1945, Olmo became the second player (

Del Bissonette Adelphia Louis Bissonette (September 6, 1899 – June 9, 1972) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers (then known as the Brooklyn Robins) ...

on April 21, 1930, was the first) in Major League history to hit a bases-loaded triple and a bases-loaded home run (grand slam) in the same game. He added a

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for good measure, only failing to hit a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

to complete the cycle. In that season, he led the league in triples (13) and reached career-high numbers in batting average (.313), home runs (10), RBI (110), doubles (27),

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s (15) and games (141).

Mexican League

Despite his strong 1945 season, the return of players from World War II service meant stiff competition for the Dodgers' outfield. Olmo was offered a $6,000 salary for 1946, far from his expectations of a $10,000 contract. Instead, he chose to sign with the Rojos del México in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

, after owner

Jorge Pasquel Jorge Pasquel Casanueva (April 23, 1907 - March 7, 1955) was a Mexican businessman and baseball executive. He was president of the Mexican League and owned interests in several teams at a time when the league recruited from Negro league baseball a ...

offered him a $20,000 salary; he was later traded to the Azules de Veracruz (also owned by Pasquel). In 59 games with Mexico and Veracruz in the 1946 season, Olmo hit .289 and drove in 42 runs. Olmo, along with the other so-called "jumpers" who defected to the Mexican League, were suspended for five years by

Commissioner of Baseball The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as " organized baseball". Under the direction of the commiss ...

Happy Chandler Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Sr. (July 14, 1898 – June 15, 1991) was an American politician from Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and served as its List of Governors of Kentucky, 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his ...

; some historians suggest that the departure of a relatively-high-profile player like Olmo was the catalyst for Chandler's crackdown. Along with fellow "jumper" and former Dodger Mickey Owen, Olmo applied for reinstatement in 1946 but was denied. Instead, he played the 1947 season with Veracruz, hitting .301 in 102 games. By 1949, Olmo was reinstated and he returned to the Dodgers, batting .305 in to help win the pennant.

Return to the majors

In the

1949 World Series The 1949 World Series featured the 1949 New York Yankees season, New York Yankees and 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers season, Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games for their second defeat of the Dodgers in three years, and the 12th cham ...

against the

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

, Olmo became the first Puerto Rican to play in a World Series, as well as hit a home run and get three hits in a Series game. After two seasons, he was dealt to the Braves. He retired at the end of the 1951 season. In a six-year career, Olmo batted .281 (458-for-1629) with 29 home runs, 208 runs, 65 doubles, 25 triples, and 33 stolen bases in 462 games.

Caribbean Series

Olmo earned Caribbean Series MVP honors, during the 1951 edition played in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, after batting .416 and three homers, while powering the Cangrejeros de Santurce to the championship. Olmo returned to the Series with Santurce in its

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

title, and also played as a reinforcement for fourth-place Senadores de San Juan in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. Overall, Olmo posted a .303 average with three home runs and 13 RBI in three Caribbean Series.

Later years

Olmo was elected to the

Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame The Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame () was established in 1996 by Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, commissioner of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CPBC). (Spanish) It honors the most prominent baseball players who have made signi ...

on February 6, 2004. His baseball career was featured in a 2008 American documentary titled "Beisbol", directed by Alan Swyer and narrated by

Esai Morales Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films '' Bad Boys'' with Sean Penn and '' La Bamba'' with Lou Diamond Phillips. His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series '' Americ ...

, which covered the early influences and contributions of

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s in the game. The City of

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

honored Olmo by naming a stadium after him. Olmo had been suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

for more than a year. Olmo, who suffered from the complications of double pneumonia, died on April 28, 2017, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico.Murió el pelotero Luis Rodriguez Olmo, primer boricua en una serie mundial
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olmo, Luis 1919 births 2017 deaths Águilas Cibaeñas players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Boston Braves players Brooklyn Dodgers players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Caribbean Series managers Criollos de Caguas players Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Milwaukee Braves scouts Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Montreal Royals players Philadelphia Phillies scouts Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Richmond Colts players Sportspeople from Arecibo, Puerto Rico Senadores de San Juan players Wilson Tobs players Diablos Rojos del México players Azules de Veracruz players