Luis Tiant  Venezuelan Pitcher of the Year Award (1937)

This trophy was presented to Luis Tiant, Sr. as “Pitcher of the Year” while he was playing for Maracaibo of the Venezuelan League in 1937.

Tiant was born in Habana, Cuba in 1906. During his career, this left handed pitcher played in the Negro Leagues, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. On a barnstorming tour with the New York Cubans in 1935, he defeated the Babe Ruth All-Stars two times in a row. He was selected to two East-West All-Star games (1935 and 1947) during his Negro League career. In his last year in the Negro Leagues (1947), at the age of 41, he posted a perfect 10-0 record.



During his career in the Negro Leagues he pitched for the following teams:

• Cuban Stars (West) 1930-1932
• Cuban House of David 1934
• New York Cubans 1935-1936, 1939-1940, 1943 and 1945-1947

Most of Tiant’s career was spent pitching in Latin America. Luis Tiant, Sr. pitched for 17 seasons in the Cuban Winter League. During his Cuban Winter League career, he pitched for the following teams: Almendares, Cienfuegos, Cuba, Habana, Marianao, Regala and Santa Clara. He also pitched several seasons in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela.

Luis Tiant’s son, Luis Tiant Jr., would enjoy a long Major League career (19 seasons) with the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and several other teams. During his career in the Major Leagues, Luis Tiant Jr. won 224 games.

Luis Tiant Sr. is a member of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.