Fertig: Luis Tiant took advantage of opportunity his father never had
From Todd Fertig at the Topeka Capital-Journal on April 2, 2016:
Probably the biggest stars among fathers and sons with a tie to the Negro Leagues are the Tiants — Luis Sr. and Luis Jr.
The younger Tiant was a wildly popular whirling dervish on the mound, throwing half a dozen pitches from every arm angle imaginable in the 1960s and 1970s. He led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series in 1975 and won at least 20 games four times in his career.
He was just following in his father’s footsteps.
The elder Tiant was a dazzling pitcher in Cuban professional baseball and in the Negro Leagues from the mid-1920s to 1947, retiring the year Jackie Robinson broke the big league color barrier. Luis Tiant Sr. spent most of his Negro League career with the New York Cubans and starred on the hallowed fields of the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium.
Great as father and son were on the field, the Tiants’ off-field odyssey may be even more intriguing.
Read the full article here: http://cjonline.com/sports/2016-04-02/legacy-luis-tiant-took-advantage-opportunity-his-father-never-had
Related links:
- Read the SABR biography of Luis Tiant, written by Mark Armour
- Read the SABR biography of Luis E. “Lefty” Tiant Sr., written by Rory Costello
Originally published: April 6, 2016. Last Updated: April 6, 2016.