Glimpses Into Baseball History: Louis Santop
From SABR member Brian McKenna at Glimpses Into Baseball History on December 18, 2011:
The ballplayer popularly known as Santop was actually named Loftin. That was his family name and that was the name he used officially throughout his life. (Except that he used Santop when traveling with his ball clubs – for example on passenger manifests)
His baseball career began in Texas under the name Loftin and continued as such as he soon hopped to Oklahoma clubs. The Loftin name even appears during his early days in the east. Why the change? Unfortunately, it’s unclear.
Even his first name seems to be an issue. The 1900 Census seems to list him as “Luray.” He can be found in the 1910 Census as “Louria.” Nevertheless, he was known most of his life as Louis, or perhaps Lewis. He lists himself as Louis in his passport application but forever muddles the issue with two separate WWI registration cards, on one he signed as “Louis Santop Loftin” and the other as “Lewis S. Loftin.” Moreover, his grave marker shows him as Lewis.
Read the full article here: http://baseballhistoryblog.com/3629/louis-santop/
Originally published: December 20, 2011. Last Updated: December 20, 2011.