SABR Puerto Rico celebrates Luis Olmo’s 90th Birthday

On August 11, 2009, SABR Puerto Rico, together with the Sports Museum of Puerto Rico, will celebrate the 90th birthday of Luis Olmo. He was the second major leaguer from Puerto Rico and the first Latino player to hit a home run in a World Series game (1949 Dodgers vs. Yankees). Olmo played with the Dodgers from 1943 to 1945, and in 1949, with the Boston Braves from 1950-1951.

On August 11, 2009, SABR Puerto Rico, together with the Sports Museum of Puerto Rico, will celebrate the 90th birthday of Luis Olmo. He was the second major leaguer from Puerto Rico and the first Latino player to hit a home run in a World Series game (1949 Dodgers vs. Yankees). Olmo played with the Dodgers from 1943 to 1945, and in 1949, with the Boston Braves from 1950-1951.

On May 18, 1945, in a 15-12 Dodgers victory over the Cubs, Olmo hit a triple and a home run, each with the bases loaded, a feat rarely done in Major League history. He added a single and had seven runs batted in. That season, his best, he led the National League in triples, with 13, and reached career-high numbers, including batting average, with .313. He was one of the first players in the majors to adopt the basket-style catch. In his six years in the majors, he batted .281 in 462 games.

In 1939-1940, he played with the Wilson team (North Carolina), Class D, with Richmond of the Piedmont League in 1941-1942. That year the Brooklyn Dodgers bought his contract. His debut with Brooklyn came on June 23, 1943, right after he hit 12 triples in the International League (AAA), with the Montreal Royals.

In his native Puerto Rico, Luis Olmo played with Caguas, Santurce, Ponce and Arecibo. In 1942-43, he was selected the Most Valuable Player of the tournament while playing for the Santurce-Caguas Club. As a manager in the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League, Olmo won the 1949-50 championship with the Caguas-Guayama Criollos. He also managed Santurce, San Juan and Arecibo and was declared



Originally published: August 11, 2009. Last Updated: August 11, 2009.