ADOLPHO LUQUE

Known as "The Pride of Havana", the fiery little (5'7") righty was one of the first Caribbean imports into the majors and was one of the finest NL pitchers of the 1920's, topping off with a Cy Young-type season in 1923, going 27-8, .771, 1.93, holding opponents to a .239 average, leading the league in all those categories. His first year with the Reds, 1919, the World Champs used him mostly in relief. Already 29, Luque entered the Reds rotation in 1920 with the collapse of Slim Salee. He won 13, then 17. In '22 he was 13-23 for a second place club; manager Moran obviously had sufficient confidence in him to keep giving him the ball, and he had a respectable 3.31 ERA (pitching in the era of heavy hitters, he compiled a 3.24 career ERA). Then he turned it around in '23, with that magnificent season, which included 322 innings, 6 shutouts, 28 completed starts. He was in double figures in wins every year until 1928; in the ten years 1919-28, he won 133 games.

In 1929, his record crashed like the stock market, to 5-16. The feisty pitcher was dealt to Wilbert Robinson's Daffy Dodgers, but there was nothing daffy about his 14-8 revival. Next year, at 40, he was demoted to spot starter, went 7-6 and was sent across town tbat winter. He pitched until he was 45 with the Giants, turning in several good seasons in relief.

Known for his temper, he once chased Casey Stengel, a notorious bench jockey, into the Giants' dugout, until the muscular Ross Youngs pulled him off. He was sent to his own bench by the police, who were trying to prevent the overflow crowd from rioting. Outfielder Ed Rousch took up where Dolph stopped, Giants fans overflowed onto the field, and in the chaos Luque grabbed a bat and headed back to the Giants dugout. Order was finally restored and both Luque and Stengel were ejected.