Talk baseball in Puerto Rico and one of the first names to emerge will be Hiram Gabriel “Hi” Bithorn. Hi Bithorn is, in fact, such an important part of Puerto Rico’s baseball history that the country’s largest baseball stadium (18,000 capacity) is named after him. Hiram Bithorn Stadium is not only home to the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Baseball League, it also hosted the opening game of the 2001 Major League season (Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays); 44 Montreal Expos home games in the 2003/04 seasons; and, in 2010, a Florida Marlins/New York Mets three-game series.
So, what did Hi Bithorn do to earn this recognition? He was the first Puerto Rican player to make it to the major leagues – becoming a hero in his country and to the Puerto Rican players who followed him to MLB. BBRT would like to use this post to examine the short baseball career and life of Hi Bithorn – who died under mysterious circumstances in Mexico at the age of 35.
Bithorn was born March 18, 1916 in Santurce, Puerto Rico of a Puerto Rican mother and Danish father. As he grew up, Bithorn proved a talented athlete. In 1935, the 19-year-old, 6’ 1” 200-pound Bithorn played in the Central American and Caribbean Games on Puerto Rico’s Silver Medal-winning volleyball team and Bronze Medal-winning basketball team.
But baseball was Bithorn’s game and, in 1936, the right-handed hurler found himself pitching in the New York Yankees farm system. He went 16-9 in his first season (with the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League. He started 1937 with ten wins against just one loss at Norfolk, before being promoted to Binghampton Triplets of the Class A NY/Penn League – where he won seven more games (against eight losses). He continued to advance, playing with Oakland Oaks and Hollywood Stars of the then AA Pacific Coast League, where his best season was 1941, when he went 17-15, 3.59 with 16 complete games and two shutouts for the Stars (while also hitting .286 in 77 at bats).
Unfortunately, for Bithorn, the Yankees were loaded with talent and the big leagues seemed far away – until the Cubs acquired Bithorn from the Yankees in the fall of 1941. On April 15, 1942, Bithorn became the first Puerto Rican to appear in a major league game, pitching two scoreless innings in relief (no-hits, one walk, no strikeouts) for the Cubs against Cardinals in Saint Louis. He ended the season 9-14, with two saves, a 3.68 ERA and nine completed games in sixteen starts (Bithorn also made 22 relief appearances) for the sixth-place (70-84) Cubs. In 1942, Bithorn showed his full potential. With the Cubs finishing fifth (74-79), Bithorn went 18-12, 2.60, with 19 complete games (30 starts) and a league-leading seven shutouts. For the season, Bithorn, in fact, finished in the NL’s top ten in wins, winning percentage, earned run average, WHIP, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts. Clearly, Bithorn was on his way – until World War II intervened and Bithorn lost two MLB seasons to military service.
Bithorn was discharged from service in September of 1945 and pitched for San Juan in the Puerto Rican championships the following February, when he suffered a hand injury during a play at the plate. As a result, he reported late for Cubs’ Spring Training. Bithorn reportedly had gained about 20 pounds, was having arm problems and didn’t seem to have the same “stuff” as he displayed in that successful 1943 season. The then 30-year-old finished the 1946 season 6-5, 3.84 in 26 games (seven starts). He was sold to the Pirates in January 1947 and selected on waivers (from the Pirates) by the White Sox before the 1947 season opened. He pitched just two innings in relief for the White Sox – picking up what was to be his last major league win.
After his release, Bithorn underwent surgery and missed the 1948 season. He attempted a comeback in 1949, going 4-3 in 13 games at AA and Nashville and Oklahoma City. He did not make it back to the major leagues and finished with a 34-31 record, with 5 saves and a 3.16 ERA in 105 games. In his four MLB seasons, Bithorn completed 30 of 53 starts, with eight shutouts.
In December of 1952, at the age of 35, Bithorn was shot to death by a police officer under mysterious circumstances in El Manta, Mexico. Various reports indicate the date of his death as anywhere from December 27, 1951 to January 1, 1952. They indicate Bithorn was on his way to visit his mother Mexico (some reports also say he was considering a comeback in the Mexican League). Initial reports said Bithorn had been trying to sell his car when Ambrosio Castillo Cano of the El Mante police force questioned Bithorn and found him unable to produce the paperwork required of such a sale. Cano reported that at some time during the questioning Bithorn became violent and he was forced to shoot him (Bithorn died a few hours later of a gunshot wound to the stomach). Cano also reportedly said Bithorn admitted to being part of a “communist cell.” The details of the incident remain mysterious, but after an investigation, Cano was indicted and sentenced to eight years in the state prison for Bithorn’s homicide
my grandfather was his brother and he said the cop wanted to buy his car and he wouldn’t sell it to him and that was why he was shot….
Very well written. An enjoyable piece in baseball history that most fans of history will not know. . . .
Very informative article with more facts than other similar articles. Bravo. I do want to point out you mentioned that Hiram Bithorn’s mother was Danish and his father was Puerto Rican. It is actually the reverse. Hiram’s mother, Maria Sosa, was Puerto Rican of Spanish heritage while his father, Waldemar Bithorn, was born in Puerto Rico of primarily Danish extraction, but also of Spanish, Italian, German, and Scottish heritage.
I can only hope that the Puerto Rican players pay homage to him during the world baseball classiche open the door for all of them. He was not a communist just a ballplayer gun downed before his prime!!only wish they could’ve gone down that corrupt cop for what he took from us. God bless you uncle Hiram
Good catch. My apologies. I have made the correction. thanks for reading BBRT.
Bithorn was like most Puerto Rican of european descent, Victor Pellot Power who played for Cleveland Indians father was from the Virgin Island was of Africa extraction, Roberto Walker Clemente father was also was from the Virgin Island so was most of the mulato baseball player. American History about Puerto Rico is mostly wrong just because PR is in the Caribbean they think PR is black Island, PR was the only Island that was not conquer by the British, the French or Holland those countries invaded the Islands in the Caribbean and killed most of the Indians and replace them with Africans, in PR they were chased out by the people from the mountain who were descendants of Caecilian, Corsican and the Canary Islands, the black population in PR was only 4%, during the 2nd war some blacks came to PR from the Virgin Island and in the 70s blacks from the Dominican Republic, now the blacks population in PR is about 20%. (I never made a comment on this webpage.
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