Pitcher Luis Tiant is born in Marianao, Cuba.

Tiant had pitched with the Mexico City Tigers prior to his purchase by the Cleveland Indians before the 1962 season. His impressive 15-1 record with Cleveland’s minor league affiliate in Portland in 1964 earned him an opportunity to pitch for the Major League club. He posted a 10-4 record for the Tribe in 19 games that season with a 2.83 ERA.

Tiant spent six years in an Indians uniform, winning as many as 21 games in his first All-Star season in 1968 and losing as many as 20 in 1969. His 1.60 ERA during that All-Star ’68 season was the league’s best. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins after his disastrous 9-20 ’69 season, but later found success during his eight seasons with the Boston Red Sox. He later spent time with the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and California Angels.

He spent 19 seasons in the Majors, making three trips to the Midsummer Classic and winning a total of 229 games. He is one of the candidates to be voted on this winter as part of the Veteran Committee’s Modern Game Era ballot for the Hall of Fame.

Also on this date in Tribe history:

1877 – George Stovall, manager of the Cleveland Naps in 1911 and the club’s primary first baseman from 1904 to 1911, is born in Leeds, Missouri.

1954 – Future Indians pitcher Ken Schrom is born in Grangeville, Idaho. He spent seven seasons in the Majors, including his final two in Cleveland, and was an All-Star with the club in 1986.

1959 – Brook Jacoby is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He spent all but two of his eleven MLB seasons in Cleveland. He was a two-time All-Star, joining fellow teammate Schrom on the team in 1986 and making another one in 1990.

1990 – Former Indians catcher Bo Diaz dies in a freak accident at his home in Caracas, Venezuela, when the satellite dish he was installing at his home falls and crushes him. He was 37.