Julio Bracho

Julio César Bracho
(El Rubio de Maracay, Brujo de Maracay)

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born September 24, 1918 in Valencia, Carabobo Venezuela
• Died March 28, 2009 in Maracay, Aragua Venezuela

Biographical Information

Julio Bracho was a top Venezuelan pitcher of the 1940s.

Bracho was one of the Héroes del 41, the Venezuelan national team that won the 1941 Amateur World Series, Venezuela's first world title in baseball. The team would be inducted en masse into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006; Bracho was one of the few surviving players at the time. He also was on the Venezuelan teams that won the 1944 Amateur World Series and 1945 Amateur World Series, their last world baseball title (as of 2023). He was 0-1 with a 1.65 ERA in 1944, placing him 6th in ERA (between Petaca Rodríguez and Francisco Alcaraz).

When the Venezuelan League formed in 1946, he was 6-1 with a 2.74 ERA for Cervecería Caracas; on January 17th, he threw the league's first shutout. Only Roy Welmaker and Valentín Arévalo won more games in the LVBP's first season. He was 4th in games pitched (19, between Arévalo and Francisco Dávila) and second in ERA, .06 behind Welmaker. In 1946-1947, he had a 11-1, 1.57 record. He led in appearances (21, 2 ahead of Sam Nahem), was second in wins (one behind Nahem) and led in ERA (Luis Zuloaga's 1.91 was second among those with 50+ IP). He also hit .237 and slugged .368.

Julio fell from there, going 0-2, 8.71 in 1947-1948 and 4-0, 3.73 in 1948-1949; his team won the title both years. He tied Daniel Canónico for 5th in wins in 1948-1949. In the 1949 Caribbean Series, he was 0-1; he tied Domingo Barboza for the team lead with three appearances while his 11 IP were second to another Bracho, Carrao Bracho. He had a 3-0, 2.67 record the next winter and 2-1, 5.06 in 1950-1951. In 1951-1952, he had a 2.45 ERA and no decisions as the team won its third pennant. The club became the Leones del Caracas in 1952-1953 and he slumped to 0-3, 7.11. He pitched two innings with no earned runs in a comeback for the 1957-1958 Licoreros de Pampero. He had gone 26-8 with a 3.15 ERA in 101 LVBP games, hitting .237 to boot.

He managed the Industriales de Valencia for part of 1961-1962 and helped found the Tigres de Aragua. Through 2023, he remains fourth in LVBP history in winning percentage for hurlers with 20+ W, behind only Orber Moreno (21-2), Tiago Da Silva (24-6) and Jim Owens (20-6). Among those with 25+ wins, he leads, .765 to .717 for Tom Dixon (38-15).