Julio Navarro

Julio Navarro Ventura
(Whiplash)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.

• High School St. Patrick's High School

• Debut September 3, 1962
• Final Game September 9, 1970
• Born January 9, 1934 in Vieques, P.R.
• Died January 24, 2018 in Orlando, FL USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Julio Navarro is the father of pitcher Jaime Navarro. He is the only man from the island of Vieques (east of Puerto Rico) to play in the majors. But what makes Navarro's case more unusual is that he learned to play ball on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where some of his relations still live. Julio grew up with two Virgin Islands major leaguers, Joe Christopher and Elmo Plaskett. He was about eleven years older than another, José Morales, but they were good friends. Morales is Jaime Navarro's godfather.

Navarro pitched for parts of six seasons in the majors. His career spanned 20 summers from 1955 to 1974, the last three in Mexico. He also played during 22 winters in the Puerto Rican League, ending in the 1976-77 season. He is tied for second in league history for longest career with Juan Beniquez, Juan Pizarro, and Hector Valle. Only Ruben Gomez (29 seasons) played more.

Navarro coached for the Puerto Rican national team when they won a Bronze Medal in the 1979 Pan American Games. He was a scout for the Chicago Cubs from 1980 to 1985 and a coach in the Atlanta Braves system in 1988.

Julio and Jaime Navarro were the first father-son duo to both officially record a save in the majors. Julio passed away in Florida from Alzheimer's disease on January 24, 2018; he was 84. When he was active, his year of birth was listed as 1936, but that was because he had shaven a couple of years off his age, as was common for players at the time. His true date of birth was made public at the time of his passing.

Related Sites

• Julio Navarro at the SABR Bio Project