Pancho Herrera

Juan Francisco Herrera Villavicencio

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.

• Debut April 15, 1958
• Final Game October 1, 1961
• Born June 16, 1934 in Santiago de Las Vegas, Havana, Cuba
• Died April 28, 2005 in Miami, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pancho Herrera played in the Negro Leagues, in Mexico, in the minor leagues, and in the major leagues.

He was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League.

His three years in the major leagues were in 1958, 1960, and 1961. He hit .271 lifetime in the majors in nearly 1000 at-bats. He was 10th in the National League in doubles in 1960, but he also set a record for strikeouts. A busy fellow, he was also among the leaders in hit-by-pitch, sacrifice flies, and grounded-into-double-plays.

He had the second highest batting average among the regulars on the 1960 Phillies, hitting .281 on a team which hit .239. His 17 home runs were by far the best on the team. He won the first base job from Ed Bouchee, who was traded away early in the season in a trade that brought Tony Taylor to the Phillies.

His 13 home runs in 1961 were second best on the team, and his .258 average was 15 points higher than the team average, but it was to be his last season in the big leagues. The next year he was in the International League, leading it in homers and RBI while Roy Sievers became the new first baseman for the Phillies. In 2008 he was elected to the International League Hall of Fame.

• HR Titles

1959 International League 37, also led in RBI (128) and AVG .329

1962 International League 32, also led in RBI (108)

1965 International League 21, Tied for the league lead with Adrian Garrett of Atlanta.

1969 Mexican Southeast League 39, also led in RBI (106)

• Triple crown Winner in 1959

Notable Achievements

• 1959 MVP International League Buffalo Bisons

Related Sites

• Pancho Herrera at the SABR Bio Project