Puerto Rico has become the cradle of catchers, but the first did not receive that recognition until MLB belatedly recognized the Negro Leagues as major leagues in 2020, more than a quarter century after his death
Luis Villodas Ramírez was born on January 4, 1918 in Ponce, Puerto Rico.[i] His father, Elías Villodas, was originally from Guayama while his mother, Catalina Ramírez, was from Yauco. Little information is available about Villodas’s youth, though according to the 1940 census, he worked in agriculture and was a boarder in the house of Andrés Mercado y Rosado.
He was among the island’s most talented amateur players while still a teenager and starred for the Caribe Kubb team, managed by Millito Navarro.[ii] The club lost the finals to the Utuado Stars, who represented Puerto Rico in the 1941 Amateur World Series in Cuba.[iii] Villodas also played for San Antón, named after a Ponce neighborhood, in 1942.[iv]
Mayagüez owner Alfonso Valdés is credited with the sobriquet “King Kong” to describe Villodas’s 6-foot-2 frame, better suited for basketball than for squatting behind the plate. Rodríguez debuted for the Indios on November 22 in his hometown as a defensive replacement. A week later, he started behind the plate and went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. According to a fan report, “he had a magnificent appearance as catcher and demonstrated a firm, courageous demeanor with the bat.” [v] He was the last out in Tomás Planchardón’s 1944 no-hitter, the first ever thrown in the PRWL.[vi]
After the 1948 PRWL season, he was selected to play for the “Inter-American Series,” a precursor to the Caribbean Series. [vii] However, he suffered a broken thumb during the Mayagüez-Caguas finals and was unable to play.[viii] Caguas catcher-manager Quincy Trouppe alternated backstop duties with Bienvenido Rodríguez, who would become the second-born Puerto Rican catcher in the Major Leagues with the Chicago American Giants in 1948. Trouppe, however, deemed Villodas the best catcher in the league.[ix] In late September, Villodas was part of the Puerto Rican team that traveled to Venezuela for an exhibition series against Cuba, the Unted States, and the hosts.[x]
Although part of the Puerto Rican team in the 1949 Caribbean Series held in Havana, he did not play after suffering an injury to his left pinky toe, for which he sought surgery while in Cuba.[xi] He caught for the Pancho Coímbre-led Puerto Rican Stars against the Dominican Republic Armed Forces, guiding Rafael “El Tigre” Cabrera to a one-hit, 4-0 victory.[xii] He traveled to the United States with a “Santurce Stars” squad that bested the House of David, 7-1, on June 26.[xiii] In August he was the Puerto Rican catcher during a nine-game tour in Venezuela.[xiv]
After more than a decade with Mayagüez, he played with Ponce for one year and San Juan for another two. Nevertheless, Mayagüez fans warmly received him with a standing ovation when he returned.[xv]
In 14 PRWL seasons, Villodas hit .255 (383-for-1504), though teammates and opponents alike lauded his defensive prowess.[xvi] He was elected to the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Negro Leagues
Villodas earned a tryout with the Baltimore Elite Giants in spring of 1946 as a “twenty three year old…tipping the scales at 190 pounds.”[xvii] The article noted “twenty one year old Tite Figueroa, a southpaw, and Louis (sic) Canena Marquez…a reputed to be one of the fastest men south of the border” also joined the club, as did Félix Guilbe.[xviii]
The “big, husky Puerto Rican youngster was impressive in spring training with the Baltimore Elite Giants and provided support as a backup catcher.”[xix] Contemporary reports remarked “his bullet pegs to bases are a rare treat.”[xx] He was 3-for-5 on April 18 in a 12-1 victory over the Nashville Clubs.[xxi] Fellow Puerto Rican rookie José Pereira debuted as a reliever, striking out five during the exhibition game.[xxii]
Sanguine reports were balanced with more nuanced perspectives. Sam Lacy noted “a lot of hoopla has come out of Nashville about the astounding feats of a Puerto Rican catcher named Louis (sic) Villodas. All of which is fine and makes good reading…Granting that Villodas is a worthwhile discovery, its (sic) common knowledge you don’t develop Campanellas overnight.”[xxiii] No one was expecting Villodas to replace Roy Campanella, whose 51 runs, 18 home runs, and 47 RBIs had paced the Negro National League in 1945.
Villodas’s ninth-inning, two-out single broke Alonzo Perry’s no hitter on May 25, as the Elite Giants lost, 8-0, to the Homestead Grays.[xxiv] Five days later, Figueroa and Villodas became the first Puerto Rican battery in the Negro Leagues (and therefore, the Major Leagues), in a 13-6 loss to the Homestead Grays. Figueroa entered the game in the seventh inning and allowed four runs in three frames, though starter Bob Romby carried the loss.[xxv]
On June 4, Villodas scored the winning run in the rematch as Baltimore squeaked by the Grays, 5-4.[xxvi] Five days later, the starting lineup featured Villodas and Figueroa, the first time a Puerto Rican battery had started a Negro League game. Figueroa hurled six strong innings but the Philadelphia Stars squeaked by the Elite Giants, 5-4.[xxvii]
The team won six straight in early July after sweeping a doubleheader from the New York Black Yankees. Figueroa allowed only four hits and Villodas homered in a 12-1 nightcap.[xxviii] However, their maiden season would soon be interrupted.
Figueroa, Villodas, and Guilbe left the team in late August after an altercation. According to the Afro-American, “Figueroa and Frank Gillam…became involved when the Puerto Rican cracked the latter with a towel and tossed cold water on him while he was taking a shower after the Sunday doubleheader. Gilliam thought the pitcher had struck him rather hard and remonstrated with him. An argument ensued followed by blows. Joe Black…reputedly stepped in between the antagonists in an effort to stop the brawl. This action was interpreted by Villodas, Figueroa’s battery mate and friend of long standing, as an effort on the part of Black to come to the aid of Gillam. Villodas swung on the former Morgan College student, closing one eye and puffing his lips to twice their normal size. Black then sailed into the catcher, landing a haymaker that knocked him cold and brought an abrupt end to the punch-fest. Although Guilbe did not figure in the fisticuffs, he is said to have followed his fellow countrymen out of sympathy with them.”[xxix]
Villodas made 30 appearances (26 as catcher, four as pinch-hitter) and slashed .250/.337/.408. He and Figueroa appeared in 11 games together.
Despite the fracas, the Elite Giants mended fences with the players. On February 1, 1947, the Afro-American reported “(the Elites) are beckoning also to Puerto Rican trio, Luis Villodas, Felo Guilbe and Tito Figueroa…hoping to get ‘em to return to team they left last year after shower-room scrap with pitcher Joe Black and infielder Junior Gillam.”[xxx]
Before returning to the United States, Villodas was part of a Puerto Rican all-star team that played against the visiting Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Figueroa won a 12-inning contest against the Yankees on February 25. Villodas led off the frame with a ground out to first, Figueroa doubled to center and scored the winning run after Márquez’s bases-loaded single, to the delight of local fans.[xxxi] Figueroa notched the win with eight relief innings. The Bronx Bombers won, 8-6, the next day, as Villodas caught Girado.[xxxii]
Brooklyn beat PR, 5-2, on March 14, despite Villodas’s two safeties.[xxxiii] Afro-American reporter Sam Lacy marveled Friday night in San Juan “looked like old home…ran into Sam Bankhead, Bob Thurman, and Canena Marquez of the Homestead Grays; Teo Guilbe, Luis Villodas and Tite Figuroa of the Baltimore Elites; Johnny Davis, Newark Eagles; Wiliard Brown, formerly of the St. Louis Browns; Chet Brewer, Kansas City Monarchs; Impo Barnhill, Oreste Minosa, Pete Pages and Sylvio Garcia, New York Cubans. (sic)”[xxxiv] The Negro Leaguers had not yet left the island after the winter baseball season.
Villodas arrived in New York City on March 24, 1947 aboard the USS Marine Tiger. [xxxv] The ship manifesto lists a Baltimore hotel as his stateside address. His sophomore year was less successful as he managed a meek .176/.205/.200 as a 1B/C.
Villodas, who was rumored to sign with the New York Cubans in 1950, did not play in the Negro Leagues again.[xxxvi] However, he is sometimes Villodas confused with the Mexican-born Luis Villodas Perez, who appeared for the 1948 Indianapolis Clowns as a third baseman.[xxxvii]
Post-Negro Leagues
James Riley noted that “the slow-footed free-swinger earned the nickname ‘King Kong’ during the following two summers (1954 and 1955) while playing in the West Texas-New Mexico League with Borger and Abilene, hitting .354 (.507 slugging percentage) and .327 (.487 slugging percentage). In 1951 with the Aguilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Republic, he led the league in batting and is credited with hitting the longest home run ever hit at Cabio Park.”[xxxviii] Whether Riley knew the true origin of the nickname or he was playing up Villodas’s hitting prowess is unknown. Nevertheless, Villlodas’s .346 average (41-for-156) led the circuit, the first time for a backstop.
He married Carmen Luisa Vegas, from Lajas. Three children, Catalina Antonia (1950-1951), Luis Elías (1954-1955), and Luis Américo, died before their first birthday.[xxxix] [xl] [xli] A fourth, José Alberto, was born in 1959 and died in 2005.[xlii]
After retirement, Villodas worked in the maintenance industry from 1969 to 1994, according to this death certificate.[xliii] It is unknown whether he divorced from Carmen Luisa or widowed. He remarried Yolanda María Salcé, 24 years his junior, on July 29, 1988 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.[xliv]
Villodas was elected to the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.[xlv] He died from a brain hemorrhage on August 21, 1994, and is buried in his hometown’s Cementerio Civil.
[i] Baseball Reference & Seamheads list 1918, a year confirmed by Villodas’s death certificate. Beisbol101 notes 1924.
[ii] Julio Rivera, “Comienza hoy la serie entre campeones de norte y sur por campeonato amateur,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, September 6, 1941: 11, 13, https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19410906-01.1.14
[iii] Julio Rivera, “Utuado ganó el campeonato Liga Insular; Lucas venció al NYA,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, September 15, 1941: 11, https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/?a=d&d=mndo19410915-01.1.11&srpos=2&e=——194-en-25-mndo-1–img-txIN-caribe+kubb———
[iv] “Manatí derrotó al Utuado,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, June 22, 1942: 7, 9, https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19420622-01.1.7
[v] “Luis Villodas se distinguió con Mayagüez,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, December 3, 1942: 9, https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19421203-01.1.9
[vi] Fernando Ávila, “La hazaña de Planchardón,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, June 24, 1967: 78, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19670624-01.1.77
[vii] «Page 13.» El Mundo, 15 Jan. 1948, El Mundo de Puerto Rico, January 15, 1948:13, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19480115-01.1.13
[viii] “Criollos solos en el liderato al ganarle 2 de 3 al Mayagüez,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, February 2, 1948: 17, 21, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19480202-01.1.21
[ix] “Trouppe señala Ortiz es el mejor lanzador local,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, March 13, 1948: 17, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19480313-01.1.17
[x] “Luis Villodas le envió carta a Córdova Díaz,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, September 2, 1948: 2, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19480902-01.1.15
[xi] El Mundo de Puerto Rico, March 15, 1949: 13, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19490315-01.1.13
[xii] “Cabrerita dejó en un solo hit a los dominicanos,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, May 23, 1949: 16, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19490523-01.1.16
[xiii] José De Poo, “Club Estrellas del Santurce Ganó en E.U.,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, June 27, 1949: 18, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19490627-01.1.18
[xiv] “Firmaron Bob Thurman, Willard Brown y Taborn,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, August 4, 1949: 17, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19490804-01.1.17
[xv] Salvador Pabón, “Indios Batieron al San Juan, 5-2, Para Su Primer Triunfo,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, October 18, 1954: 18, http://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19541018-01.1.18
[xvi] “Luis Villodas,” Salón de la Fama del Béisbol Profesional Puertorriqueño, https://safabpp.com/inmortal/luis-villodas/
[xvii] “Puerto Ricans Try for Baltimore Club,” New Journal and Guide, April 6, 1946: 13, https://profile.sabr.org/hnpblacknewscoll/newspapers/puerto-ricans-try-baltimore-club/docview/567786427/sem-2?accountid=208426
[xviii] “Puerto Ricans Try for Baltimore Club.”
[xix] James A. Riley, “The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues,” Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York,1994: 803.
[xx] “2 Puerto Ricans Impress Elites,”AfroAmerican, April 13, 1946: 18, https://profile.sabr.org/hnpblacknewscoll/newspapers/2-puerto-ricans-impress-elites/docview/531603829/sem-2?accountid=208426
[xxi] Dick Powell, “Elite Rookies in Impressive Score,”Afro-American, April 19, 1947: 12, https://www.proquest.com/hnpblacknewscoll/docview/531565831/13283611E7434B03PQ/4?accountid=208426&sourcetype=Newspapers
[xxii] Dick Powell, “Elite Rookies in Impressive Score.”
[xxiii] Sam Lacy, “Looking ‘Em Over,” Afro-American, April 13, 1946: 18, https://www.proquest.com/hnpblacknewscoll/docview/531568542/13283611E7434B03PQ/5?accountid=208426&sourcetype=Newspapers
[xxiv] “Grays Take NNL Lead; Josh Gibson Features,” Philadelphia Tribune, May 28, 1946: 11, https://profile.sabr.org/hnpblacknewscoll/newspapers/grays-take-nnl-lead-josh-gibson-features/docview/531762568/sem-2?accountid=208426
[xxv] https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1946/B05302BLG1946.htm
[xxvi] “Cubans Take Lead in Negro National Loop,” Philadelphia Tribune, June 4, 1946:11, https://profile.sabr.org/hnpblacknewscoll/newspapers/grays-take-nnl-lead-josh-gibson-features/docview/531762568/sem-2?accountid=208426
[xxvii] “Homestead Grays 13, Baltimore Elite Giants 6, Thursday, May 30, 1946” Retrosheet, https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1946/B06092BLG1946.htm
[xxviii] “Baltimore Giants Win Six Straight,” Cleveland Call and Post, July 6, 1946: 9B, https://profile.sabr.org/hnpblacknewscoll/newspapers/bushwicks-settle-score-with-yanks/docview/184139278/sem-2?accountid=208426
[xxix] “3 Puerto Rican Stars Quit Elites in Huff,” Afro-American, August 31, 1946: 17, https://profile.sabr.org/hnpblacknewscoll/newspapers/3-puerto-rican-stars-quit-elites-huff/docview/531572126/sem-2?accountid=208426
[xxx] Sam Lacy, «FROM A TO Z.» Afro-American (1893-), February 1, 1947:17, https://profile.sabr.org/newspapers/z/docview/531595616/se-2.
[xxxi] Elmo Torres Perez, “”La selección Puerto Rico se impuso en 12ma entrada, 7-6,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, February 26, 1947:9, https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19470226-01.1.9
[xxxii] John Drebinger, “Yankees Vanquish Puerto Ricans with Four-Run Ninth Inning, 8-6,” New York Times, February 27, 1947: 29, https://nyti.ms/4awdQVV
[xxxiii] Lacy, Sam. «Bankhead’s Double Helps Dodgers Defeat all-Stars.»Afro-American (1893-), 20 Mar., 1948, pp. 7. ProQuest, https://profile.sabr.org/newspapers/bankheads-double-helps-dodgers-defeat-all-stars/docview/531635783/se-2.
[xxxiv] Lacy, Sam. «FROM A TO Z.» Afro-American (1893-), 20 Mar., 1948, pp. 7. ProQuest, https://profile.sabr.org/newspapers/z/docview/531652135/se-2.
[xxxv] «New York, United States records,» images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G94V-29T3?view=explore : Nov 20, 2025), image 711 of 1311; United States. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Image Group Number: 007252730
[xxxvi] Salvador Pabón, “C. Santiago Irá Nuevamente Club Stamford,” El Mundo de Puerto Rico, April 5, 1950: 17, gpa.eastview.com/crl/elmundo/newspapers/mndo19500405-01.1.17
[xxxvii] «Clowns Boat Memphis in Two, 9-4 and 6-5.» The Call (1933-), 16 Apr., 1948, pp. 9. ProQuest, https://profile.sabr.org/newspapers/clowns-boat-memphis-two-9-4-6-5/docview/2916764247/se-2.
[xxxviii] Riley, 804.
[xxxix] Familysearch.com, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/GSXD-7X6/luis-villodas-1918-1994
[xl] Familysearch.com, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-RJ91-46?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQVJC-LYHL&action=view&cc=1682798&lang=en&groupId=
[xli] Familysearch.com, https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/G1WY-VCZ
[xlii] «United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007», FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K4N-ZM6V : Sat Apr 26 11:04:59 UTC 2025), Entry for Jose Alberto Villodas Vega and Luis Villodas.
[xliii] «Puerto Rico, Registro Civil, 1805-2002», FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVJZ-VBYZ : Wed May 14 06:03:43 UTC 2025), Entry for Luis Villodas Ramirez and Elias Villodas, 21 Aug 1994.
[xliv] Familysearch.com, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/GSXD-7X6/luis-villodas-1918-1994
[xlv] “Luis Villodas,” Salón de la Fama del Béisbol Profesional Puertorriqueño
