Luis “Canena” Márquez’s Pro Baseball Accomplishments on his Centennial (Part I)
The author was nine when he saw Luis “Canena” Márquez play a 1963-64 game for Mayagüez versus Santurce at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in his 20th and last Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) season. Canena was 38 and a part-time player for skipper Cal Ermer. The Indios had Baltimore Orioles prospects Dave McNally and Boog Powell, Gates Brown, future pinch-hitter deluxe for the 1968 Detroit Tigers, and Phil Niekro. Canena ended his PRWL tenure with a career .300 BA, most hits (1206), runs (768), and doubles (235), second-most SB (217), triples (66-tie), and RBI (500) in PRWL annals. His .300 BA ranks 13th all-time in PRWL history, per Table I. Part I of this three-part sequence focuses on Canena’s PRWL, Caribbean Series (CS), and Inter-American Series (IAS) efforts. It commemorates his October 20, 1991 induction into the PR Professional Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF). Part II transitions to the Washington Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues, and Part III, slated for October 28, 2025, covers Canena’s minors, National League, and Mexican (Summer) League experience.
Table I: PRWL Career .300+ BA (At Least 1500 AB), Most Runs, and Hits
Source: https://beisbol101.com/lideres-de-todos-los-tiempos/ #Cruz had 3000 more pro baseball hits (majors-minors, postseason—all levels, including Caribbean Series). He is the all-time hits leader (3914) among all PR natives, excluding All-Star, spring training, and exhibition games.
Some Background Information
Canena was the nickname given to Luis Ángel Márquez by his mom, Adela—also called Canena—in Aguadilla, PR, and used in this article. He was born in Aguadilla, PR, on October 28, 1925. He passed away at 62, in his hometown, from gunshot wounds, on March 1, 1988. (His son-in-law murdered him after Canena confronted him on domestic abuse issues.) Canena’s SABR bio by Amy Essington is at https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/luis-marquez/. Carlos Manuel Santiago and Canena represented Team PR in the Seventh Amateur World Series, hosted by Caracas, Venezuela, in 1944. PR and Nicaragua tied for seventh-last place (1-6 W-L), whereas first-place Mexico (6-1 W-L) in the round-robin phase lost the championship round to Venezuela (5-2 W-L), two games to none. Canena was 19 when he and Carlos Manuel debuted for the 1944-45 Mayagüez Indios in the four-team PRWL. “Canena was not to be denied from the get-go,” recalled Santiago. “He and Santurce’s Alfonso Gerard were co-Rookies of the Year.”
Outstanding PRWL Start
In 1944-45, Canena’s .361 BA, was third behind Francisco “Pancho” Coímbre (.425) and Marvin Williams (.378), both with Ponce. Mayagüez’s Tetelo Vargas (.358) and Santurce’s Gerard (.348) were 4-5. The 11-27 Mayagüez Indios improved to 24-16 in 1946, losing the finals to the San Juan (SJ) Senators, four games to two. Manolo García (7-7), Bill Steinecke (7-6), and Joe Buzas (10-3), managed Canena in 1945-46. Steineke played four games with the 1930 Pittsburgh Pirates; Buzas toiled in 30 for the 1945 New York Yankees. Canena missed a 1945-46 team practice, but brought Buzas a big pineapple, knowing the skipper loved fruit. Pitcher Cefo Conde—called the “Con Man” by Buzas—received a cow via team owner Alfonso Valdés if he won a game. Conde might give up a run if the Indios were ahead by one, in hopes of a game-winning rally. Buzas told Cefo the “cow could be his if he preserved the lead.” Buzas disliked it when fans gave ballplayers coins/cash after HR were hit, opining this was not professional. Wilmer Fields, with 1947-48 SJ, received $125 from fans after homering off Satchel Paige, against arch-rival Santurce.
The best-of-seven 1945-46 finals were at SJ’s Sixto Escobar Stadium and Mayagüez’s Liga Paris. Monte Irvin (4-for-4, 2 HR) and Luis Olmo (3-for-3) were SJ Game 1 stars. Canena homered in the February 17, 1946, opener, a 14-8 SJ win. Mayagüez hosted the February 24 twin-bill, losing the opener 14-10 and salvaging the afternoon game 16-5. Canena went 3-for-4 in the 14-10 loss. Buzas, in the Game 4 win, inserted Mono Zuloaga to pinch-hit in the fifth. His two-run HR broke a 5-5 tie, but was reprimanded for accepting bills/coins from delirious fans. Buzas inactivated Zuloaga for the rest of the finals. SJ won G6 at Escobar, March 3, to win it. Freddie Thon, Jr., son of SJ’s RF Freddie Thon Sr. and father of Dickie Thon, future big-leaguer, was SJ’s batboy.
Outhomering Buster Clarkson, Pedroso, Larry Doby, and Monte Irvin in 1946-47
Canena’s 14 HR for his Aguadilla Sharks—who rejoined the league after a World War II hiatus—eclipsed the 13 hit by Josh Gibson for the 1941-42 Santurce Crabbers. It surpassed Caguas’s Buster Clarkson (13), SJ’s Larry Doby (12), Ponce’s Fernando Díaz Pedroso (12), and SJ’s Monte Irvin (11) in 1946-47. Aguadilla resident Víctor Navarro took the author on a 1993 tour of Aguadilla’s Parque Colón—named after Christopher Columbus, who landed near there on November 19, 1493. (Taíno Indians were in PR long before Columbus discovered PR.) Canena’s three HR the final (mid-February 1947) weekend clinched the HR crown, but he sweated out five Doby homers. (Pedroso hit a three-run HR off the Yankees’ Joe Page—February 24, 1947 “spring training” game won by Ponce, 12-8.) Canena showcased his skills in two late February 1947 spring training games, with Island Stars, versus the 1947 Yankees at Sixto Escobar Stadium. The Yankees spent several weeks in PR for spring training, playing five games before going to Venezuela and Cuba.
“Canena was something else,” said Navarro. “He put up great numbers in the league, but was a warm, caring human being. I’ll never forget that [Aguadilla-SJ] middle of February 1947 series. The crowd cheered Doby and Canena, but it was the first time a Puerto Rican won an undisputed HR title when the best Negro Leaguers were playing. Before Canena won it, [Ed] Stone, [Josh] Gibson, [Roy] Campanella, [Buck] Leonard] were the HR leaders.” Canena’s .364 BA was fifth, following Willard Brown (.390), Monte Irvin (.387), Tetelo Vargas (.382), and teammate Robert Harvey (.367). His [Canena’s] 27 doubles led the loop.
Aguadilla 1947-1951 Speedster
During the Sharks’ last four seasons, Canena stole 89 sacks, leading the loop in 1947-48 (20) and 1948-49 (29); finishing third in 1949-50 (23) and 1950-51 (17). Carlos Bernier, his friend from Juana Diaz, PR, stole a single-season record of 41 for Ponce in 1949-50 and led with 28, 1950-51. The cash-strapped Sharks were fifth three times, and last in the other season, failing to make the postseason. SJ claimed Canena for two seasons (1951-53) after Aguadilla dropped out.
Success with SJ and Reinforcing Santurce Crabbers in Havana
Canena propelled SJ to a 43-29 record in 1951-52 and 45-27, 1952-53, for first. The Senators beat Santurce, four games to two, in the 1951-52 finals, while Santurce returned the favor a year later by the same margin. Sam Jones (13-5, 2.52 ERA) and Chuck Gorin (12-4, 1.71) were 1951-52 SJ aces, but Jones was spiked at home in a late-season game by Santurce’s Rubén Gómez, and Gorin skipped the 1952 CS in Panamá after going 2-0 in the finals versus Santurce. Canena went 7-for-28 in the 1952 CS, won by Havana (5-0-1). SJ was 0-5-1. The 1952-53 Senators featured LF-P and league MVP Ellis “Cot” Deal (11-7, .271 BA, 5 HR, 49 RBI), CF Nino Escalera (.268, 2, 22), and Canena in RF (.306, 3, 34). Don Liddle (7-3, 3.33) and Harvey Haddix (6-2, 1.09) were solid lefty starters, but Haddix departed by mid-December 1952 under orders from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Crabbers owner Pedrín Zorrilla signed Canena, Cot Deal, SJ catcher Joe Montalvo, Caguas’s Vic Power, and LHP Roberto Vargas, Ponce RHP José “Pantalones” Santiago, as Santurce’s 1953 CS reinforcements. The key game was against Havana on February 22. Havana had a 5-3 lead going into the home ninth. “Deal doubled and scored on Canena’s single. Hits by Junior Gilliam and Power plated Canena with the tying run. Rubén Gómez came up, having entered in the seventh, as a pinch-runner for Willard Brown. “The Cuban fans got all over Gómez listed as a pitcher on our roster,” said Deal. “When he drove in Gilliam with the winning run, they [Cuban fans] got quiet all of a sudden.” It was the highlight of Gómez’s career, more significant than his Game 3 win for the New York Giants (October 1, 1954) in the World Series. “It was the only time a team from PR won the CS in Cuba,” noted Gómez. “Nothing can top that.” Tables II-A and II-B are Santurce’s hitting and pitching stats. Their .367 BA and .575 SLG were the best for Phase I, 1949-1960, of these round-robin events. Only the 2000 Santurce Crabbers had a higher BA (.368) and more runs (58) than the 50 tallies by the 1953 Crabbers. The .575 SLG (1953 team) surpassed the .573 SLG by the same franchise in 2000.
Table II-A: Santurce 1953 CS Hitting Stats
Table II-B: Santurce 1953 CS Pitching Stats
#Named to All-Star Team. ##Bobo Holloman, Pantalones Santiago, and Roberto Vargas. Source: Tom Van Hyning, The Caribbean Series, McFarland, January 2025, pages 39-40.
1953-54 PRWL MVP and 1954 CS Title
Canena returned to the Mayagüez Indios. His .333 BA topped Ponce’s Charles Harmon (.325), Caguas’s Hank Aaron (.322) and Vic Power (.304), and SJ’s Jack Cassini (.292). The 41-39 Indios were third, five games back of Caguas (46-34); one behind SJ (42-38). Mayagüez ousted SJ in the semis, three games to none, but lost to the Criollos, four games to one, in the finals. Canena had a league-leading 32 SB and 50 runs. His 18 doubles trailed Ponce’s Stan Palys (19); surpassed Cassini’s 17 and Aaron’s 16. Caguas player-manager Mickey Owen liked having Canena for the February 18-23, 1954 CS: “We added Canena, OF Carlos Bernier, RF Bill Howerton, and RHP Corky Valentine from Mayagüez; Rubén Gómez (Santurce) plus Tite Arroyo and Jack Sanford from Ponce,” per Owen. “Tetelo [Vargas] was 47 but could still run…Canena was in his prime.” Howerton replaced Hank Aaron when the Milwaukee Braves had Aaron return home to rest before spring training. Owen wanted Santurce’s Roberto Clemente on his 1954 CS roster, but was overruled. Caguas management preferred Bernier, a 1953 Pittsburgh big-leaguer.
The 1957 and 1958 CS
Owen managed Canena in the 1957 CS in Havana and was thrilled when the Indios re-acquired Canena from Ponce, a franchise facing financial issues. In Havana, Canena went 9-for-24, with two doubles, a triple, two HR, four RBI—a .375 BA and .792 SLG. However, Cuba’s sportswriters voted Marianao Tigers LF Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso to that CS All-Star Team. Jim Bunning (2-0, 1.61 ERA), Marianao’s ace, was voted to the Select Team. Escobar Stadium hosted the 1958 CS, won by Marianao (4-2 W-L). Canena played LF for Caguas, with Clemente in CF, and Ronnie Samford in RF. Juan Pizarro fanned 17 Carta Vieja Yankees on February 8, 1958, to set a single-game CS strikeout mark.
The 1962 Inter-American Series (IAS) and a 1962-63 Highlight
Thirty-six-year-old Canena went 6-for-19 in the February 6-14, 1962 IAS at Escobar Stadium, in the final contests played at that venue. His .316 BA was tenth in the nine-game round-robin. Canena’s HR came against champion Santurce (8-1 W-L), on February 11, in the Indios’ 12-8 win. Teammates Wito Conde and Luis Tiant—the winning pitcher—homered. Tite Arroyo saved it. Charlie Lau (.394 BA), the Indios’ best hi was chosen catcher on the All-Star Team.
Cal Ermer, Mayagüez’s 1962-63 skipper, recalled Canena’s blazing speed at 37 in a semi-final series against Arecibo. Ermer: “There was a ball hit to [Carlos] Bernier behind second, and I had the ‘stop’ sign for Canena. But he continued as Bernier dropped his arm and threw wild. We went on to win the championship.”
Arturo López Remembers Canena
Arturo López—born in Mayagüez on May 8, 1937, played for the 1961-64 Arecibo Wolves in Canena’s last three Mayagüez seasons, noted, via an October 19, 2025 e-mail: “Indeed I knew Canena Márquez! I heard the games on radio (our neighbor’s) when he was a great player who signed, I believe, with the New York Yankees (1949) but was never given the «shot». I also spoke to him about my appreciation of his talent, though he was an Aguadilla Shark. The years 1945-1947 were my years of daydreaming about becoming a Mayagüez Indio. Canena continued to shock me in 1961 with his great play, especially at bat. I couldn’t believe that I was on the same field with him and chased some of his base hits.”
October 20, 1991, Induction into the PR Professional Baseball HOF
Thirty-four years ago, Canena was one of the first 10 inductees into PR’s Pro Baseball HOF, who held ceremonies from 1991-93, 1996, and 2022-present. The 1991 ceremony, attended by the author, took place in Ponce, PR. The 10 honorees were: Willard Brown, Orlando Cepeda, Perucho Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, Pancho Coímbre, Rubén Gómez, Luis “Canena” Márquez, Juan “Terín” Pizarro, Vic Power, and Bob Thurman. Five of these 10 luminaries played for 6-0 Santurce in the 1953 CS: MVP Brown, Gómez, Canena, Power, and Thurman. (Eighteen-year-old Clemente had 77 AB for the 1952-53 Crabbers, in a 72-game season, but didn’t travel to Havana for 1953 CS.)
Thanks to Joe Buzas, Cot Deal, Cal Ermer, Rubén Gómez, Arturo López, Mickey Owen, Víctor Navarro, and Carlos Manuel Santiago. Jorge Colón Delgado did the editing and photo placement.
