Eli Grba
| Birthdate | 8/9/1934 |
| Death Date | 1/14/2019 |
| Debut Year | 1959 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Angels, Yankees |
| Position | Pitcher |
On the advice of Casey Stengel, the Angels selected Eli Grba from the Yankees as the 1st player ever chosen in an expansion draft and the 1st player in Angels history.
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Eli Grba played 4 seasons in the minors & spent 2 years in the Army before reaching the big leagues
Eli Grba played 4 seasons in the minors & spent 2 years in the Army before reaching the big leagues
Eli Grba started playing professional baseball in 1953 yet had to wait until 1959 for his big league start. After four minor league seasons and two years in the US Army, Grba debuted for the Yankees on July 10, 1959.
The 6’2″ right hander pitched 19 games – six of them starts – for Casey Stengel’s team. In 1960 Grba appeared in 24 games for the pennant-winning Yanks. He went 6-4 in nine starts. Grba had one complete game and one save.
In December of ’60, Grba was selected as the first overall pick by the Angels in baseball’s first expansion draft. He started the inaugural game in franchise history and pitched a six-hit complete-game win. Grba pitched for the Angels for three seasons and won 20 games.
Though his overall career record stands at just 28-33 he’ll forever be remembered by Angels fans as their team’s first player.
Shown here is government postcard signed by Grba two days before his final appearance of the 1959 season.
Government postcards give great context to the signature by virtue of the postmark
Government postcards give great context to the signature by virtue of the postmark
The image above shows the back side of the index card signed by Eli Grba. Notice the postmark near the top center. This card was posted on September 24, 1959 in New York.
A quick glance at the schedule reveals an off-day for Grba’s team. Then Yankees had just completed a two-game sweep of the Washington Senators before returning to New York for a season-ending three-game set with Baltimore.
Two days after signing the postcard, Grba made his final appearance of the season. Entering the game to start the 10th, Grba pitched a scoreless frame. In the 11th he got lit up.
The right hander faced 8 batters and allowed five of them to score. Grba took the loss in the Yankees’ penultimate game of the season.
Eli Grba is congratulated by Yanks owner Dan Topping a day after MLB's first expansion draft
Eli Grba is congratulated by Yanks owner Dan Topping a day after MLB's first expansion draft
When Major League Baseball awarded American League expansion teams to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., the teams scrambled to put together an effective strategy for the expansion draft that would take place eight days later. Angels owner Gene Autry tabbed recently-fired Yankee skipper Casey Stengel as his first choice to guide the club.
Stengel turned down Autry’s offer but did lend insight into players he thought could help the club. When the draft took place the club heeded Stengel’s advice and selected Eli Grba with the initial pick in baseball’s first ever expansion draft. By doing so, Grba would go down as the Angel franchise’s first player.
In the collection is this letter from Yankees co-owner Dan Topping dated December 15, 1960. He thanks Grba for his time as a Yankee, informing him that he’s been selected first overall in the expansion draft by the Angels. Topping closes by wishing Grba the best of luck.
Topping headed the Yankees during one of the most successful runs in the history of professional sports. Under his guidance from 1945-1964 New York appeared in 15 World Series and came away as champion 10 times.
As for Grba, he went on to be the Angels Opening Day starter, throwing the first pitch in franchise history and gaining the team’s first ever Major League victory.
