Movember: The best mustaches in Boston Red Sox history
By Sean Sylver
El Tiante’s intimidating Fu Manchu was just one element of his colorful personality as he chomped cigars in the locker room and whirled his stuff past hitters from his perch atop the mound. The right-hander was a money pitcher for Boston between 1971 and ’78, including a four-season stretch in which he won 81 games. He was also 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA in four starts during the ’75 postseason.
Perhaps the ‘stache had something to do with his success? Arriving in Boston after some down seasons due to injury, Tiant’s 1973 baseball card shows no sign of a mustache, but the ’74 edition (above) portrays his legendary handlebars in all their glory. This just happened to coincide with his reemergence as one of the top arms in the game.
Tiant is still around the Red Sox organization, and you can still spy the Fu Manchu, though mostly white nowadays, when he appears at Fenway Park.