Hank Aguirre

Henry John "Hank" Aguirre (January 31, 1931 – September 5, 1994) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played with the Cleveland Indians (1955–57), Detroit Tigers (1958–67), Los Angeles Dodgers (1968), and Chicago Cubs (1969–1970). He went on to become a successful businessman in Detroit, Michigan. His last name was typically pronounced "ah-GEAR-ee."

Youth in California

Nicknamed "Mex" because he was of Mexican descent, Aguirre was born on January 31, 1931, in Azusa, California to Jenny Alva and Joseph Aguirre. Joseph was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1902 and emigrated with his family during the time of the Mexican Revolution. Joseph and Jenny had seven children.

Henry (Hank) Aguirre worked in his youth making, packaging and delivering tortillas for his father's business, the "Aguirre Tortillas Factory" in San Gabriel. At 4 a.m., the young Aguirre would make deliveries — mostly running — before school. Hank graduated from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, California in 1949 but his "goofy feet" (his words) prevented him from being selected to be part of the baseball team. Hank graduated from East Los Angeles College in 1951.