Grba began his professional baseball career in the Boston Red Sox' organization, and was traded to the Yankees in 1957. After two years in the United States Army, Grba made his major league debut on July 10, 1959. He was the first selection of the 1960 MLB expansion draft by the Los Angeles Angels, and started their first game in 1961. He last pitched in MLB in 1963, and worked in Minor League Baseball as a coach, scout, and manager from 1969 through 1971 and from 1982 through 1997.
Early life
Grba was born to Joseph and Eva Grba, Serbian immigrants who lived in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up on Chicago's South Side.[1] His father left the family when Eli was young and he was raised alone by his mother, who worked as a waitress during the day and in a factory at night.[2] Grba attended Bowen High School, where he starred in three sports.[3]
Grba began the 1959 season with the Richmond Virginians of the Class AAAInternational League,[2][8] and made his major league debut for the Yankees on July 10, 1959.[1] He finished the season with the Yankees and had a 2–5 win–loss record and a 6.44 earned run average (ERA). Grba began the 1960 season with Richmond. He started the season pitching to a 7–1 win–loss record and was again promoted to the Yankees in July. He had a 6–4 win–loss record, a 3.68 ERA,[2] and one save for the Yankees in 1960.[9] The Yankees included Grba on their roster for the 1960 World Series. He appeared in one game as a pinch runner.[2]
The Yankees did not protect Grba in the 1960 MLB expansion draft, held after the 1960 season. On the advice of former Yankees' manager Casey Stengel, the Los Angeles Angels chose Grba with the first selection. Grba started the first game in club history on April 11, 1961,[3] pitching nine innings in a 7–2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.[1] He had an 11–13 win–loss record in 1961, and an 8–9 win–loss record and a 4.54 ERA in 1962.[2]
In 1963, Grba had a 0–1 record in 12 games for the Angels, who tried to trade him to other MLB teams, unsuccessfully.[9] The Angels sold Grba to the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League during the 1963 season. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League in 1964, and was named an All-Star.[2] He returned to Hawaii in 1965[9] and pitched for the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League in 1966.[10] Grba attempted to make a return to the major leagues in 1967 with the Chicago White Sox.[9] He pitched for the Indianapolis Indians of the Pacific Coast League,[11] and retired after the 1967 season.[2] He had a 28–33 win–loss record and a 4.48 ERA in MLB.[1]
Grba was married four times.[9] Grba and his first wife, Bonnie, had two children. He met his third wife while he worked in Vancouver.[9] Grba and his fourth wife, Regina, married in 1993, and they lived in Florence, Alabama. Grba died on January 14, 2019, at age 84, from pancreatic cancer.[3]
Grba drank heavily during his career, and developed alcoholism. He was arrested five times for driving under the influence of alcohol and suffered six seizures relating to his alcohol use.[9] In 2016, Grba published a memoir, Eli Grba, Baseball’s Fallen Angel, cowritten by Doug Williams, which discussed his alcohol use and recovery.[14][15]
