Louis Americo Polli (July 9, 1901 â December 19, 2000), nicknamed "Crip", was an Italian-born professional baseball relief pitcher.
Polli first played in the majors with the St. Louis Browns in 1932, pitching 6 innings with a 5.40 earned run average.
Polli would not play again in the major-leagues until 1944, a period of 12 seasons, when he pitched 35 innings for the New York Giants, with a 4.54 earned run average. Polli's MLB career ERA was 4.68.
One of the greatest pitchers in minor-league history, the lanky righthander was the first major league player born in Italy, being one of only nine Italian-born players in MLB as of 2025. Polli compiled a career minor league lifetime mark of 236âÂÂ226 through 22 seasons.
At the time of his death in 2000, aged 99, Polli was the oldest living former MLB player.