{{Short description|Puerto Rican basketball player (1937–2025)}} {{family name hatnote|Droz|Ramos|lang=Spanish}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Evelio Droz | image = | alt = | number = | position = Forward | birth_date = {{birth date|1937|5|10}} | birth_place = San Juan, Puerto Rico | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|7|26|1937|5|10}} | death_place = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 3 | weight_lb = 176 | high_school = | career_start = 1957 | career_end = 1970 | years1 = 1957–1970 | team1 = Vaqueros de Bayamón | highlights = }} '''Evelio Droz Ramos''' ({{IPA|es|eˈβeljo ˈðɾos ˈramos|lang}}; May 10, 1937 – July 26, 2025) was a Puerto Rican basketball player. He played 14 seasons in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) for the Vaqueros de Bayamón, helping the team win two championships. As a member of the Puerto Rico men's national basketball team, he competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics, also winning medals at the 1959 and 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, as well as the 1959 and 1963 Pan American Games.
==Biography== Droz was born on May 10, 1937, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.<ref name=sref>{{cite Sports-Reference|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/dr/evelio-droz-1.html |accessdate=June 3, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214072018/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/dr/evelio-droz-1.html|archivedate=December 14, 2012}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/6033|website=Olympedia|title=Evelio Droz|access-date=August 1, 2025}}</ref> He grew up in the town of Barranquitas.<ref name="auto4"/> Standing at {{convert|6|ft|3|in}} and weighing {{convert|176|lb|kg}}, he played basketball as a forward and was known for his rebounding and scoring abilities.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/puerto-rico/el-nuevo-dia1/20250728/281857239588439?srsltid=AfmBOopj15ohSg3I4i4vtbLNyI9SUU_ds-pehOs4IYWfveCazKWolEiD|newspaper=El Nuevo Día|language=Spanish|date=July 28, 2025|trans-title=The Colossal Impact of Evelio Droz|title=Colosal la huella de Evelio Droz|author=Reyes, Fernando Ribas|via=PressReader}}</ref> He was nicknamed "''El Potro''" (''The Colt'') and played in Puerto Rico for the Vaqueros de Bayamón in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), the first-tier league in the country.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/deportes/baloncesto/notas/fallece-evelio-droz-uno-de-los-pilares-de-los-vaqueros-de-la-decada-de-1960-en-el-bsn/|newspaper=El Nuevo Día|language=Spanish|title=Fallece Evelio Droz, uno de los pilares de los Vaqueros de la década de 1960 en el BSN|date=July 26, 2025|trans-title=Evelio Droz, one of the pillars of the Vaqueros of the 1960s in the BSN, passes away.}}</ref> Droz spent his entire 14-season professional basketball playing career, which spanned from 1957 to 1970, with the Vaqueros.<ref name="auto"/>
Droz led the league in scoring during the 1959 season with 409 points in 21 games, an average of 19.5 per game.<ref name="auto"/> He had one of the best games of his career in 1960 against the Piratas de Quebradillas, recording 44 points.<ref name="auto"/> He was considered one of the team's "pillars" during the 1960s, where they began a streak of eight finals appearances in nine seasons from 1967 to 1975.<ref name="auto"/> He was a key player on the 1967 and 1969 BSN championship teams and in his final season, 1970, he reached a third league finals, losing to the Piratas.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.primerahora.com/deportes/baloncesto/notas/fallece-evelio-droz-legendario-jugador-de-los-vaqueros-de-la-decada-de-1960/|newspaper=Primera Hora|language=Spanish|title=Fallece Evelio Droz, legendario jugador de los Vaqueros de la década de 1960|date=July 26, 2025|trans-title=Evelio Droz, legendary player for the Vaqueros of the 1960s, dies}}</ref> In his professional career, Droz appeared in 260 games and scored 3,987 points, averaging 14.8 points per game.<ref name="auto4"/> He also averaged 2.9 rebounds over his career.<ref name="auto"/>
Droz played several years with the Puerto Rico men's national basketball team, making up "part of the heart of the team" according to Paquito Rodríguez, director of the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/deportes/baloncesto/notas/paquito-rodriguez-honra-el-legado-de-evelio-droz-era-un-ser-humano-extraordinario/|newspaper=El Nuevo Día|language=Spanish|title=Paquito Rodríguez honra el legado de Evelio Droz: "Era un ser humano extraordinario"|trans-title=Paquito Rodríguez honors the legacy of Evelio Droz: "He was an extraordinary human being"|date=July 27, 2025}}</ref> He was part of a team that won the bronze medal at the 1959 Central American and Caribbean Games in Caracas, Venezuela, then won silver at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago.<ref name="auto4"/> The following year, he was selected to represent Puerto Rico in basketball at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, the first time Puerto Rico competed in basketball at the Olympics.<ref name="auto2"/> At the Olympics, the team finished 13th.<ref name="auto1"/> In 1963, Droz competed at the FIBA World Championship and won the bronze medal at the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo.<ref name="auto4"/> He returned to the Olympics in 1964 in Tokyo, helping his team finish fourth.<ref name="auto4"/> Two years later, he contributed to the gold-medal winning team at the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, held in San Juan.<ref name="auto4"/>
After his playing career, Droz served on the board of directors for the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation.<ref name="auto3"/> He was inducted into the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.<ref name="auto3"/> He died on July 26, 2025, at the age of 88.<ref name="auto4"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Puerto Rico Men Basketball Squad 1959 Pan American Games}} {{Puerto Rico Men Basketball Squad 1963 Pan American Games}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Droz, Evelio}} Category:1937 births Category:2025 deaths Category:Puerto Rican men's basketball players Category:1959 FIBA World Championship players Category:1963 FIBA World Championship players Category:Olympic basketball players for Puerto Rico Category:Basketball players at the 1960 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 1959 Pan American Games Category:Basketball players at the 1963 Pan American Games Category:Pan American Games silver medalists in basketball Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists in basketball Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico Category:Pan American Games basketball players for Puerto Rico Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Category:Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Category:20th-century Puerto Rican people Category:20th-century American sportsmen