Born in Norfolk, VA, Louis Alexander Ciola (1922–1981) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1943 season.

Right-hander Ciola attended the University of Richmond from 1941 to 1943 before signing as an amateur free agent with the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1943 season. He went right to the bigs, debuting on July 25, 1943. In the totality of his big league career comprising the next few months, he appeared in 12 games with a 1-3 record and a 5.56 ERA.

Shortly after the season, Ciola became a member of the US Navy, serving in the South Pacific during World War II. He returned in time to start the 1946 season, pitching for the Savannah Indians in the Class A South Atlantic League and finished 4-7 in 81 innings.

The Athletics gave him his outright release on October 19. Ciola spent the next two seasons (1947-1948) with the Portsmouth Cubs of the Class B Piedmont League, going 16-11 in '47 and 12-6 in '48. On November 24, 1948 he was drafted by the Omaha Cardinals in the minor league phase of the 1948 Rule V Draft. Lou spent the remaining six years of his career in the minors. He had his best year in 1952, again with Omaha, going 15-1 with a 3.45 ERA in 159 innings. Ciola spent two more seasons in the minors, with identical records of 7-5 in '53 and '54, finishing his minor league career with an 87-57 record (.604) in 388 appearances.

After baseball, Ciola was a foreman for the transportation department with Hormel Company and co-owner of the Golden Parrot Restaurant in Austin, MN. He died from a heart attack while golfing at the Austin Country Club at the age of 59.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)