Cuban Stars (West)
Encyclopedia
The Cuban Stars were a team of Cuba
n professional baseball
players that competed in the United States
Negro leagues
from 1907 to 1932. The team was also sometimes known as the Stars of Cuba, the Cuban All-Stars, the Havana Reds, the Almendares Blues, or simply as the Cubans. For one season, 1921, the team played home games in Cincinnati, Ohio
and was known as the Cincinnati Cubans. For the rest of its life, it was a traveling team that played only road games. For its first five years, the team competed primarily in the eastern states, near New York City and Philadelphia, although it made a famous sojourn into Chicago in 1910 and 1911, taking on the Leland Giants
and numerous semi-pro teams in the Chicago area. By 1916, however, the team was competing primarily in the midwestern states and a competing Cuban team was organized in the New York area, which was also named the "Cuban Stars." To differentiate between the two teams, the original team (organized by Abel Linares and Agustín "Tinti" Molina) is known as the "Cuban Stars (West)," and the new team (organized by Alex Pompez
) is known as the Cuban Stars (East)
.
From 1920–30, the Cuban Stars competed in the Negro National League
, and in 1932 they played in the East-West League
. In earlier years, they were an independent team. In 1919 they were the western champions, having the highest winning percentage of any Negro league team playing in the west.
Baseball in Cuba
Baseball is the official sport of Cuba.-The Early years :Baseball was introduced to Cuba in the 1860s by Cuban students returning from colleges in the United States and American sailors who ported in the country...
n professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
players that competed in the United States
History of baseball in the United States
The history of baseball in the United States can be traced to the 18th century, when amateurs played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using improvised equipment...
Negro leagues
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
from 1907 to 1932. The team was also sometimes known as the Stars of Cuba, the Cuban All-Stars, the Havana Reds, the Almendares Blues, or simply as the Cubans. For one season, 1921, the team played home games in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and was known as the Cincinnati Cubans. For the rest of its life, it was a traveling team that played only road games. For its first five years, the team competed primarily in the eastern states, near New York City and Philadelphia, although it made a famous sojourn into Chicago in 1910 and 1911, taking on the Leland Giants
Leland Giants
The Chicago Union Giants, the top black baseball team in the Midwest or West in the first decade of the 20th century, changed its name in 1905 to the Leland Giants, after manager and owner Frank Leland....
and numerous semi-pro teams in the Chicago area. By 1916, however, the team was competing primarily in the midwestern states and a competing Cuban team was organized in the New York area, which was also named the "Cuban Stars." To differentiate between the two teams, the original team (organized by Abel Linares and Agustín "Tinti" Molina) is known as the "Cuban Stars (West)," and the new team (organized by Alex Pompez
Alex Pompez
Alejandro "Alex" Pompez was an American executive in Negro league baseball who owned the Cuban Stars and New York Cubans franchises from 1916 to 1950. His family were cigar manufacturers who had immigrated from Cuba. Outside of baseball and numbers he was educated as an attorney and he had owned...
) is known as the Cuban Stars (East)
Cuban Stars (East)
The Cuban Stars were a team of professional baseball players from Cuba and other Latin American countries who competed in the Negro leagues in the eastern United States from 1916 to 1933...
.
From 1920–30, the Cuban Stars competed in the Negro National League
Negro National League (the first)
The Negro National League was one of the several Negro leagues which were established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated. Led by Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the NNL was established on February 13, 1920 by a...
, and in 1932 they played in the East-West League
East-West League
The East-West League was an American Negro baseball league that operated during the period when professional baseball in the United States was segregated. Cum Posey organized the league in 1932, but it didn't last the full year and folded in June of that year...
. In earlier years, they were an independent team. In 1919 they were the western champions, having the highest winning percentage of any Negro league team playing in the west.
Notable players
- José MéndezJosé MéndezJosé de la Caridad Méndez was a Cuban right-handed pitcher and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues. Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, he died at age 41 in Havana. Known in Cuba as El Diamante Negro , he became a legend in his homeland. He was one of the first group of players elected to the Cuban...
– P, 1908–12 - Cristóbal TorrienteCristóbal TorrienteCristóbal Torriente was a Cuban outfielder in Negro league baseball with the Cuban Stars, All Nations, Chicago American Giants, Kansas City Monarchs and Detroit Stars over a career that lasted from 1914 to 1928, plus a single game in 1932.-Negro league career:Torriente was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba...
– OF, P, 1913–18 - Bill GatewoodBill GatewoodWilliam "Big Bill" Gatewood was a Negro Leagues pitcher and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League, and in its first few seasons. He pitched for the Leland Giants, Chicago Giants, Chicago American Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, Cuban X-Giants,...
- P, 1921