Cuban Stars (East)
Encyclopedia
The Cuban Stars were a team of professional baseball
players from Cuba
and other Latin America
n countries who competed in the Negro leagues
in the eastern United States
from 1916 to 1933. Because they carried the same name as another, contemporaneous Cuban baseball team that after 1916 primarily played in the midwestern United States, the two teams are generally distinguished as the Cuban Stars (East) and the Cuban Stars (West)
. From 1916 to 1929, the Cuban Stars (East) were owned by Alex Pompez
. From 1916 to 1922 they were an independent team that played in the New York and northeast region of the United States. From 1923 to 1928, they competed in the Eastern Colored League
and in 1929 they played in the American Negro League
. After the collapse of the American Negro League
in 1929, Nat Strong re-constituted the Cuban Stars and they competed as an independent team until 1933. They generally were a traveling team that played only road games.
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 from Cuba
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...
and other Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n countries who competed in the 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...
in the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1916 to 1933. Because they carried the same name as another, contemporaneous Cuban baseball team that after 1916 primarily played in the midwestern United States, the two teams are generally distinguished as the Cuban Stars (East) and the Cuban Stars (West)
Cuban Stars (West)
The Cuban Stars were a team of Cuban 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,...
. From 1916 to 1929, the Cuban Stars (East) were owned 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...
. From 1916 to 1922 they were an independent team that played in the New York and northeast region of the United States. From 1923 to 1928, they competed in the Eastern Colored League
Eastern Colored League
The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League , was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated.- History :...
and in 1929 they played in the American Negro League
American Negro League
The American Negro League was one of several Negro leagues which were established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated...
. After the collapse of the American Negro League
American Negro League
The American Negro League was one of several Negro leagues which were established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated...
in 1929, Nat Strong re-constituted the Cuban Stars and they competed as an independent team until 1933. They generally were a traveling team that played only road games.
Notable players
- Francisco CoimbreFrancisco CoimbreFrancisco "Pancho" Coimbre Atiles , more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was born in the municipality of Coamo and moved to Ponce early in his life. It was in Ponce where he would begin to actively participate in sports, both in sprinting and...
P, RF - Martín DihigoMartín DihigoMartín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos was a Cuban player in baseball's Negro leagues and Latin American leagues who excelled at several positions, primarily as a pitcher and second baseman...
– 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, P, 1922–27, 1930 - Emilio NavarroEmilio NavarroEmilio "Millito" Navarro was the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the Negro Leagues. At age 105, Navarro was also the oldest living professional baseball player to have played in the Negro Leagues.-Biography:...
– 3B, SS, 1928–29 - Alejandro OmsAlejandro OmsAlejandro Oms was a Cuban center fielder in Negro league baseball and Latin American baseball, most notably with the Cuban Stars . Born in Santa Clara, Las Villas, he died at age 51 in Havana....
– OF (primarily CF), 1917, 1922–28, 1930–32