New York Cubans
Encyclopedia
The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball
team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic
baseball players as well, because Hispanics in general were largely ignored by the major league baseball teams
before Jackie Robinson
broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
became the first all-Hispanic team to travel to the United States
and stage exhibition games, against established Negro league powerhouse teams. The All Cubans kept traveling to the United States each year until 1905. Beginning in 1907, they were replaced by the Cuban Stars
, which became accepted as an independent Negro baseball team. In 1916, the team was struck by controversies and competition regarding booking, which led to the creation of a new Cuban Stars carrying the same name. To differentiate between the two teams, we refer to the newer team as the Cuban Stars (East)
, which was owned by Alex Pompez
and competed in the New York city area. The older team (which was owned by Abel Linares and Tinti Molina and previously had competed in the New York area) moved to the midwestern region and is known as the Cuban Stars (West)
.
in Paterson, New Jersey
home. Unlike what the teams's name may lead some to believe, the team was not composed exclusively of Cuba
n players, there were players from other Hispanic nationalities and the United States
as well. In 1941, Perucho Cepeda, father of National Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Peruchin Cepeda
and a legendary player around the Caribbean
himself, became the first Puerto Rican
to play for the New York Cubans. Apart from Cepeda, there were also players from Mexico
and the Dominican Republic
playing for the New York Cubans. From 1941 to 1944, the Cubans had the services of well known utility player Tetelo Vargas
.
Only one other team of the era, the Indianapolis Clowns
, boasted a line-up with as many international players as the Cubans did.
, the New York Cubans won their only Negro League World Series
title in 1947, defeating the Cleveland Buckeyes
.
and Hispanic players to the Major Leagues, the Negro league stopped playing in 1950.
wore Cubans uniforms in a game in Milwaukee against the Brewers
, who wore Milwaukee Bears
uniforms. The Mets then wore this uniform again on August 22nd against the Pittsburgh Pirates
.
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...
team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
baseball players as well, because Hispanics in general were largely ignored by the major league baseball teams
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
before Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Historical roots
In 1899, the All CubansAll Cubans
The All Cubans were a team of Cuban professional baseball players that toured the United States during 1899 and 1902-05, playing against white semiprofessional and Negro league teams. The team was the first Latin American professional baseball team to tour the United States...
became the first all-Hispanic team to travel to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and stage exhibition games, against established Negro league powerhouse teams. The All Cubans kept traveling to the United States each year until 1905. Beginning in 1907, they were replaced by the Cuban Stars
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,...
, which became accepted as an independent Negro baseball team. In 1916, the team was struck by controversies and competition regarding booking, which led to the creation of a new Cuban Stars carrying the same name. To differentiate between the two teams, we refer to the newer team 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...
, which was 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...
and competed in the New York city area. The older team (which was owned by Abel Linares and Tinti Molina and previously had competed in the New York area) moved to the midwestern region and is known as 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,...
.
Founding (or re-incarnation)
About 1930, both Cuban Stars teams folded, but in 1935 Pompez was able to re-create a Cuban team under the new name New York Cubans. In 1935 and 1936, the New York Cubans called historic Hinchliffe StadiumHinchliffe Stadium
Hinchliffe Stadium is a historic 10,000-seat municipal stadium in Paterson, New Jersey, built 1931-32 on a dramatic escarpment above Paterson's National Landmark Great Falls, and surrounded by the city's National Landmark Historic District, the first planned industrial settlement in the nation...
in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
home. Unlike what the teams's name may lead some to believe, the team was not composed exclusively of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n players, there were players from other Hispanic nationalities and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as well. In 1941, Perucho Cepeda, father of National Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Peruchin Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
and a legendary player around the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
himself, became the first Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to play for the New York Cubans. Apart from Cepeda, there were also players from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
playing for the New York Cubans. From 1941 to 1944, the Cubans had the services of well known utility player Tetelo Vargas
Tetelo Vargas
Juan Esteban Vargas , better known as Tetelo Vargas, was an internationally known baseball player from the Dominican Republic.-Baseball career:...
.
Only one other team of the era, the Indianapolis Clowns
Indianapolis Clowns
The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League.- Founding :They began operation in Cincinnati in , and operated between Cincinnati and Indianapolis in 1944 and 1945 before officially moving in...
, boasted a line-up with as many international players as the Cubans did.
Negro League World Series champions
With a team that included such notables as Luis Tiant, Sr., Minnie Miñoso and Martín DihigoMartín Dihigo
Martín 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...
, the New York Cubans won their only Negro League World Series
Negro League World Series
The Negro League World Series was a post-season baseball tournament which was held from 1924-1927 and from 1942-1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east coast counterparts....
title in 1947, defeating the Cleveland Buckeyes
Cleveland Buckeyes
The Cleveland Buckeyes were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro Leagues. They were established in 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio . The following season, the team moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they played their games at League Park...
.
Demise
The Cubans did not win another championship, and, because of many different reasons, which included economical strain and exodus both from African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and Hispanic players to the Major Leagues, the Negro league stopped playing in 1950.
Hall of Fame players
- 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...
holds the distinction of being in three different baseball Halls of Fame; the Cuban, Mexican and United States ones. - Tetelo VargasTetelo VargasJuan Esteban Vargas , better known as Tetelo Vargas, was an internationally known baseball player from the Dominican Republic.-Baseball career:...
is a member of the Puerto Rican and Cuban baseball Hall of Fames, despite never having played a single game in Cuba. His election to the Cuban baseball Hall of Fame has been credited to his participation with the New York Cubans.
MLB throwback jerseys
On May 29, 2010, the New York MetsNew York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
wore Cubans uniforms in a game in Milwaukee against the Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, who wore Milwaukee Bears
Milwaukee Bears
The Milwaukee Bears were a Negro National League team that operated during the 1923 season, its only season in the league, representing Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
uniforms. The Mets then wore this uniform again on August 22nd against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
.
External links
- New York Cubans on the Negro League Baseball Players Association website