Misplaced Pages

#969030

20-767: Though the Cuban League had been in operation since 1878, the Federation League was established in 1946 by the Cuban Sports Federation (the Federación Nacional de Deportes y Educación Fisica ) under Luis Orlando Rodriguez. The new league was bankrolled by Julio Blanco Herrera, the owner of the Estadio La Tropical; his stadium had hosted Cuban League games for over a decade, until the more-established circuit left for

40-514: A players' association, the Asociación Nacional de Peloteros Profesionales de Cuba, and a new circuit to rival the Cuban League for the 1947–48 season. The successor to the original, government-sponsored Federation League, the new circuit was officially known as the "Liga Nacional," though it has also been referred to as the "Players' Federation League." The Liga Nacional, filled with players that were blacklisted from organized baseball,

60-791: Is the body responsible for sports development, physical education and recreation in Cuba. The first sports ministry in Cuba was founded after Fulgencio Batista came to power in the 1930s. Batista appointed his aide-de-camp, Colonel Jaime Mariné , to head the Dirección General Nacional de Deportes (DGND), or the National Sports Directory. In its current form, INDER was founded after the Cuban Revolution in February 23, 1961, under Law 936, and

80-553: The Alacranes del Almendares , was one of the oldest and most distinguished baseball teams in the old Cuban League , which existed from 1878 to 1961. Almendares represented the Almendares District on the outskirts of the old city of Havana —when the league was founded it was still considered a suburban area, but later became a district within the enlarged city. Almendares was one of the most successful franchises in

100-471: The Washington Senators , among others. The league also included prominent players from Cuba's amateur circuits, including Conrado Marrero of Oriente. The Federation League struggled to challenge the supremacy of the Cuban League, which, aside from the high-profile defections of Ray Dandridge and Booker McDaniel , managed to retain most of the island's top talent. It also became clear that

120-529: The Cuban League. In their early history they were known by their colors as the Blues; later they adopted the name of Alacranes ( Spanish : Scorpions ). Throughout their existence they had a famous rivalry with the Habana baseball club. Almendares won 24 Cuban League championships (the first during the 1893–94 season and the last and in 1958–59) and two Caribbean Series (in 1949 and 1959 ). Baseball in Cuba

140-636: The Cuban Sports Federation lacked funding, as well as the power to enforce its own contracts. The federation was dealt another blow when the Cuban League announced a pact with MLB, ending the threat of suspension for its players. Despite the agreement, players from the Cuban League that had been in Mexico were still ineligible to play in organized baseball. As of December 1946, at least 20 Cuban players were banned. This included major figures of Cuban baseball, including Agapito Mayor , Tomas de la Cruz , and Almendares manager Adolfo Luque . These players organized

160-474: The Cubans something new to do, a new source of membership, an opportunity participate in something that was perceived to be distinctly Cuban. Cuba had successful baseball teams and players, which tended to unify the country. The Cuban people took great pride in their success in baseball. After a period of intramural play, professional teams were established. The Cuban League was founded in 1878, two years after

180-595: The best Cuban players as well as those from the Negro league . Almendares was able to stay competitive the longest without acquiring players from the United States. Integrated baseball in Cuba served as a transition to integrated baseball in the US. In 1961 with Fulgencio Batista out of power and Fidel Castro taking over, professional baseball was abolished and replaced by the amateur Cuban baseball system . Baseball

200-672: The birth of the National League in the U.S. The original three professional clubs were the Habana , Matanzas, and Almendares. Teams were named for their areas. Almendares won its first championship in 1893–94, carried by pitching ace Juan Manuel Pastoriza , the first of many good club pitchers. One thing that made the Almendares Baseball Club so successful is that it built its team around pitching rather than hitting. Almendares had many successful pitchers, including José Méndez and Adolfo Luque . Almendares

220-507: The game in Cuba. Aside from the blacklisted Cubans, the Liga Nacional included many foreign "jumpers" who had been banned by MLB, including Danny Gardella , Napoleon Reyes , and Luis Olmo . Despite a surge in popularity, the league was unable to compete financially with the older Cuban League, even with support from the Cuban Sports Federation, and the Asociación Nacional was beset by accusations of mismanagement. The Liga Nacional

SECTION 10

#1732802492970

240-501: The more modern Estadio El Cerro (or Gran Stadium) across town. The league was unique in that it played its games across the country, unlike the Cuban League, which at the time played exclusively in Havana. The Matanzas club (not to be confused with the earlier Cuban League side of the same name ) played at the historic Palmar de Junco stadium. Starting in 1946, Major League Baseball commissioner Happy Chandler banned players from

260-576: The upstart Mexican League from participating in " organized baseball " (i.e. MLB or its affiliated minor leagues), accusing them of breaking contracts with major league clubs. In its first season, the Federation League was largely composed of players under contract to MLB organizations, who did not want to risk suspension by playing alongside ballplayers in the Cuban League who had already been suspended for playing in Mexico. Federation League players in 1946 included Fermin Guerra and Gilberto Torres , both of

280-754: Was drawing record crowds. A championship game between Habana and Almendares had more than 6,000 fans attending. Baseball was absent in Cuba from 1895 to 1897 due to the Cuban War of Independence , but it resumed immediately after the War of ended, when professional teams including the Almendares resumed play. After the War, public attendance to baseball games increased, to over 5,000 weekly at Havana games. Professional baseball clubs were not always racially integrated in Cuba. US racial barriers were first broken in Cuba in 1900, after which Cuban teams had access to

300-671: Was headed by Manuel González Guerra . The national headquarters is located in the Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva in Havana. In March 1962, a new institution demanded a Resolution that forbids any professional sports to be practiced on the Island, with the aim of promoting healthy practice and preventing mercantile system in sport. This article about sports in Cuba is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Almendares (baseball) The Almendares B.B.C. , also known as

320-524: Was more than a sport; it became part of Cuba’s national identity. As baseball grew in the United States, its popularity also grew in Cuba. Cubans living in the U.S. learned and loved baseball, and realized it would be important for their country to have this sport for national unity. For Cubans, baseball offered the possibility of national integration of all Cubans, of all classes, black and white, young and old, men and women. Baseball also offered

340-477: Was not only important as entertainment; it also was important to Cuban culture. Among the most notable of the successes of Cuban baseball was the elimination of racial discrimination in Cuban baseball and the provision of expanded opportunities to play and watch the game throughout the island. Through good times and bad, baseball persisted as a source of national identity and collective unity. Almendares played in

360-669: Was resurrected once more in 1950 as a short-lived minor league feeder circuit for the Cuban League (which, at this point, was itself a minor league for MLB) made up exclusively of Cuban players. Both the Federation League of 1946 and the Liga Nacional of 1947 appropriated, with only slight differences, the emblems and colors of teams in the Cuban League, including Habana (the "Reds"/"Leones") and Almendares ("Oriente"/"Alacranes"). Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educaci%C3%B3n Fisica y Recreaci%C3%B3n Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educación Física y Recreación (National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation), or INDER ,

380-539: Was the first Cuban team to play against a United States team, an 1881 game in Cuba, against the Bitter Hops Baseball Club. Throughout its existence Almendares had a rivalry with Habana . This rivalry started at the beginning of professional league play and lasted until the end. The club even had its own newspaper and magazine, called El Almendarista . These publications grew in popularity almost as fast as new teams started. In 1886 baseball in Cuba

400-452: Was the opposite of the Federation League, which had been made up of players that feared the blacklist. It was an ironic reversal. The year before, the Liga de la Federacion was the refuge for Cuban major leaguers [...] who did not want to risk their jobs playing in the Cuban League. But now its successor was conceived to give refuge to the "outlaws" from Organized Baseball, who were the stars of

#969030