Thursday, September 8, 2011

Buck Leonard helped lead Marianao to Cuban League flag in 1936-37

Sept. 8: On this day in 1907, Negro leagues star Walter "Buck" Leonard was born in Rocky Mount, N.C.

Leonard, who played for the Homestead Grays from 1934-1950, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. by Negro Leagues Committee in 1972.

In the Cuban League, Leonard played two seasons with Marianao in 1936-37 and 1948-49.

According to Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961, Leonard batted .304 for the Tigres in 1936-37, helping Marianao beat Santa Clara for the Cuban League pennant.

Trailing Santa Clara by three games with three games to play in the regular season, Marianao swept the series against the Leopards to force a playoff series, which Marianao won.

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