Irvin, Jethroe and Gionfriddo led Almendares to 1948-49 pennant

The Almendares team that won the 1948-49 Cuban League championship by a comfortable 8-game margin over eternal rival Habana.

 

The photo was up for auction at Mears Monthly Auction in October, 2010.

Hall of Famer Monte Irvin (middle row, fifth from the left) led the league with 10 home runs while driving in 53 runs, according to Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961.

Fellow outfielder Sam Jethroe (middle row, third from right) led the league with 32 stolen bases. The third member of Almendares' starting outfield, Al Gionfriddo (back row, far right) batted .308.

Pitcher Morris Martin (seated front row, fourth from the right) took league MVP honors with a 9-2 record and a league-leading four shutouts. Octavio Rubert (seated front row, far right) led the league in winning percentage with an 8-1 record and a 1.63 ERA.

Monte Irvin led Almendares to Cuban League, Caribbean titles

Feb. 25: On this day in 1919, Hall of Famer Monte Irvin was born in Haleburg, Ala.

Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1973, Irvin was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

The former Newark Eagles and New York Giants star outfielder played two seasons for Almendares.
In the 1948-49 season, Irvin (on the cover of this Fotos magazine) led the Cuban League with 10 home runs, while driving in 53 runs, as he helped lead Almendares to the pennant by eight games over Habana.

Irvin also was instrumental in Cuba’s Caribbean Series victory following the winter league. He batted .389 and led the Series with two homers and 11 RBI as Almendares, presenting Cuba, went 6-0 to win the inaugural Caribbean Series against Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Panama.

Monte Irvin's memory 'treasure trove' includes Cuba playing days

Link to Chicago Tribune writer Phil Long's column on Monte Irvin, who played for Almendares between 1947-49.

In it, Irvin, 91, who now lives in Houston, talks about his playing days in Cuba, Fidel Castro and Cuban Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo.

A Negro leagues star with the Newark Eagles, was a candidate to break Major League Baseball's color barrier before the Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson.

Monte Irvin at the bat ... in Cuba

Hall of Famer Monte Irvin turns 91 today. Happy Birthday.

The former Newark Eagles and New York Giants star outfielder was also a star in the Cuban League from 1947-49, earning induction into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

In the 1948-49 season, Irvin led the Cuban League with 10 home runs, while driving in 53 runs. He helped lead an Almendares team, which also included then-Brooklyn Dodgers farmhand Chuck Connors of The Rifleman fame, to the pennant by eight games over arch rival Habana.

Irvin also was instrumental in Cuba's Caribbean Series victory following the winter league. He batted .389 and led the Series with two homers and 11 RBI as Almendares, presenting Cuba, went 6-0 to win the inaugural Caribbean Series against Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Panama.

Using the 11 still photos of one of Irvin's swing from this cover (top left) of Fotos magazine, Cuba's version of Life/Sports Illustrated, check out this "slide show" of a much younger Irvin in action from his playing days in Havana.



Here is Irvin talking about Havana's night life during an interview in the early 1990s.