Rafael Almeida played for Habana, Almendares in 17 Cuban winters

July 30: On this day in 1887, Cuban baseball pioneer Rafael Almeida was born in Habana, Cuba.

Almeida, along with Armando Marsans, made their major-league debuts 100 years ago on July 4, 1911 with the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the first Cuban-born major-league players of the modern era (Esteban Bellan had played for the Troy Haymakers of the National Association in 1871).

Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, Almeida played for Habana and Almendares in 17 Cuban League seasons between 1904-25.

In the majors, Almeida (shown in this 1909 Cabañas card) played three seasons for the Reds from 1911-13, compiling a .270 batting average in 102 games.

Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm played two seasons for Habana

July 26: On this day in 1922, Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm was born in Huntersville, N.C.

Wilhelm, who pitched 21 seasons in the majors and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, pitched two winters in the Cuban League for Habana from 1950-52.

Wilhelm (shown in this photo that is up for auction/sale on eBay by The Attic and Closet Collectibles) went 8-6 with a Cuban League-leading 2.36 ERA in 1950-51 and 2-5 with a 3.52 ERA in 1951-52.

Carlos 'Bebe' Royer: Record-setting pitcher at turn of the 20th century

July 26: On this day in early Cuban League star Carlos "Bebe" Royer died in Cuba.

Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, Royer played for Habana, Habanista, Cuba, Cubano, Almendares and Fe during 18 seasons from 1890-1911.

But his biggest impact came during his 15 seasons as a pitcher while compiling a 90-43 record.

According to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball: 1878-1961, Royer (shown in this 1909 Cabañas card) ranks second career complete games (118) and third in winning percentage (.677).

Jorge S. Figueredo's book also lists numerous Cuban League record held by Royer, including:

• Most consecutive games won (17) in a season (1902).
• Most consecutive games won (20) in two seasons (1902-03).
• Most games won (38) in two consecutive seasons (1902-03).
• Most games won (51) in three consecutive seasons (1902-04).
• Most games in (63) in four consecutive seasons (1901-04).
• Most consecutive complete games (33) in a season (1903).
• Tied for most victories (21) in a season (1903).

Sam Bankhead led Cuban League in hitting, Santa Clara to title in '37-38

July 24: On this day in 1976, Negro leagues star Sam Bankhead died in Pittsburgh, Penn.

Bankhead, whose Negro leagues career included playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, Kansas City Monarchs, Pittsburgh Crawford and Homestead Grays, played Four Cuban League seasons -- three with Santa Clara and one with Almendares -- from 1937-41.

According to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961, Bankhead lead the Cuban League in batting (.366), RBI (34), runs (47), hits (89) and triples (5) in 1937-38 as the Leopards won the Cuban League pennant.

Rene Solis helped Almendares to Cuban League pennant in 1948-49

July 23: On this day in 1926, Cuban League pitcher Rene "Tata" Solis was born in Victoria de las Tunas, Oriente, Cuba.

Solis (shown in this 1949-50 Alerta premium) played for Almendares and Cienfuegos during five Cuban League seasons from 1947-55.

His best season came in 1948-49, when Solis went 7-4 with a 2.36 ERA for Almendares as the Scorpions won the Cuban League pennant.

A waved gun once convinced Terris McDuffie to pitch on two-days rest

July 22: On this day in 1910, Negro leagues star Terris McDuffie was born in Mobile, Ala.

Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, McDuffie played for Habana, Cienfuegos, Almendares, Marianao and Leones in eight Cuban winters between 1937-53.

Although perhaps apocryphal, one story describes how McDuffie's penchant for wine and women once came up against Adolfo Luque's famous temper.

While pitching for Marianao in 1952-53, McDuffie, probably hungover, one day refused to pitch on two-days rest, prompting Luque to call the pitcher into his office, where he pulled open a drawer in his desk and flashed a revolver.

That was enough to convince McDuffie to take the mound and he proceeded to throw a two-hitter.

Daniel Morejon was Sugar Kings' Little World Series hero in 1959

July 21: On this day in 1930, Cuban League star Daniel Morejon was born in Havana, Cuba.

He played four seasons -- three with Almendares and and one with Habana -- from 1956-61.

According to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball: 1878-1961, Morejon was the Cuban League rookie of the year in 1956-57 after batting .330 for Almendares. The following winter he led the league with nine home runs. And in 1960-61, he led the league with 17 doubles.

As a member of the minor-league Cuban Sugar Kings, Morejon led the 1959 Little World Series in batting (.407), RBI, hits, runs and doubles as the Sugar Kings beat the Minneapolis Millers.

In that series, Morejon drove in the winning run in Games 6 and 7 for Havana.

Cuban Cultural Center to host congress on Cuban baseball history

The Cuban Cultural Center of New York's annual congress this year will be on the history of Cuban baseball, and I will have the honor of moderating one of the panel discussions.

The congress will be held Aug. 20 at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University, which counts as an alumnus Cuban Baseball Hall of Famer and pioneer Esteban Bellan, the first Cuban-born player to play for a major league when he was a member of the Troy Haymakers of the National Association in 1871.

The congress will feature keynote speaker Roberto González Echevarría, Ph.D. at Yale University and author of Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball.

One panel will be a roundtable of Cuban All-Stars, whose invitees include Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso (left), Luis Tiant, Tony Perez and Bert Campaneris.

The panel I will moderate will include Manuel Márquez-Sterling, Professor Emeritus at Plymouth State University and author of the Cuba 1952-1959 blog; El Nuevo Herald journalist Marino Martínez; Leslie Heaphy, Ph.D. at Kent State University and author of A League of Their Own: Cuban Women in Baseball; and Gary Ashwill, baseball historian and author of the blog Agate Type: Adventures in Baseball Archeology.

I hope to blog and perhaps post video from the congress.

Emilio Palmero threw no-hitter against Club Fe in 1914

July 15: On this day in 1970, Cuban League star Emilio Palmero died in Toledo, Ohio.

Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954, Palmero pitched for Habana, Red Sox, Almendares, Marianao, Havana Reds and Cuba from 1913-29.

According to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961, Palmero (shown in this 1926-27 Aguilitas card) pitched a no-hitter on Feb. 17, 1914.

According to Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961, the gem -- Palmero did allow an unearned run on two walks, a throwing error and a wild pitch -- came against Fe and was the first no-hitting in Cuban League play since Eugenio de Rosas' in 1889.

Puerto Rico topped Bobby Bragan's Almendares, Nap Reyes' Venezuela team in 1954 Caribbean Series

Managers of the 1954 Caribbean Series.

This photo from The Sporting News archive that was up for auction at Mears Monthy Auctions in October 2010.

It shows, from left to right, Cuba (Almendares) manager Bobby Bragan, Puerto Rico (Caguas) manager Mickey Owens, Panama (Carta Vieja) manager Al Kubski and Venezuala (Pastora) manager Napoleon Reyes.

Owens' Caguas team went 4-2 in the series to give Puerto Rico the Caribbean Series title. Cuba and Panaman were tied at 3-3 and Venezuela, with Cuba's Reyes at the helm was last with a 2-4 record.

Hall of Famer Billy Herman played, managed in Cuban League

July 7: On this day in 1909, Hall of Famer Billy Herman was born in New Albany, Ind.

Herman, who was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. by the Veterans Committee in 1975, played for Marianao in 1930 and managed Cienfuegos for three seasons in the Cuban League from 1950-53.

His best managerial finish in Cuba came in 1951-52, when he led the Elefantes to  second place. As a manager in the majors, Herman was at the helm of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947 and the Boston Red Sox from 1964-66, never finishing higher than seventh.

But he put together his Hall of Fame résumé as a player from 1931-47 with the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves and Pirates. In 15 major-league seasons, Herman (depicted in this Cuban postcard) was a career .304 hitter.

Jose Maria Fernandez played 24 winters in the Cuban League

July 6: On this day in 1896, Cuban League star Jose Maria Fernandez was born in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba.

Fernandez (shown playing for the Cuban Stars in this photo that was up for auction at Lelands in December 2004) played 24 winters in Cuba, playing for San Francisco, White Sox, Almendares, America, Marianao, Cuba, Santa Clara and Cienfuegos.

According to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961, Fernandez, the older brother of Cuban Baseball Hall of Famer star Rodolfo Fernandez, batted over .300 nine times.

He also managed three seasons in the Cuban League, one with Santa Clara and two with Marianao, but never led a team higher than third in the standings.

In the Negro leagues, Fernandez played for Alex Pompez's Cuban Stars from 1916-1929 and 1931-1934.

100 years ago today: Armando Marsans, Rafael Almeida made their major-league debuts for Reds

One hundred years ago today, as America celebrated Independence Day, Cuban-born Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida made their major-league debuts for the Cincinnati Reds.

Although Esteban Bellan had played for the Troy Haymakers of the National Association in 1871, Marsans and Almeida were the first Cuban-born players to play in the majors during the modern era.

According to Retrosheet, Marsans (shown above with the Reds in this 1913 photo found at the Library of Congress) played right field and went 1-for-2. Almeida (shown below in this 1912 T207 card) also went 1-for-2 at third base.

NPR did an interesting report Monday, entitled Light-Skinned Cubans Cross Baseball's Color Line.

Marsans would go on to play for the Reds, St. Louis Terriers, St. Louis Browns and Yankees during eight major-league seasons from 1911-18.


Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, Marsans played for Almendares, Habana, Orientals and Cuba during 21 winters from 1905-28 and ranks first in Cuban League history in stolen bases (135), according to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961.

He also managed nine seasons in the Cuban League with Almendares, Orientals, Cuba and Marianao, winning a pennant in 1917 with Orientals.
Almeida, who was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, only played three major-league seasons with the Reds from 1911-13.

But in the Cuban League, he played 17 seasons for Habana and Almendares from 1904-35.

Adolfo Luque made his mark playing for, managing Almendares

July 3: On this day in 1957, Cuban baseball legend Adolfo Luque died in Havana, Cuba.

This 1947 Fotos postcard is on display at VintageBall.com, in its 1915-55 gallery.

Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1958, Luque played for Fe, Habana, Almendares, Orientales, Alacranes and Cienfuegos in 23 winters — 14 with Almendares — in Cuba from 1912-45.

He ranks first in Cuban League history in seasons pitched (22) and second in wins (106), according to Who’s Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961. Seven times he led the league in games won.

In 30 seasons as a manager, Luque ranks second in Cuban League history behind Miguel Angel Gonzalez in victories (705) and pennants won (11).

In 20 major-league seasons, Luque compiled a 194-175 career record with a 3.24 ERA. His best season came in 1923 with the Cincinnati Reds. After losing 23 games despite a 3.31 ERA the previous season, Luque (left) led the National League with 27 wins (eight losses), a 1.93 ERA and six shutouts.