The eighth edition of the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

(''Serie del Caribe'') was played in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

. It was held from February 10 through February 15, featuring the champion baseball teams of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, Elefantes de Cienfuegos;

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, Chesterfield Smokers;

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, Criollos de Caguas and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Industriales de Valencia The Industriales de Valencia was a baseball club who played from 1955 through 1968 in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The Industriales joined the league as a replacement for the Santa Marta BBC. The Industriales were based at Valencia ...

. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Olímpico de Panamá in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

Summary

In this edition, Cienfuegos won the first of five consecutive Series titles for the Cuban team. Cienfuegos was managed by Oscar Rodríguez and finished with a 5-1 record. The pitching staff was guided by

Camilo Pascual Camilo Alberto Pascual Lus (born January 20, 1934) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During an 18-year baseball career (1954–71), he played for the original modern Washington Senators franchise (which became the Mi ...

(2-0, 11

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, 2.50

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

Pedro Ramos Pedro Ramos Guerra (born April 28, 1935), is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and the expansion Washing ...

(2-0, 1.59 ERA) and René Gutiérrez (1-0, 0.00 ERA in innings). The offense was clearly led by catcher and Series MVP

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...

(.400 BA, one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, .654 OBP and 1B Bob Boyd (.304 BA, one HR, 11 RBI, .522 SLG). Other contributions came from 2B

Curt Roberts Curtis Benjamin Roberts (August 16, 1929 – November 14, 1969) was an American baseball second baseman who played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1956. He was signed by the Boston Braves as a ...

(.375, one HR, six runs, .542 SLG),

Chico Fernández Humberto "Chico" Fernández Pérez (March 2, 1932 – June 11, 2016) was a Cuban professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball ( MLB) with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets from ...

(.269, 10 runs, one HR) and 3B

Milt Smith Milton Smith (March 27, 1929 – April 11, 1997) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 36 Major League Baseball games for the 1955 Cincinnati Redlegs. Primarily a third baseman, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall ...

(two HR, .522 SLG). The roster also included IF

Ossie Alvarez Ossie is a nickname usually used in place of a given name such as Osama, Osman, Oswald, Oscar, Ossian, Osmond, Osbourne and Osvaldo. In Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, it is used as a diminutive for Joseph and Yousif. It may refer to: People Given na ...

, OFs Prentice Browne and Archie Wilson and Ps Sandalio Consuegra, Seth Morehead and

Gene Bearden Henry Eugene Bearden (September 5, 1920 – March 18, 2004) was an American professional baseball pitcher, a left-hander who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1947 to 1953 for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers ...

, among others. Panama, with Standford Graham at the helm, posted a 3-3 record to tie Puerto Rico for second place. Ps Don Elston,

Ross Grimsley Ross Albert Grimsley Jr.
Retrieved August 26, 2018 (born J ...

and

Wally Burnette Wallace Harper Burnette (June 20, 1929 – February 12, 2003) was an American professional baseball player who pitched for the Kansas City Athletics from -. He was born in Blairs, Virginia. In three seasons, he compiled a win–loss record of 1 ...

got the victories while 1B Elías Osorio (.286, 3 HR, .762 SLG) led the offense. Grimsley made the All-Star team, as well as OFs

Bobby Prescott George Bertrand "Bobby" Prescott (March 27, 1931 – August 2, 2020) was a Panamanian professional baseball player, an outfielder, first baseman and third baseman who had a 19-year career, from 1952–1970, in North American minor league baseball ...

and Bill Stewart. The line up was also filled with

Héctor López Héctor Headley López Swainson (July 8, 1929 – September 29, 2022) was a Panamanian professional baseball left fielder and third baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees from 1955 to 196 ...

(2B),

Humberto Robinson Humberto Valentino Robinson (June 25, 1930 – September 29, 2009) was a middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1955 through 1960 for the Milwaukee Braves (1955, 1958), Cleveland Indians (1959) and Philadelphia Phillies (1 ...

(P),

David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...

(OF) and Joe Tuminelli (3B). Puerto Rico was managed by

Ben Geraghty Benjamin Raymond Geraghty (July 19, 1912 – June 18, 1963) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball and one of the most successful and respected minor league managers of the 1950s. A Jersey City native, Geraghty went right from Vill ...

and got wins from

Taylor Phillips William Taylor Phillips (born June 18, 1933), nicknamed "T-Bone", is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chica ...

, Roberto Vargas and

Chi-Chi Olivo Federico Emilio Olivo Maldonado (March 28, 1928 – February 3, 1977) was a Dominican Republic, Dominican professional baseball baseball player, player who appeared in 96 games pitched, games in Major League Baseball as a relief pitcher for the ...

, while 1B

Lou Limmer Louis Limmer (March 10, 1925 – April 1, 2007) was a Major League Baseball player in 1951 and 1954 for the Philadelphia Athletics. Limmer was born in the Bronx, New York, and was Jewish. He graduated from Manhattan High School of Aviation in ...

(.350, three HR, six runs, eight RBI) provided punch in the lineup. Also in the roster were Ps

Tom Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Nati ...

and

Paul Stuffel Paul Harrington Stuffel (March 22, 1927 – September 9, 2018) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who worked in seven games over portions of three Major League seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies. Biography A ...

, and Cs

Bill Cash Sir William Nigel Paul Cash (born 10 May 1940) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1984. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. ...

and

Ray Murray Raymond Lee Murray (October 12, 1917 – April 9, 2003) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A catcher, he appeared in 250 games played over all or parts of six seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1948; 1950–1951), Philade ...

; IFs

Daryl Spencer Daryl Dean Spencer (July 13, 1928 – January 2, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and infielder who played shortstop, second base and third base in Major League Baseball between and for the New York / San Francisco Giants ...

(2B), Víctor Pellot Power (3B) and Félix Mantilla (SS), as well as OFs

Wes Covington John Wesley Covington (March 27, 1932 – July 4, 2011) was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia ...

and

Chuck Harmon Charles Byron Harmon (April 23, 1924 – March 19, 2019) was an American professional baseball utility player in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Cincinnati Redlegs (1954–1956), St. Louis Cardinals (1956–1957), and Philadelphia ...

. Venezuela was managed by Regino Otero and finished in last place with a 1-5 mark. The team was outscored by their opponents 47-14. Bright spots were Ps

Turk Farrell Richard Joseph "Turk" Farrell (April 8, 1934 – June 10, 1977) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , spending his entire 14-year MLB career in the National League (NL). He threw and ...

and Jim Pearce. Farrell recorded the lone win against Puerto Rico in a one-run, one hit effort, while Pearce took an 11-inning, 2-1 loss to Panama, striking out nine batters without giving a walk. Valencia also featured

Ed Bailey Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through . A six-time All-S ...

(C), Tommy Brown (1B),

Elio Chacón Elio Chacón Rodríguez (October 26, 1936 – April 24, 1992) was a Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop who played in the National League from 1960 to 1962. He was the seventh baseball player from Venezuela to play in the major ...

(CF),

Emilio Cueche Emilio Cueche h-mee'-leo / coo-eh'-chay/small> (October 20, 1927 – July 31, 2006) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He was nicknamed ″Indio″. (Spanish) Born in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, the righthander Cueche was one of the mos ...

(P),

Julián Ladera Julián Ladera (July 15, 1928 – September 14, 1973) was a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 5' 10" (1.82 m), 165 lb (65 kg), he batted and threw right-handed.Gutiérrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutiérrez (h), Dani ...

(P) and Ron Mrozinski (P).

Final standings

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 10

Game 2, February 10

Game 3, February 11

Game 4, February 11

Game 5, February 12

Game 6, February 12

Game 7, February 13

Game 8, February 13

Game 9, February 14

Game 10, February 14

Game 11, February 15

Game 12, February 15

Sources

*Antero Núñez, José. ''Series del Caribe''. Jefferson,

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

: Impresos Urbina, C.A., 1987. *Gutiérrez, Daniel. ''Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela – 1895–2006 ''. Caracas, Venezuela: Impresión Arte, C.A., 2007.

External links

Official siteLatino Baseball
{{Caribbean Series , state=collapsed

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Caribbean Series International baseball competitions hosted by Panama 1956 in Panama 1956 in Caribbean sport Sports competitions in Panama City

20th century in Panama City