The Cuban Stars were a team 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 ...

n professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

players that competed in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

from 1907 to 1930. The team was also sometimes known as the Cuban Stars of Havana, Stars of Cuba, Cuban All-Stars, Havana Reds, Almendares Blues or simply as the Cubans. For one season, 1921, the team played home games in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and was known as the Cincinnati Cubans.

Eastern founding

The Cuban Stars were organized by Abel Linares and

Tinti Molina José Agustín "Tinti" Molina Becerra (August 28, 1873 - January 10, 1961) was a baseball catcher, first baseman and manager in the Cuban League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outsid ...

as a traveling team that played only

road game A road game or away game is a sports game where the specified team is not the host and must travel to another venue. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions. Each team ...

s. For its first five years, the team competed primarily in the eastern states, near New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore although it made a famous sojourn into Chicago in 1910 and 1911, taking on the

Leland Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gian ...

and numerous semi-pro teams in the Chicago area.

Move westward

By 1916, however, the team was competing primarily in the midwestern states and a competing Cuban team was organized in the New York area, which was also named the "Cuban Stars." To differentiate between the two teams, this team is known as the "Cuban Stars (West)," and the new team (organized by

Alex Pompez Alejandro "Alex" Pompez (May 3, 1890 – March 14, 1974) was an American executive in Negro league baseball who owned the Cuban Stars (East) and New York Cubans franchises from 1916 to 1950. His family had emigrated from Cuba, where his father wa ...

) is known as the

Cuban Stars (East) The Cuban Stars (East) were a team of professional baseball players from Cuba and other Latin American countries who competed in the Negro leagues in the eastern United States from 1916 to 1933. They generally were a traveling team that played onl ...

. In 1919, they were the western champions, having the highest winning percentage of any Negro league team playing in the west.Holway, p. 128.

League play and demise

From 1920–30, the Cuban Stars competed in the Negro National League.

Notable players

José Méndez José Colmenar del Valle Méndez (January 2, 1885 – October 31, 1928) was a Cuban right-handed pitcher and manager in baseball's Negro leagues. Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, he died at age 43 in Havana. Known in Cuba as ''El Diamante Negro'' ...

– P, 1908–12 *

Cristóbal Torriente Cristóbal Torriente (November 16, 1893 – April 11, 1938) called Babe Ruth of Cuba , was a Cuban outfielder in Negro league baseball with multiple teams. He played from 1912 to 1932 and was primarily a pull hitter, though he could hit with pow ...

– OF, P, 1913–18

Notes

References

External links

Franchise history at Seamheads.com

{{Cuban League teams Afro-Caribbean culture in the United States Afro-Cuban culture Cuban-American culture Negro league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Ohio Baseball teams disestablished in 1932 Baseball teams established in 1907