The Gavilanes de Maracaibo was a

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 ...

n professional baseball club based in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

, the capital city of

Zulia Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It ...

state. The team was founded by the brothers and ballplayers

Ernesto Aparicio Ernesto Hugo Aparicio (born 28 December 1948) is a former footballer from El Salvador who represented his country at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Honours *Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador The ''Primera División'' of the ...

and Luis Aparicio, Sr., and debuted in the extinct Zulian Baseball League First Division, which was created in 1932 and folded at the end of the 1940 season. After five years of absence, the league resumed operations in 1946 and remained active until 1952. The Gavilanes ( Sparrowhawks) were the most successful team in this period, winning 13 of the 17 tournaments played, eight with Ernesto Aparicio at the helm. As a result, Gavilanes and the Pastora BBC maintained a strong and fierce rivalry on the

baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

during the existence of the league. Accustomed to second place in the standings, Pastora captured the 1934 and 1948 titles while the Orange Victoria team won in the 1951 season. After that, the circuit was renamed

Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional The Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional (Western Professional Baseball League) was a baseball circuit that operated between 1954 and 1963 in Maracaibo, the capital city in the Venezuela state of Zulia. The league played their games at the old ol ...

before joining

Organized Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

in 1953, operating continuously until 1964. In 1953, the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

and the recent created LOBP agreed to have the most representative clubs from each circuit meet in a National Championship Series called ''El Rotatorio'', the first and only in VPBL history. The

Cervecería Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

and

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

clubs represented the VPBL, while Gavilanes and Pastora represented the LOBP. The Gavilanes were managed by

Red Kress Ralph "Red" Kress (January 2, 1905 – November 29, 1962) was an American shortstop, third baseman, first baseman and coach in Major League Baseball. From through , he played for the St. Louis Browns (1927–1932; 1938–1939), Chicago White Sox ...

, a former major league shortstop and minor league manager. The pennant was clinched by the Pastora club with a 48-30 record, winning easily over Magallanes (40-37), Gavilanes (34-44) and Caracas (33-44). The disappointing Gavilanes were a favorite to grasp the championship, as the team featured a remarkably well-balanced squad headed by pitchers Alejandro Carrasquel,

Bob Chakales Robert Edwards Chakales ha-kuh'-les(August 10, 1927 – February 18, 2010) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with four clubs between the 1951 and 1957 seasons. Listed at 6'1", 185 lb., Chakales batted and threw right-handed. ...

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 ...

Art Houtteman Arthur Joseph Houtteman (August 7, 1927 – May 6, 2003) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for 12 seasons in the American League with the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. In 32 ...

Sad Sam Jones Samuel Pond "Sad Sam" Jones (July 26, 1892 – July 6, 1966) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and the Chicago White Sox between 1914 ...

Elmer Singleton Bert Elmer Singleton (June 26, 1918 – January 5, 1996) was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball spread over 15 years (between 1945 and 1959) for the Bo ...

Bill Upton William Ray Upton (June 18, 1929 – January 2, 1987) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who made two relief appearances in with the Philadelphia Athletics. He batted and threw right-handed. Upton had no decision in either of his appearanc ...

and

Lenny Yochim Leonard Joseph Yochim (October 16, 1928 – May 11, 2013) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played in parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1951 and 1954, and later served in the organization for al ...

; catchers

Earl Averill Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 – August 16, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1929 to 1941, including 11 seasons for the Cleveland Indians. He was a six-tim ...

and

Hank Foiles Henry Lee Foiles Jr. (born June 10, 1929) is an Americans, American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball between and . He had an eleven-year career for seven different teams in Major League Basebal ...

; infielders

Piper Davis Lorenzo "Piper" Davis (July 3, 1917 – May 21, 1997) was an American professional baseball player who played in the Negro American League from 1942 to 1950 for the Birmingham Black Barons. His nickname was the name of the mining town he was from. ...

(2B/3B),

Dalmiro Finol Dalmiro Finol (August 21, 1920 – May 16, 1994) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. Finol batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Barrancas, Zulia State. A versatile utility man, Finol was able to play all positions except p ...

(3B/2B/1B) and Lee Thomas (1B); outfielders

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...

(RF),

Jim Lemon James Robert Lemon (March 23, 1928 – May 14, 2006) was an American right and left fielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A powerful, right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder, Lemon teamed with first baseman Roy Sievers and la ...

(LF) and

Dave Pope David Pope (June 17, 1921 – August 28, 1999) was an American Negro league and Major League Baseball outfielder who played one inning for the Homestead Grays and for four seasons in MLB for the Cleveland Indians in 1952, and from 1954 to 1955. He ...

(CF), and a 19-year-old rookie shortstop named Luis Aparicio, Jr., who in 1984 would become the first Venezuelan player to be enshrined in the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

. The Gavilanes came back to the Occidental League for the inaugural 1954-55 season, winning consecutive titles in the 1955-56 and 1956-57 tournaments. Out in the 1957-58 season, Gavilanes returned as a replacement for the Centauros de Maracaibo in 1958-59 and played its last season in 1959-60. The LOBP ceased operations after the 1963-64 season. Since then, no other team named Gavilanes has participated in Venezuelan professional baseball.

Highlights

* Legendary Venezuelan manager

finished with nine managing titles (1933, 1937, 1940, 1946–1947, 1949–1952; 1955-56). * Managers

Lázaro Salazar Lázaro Salazar Vázquez (February 4, 1912 – April 25, 1957) was a Cuban baseball outfielder, pitcher, and manager in the Negro leagues and the Mexican League. He played from 1924 to 1952 with several clubs, including the Cuban Stars (West), ...

(

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 ...

) and Luis Rodríguez Olmo (

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 ...

) also led the team to the title (1938 and 1948, respectively). * Pitcher

Barney Schultz George Warren "Barney" Schultz (August 15, 1926 – September 6, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He was a knuckleball-throwing pitcher in the Major Leagues for all or parts of seven seasons between 1955 and 1965 for ...

won seven consecutive

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 ...

titles (1954-55 through 1960-61). * Pitcher

Dave Hoskins David Will Hoskins (August 3, 1917 – April 2, 1970) was an American professional baseball player: a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 26 games for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball during the 1953 season and 14 games during the ...

posted the most wins in three consecutive seasons (1955-56 – 1957-58) and the best

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. Compa ...

in a single season (1956-57). * Pitcher Bill Harris collected the best ERA in a single season (1959-60). * Outfielder

Billy Queen William "Billy" Queen Jr. is a retired undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the author of the bestselling books ''Under and Alone'' and ''Armed and Dangerous''. Career Queen was raised in ...

won the

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 ...

s and RBI titles in a single season (1958-59). * First baseman

Joe Altobelli Joseph Salvatore Altobelli (May 26, 1932 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He was also a manager for the San Fr ...

won the

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

title in a single season (1955-56).

Sources

* Gutiérrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutiérrez (h), Daniel (2006). ''La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela''. LVBP, Caracas. * Gutiérrez, Daniel; González, Javier (1992). ''Numeritos del béisbol profesional venezolano (1946-1992)''. LVBP, Caracas. * Salas, Alexis (1988). ''Los eternos rivales 1908–1988: Caracas–Magallanes, Pastora–Gavilanes''. Seguros Caracas, Caracas.

External links

La Historia del Béisbol en el Zulia (I)
(Spanish)
La Historia del Béisbol en el Zulia (II)
(Spanish)
Meridiano.com – Historia de la Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional
(Spanish)
PuraPelota.com – 1953-1954 Gavilanes BBC
* es.Wikipedia.org – Historia del béisbol en Venezuela * es.Wikipedia.org – Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional {{Venezuelan Professional Baseball League , state=collapsed
1932 establishments in Venezuela Defunct baseball teams in Venezuela Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional Baseball teams established in 1932 Sport in Maracaibo