The Cuban House of David were a traveling

Negro league baseball 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 ...

team that played from about 1927 to 1936 featuring players primarily from

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 ...

History

Syd Pollock Sydney S. Pollock (March 20, 1901 - November 22, 1968) was an American sports executive in Negro league baseball. Pollock worked as a booking agent for several clubs starting in the late 1910s before becoming an executive with the Havana Red Sox/ ...

began booking opponents for the Havana Red Sox in 1927, and bought the club from Ramiro Ramirez in 1928. Ramirez stayed on as the manager and the team began barnstorming around

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. By 1929, Pollock introduced comic routines into the games and developed what was to become known as "shadow ball." Shadow ball was when the infielders would mime throwing a ball around for between-inning warm-ups. These routines would later be made famous in the 1940s by Pollock's

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. The ...

and

Abe Saperstein Abraham Michael Saperstein (; July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily bef ...

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

basketball team. In 1931, the club changed its name to the Cuban House of David, which Pollock appropriated from the original House of David, a white commune known for their bearded baseball players. They were the only Cuban team permitted to enter the country in March by the United States Immigration Department. That season, they were an associate team in the Negro National League The team joined the

East–West League The East–West League was an American Negro baseball league that operated during the period when professional baseball in the United States was segregated. Cum Posey organized the league in 1932, but it did not last the full year and folded in Ju ...

in March 1932 as Pollock's Cuban Stars. They returned as an independent team still under the "Pollock's Cuban Stars" moniker from 1933 until 1936. From 1927 until at least 1933,

Ramiro Ramírez Ramiro Ramírez Estenor (January 27, 1896 – death unknown) was a Cuban outfielder and manager in the Negro leagues and Cuban League. A native of Guanabacoa, Cuba, Ramírez made his Negro leagues debut in 1916 for the Cuban Stars (East). H ...

served as manager.

References

{{Negro League teams, Independent Negro league baseball teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1936 Baseball teams established in 1928

History

See also

References