The Licoreros de Pampero was a baseball club who played from 1955 through 1962 in 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 ...

. The team joined the league as a replacement for the Patriotas de Venezuela and played its home games at the Estadio Universitario in Caracas.

History

The Pampero team was sponsored by the rum company of that name, and was managed by former Washington Senators

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Fermin Guerra in its inaugural season. The team finished second behind the champions

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 ...

, relegating the strong

Leones del 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 w ...

to the following places in the four-team league. The pitching staff was headed by Clarence Churn, who posted a 10–4 record and a 3.04

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, while tying for the most wins with Magallanes'

Ramón Monzant Ramón Segundo Monzant Espina (January 4, 1933 – August 10, 2001) was a , right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York / San Francisco Giants in all or parts of six seasons between 1954 and 1960. He compil ...

and Caracas'

Cal McLish Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish (December 1, 1925 – August 26, 2010), nicknamed "Bus", was an American professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Dodgers (, ), Pittsburg ...

. Besides Churn,

Roger Bowman Roger Clinton Bowman (August 18, 1927 – July 21, 1997) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. Baseball career Bowman was signed by the New York Giants be ...

went 9–6 with a 3.55 ERA and 70 strikeouts. Meanwhile, the offense was clearly led by Pedro Formental (.368, six

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, 32

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

), Mike Goliat (.287, four HR, 34 RBI) and Loren Babe (.293, 43 runs scored, 25 RBI). But the team suffered three losing campaigns in a row, before rebounding somewhat in 1959–60 with a 15–13 record in a season shortened by a players' strike. Their most productive season came in 1960–61, when they finished 28–24 for a 3rd place, but did not qualify for the playoffs. The Licoreros finished last in 1961–62 and ceased operations at the end of the season. After that, Pampero was sold for the symbolic price of one

Venezuelan bolívar The bolívar is the official currency of Venezuela. Named after the hero of Latin American independence Simón Bolívar, it was introduced following the monetary reform in 1879, before which the venezolano was circulating. Due to its decade- ...

by its major shareholder Alejandro Hernández to

José Antonio Casanova José Antonio Casanova (February 18, 1918 – July 8, 1999) was a shortstop and manager in Venezuelan baseball. He batted and threw right handed. (Spanish) Born in Maracaibo, Zulia, Casanova is regarded as the most successful manager in Venezue ...

, by this time the team's skipper. Casanova, who did not have enough financial resources to go through an entire season, made an alliance with a significant group of personalities and traders to acquire the franchise. Then it was renamed the

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

and debuted in the 1962–63 season.

Yearly Team Records

Notable players

* Teolindo Acosta * Bob Alexander *

Matty Alou Mateo "Matty" Rojas Alou (December 22, 1938 – November 3, 2011) was a Dominican former professional baseball player and manager. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974. He also played in Nippon Professiona ...

Ken Aspromonte Kenneth Joseph Aspromonte (born September 22, 1931) is a retired American professional baseball player and manager. During his active career, Aspromonte spent all or parts of seven seasons (1957–63) in the Major Leagues, mostly as a second ba ...

* John André * Loren Babe * Frank Barnes *

Bo Belinsky Robert "Bo" Belinsky (December 7, 1936 – November 23, 2001) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds of Major League ...

Babe Birrer Werner Joseph Birrer (July 4, 1928 – November 19, 2013) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 0", 195 lb., Birrer batted and threw right handed. He was born in Buffalo, New York. Graduated from Kensington High S ...

* Charlie Bishop * Dámaso Blanco * Gary Blaylock * Bob Bowman *

Joe Caffie Joseph Clifford Caffie (February 14, 1931 – August 1, 2011), nicknamed "Rabbit", was an American professional baseball player whose 12-year career as an outfielder began in the Negro leagues in 1950, was highlighted by 44 games played as a memb ...

* Chico Carrasquel *

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 majo ...

Neil Chrisley Barbra O'Neil Chrisley (December 16, 1931 – May 18, 2013) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1957 to 1961 with the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Braves. He was tall and weighed , batted left-handed and t ...

* Clarence Churn * Gene Collins *

Clay Dalrymple Clayton Errol Dalrymple (born December 3, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies (–) and Baltimore Orioles (–). Dalrymple was known for his strong ...

Joe Durham Joseph Vann Durham (July 31, 1931 – April 28, 2016) was an American professional baseball player and coach. An outfielder, he appeared in Major League Baseball in 93 games for the Baltimore Orioles (1954 and 1957) and St. Louis Cardinals (1959) ...

* Pedro Formental * Mike Goliat *

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

Eli Grba Eli Grba (August 9, 1934 – January 14, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the New York Yankees in 1959 and 1960 and for the Los Angeles Angels from 1961 through 1963. Grba began ...

* Hal Griggs *

Connie Grob Conrad George Grob (rhymes with "robe"; November 9, 1932 – September 28, 1997) was an American professional baseball player in the 1950s and 1960s. A right-handed pitcher, he spent one full season — — in Major League Baseball as a member of ...

* Fermin Guerra * Bob Hale *

Buddy Hicks Clarence Walter "Buddy" Hicks (February 15, 1927 – December 8, 2014) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Primarily a shortstop during his 17-year active career (1944; 1947–62), he also played third base and first base. H ...

* Dave Hoskins *

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

* Gordon Jones *

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 ...

Don Lock Don Wilson Lock (July 27, 1936 – October 8, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1962 to 1969 for the Washington Senators (1962–66), Philadelphia Phillies (1967–69), and Boston Red ...

* Joe Lonnett * Jim Marshall *

Dolan Nichols Dolan Levon Nichols (February 28, 1930 – November 28, 1989), nicknamed "Nick", was an American professional baseball player, a relief pitcher who worked in 24 games in the Major Leagues for the Chicago Cubs. A right-hander, the native of Tis ...

* Buddy Peterson *

Leo Posada Leopoldo Jesús Posada Hernández Jr. (April 1, 1936 – June 23, 2022) was a Cuban baseball player. He played for the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball from 1960 through 1962. After his retirement as a player, Posada served as a ...

Rudy Regalado Rudolph Valentino Regalado (May 21, 1930 – February 12, 2018) was a Major League Baseball player. He was an infielder for the Cleveland Indians from 1954 to 1956, and played in the 1954 World Series. He was born in Los Angeles, Californi ...

Luis Romero Petit Luis Romero Petit (April 11, 1917 – June 29, 2017) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He batted and threw right handed.Gutiérrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutiérrez (h), Daniel (2006). ''La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela''. ...

Luis Salazar Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia (born May 19, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1992 as a third baseman and outfielder for the San Diego Padres (1980–84, 19 ...

Jack Spring Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

* Joe Stanka * Lee Thomas * Fred Valentine

Team highlights

*1955–56: Clarence Churn, tied for the most victories among pitchers with 10. *1956–57: Lou Limmer, led the league with 41

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. *1957–58: **Teolindo Acosta, won the batting title with a .385

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

. **Mike Goliat, led the league with 28

. *1958–59: Rudy Regalado, won the batting title with a .366 average. *1959–60: ** Gene Collins, led the league with a .356 batting average and 17 RBIs. **Babe Birrer, posted 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. Comp ...

among pitchers with a 1.89 mark. *1960–61: **Don Lock, led the league with 10

s **Babe Birrer, posted the best ERA among pitchers with a 1.64 mark. *1961–62: Bo Belinsky, led all pitchers with a 2.13 ERA and set an all-time record with 156 strikeouts.

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.

External links

Meridiano.com – Historia de la Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional
(Spanish)
PuraPelota.com – Licoreros de Pampero
* es.Wikipedia.org – Historia del béisbol en Venezuela * es.Wikipedia.org – Licoreros de Pampero * es.Wikipedia.org – Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional {{Venezuelan Professional Baseball League , state=collapsed
1956 establishments in Venezuela Sport in Caracas Defunct baseball teams in Venezuela Baseball teams established in 1956