The Samanes del Santa Marta BBC were a baseball team that played 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 ...

during the 1954–1955 season. The team represented the city of

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...

Vargas, Venezuela ) , anthem = '' Carmañola Americana'' , image_map = Vargas in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_alt ...

, and played its home games at

Estadio Universitario de Caracas The Estadio Universitario is a multi-use stadium in Caracas, Venezuela, and is used mostly for baseball games. The stadium holds 20,723 people and was built in 1952. The Estadio Universitario serves as the home stadium for the Venezuelan Pro ...

. Santa Marta was managed by former big leaguer

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 ...

and entered the league as a replacement for the departed

Sabios de Vargas The Sabios de Vargas baseball club became a founding member of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League in its inaugural season of 1946. The team represented the city of La Guaira, Vargas and played its home games at the now-extinct Estadio Cer ...

, being part of a four-team league that included the

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 ...

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 ...

and

Patriotas de Venezuela The Patriotas de Venezuela baseball club was a founding member of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League in its inaugural season of 1946. Team history The Patriotas, based in Caracas, played its home games at the now-extinct Estadio Cerveza ...

. The team was clearly overmatched, finishing in last place with an 18-33 record, 14½ games out of first place. Santa Marta never reached a high level of popularity, failing to encourage a significant fan support, and folded after its first season. The franchise would be replaced by the

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 ...

in the 1955-1956 tournament.

Selected players

Vern Benson Vernon Adair Benson (September 19, 1924 – January 20, 2014) was an infielder/outfielder, coach, scout and interim manager in American Major League Baseball. During his playing career, he stood 5'11" (180 cm) tall, weighed 180 pounds (82&nbs ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Bill Kennedy * Clem Koshorek *

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 ...

* Jesús Mora *

Joe Pignatano Joseph Benjamin Pignatano (August 4, 1929 – May 23, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach (baseball), coach. As a catcher, Pignatano played in Major League Baseball during all or part of six seasons (1957–1962) for th ...

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 ...

* Bob Smith * Gene Stephens *

Bill Werle William George Werle (December 21, 1920 – November 27, 2010) was a left-handed major league baseball pitcher from Oakland, California. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox from 1949 to 1954. His nicknam ...

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

PuraPelota.com – Santa Marta (1954–1955)
* es.Wikipedia.org – Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional {{Venezuelan Professional Baseball League , state=collapsed
1954 establishments in Venezuela Defunct baseball teams in Venezuela La Guaira Baseball teams established in 1954 Vargas (state)