Oscar Rodríguez (baseball)

The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame (''Salón de la Fama del Béisbol Cubano'') is a hall of fame that honors eminent baseball players from Cuban baseball. Established in 1939 to honor players, managers, and umpires in the pre-revolution Cuban League, by 1961 it had honored 68 players, managers, and umpires whose names are shown on a marble plaque at Havana. After the revolution, however, the Hall of Fame languished for more than 50 years, seldom mentioned or acknowledged and with no new inductees. Following a campaign led by Cuban filmmaker Ian Padrón, a meeting was held on November 7–8, 2014 to reformulate the Hall of Fame and to propose a museum in which it would be housed. The reformulated Hall recognized the original 68 members, and a jury of 25 people selected 10 new inductees—five from the pre-revolution period and five representing for the first time the post-revolution Cuban National Series. The planned site for the new museum is in the José Antonio Echeverría Workers' Social Club (also known as the Vedado Tennis Club).

History

Pre-revolution (1939–1961)

The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame was established by the DGND (''Dirección General Nacional de Deportes''), a government agency supervising sports activities in Cuba. The hall was inaugurated on July 26, 1939—about six weeks after the June 12 dedication and opening of the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown—by placing a bronze plaque at Havana's La Tropical Stadium. The first ten inductees were selected by former and current baseball writers and the DGND's baseball advisers (''asesores de baseball''). The inaugural class included 19th-century Cuban stars (Antonio María García, Valentín González, Adolfo Luján, and Carlos Royer), black players who had achieved success in the U.S. Negro leagues ( Luis Bustamante, José de la Caridad Méndez, Gervasio González, and Cristóbal Torriente), and white players who had played Major League Baseball ( Rafael Almeida and Armando Marsans). Méndez and Torriente, along with later inductee Martín Dihigo, subsequently were also recognized by the U.S. Hall of Fame.

The bronze plaque was subsequently replaced by a marble plaque that hangs on a wall "in a poorly lit corner" of Havana's Estadio Latinoamericano.Toot 2004, p. 171. Before listing the names of the inductees, the introductory section of the plaque reads,

Cuban Professional Baseball Hall of Fame
List of players that have been selected as
BASEBALL IMMORTALS
And have deserved this just recognition for their distinguished work
maintaining an undying memory of what they were in this
sport

While all of the inductees were recognized as baseball players, in several cases their distinction reflected, at least in part, accomplishments achieved after their playing careers. For example, Emilio Sabourín, Agustín Molina, and José Rodríguez were long-time managers who won championships, as also were more celebrated players such as Dihigo, Miguel Angel González, Adolfo Luque, and Marsans. Francisco A. Poyo and Eustaquio Gutiérrez served as umpires. Carlos Zaldo, Eugenio Jiménez, and Molina entered the business side of baseball as stadium developer, promoter, and league administrator. Wenceslao Gálvez wrote a history of baseball in Cuba, published in 1889, which according to Roberto González Echevarría "may very well be the first history of the game ever written anywhere".

Other inductees achieved distinction outside of baseball. For example, Juan Antiga, who played in the Cuban League for just two seasons prior to completing medical school, became a notable intellectual, homeopath, government official, and diplomat, serving as ambassador to Switzerland and delegate to the League of Nations. The type of post-playing distinction most often recognized by the hall, however, is military service, especially during the Cuban War of Independence that was fought from 1895 to 1898. Alfredo Arango, Eduardo Machado, and Carlos Maciá served as officers in the Cuban revolutionary army and Sabourín, Juan Manuel Pastoriza, and Ricardo Cabaleiro died in the conflict.

In the 20th century, opportunities to play in the United States became increasingly important to Cuban players. Some of the earliest opportunities to play in the U.S. came in nearby Key West beginning about 1890. Key West had an independent baseball league with considerable participation by Cuban emigrants, and Cuban League players were recruited to play there during the off season. Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Molina and Poyo began their baseball careers in Key West before moving on to the Cuban League. In 1899, a Cuban all-star team, the All Cubans, undertook their first barnstorming tour of the United States. The team, which was racially integrated (reflecting the racial integration of the Cuban League) played against professional and semi-professional teams, white and black, until 1905.

However, the U.S. color line soon affected Cuban players. By 1904, white Cubans, such as Juan Violá, were playing in the minor leagues, and in 1911 Rafael Almeida and Armando Marsans broke into the majors with the Cincinnati Reds. Meanwhile, Cubans with darker complexions played in the Negro leagues for teams such as the Cuban Stars (West), the Cuban Stars (East), and the New York Cubans. Some Cuban players moved on to success with U.S. teams, such as José Méndez with the Kansas City Monarchs and Cristóbal Torriente with the Chicago American Giants.

Exile in Florida (1962–1986, 1997–1998)

After the closing of the Cuban League in 1961, inductions to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame ceased in Havana for more than five decades. The players who had migrated to the United States, however, formed an organization, the Federation of Professional Cuban Baseball Players in Exile (''Federación de Peloteros Profesionales Cubanos en el Exilio'') which held elections in Miami to add new members to the hall. These additional members are not universally recognized; they are not recognized in Cuba, nor are they included in lists of Hall of Fame inductees shown in reference books by historians Peter Bjarkman and Jorge Figueredo. The Miami elections continued in three phases—1962–1986, 1997–1998, and 2007—ultimately declaring more than 200 additional individuals as inductees.

Official reformulation (2014–present)

In August 2014, Cuban filmmaker and baseball fan Ian Padrón brought together a group of 12 prominent fans to create a group called Enthusiasts for the Refoundation of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame. The group developed a set of rules to govern a reformulated hall which would recognize the 68 original members, provide for regular elections of additional professional and amateur players from both the pre-revolution and post-revolution periods, and would help arrange for the hall to be part of a Cuban baseball museum. With support from the National Institute of Sport, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER), a meeting of sports commentators was held on November 7–8, 2014. The meeting approved the draft rules, selected a jury of 25 people to select the inductees, and planned for subsequent annual elections. Four players and an umpire were honored from the pre-revolution era— Conrado (Connie) Marrero, Orestes (Minnie) Miñoso, Camilo Pascual, Esteban (Steve) Bellán, and umpire Amado Maestri. Five players were also honored the post-revolution era, the first players from that period to be recognized— Omar Linares, Orestes Kindelán, Antonio Muñoz, Luis Casanova, and Braudilio Vinent.

Inductees

Cuban Exile Hall of Fame

Cuban exiles reconstituted the Hall of Fame in Miami following the Cuban Revolution, but its inductees are not universally recognized. Nevertheless, the exiles ultimately inducted over 200 additional individuals as inductees.Bjarkman 2005, p. 65. Figueredo 2003, pp. 508–509. Several of these individuals would later be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, though only five were ultimately recognized by the Padrón Hall of 2014 (Marrero, Miñoso, Camilo Pascual, Bellán, and Maestri).

* Eustaquio Pedroso (1962)
* Rogelio Crespo (1962)
* Agustín Parpetti (1962)
* Pedro Dibut (1963)
* Rámon Herrera (1963)
* Esteban Montalvo (1964)
* Pablo Mesa (1964)
* Heliodoro Díaz (1964)
* José María Fernández (1965)
* Luis Tiant Sr. (1965)
* Rodolfo Fernández (1966)
* Antonio Castaño (1967)
* Santos Amaro (1967)
* Roberto Estalella (1968)
* Manuel García (1969)
* Fermín Guerra (1969)
* Agapito Mayor (1970)
* Regino Otero (1971)
* Andrés Fleitas (1971)
* Pedro Formental (1972)
* Alejando Crespo (1973)
* Napoleón Reyes (1973)
* Hector Rodríguez (1974)
* Silvio García (1975)
* Roberto Ortiz (1975)
* Julio Moreno (1976)
* Sandalio Consuegra (1977)
* Conrado Marrero (1977)
* Edmundo Amorós (1978)
* Willy Miranda (1979)
* Leo Cárdenas (1979)
* Zoilo Versalles (1980)
* Pedro Ramos (1981)
* Tony Taylor (1981)
* Tony Oliva (1982)
* Octavio Rojas (1982)
* '' Camilo Pascual'' (1983)
* Orestes Miñoso (1983)
* Alfredo Súarez (1983)
* Emilio de Armas (1983)
* '' Esteban Bellán'' (1984)
* Cando López (1984)
* Julio Rojo (1984)
* Miguel Cuellar (1984)
* Preston Gómez (1984)
* Adrián Zabala (1984)
* '' Amado Maestri'' (1984)
* Leopoldo de Sola (1984)
* José A. López del Valle (1984)
* Mario G. Mendoza (1984)
* Joe Massaguer (1984)
* Rafael Conte (1984)
* Víctor Muñoz (baseball), Víctor Muñoz (1984)
* Bartolo Portuondo (1985)
* Basilio Rosell (1985)
* Joe Olivares, José Olivares (1985)
* Ray Noble (baseball), Rafael Noble (1985)
* Lorenzo Cabrera (1985)
* Mike Fornieles, Miguel Fornieles (1985)
* Tony González (baseball), Tony González (1985)
* Julio Sanguily (1985)
* Bobby Maduro, Roberto Maduro (1985)
* Miguel Súarez (baseball), Miguel Súarez (1985)
* Pedro Galiana (1985)
* Francisco Correa (1986)
* Cheo Ramos, José Ramos (1986)
* Pedro Arango (1986)
* Marcelino Guerra (baseball), Marcelino Guerra (1986)
* Jorge Comellas (1986)
* René Monteagudo (1986)
* Orlando Peña (1986)
* Abel Linares (1986)
* Julio Blanco Herrera (1986)
* Tony Pacheco (1986)
* Rafael Inclán (baseball), Rafael Inclán (1986)
* Bernardo Jiménez (1986)
* Luis Alomá (1997)
* Julio Bécquer (1997)
* Agustín Bejerano (1997)
* Carlos Blanco (baseball), Carlos Blanco (1997)
* Heberto Blanco (1997)
* Bert Campaneris (1997)
* José Cardenal (1997)
* Avelino Cañizares (1997)
* Ramón Couto (1997)
* Claro Duany (1997)
* Chico Fernández (1997)
* Tito Fuentes (1997)
* Ramón Heredia (baseball), Ramon Heredia (1997)
* Chico Hernández, Salvador Hernández (1997)
* Isora del Castillo (1997)
* Pancho Herrera, Panchón Herrera (1997)
* Chino Hidalgo (1997)
* Vicente Lopez (baseball), Vicente Lopez (1997)
* Román Mejías (1997)
* Pedro Pagés (outfielder), Pedro Pagés (1997)
* Tony Pérez (1997)
* Antonio Rodríguez (baseball), Antonio Rodriguez (1997)
* Ramon Roger (1997)
* Octavio Rubert (1997)
* Raúl Sánchez (baseball), Raul Sánchez (1997)
* Angel Scull (1997)
* Diego Seguí (1997)
* José Tartabull (1997)
* Luis Tiant, Luis Tiant Jr. (1997)
* Sandy Ullrich, Santiago Ullrich (1997)
* Arturo Bengochea (1997)
* Julio de Arcos (1997)
* Alejandro Pompez (1997)
* Antonio Conejo (1997)
* Hilario Franquiz (1997)
* Julio Franquiz (1997)
* Conde More (1997)
* René Molina (1997)
* Heleno Casanova (1997)
* Manuel Fernandez (baseball), Manuel Fernandez (1997)
* Felix Massud (1997)
* Luis Navarro (baseball), Luis Navarro 1997
* Buck Canel 1997
* René Cañizares (1997)
* Manuel de la Reguera (1997)
* Felo Ramírez (1997)
* Orlando Sanchez Diago (1997)
* Rai Garcia (1997)
* Fausto Miranda (1997)
* Eladio Secades (1997)
* Sergio Varona (1997)
* Raul Atan (1997)
* José Magriñat, Jose M. Magriñat (1997)
* Bernardino Rodriguez (1997)
* Bobby Bragan (1997)
* Oscar Charleston (1997)
* Monte Irvin (1997)
* Max Lanier (1997)
* Rocky Nelson (1997)
* Vicente Amor (1998)
* Rogelio Álvarez (1998)
* Carlos Pascual (baseball), Carlos Pascual (1998)
* Mike de la Hoz, Miguel de la Hoz (1998)
* Gilberto Valdivia (1998)
* José Vargas (baseball), Jose Vargas (1998)
* José Roque (1998)
* Paul Casanova (1998)
* Ray Brown (Negro leagues pitcher), Raymond Brown (1998)
* Tetelo Vargas (1998)
* Tommy Fine, Thomas Fine (1998)
* Lou Klein (1998)
* Armando Rodriguez (baseball), Armando Rodriguez 1998
* Rafael Rubí (1998)
* Wilfredo Calviño (1998)
* Clemente Carreras, Sungo Carreras (1998)
* Alfredo Pequeno (1998)
* Belico Pichardo (1998)
* Pedro Martinez (Cuban baseball executive), Pedro Martinez (1998)
* Fausto La Villa (1998)
* Servelio del Valle (1998)
* Dave Barnhill (2007)
* Cool Papa Bell (2007)
* Joe Black (2007)
* Ray Dandridge, Raymond Dandridge (2007)
* Candido Fontanals (2007)
* Pablo García (baseball), Pablo Garcia (2007)
* Josh Gibson (2007)
* Joe Hatten (2007)
* Alberto Hernández (outfielder), Alberto Hernandez (2007)
* Spook Jacobs, Forrest Jacobs (2007)
* Natilla Jiménez, Pedro Jiménez (2007)
* Don Lenhardt (2007)
* John Henry Lloyd (2007)
* Sal Maglie (2007)
* Oliver Marcell (2007)
* Fred Martin (baseball), Fred Martin (2007)
* Terris McDuffie (2007)
* Juanelo Mirabal (2007)
* Daniel Morejón (2007)
* Baby Ortiz, Oliverio Ortiz (2007)
* Pastor Pareda (2007)
* Carlos Paula (2007)
* Miguel Prats (2007)
* Hank Thompson (baseball), Hank Thompson (2007)
* Gil Torres (baseball), Gilberto Torres (2007)
* Oscar Tuero (2007)
* Archie Wilson (baseball), Archie Wilson (2007)
* Jud Wilson (2007)
* Willie Wells (2007)
* Smokey Joe Williams, Joe Williams (2007)
* Reinaldo Cordeiro (baseball), Reinaldo Cordiero 2007
* Pipo de la Noval (2007)
* Rafael de la Paz (2007)
* Patrick Padden (2007)
* Eulogio Penalver (2007)
* Manolo Alvarez (2007)
* Joe Cambria (2007)
* Narciso Camejo (2007)
* Cuco Conde (2007)
* Gabino Delgado (2007)
* Raul Diaz Muro (2007)
* Jorge Figueredo (2007)
* Mario Figueredo (baseball), Mario Figueredo (2007)
* Eloy Garcia (2007)
* Gonzalo Lopez Silvero (2007)
* Jess Losada (2007)
* Alfredo Maruri (2007)
* Ricardo Menocal (2007)
* Miguel Suarez Sr., Miguel Suarez Sr (2007)
* Cesar Temes (2007)
* Ángel Torres (author), Angel Torres (2007)
* Augusto Tuya (2007)
* Amador Urquia (2007)
* Bobby Ávila, Beto Avila (2007)
* Alex Carrasquel, Alejandro Carrasquel (2007)
* Oscar Levis (2007)
* Horacio Martínez (baseball), Horacio Martinez (2007)
* Luis Olmo, Luis Rodríguez Olmo (2007)

See also

*Baseball awards#Cuba

Notes

References

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External links

Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame
at Baseball-Almanac.com

{{Cuban League teams

1939 establishments in Cuba
1961 disestablishments in Cuba
1962 establishments in Florida
2014 establishments in Florida
Awards disestablished in 1961
Awards established in 1939
Awards established in 1962
Awards established in 2014
Cuba–United States relations
Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame,
Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame inductees,
Halls of fame in Cuba, Baseball
Halls of fame in Florida
Lists of baseball players
Museums established in 1939