Andrew "Rube" Foster was an American baseball player,manager,and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in 1920 that are sometimes termed "Negro Major Leagues".
Oscar McKinley Charleston was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. Over his 43-year baseball career,Charleston played or managed with more than a dozen teams,including the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords,Negro league baseball's leading teams in the 1930s. He also played nine winter seasons in Cuba and in numerous exhibition games against white major leaguers. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
John Henry Lloyd,nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara",was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. During his 27-year career,he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average. Lloyd is considered to be the greatest shortstop in Negro league history,and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos,called The Immortal and The Maestro,was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played in the Negro leagues and Latin American leagues from 1923 to 1936 as a two-way player,both as a pitcher and a second baseman,although he excelled at all nine positions and later as a manager.
Adolfo Domingo De Guzmán "Dolf" Luque was a Cuban starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1914 to 1935. Luque was enshrined in the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1967,as well as in the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985. Luque was not only the first White Hispanic pitcher in MLB,but also the first to win a World Series victory,and the first to lead the Leagues in wins and shutouts.
Cristóbal Torriente called Babe Ruth of Cuba,was a Cuban outfielder in Negro league baseball with multiple teams. He played from 1912 to 1932 and was primarily a pull hitter,though he could hit with power to all fields. He had a stocky and slightly bowlegged build,but was known for deceptive power and a strong,accurate arm from center field. Indianapolis ABC's manager C.I. Taylor stated,"If I see Torriente walking up the other side of the street,I would say,'There walks a ballclub.'" Torriente was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Benjamin Harrison Taylor was an American first baseman and manager in baseball's Negro leagues. Taylor played for the Birmingham Giants,Chicago American Giants,Indianapolis ABC's,St. Louis Giants,Bacharach Giants,Washington Potomacs,Harrisburg Giants,and Baltimore Black Sox. His playing career lasted from 1908 to 1929. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Ulysses Franklin Grant was an American baseball player in the 19th century. Early in his career,he was a star player in the International League,shortly before race-based restrictions were imposed that banned African-American players from organized baseball. Grant then became a pioneer in the early Negro leagues,starring for several of the top African-American teams of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is widely considered to have been the greatest African-American player of the 19th century. In 2006,Grant was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
JoséColmenar del Valle Méndez was a Cuban right-handed pitcher and manager in baseball's Negro leagues. Born in Cárdenas,Matanzas,he died at age 43 in Havana. Known in Cuba as El Diamante Negro,he became a legend in his homeland. He was one of the first group of players elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006.
RenéArocha is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher. He is generally considered the first Cuban baseball player to openly defect to the United States with the intention of playing for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.
The Cuban Giants were the first fully salaried African-American professional baseball club. The team was originally formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel,a summer resort in Babylon,New York. Initially an independent barnstorming team,they played games against opponents of all types:major and minor league clubs,semiprofessional teams,even college and amateur squads. They would go on to join various short-lived East Coast leagues,and in 1888 became the "World Colored Champions". Despite their name,no Cubans played on the team. The "Cubes" remained one of the premier Negro league teams for nearly 20 years,and served as a model that future black teams would emulate.
The Cuban X-Giants were a professional Negro league baseball team that played from 1896 to 1906. Originally most of the players were former Cuban Giants,or ex-Giants. Like the Cuban Giants,the original players were not Cuban. Edward B. Lamar Jr. served as business manager for the team.
Leslie Anderson Stephes is a first baseman/outfielder who is currently a free agent.
King Solomon "Sol" White was an American professional baseball infielder,manager and executive,and one of the pioneers of the Negro leagues. An active sportswriter for many years,he wrote the first definitive history of black baseball in 1907. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1911. From 1904 to 1909 they were one of the strongest teams in black baseball,winning five eastern championships in six years. The team was organized by Sol White,Walter Schlichter,and Harry Smith.
William S. Monroe was an American infielder in baseball's Negro leagues. He was also known by the nickname of "Money." During a 19-year career from 1896 to 1914,he played on many of the greatest teams in black baseball. He was a good hitter and slick fielding third base and second baseman who was compared to major league star Jimmy Collins. Monroe played all four infield positions,but spent his prime seasons at third base and second base.
John W. Patterson was an American baseball outfielder in the Negro leagues. He played for major teams from 1893 to 1907.
JoséRodríguez,nicknamed "Joseíto" or "El Hombre Goma" in Spanish and "Joe" in English,was a Cuban infielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1916 to 1918 and in the Cuban League from 1914 to 1939. In the majors,he played for the New York Giants and was primarily a second baseman,while in the Cuban League and the U.S. minor leagues he mostly played first base. A defensive specialist,according to Roberto González Echevarría,Rodríguez "was considered the best defensive first baseman in Cuba" of his time. He was also a long-time manager in the Cuban League and managed for one season in the minors. He was inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.
The American Series was the name given to the exhibition baseball games played between Cuban and American teams in Cuba. Before the Cuban Revolution,American teams would regularly travel to Cuba and play various professional,all-star and/or amateur Cuban teams throughout the country. The series usually took place either in the fall,after the end of the American season,or during spring training before the season began. The first American Series took place in 1879,with then minor league Worcester team going 2–0 against its Cuban opponents.
