Part II concluded with Quincy Trouppe managing the 1956-57 Ponce Lions in Puerto Rico. Part III transitions to Trouppe and Joshua Gibson playing in Venezuela and Mexico. Gibson, his 1939-40 Santurce teammate Billy Byrd and Aguadilla pitcher-OF Leon Day traveled from Puerto Rico to Venezuela in early April 1940. They missed the final doubleheader of …
Joshua Gibson and Quincy Trouppe in Venezuela and Mexico: Part III Read More »
Part I concluded with Quincy Trouppe as catcher/manager for the 1947-48 Caguas Criollos, Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) champs. Part II highlights exploits by Gibson and Trouppe in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Coincidentally, Gibson was born in Buena Vista, Georgia, December 21, 1911; Trouppe’s birthplace was Dublin, Georgia, one year later—December 25, …
Joshua Gibson and Quincy Trouppe in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico: Part II Read More »
Joshua Gibson managed and caught for the 1939-40 Santurce Crabbers, in Puerto Rico’s Winter League (PRWL). Quincy Trouppe did likewise for the 1947-48 Caguas Criollos, PRWL champs. Robert Clarke managed the 1945-46 San Juan Senators, as a catcher. Johnny Hayes performed catcher/manager double duty for the 1941-42 Aguadilla Sharks. Part I focuses on these talented …
Joshua Gibson, Quincy Trouppe, other catcher-managers in Puerto Rico/Caribbean: Part I Read More »
Fernando Diaz Pedroso, big leaguer as of December 16, 2020, when his 1945-1947 seasons with the New York Cubans achieved MLB status, hit his most famous homer for the 1946-47 Ponce Lions, versus the New York Yankees’ Joe Page, on February 24, 1947, in a San Juan, Puerto Rico spring training game. Pedroso contributed to …
Fernando Diaz Pedroso, a big leaguer as of December 16, 2020, when his 1945-1947 seasons with the New York Cubans achieved MLB status, hit his most famous home run for the 1946-47 Ponce Lions, versus Joe Page of the New York Yankees, on February 24, 1947, in a San Juan, Puerto Rico spring training game. …
Fernando Díaz Pedroso: Águilas Cibaeñas, 1952 Dominican Summer League (Part III) Read More »
Part I highlighted Pedroso’s February 24, 1947 home run for the Ponce Lions, versus Joe Page of the New York Yankees, in a San Juan, Puerto Rico spring training game. Part II’s emphasis is Pedroso’s 1947 season for the New York Cubans, who bested the Cleveland Buckeyes in the Negro League World Series, along with …
Fernando Díaz Pedroso: New York Cubans and Caribbean Series Heroics (Part II) Read More »
Fernando Diaz Pedroso became a big leaguer on December 16, 2020, when his 1945-1947 seasons with the New York Cubans achieved MLB status due to the official position taken by Commissioner Rob Manfred. This decision positively affected players in seven Negro Leagues from 1920-to 1948. So, who was Pedroso, and what were some of his …
Fernando Díaz Pedroso: February 24, 1947, Homerun versus New York Yankees (Part I) Read More »
Mount Olive, Mississippi produced one of the best switch-hitting third basemen (3B) in MLB history: Howard Easterling. He was born November 26, 1911; and, passed away in Collins, Mississippi, September 6, 1993. The main focus of this blog is Easterling with the Homestead Grays in the States; Ponce Lions in Puerto Rico; and Sabios de …
Howard Easterling: “under the radar” switch-hitter Read More »
In Raymond Brown’s SABR bio by Chris Rainey, fellow pitcher and Cooperstown Hall of Famer Hilton Smith ranked Brown—a 2006 Cooperstown Inductee—at Satchel Paige and Bob Feller’s level. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/raymond-brown/ Raymond Brown, in Puerto Rico, beat the 1936 Cincinnati Reds with his hitting, and the 1947 New York Yankees with his pitching. The focus of this …
Raymond Brown defeated the New York Yankees on February 24, 1947 Read More »
The author received a phone call from Rafael Costas, a resident of Ponce, Puerto Rico, summer of 1991. Costas had written Enciclopedia Ponce Leones, published in 1989, chronicling the history of this storied professional baseball franchise. Ponce’s (municipality) colors are red and black; and the author told Rafael “red and black were special, since they …
