Cinco Estrellas ( ''Five Stars'') was a

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

n baseball club based in

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

. Founded in

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

, they played their home games at the Estadio Nacional General Anastasio Somoza G. (the modern Dennis Martínez National Stadium). The team was founded by members of the Nicaragua National Guard, the military branch of the

Somoza family The Somoza family () is a political family which ruled Nicaragua under a dictatorship over a period of forty-three years, from 1936 to 1979. Founder, Anastasio Somoza García – who served as the President of Nicaragua from 1937 until 1956 – ...

regime, and was named in honor of Nicaraguan dictator

Anastasio Somoza García Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was the leader of Nicaragua from 1936 until his assassination in 1956. He was officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 unt ...

(a five-star general). Its close association with the Somozas made it unpopular in the eyes of many Nicaraguans, especially compared to its biggest rival,

Indios del Bóer The Indios del Bóer ( ''Boers, Boer Indians'') are a baseball club based in Managua, Nicaragua competing in the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League (LBPN). Their home games are played at the Dennis Martínez National Stadium, Estadio Naciona ...

. Its sponsorship by the Somozas was the subject of a popular joke: However, at the height of the team's success in the 1950s (when its roster was staffed with the best players in the country), Cinco Estrellas did attract support even from the president's opponents. Its players were technically enlisted in the Nicaraguan National Guard, though many of them were foreigners hired to play winter ball (including a nearly all-Cuban team fielded in the early 1960s). The club won the 1964 Serie Interamericana, held in Managua, becoming the first Nicaraguan club to win an international competition (and the only one until Gigantes de Rivas won the 2016 Latin American Series). Cinco Estrellas folded in 1979, the year the Somozas were overthrown by the

Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution r ...

. The Sandinistas changed the name to Dantos, a team which continues to play in the Nicaraguan amateur baseball league, the Germán Pomares Ordóñez First Division.

Notable players

Marv Throneberry Marvin Eugene Throneberry (September 2, 1933 – June 23, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball player. Affectionately known as "Marvelous Marv", he was the starting first baseman for the 1962 New York Mets, a team which set the modern re ...

* Pete Pavlick (manager) * Mike Blyzka *

Stanley Cayasso Oliver Stanley Livingstone Cayasso Guerrero (September 17, 1906 – August 4, 1986) was a Nicaraguan baseball player active from the 1930s to the 1950s. Along with Dennis Martínez, he is commonly cited as one of the best Nicaraguan baseball ...

Art López Arturo López Rodríguez (born May 8, 1937) is a former professional baseball player. He played one season in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the New York Yankees in 1965. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1968 until ...

* Silvio García *

Claro Duany Claro Duany Yedra (August 12, 1917 – March 28, 1997) was a Cuban professional baseball outfielder. He played from 1944 to 1952, including two major league seasons with the New York Cubans of the Negro leagues. An East–West All-Star in 194 ...

Zoilo Versalles Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez (; December 18, 1939 – June 9, 1995), nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators. ...

Luis Tiant Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (November 23, 1940 – October 8, 2024), nicknamed "El Tiante", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston R ...

Danny Morejón Daniel Morejón Torres (; July 21, 1930 – April 27, 2009) was a Cuban-born professional baseball player. He was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Cincinnati Reds during July and early August of the seas ...

* Sandy Valdespino *

Pumpsie Green Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green (October 27, 1933 – July 17, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox (1959–62) and New York Mets (1963). A switch-hitter who threw right-handed, he was list ...

Rogelio Álvarez Rogelio Álvarez Hernández (April 18, 1938 – November 30, 2012) was a Cuban professional baseball player whose career spanned 18 seasons, including parts of two in Major League Baseball with the Cincinnati Reds (1960, 1962). Over his care ...

* Evelio Hernández * Joe Shipley *

Ossie Álvarez Oswaldo Álvarez González (October 19, 1933 – March 7, 2008) was a Cuban professional baseball player. A shortstop and second baseman born in Bolondron in Matanzas Province, he appeared in 95 Major League Baseball (MLB) games for the Washin ...

* Bill Short *

Richie Scheinblum Richard Alan Scheinblum (November 5, 1942 – May 10, 2021), nicknamed "Shane", Whiting, Robert. ''You Gotta Have Wa'' (Vintage Departures, 1989), pp. 82-83. was an American professional Major League Baseball (MLB) player. In 1971, he won the A ...

* Jim Weaver * Mania Torres

Interamerican Series record

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League 1940s establishments in Nicaragua Defunct baseball teams Baseball in Nicaragua Baseball teams established in 1941 Sport in Managua