The Estadio Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner (English: ''Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner Stadium'') is a multi-use

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

in Ponce,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. It is home to the Leones de Ponce team of the

Puerto Rico Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

(LBPPR) and FC Leones of the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL). The stadium has a capacity of 16,000 seats.''Francisco Montaner Stadium – Tribute to a Sporting Legend.''
Puerto Rico.com: Puerto Rico Channel. Accessed 6 February 2018
''Archived''
by the WayBack Machine on 2018-February-07.
Noticel. ("La Calle" section) 15 October 2011. Accessed 31 July 2017

by the WayBack Machine on 2017-August-01.Sporting Connections.
Retrieved 19 December 2009. Construction of the stadium began in 1947 and it opened on 15 October 1949.''Cumple 60 años el "Paquito" Montaner''.
Junior Lugo Marrero. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Vol. 27, No. 1353. 4 November 2009. Page 59. (''In Spanish'') Retrieved 7 November 2011. Weblink updated 29 March 2018. Montaner is the first stadium in Puerto Rico with an artificial surface field. The stadium lies next to the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium, where the

Ponce Lions (basketball) The Leones de Ponce is a professional basketball team based in Ponce, Puerto Rico, actively participating in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league (BSN). Founded in 1946, the team has had significant success in the league, earning a total of f ...

hold their games. The Stadium was named to honor Francisco "Paquito" Montaner, one of the greatest Puerto Rican pitchers of all times.

History

While baseball had been practiced in the city prior to this, baseball in Ponce started in earnest upon the arrival of Americans to the island after the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

of 1898. The first non-professional baseball leagues played at Campo Atlético Charles H. Terry. After the formation of the ''Liga de Béisbol Semiprofesional de Puerto Rico'' (Puerto Rico Semiprofessional Baseball League) in 1938, the sport had matured enough that it became necessary to consider building a new stadium. This need was strengthened on 14 September 1941 when the league became professional-level. Construction of the stadium began in 1947 and it opened two years later on 15 October 1949. In addition to baseball, the stadium was also used for basketball games. These were played on a convertible basketball court that was stowed away when the basketball games were over.

Uses

The PRPBL's regular playing season runs from November through January. From February to August, the venue is transformed into a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

stadium, and also serves as a venue for other activities such as a host of the Mustang Auto Daredevils. It has also been used for

intramural Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' m ...

competitions and other academic sporting events. The track is completely covered during baseball season and then it is elevated via a hydraulic system for the track and field events. The stadium is also used for winter training by many United States Major Baseball League players. In its early days, in particular, the stadium was used as the winter training stadium by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. In 1947, the game at the opening day of training was won 12 to 8 by the Leones de Ponce v. New York Yankees. News of the event first broke at the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', followed by ''

The New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the ''New York Herald Tribune''. Hist ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' .

Major events

Championships

Montaner has seen a total of 12 championships: four in BSN basketball (1952, 1961, 1964 y 1965), one in Double A (AA) baseball in 1957, six in Professional Baseball (68-69, 69-70, 71-72, 81-82, 03-04 and 08-09), and one in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in 2007.

Athletics

Montaner has also seen some great events in athletics. The ''Primeros Juegos Ponceños'', the Frankie Colón Memorial, the ''Justas Intercolegiales'' (intercollegiate games), the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

("Ponce 93"), and the Iberoamerican Games, all took place here. There have also been athletics competitions at the Masters category and, more recently, the famed Ponce Grand Prix.

Other events

For many years Montaner was the venue of the finals of the ''Guantes Dorados de Boxeo Aficionado'' (

Amateur Boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...

's Golden Gloves), national as well as U.S.-based

Professional Wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s, bull runs, concerts by internationally renowned artists, as well as the site of various major religious conventions. In February 1958, evangelist

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

hosted a religious event at this stadium.Luis Fortuno Janeiro. "Album Historico de Ponce (1692–1963)." 1963. Page 197. Imprenta Fortuno. Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Prominent Sportsmen at Montaner

Baseball

Through Montaner, Ponce has been able to see prominent figures in the world of sports such as Francisco 'Pancho' Coímbre, Felo Guilbe, Tomás 'Planchardón' Quiñones,

Luis Rodríguez Olmo Luis Francisco Rodríguez Olmo (August 11, 1919 – April 28, 2017) was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter. Olmo played in the majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943–45, 1949) and Boston Braves (1950–51). ...

, 'Canena' Márquez, Carlos Bernier, José Guillermo 'Pantalones' Santiago, Luis 'Tite' Arroyo, Víctor Pellot,

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

, Orlando 'Peruchín' Cepeda,

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...

, José Rafael 'Palillo' Santiago,

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

, John Boozer, Otoniel Vélez Franceschi,

Roberto Alomar Roberto Alomar Velázquez (; ; born February 5, 1968) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican former second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seventeen seasons. He is regarded as one of the greatest second basemen and all-around pla ...

Sandy Alomar Sr. Santos Alomar Conde (; ; born October 19, 1943), known as Sandy Alomar Sr., is a Puerto Rican former second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for fourteen seasons. Alomar was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He is the fat ...

, José 'Cheo' Cruz,

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (December 25, 1958 – December 20, 2024), nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, inc ...

, José 'Pepe' Mangual, Luis 'Mambo' De León, Joey Cora, Juan 'Igor' González, José Vidro,

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ran ...

, José Molina, Raúl Casanova, Javier López, and Javier Vázquez. Various "No Hit No Run" were played in this stadium, in particular the ones by 'Pantalones' Santiago,

Hank Behrman Henry Bernard Behrman (June 27, 1921 – January 20, 1987) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched from 1946 to 1949 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants. He appeared in 5 games for the Dodgers ...

, José Luis 'Witito' Martínez, and the rare "no hitter", by Giancarlo Alvarado against the fearful

Indios de Mayagüez The Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, the ''Indios' ...

Basketball

When basketball games were also played here (since 1972 they have been played at the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium). Fans still remember the very first championship of the Leones de Ponce (baseball) in 1952, and the electrifying plays by Tomás 'Guabina' Gutiérrez, Antonio 'Toño' Morales, "El Barco" Salvador Dijols, Ángel 'Conejo' García, César Bocachica, and Joe Hatton, and the maneuvers by the best Puerto Rican basketball player of all times Juan 'Pachín' Vicens, in particular, the night when he became the first player to reach the 5,000 points in Puerto Rican basketball.

Other players

Montaner also witnessed the speed of

Juan "Papo" Franceschi Juan "Papo" Franceschi (12 January 1947 – 20 October 1990), was a Puerto Rican track and field athlete from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Biography Juan "Papo" Franceschi was born in Barrio San Anton, Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 12 January 1947. Franceschi ...

, and the techniques of Arnaldo Bristol, Cuban

Javier Sotomayor Javier Sotomayor Sanabria (; born 13 October 1967) is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current Men's high jump world record progression, world record holder. The 1992 Summer Olympics, 1992 Olymp ...

, Reinaldo 'Pochy' Oliver, Edgardo Guilbe, Emilio Navarro Jr., Félix Martínez, and Javier Culson.

References

Notes

{{Coord, 18.002422, -66.631785, type:landmark, display=title Baseball venues in Puerto Rico Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States Football venues in Puerto Rico Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico Sports venues completed in 1949 1949 establishments in Puerto Rico Sports venues in Ponce, Puerto Rico Basketball venues in Puerto Rico