The Leopardos de Santa Clara (Spanish, 'Santa Clara Leopards') were a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team based in

Santa Clara, Cuba Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara. It is centrally located in the province and Cuba. Santa Clara is the fifth-most populous Cuban city, with a population of nearly 245,959. History Santa Clara was founde ...

. Founded in 1922, they played in the

Cuban League The Cuban League ( Spanish: ''Liga cubana'') was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the ...

from 1922 to 1925, from 1929 to 1930, and from 1935 to 1941. Although they competed for only 11 seasons, they won league championships in four regular seasons and in one "special season." According to Cuban League historian Jorge S. Figueredo, the 1923/24 team, which went 36–11 and won the championship by games, is "considered as the most dominant team in the history of Cuban baseball." During their existence, the Leopardos featured several of the biggest stars of

Negro league baseball 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 relativel ...

, including

Oscar Charleston Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 – October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder, first baseman and manager in Negro league baseball and the Cuban League. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more th ...

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

, and

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National ...

. In addition, the team featured outstanding performances from Cuba's own baseball stars including Alejandro Oms and Martín Dihigo.

Founding

In the fall of 1921, with a depressed economy and political instability, the Cuban League fielded only two teams, Almendares and

Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Abel Linares controlled the league, owning both franchises. For the 1922/23 season, he set out to expand the league to four teams by establishing new teams in

Marianao Marianao is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs (''municipios'' in Spanish) in the city of Havana, Cuba. It lies 6 miles southwest of the original city of Havana, with which it is connected by the Marianao railway. In 2022 the municipality had ...

, a suburb of Havana, and in Santa Clara, the capital of Las Villas Province in the center of the island.González Echevarría 1999, p. 171. Santa Clara was the first Cuban League team to be located outside of metropolitan Havana since the Matanzas club folded in 1909. Linares assigned his long-time associate, Tinti Molina, to organize and manage the team. As manager of the

Cuban Stars (West) The Cuban Stars were a team of Baseball in Cuba, Cuban professional baseball players that competed in the History of baseball in the United States, United States Negro league baseball, Negro leagues from 1907 to 1930. The team was also sometime ...

, he had contacts he could use to recruit top

Negro league 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 relativel ...

players from the United States. The team would play at La Boulanger Park, a small stadium with a capacity of fewer than 3,000 people. In an effort to draw from a regional fan base, they scheduled all of the team's home games on weekends. The team recruited several local players— Alejandro Oms, a Santa Clara native, Pablo Mesa of nearby

Caibarién Caibarién is a municipality city in the Villa Clara Province, Villa Clara province of Cuba. Caibarién is known as "La Villa Blanca" () for its sands and beaches. They are famous for their "Parrandas" (Carnivals) along with Remedios, Cuba, Reme ...

, and Julio Rojo of neighboring Sagua la Grande. From the United States, Molina recruited a number of top Negro league players—

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Bill Holland Willard Saulsbury Holland (December 18, 1907 – May 20, 1984) was an American racing driver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1949 and finished second in 1947, 1948, and 1950. He was runner-up in the 1947 American A ...

and Dave Brown,

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

s Frank Warfield and Oliver Marcelle, and superstar

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. Filling out the roster were pitcher Eustaquio Pedroso, infielders Manuel Parrado, Ramón González, and

Matías Ríos Matías Ríos (February 24, 1895 – July, 1924) was a Cuban professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and center fielder in the Negro leagues and Cuban League during the 1910s and 1920s. A native of Sagua la Grande, Cuba, Ríos made his N ...

, and outfielder Felipe Sierra. The 1922/23 season began on November 25. By January, the Leopardos were in the lead of a tight race, with only separating them from the fourth-place team. Then, with the season half over, a dispute took place when the league refused to count Sunday games, taking away one of Santa Clara's wins. Santa Clara withdrew from the league in protest and forfeited their remaining games. Their record stood at 14–13, but dropped to 14–40 after deducting 27 losses by forfeit. Charleston hit .446, but had too few at bats for the batting title. Oms also had an outstanding performance, hitting .436.

1923/24 season

For 1923/24, the Leopardos loaded up with American Negro league talent. Linares and Molina brought back pitchers Holland, Brown, and Pedroso and added Americans Rube Currie and Merven Ryan, as well as Cuban legend

José Méndez José de la Caridad Méndez Báez (March 19,1887– October 31, 1928) was a Cuban professional baseball right-handed pitcher, shortstop, third baseman and manager in the Negro leagues. Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, he died at age 43 in Havan ...

, and Pedro Dibut, who had just been signed by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. In the infield,

first basemen A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand p ...

Oscar Johnson and Eddie Douglass and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Dobie Moore Walter "Dobie" Moore (February 8, 1896 - August 20, 1947) was an American shortstop and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues who played his entire career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. His career ended after only ...

joined the returning

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

, Warfield, and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

, Marcelle. The regular outfielders, Charleston, Oms, and Mesa, were the same as in the previous season, and Esteban Montalvo was the backup outfielder. The other teams in the league appeared to be competitive. Almendares featured

Nip Winters James Henry Winters, Jr. (April 29, 1899 – December 12, 1971), nicknamed "Nip" and "Jesse", was an American pitcher and first baseman in Negro league baseball, playing for many top eastern teams from 1920 to 1933, and considered one of the to ...

on the mound, Dick Lundy at shortstop,

Bernardo Baró Bernardo Baró (February 27, 1896 – June 10, 1930) was a Cuban professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and the Cuban League. Primarily an outfielder, he also played some games as a pitcher or an infielder. He played for the Cuban Stars ...

and Valentín Dreke in the outfield, a young Martín Dihigo, and former or future major leaguers Armando Marsans, Manuel Cueto, José Rodríguez, and Ramón Herrera. Habana featured pitchers Adolfo Luque, coming off his 27-win season with the

, and

Andy Cooper Andrew Lewis Cooper (April 24, 1898 – June 3, 1941), nicknamed "Lefty", was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro league baseball, Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting ...

, shortstop

John Henry Lloyd John Henry Lloyd (April 25, 1884 – March 19, 1964), 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. Llo ...

, and outfielders

Cristóbal Torriente Cristóbal Torriente (November 16, 1893 – April 11, 1938) was a Cuban professional baseball outfielder and pitcher in the Negro leagues and the Cuban League with multiple teams. He played from 1912 to 1932 and was primarily a pull hitter, t ...

and Jacinto Calvo. The

roster included former and future major leaguers Emilio Palmero, José Acosta, Merito Acosta, Charlie Dressen,

Freddie Fitzsimmons Frederick Landis Fitzsimmons (July 28, 1901 – November 18, 1979) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, manager, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to with the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodg ...

, and Hank Schreiber. The season began on October 20, and the Leopardos won their first five games. They kept on winning; by December 14, they were 21–7, and at the end of the year, they were 29–10. By January 16, they had won their last six games and were 36–11 (a .766 winning percentage) and games ahead of second place Habana. They were winning by big scores, scoring 10 or more runs in 10 games and 15 or more runs three times. With attendance dropping as the championship fell out of reach for the other teams, the league officials stopped the season early and declared Santa Clara the champions. They would reorganize the teams and hold a second, special season called ''Gran Premio'' to try to renew fan interest. Santa Clara players led the league in several

statistical Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

categories: Marcelle led in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, hitting .393; Charleston led in runs scored with 59 and in

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s with 31; Moore led in

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

with 71 and tied for the lead in

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

with his teammate, Warfield, with six. Moore hit .386, Oms .381, Charleston .375; all of the team's regulars hit above .300 except for Warfield, who hit .296. The team batting average was .331, a Cuban League record. In pitching, Holland led the league in wins with 10, and in winning percentage with .833 (10–2). The other regular pitchers were not far behind—Currie had an 8–2 record, Brown 7–3, Ryan 5–0, and Méndez 3–1. For the special season, the league dropped the Marianao club and reassigned its better players to Habana and Almendares, while Santa Clara retained its players. All games took place in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Jelly Gardner Floyd "Jelly Roll" Gardner (September 27, 1895 - March 28, 1977) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played infield and outfield from 1919 to 1933, primarily for the Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants wer ...

, with

Turkey Stearnes Norman Thomas "Turkey" Stearnes (May 8, 1901 – September 4, 1979) was an American baseball center fielder. He played 18 years in the Negro leagues, including nine years with the Detroit Stars (1923–1931), six years with the Chicago American ...

appearing for part of the season. By January, Almendares—which, in addition to Charleston, featured Bullet Rogan, Luque,

Biz Mackey James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager (baseball), manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs, New York Lincoln Giants, Hilldale Daisies, Philadelphia Roy ...

, Lloyd, and Lundy—had taken an game lead. Attendance in Santa Clara was flagging. The league cut its losses and on January 11 moved the team to

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

for the remainder of the season. The Santa Clara/Matanzas team finished in third place with a 20–28 record, game out. Oms led the league in batting average, hitting .393, and Montalvo led in home runs with 5. After four seasons of absence, the league restored the Santa Clara franchise in the 1929/30 season. Tinti Molina returned as manager, Warfield was back at second base, and Oms also returned to his hometown. The pitching staff featured the 23-year-old

and

Ramón Bragaña Ramón "El Profesor" Bragaña Palacios (May 11, 1909 – May 11, 1985) was a Cuban professional baseball catcher, outfielder, third baseman, pitcher, and first baseman in the Negro leagues and the Mexican League. A native of Havana, Cuba, Braga� ...

, and slugger

Mule Suttles George "Mule" Suttles (March 31, 1901 – July 9, 1966) was an American first baseman, left fielder and player-manager in Negro league baseball, most prominently with the Birmingham Black Barons, St. Louis Stars and Newark Eagles. Best known for ...

took over first base. Paige went 6–5 before leaving the team early under mysterious circumstances, Oms won the batting title again, hitting .380, and Suttles hit seven home runs, setting a Cuban League record. The team finished in second place with a 21–21 record, games behind

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

. The 1930/31 regular season lasted less than a week, and only five games were played. A new stadium, La Tropical Stadium, had been built in Marianao near Havana, and the season was suspended when a dispute broke out between the league and the stadium's management. Santa Clara's record was 0–1, leaving them tied for third, games behind Almendares. The league reorganized for a special season held at the old stadium, Almendares Park, but the Santa Clara team was replaced by one from Marianao. During the early 1930s, the Cuban economy was depressed and its political situation in turmoil. The Cuban League played shortened seasons the winters of 1931/32, 1932/33, and 1934/35 with no American players, while failing to finish the 1932/33 season and skipping the 1933/34 season altogether. In 1935/36, the situation had finally improved enough to allow the teams to hire American players again. The league also expanded from three teams to four, restoring the Leopardos de Santa Clara under new owner Emilio de Armas.

Dihigo and Brown: 1935–1939

In 1935/36, Martín Dihigo returned to the Cuban League after several years playing elsewhere, and Emilio de Armas signed him to serve not only the Leopardos' manager, but also as their pitching ace, and as a

slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling and flexible carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as " ...

outfielder when he wasn't pitching. Long-time Santa Clara star, Alejandro Oms, returned to the team. The team signed American Negro leaguers Bill Perkins as

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and

Willie Wells Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906 – January 22, 1989), nicknamed "the Devil", was an American baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America. Wells was a fast ...

as shortstop, and Dominican Horacio Martínez as second baseman. Dihigo produced a memorable season, leading the league in many batting and pitching categories—batting average (.358), runs scored (42), hits (63, tied with Wells), triples (8), RBI (38, tied with Perkins), pitching winning percentage (11–2, ), complete games (13), wins (11), and

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s (4), and also won the

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. Wells hit .356 and, in addition to tying for the lead in hits, tied for the league lead in home runs with five. Perkins hit .323., Oms hit .311, third baseman Rafael Ruíz hit .301, and the team batting average was .294. The Leopardos easily won the championship with a 34–14 record, six games ahead of second-place Almendares. The next season, Dihigo switched to the Marianao team. Rojo replaced him as manager, and Santa Clara brought in Negro league pitcher Ray Brown and second baseman Harry Williams, as Martínez moved to shortstop and Perkins returned as catcher. Oms did not play; the outfield featured Santos Amaro, José Vargas, and

Tony Castaño Tony Castaño (February 11, 1911 – October 13, 1989) had a long career in professional baseball. He spent time managing in the Mexican League, the highest level of professional baseball in Mexico. He began his career playing in Cuba and from 1 ...

, with Brown often playing in the outfield when he wasn't pitching. Brown had a dominating season, setting the Cuban League all-time record for wins with 21, while leading the league in winning percentage (21–4, ) and complete games (23), and also hit .311. On November 17 he pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against Habana for his first win of the season. On December 16, again facing Habana, he pitched complete games in both ends of a doubleheader, losing the first game 1–0 against Luis Tiant, Sr., in 11 innings, then shutting out Habana in the second game on five hits.Figueredo 2003, pp. 212–214; González Echevarría 1999, pp. 274–275. With three games left to play, Santa Clara had a three-game lead over Marianao, whom they faced in the final series at home in La Boulanger Park. The visiting Tigres swept the series and forced a playoff, with Dihigo pitching for Marianao on consecutive days and winning both games. The three-game playoff took place at La Tropical Stadium. Brown faced Dihigo in the first game and the Leopardos prevailed, 6–1. Marianao won the second game 4–2 behind the pitching of Silvio García. Brown and Dihigo squared off again in the finale on two days rest. The Tigres scored 7 runs, while Dihigo held the Leopardos scoreless through eight

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s before giving up a three-run homer to Perkins in the ninth. Brown's extraordinary season was for naught, as Marianao won the championship. Santa Clara's final record was 37–32, with Brown accounting for more than half of their wins. In 1937/38, Emilio de Armas brought in Lázaro Salazar as the new player/manager; Salazar played first base and also pitched. Brown, Perkins, Castaño, and Amaro were brought back to the Leopardos, and Oms returned to the team after a year's absence. The team also added pitcher Bob Griffith and shortstop

Sam Bankhead Samuel Howard Bankhead (September 18, 1910 – July 24, 1976) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played from 1931 to 1951. He also played for the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo along with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. In 1951 ...

from the Negro leagues. Santa Clara won the pennant, going 44–18 (though nine of the victories represented games forfeited by Habana, which withdrew early). They led second place Almendares by games. Brown went 12–5, leading the league in winning percentage, and Griffith went 12–6; the two pitchers tied for the league lead in wins. Although Dihigo won 11 games, his Marianao team ended in third place, games out. Brown led the league in complete games with 14, and Griffith led in shutouts, with five. Bankhead led the league in batting average (.366), runs scored (47), hits (89), and RBIs (34), and tied with teammate/manager Salazar for the lead in triples (5). With four home runs, Brown tied for the league lead with Wells and Roberto Estalella, who both played for Almendares. Salazar hit .318, went 3–0 as a pitcher, and received the MVP Award. Amaro hit .326, and Oms hit .315—his eleventh season hitting .300 or better, tying him for the Cuban League all-time record. Santa Clara won the pennant again in 1938/39. Catcher

joined the team and shattered Suttles' Cuban League home-run record, hitting 11 homers in 163 at bats. Brown went 11–7 and led the league in complete games with 16, Manuel (Cocaína) García went 11–4, and Salazar went 6–2 while also playing first base and hitting .293. Castaño led the league in batting average, hitting .371, and his fellow outfielders Amaro and Vargas hit .366 and .333. Meanwhile, Dihigo, now pitching for Habana, led the league in wins and winning percentage with a 14–2 (.875) record, but his fellow pitchers were less effective. Santa Clara, with a 34–20 record, finished five games ahead of second-place Habana.

Final years: 1939–1941

Salazar, Brown, Gibson and García did not return to the 1939/40 Leopardos, and their period of league dominance came to an end. Their pitching staff included Roy Partlow (7–4), René Monteagudo (5–7),

Hilton Smith Hilton Lee Smith (February 27, 1907 – November 18, 1983) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. He pitched alongside Satchel Paige for the Kansas City Monarchs and Bismarck Churchills between 1932 and 1948. He was induc ...

(4–2), and Armando Torres (3–5). Castaño won the batting championship again, hitting .340, and Amaro hit .326. Sam Bankhead returned to the team and hit .321, leading the league in runs (41) and hits (67). The pennant race was a close one—Almendares won, leading Cienfuegos by two games and Santa Clara, which went 24–27, by four games. In 1940/41, Manuel García rejoined the pitching staff, while Americans Partlow, Smith, and Bankhead left. Torres went 8–7, Monteagudo went 6–4, and García went 4–5. Silvio García took over at second base and hit .314, but Castaño hit only .206. The Leopardos went 25–26, tied for second place, seven games behind the champion Habana. It was the last season in the Cuban League for Santa Clara. The following season, the league contracted to three teams.Figueredo 2003, pp. 236–239, 243.

List of seasons

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Cuban League teams Defunct baseball teams in Cuba Cuban League teams