Pollock's Cuban Stars Explained

Pollock's Cuban Stars
Established:1927
Disbanded:1936
City:South Florida
League:
Nickname:
  • Havana Red Sox (1927–1930)
  • Cuban House of David (1931)
  • Pollock's Cuban Stars (1932-1936)
Ballpark:No home ballpark

Pollock's Cuban Stars were a traveling Negro league baseball team that played from about 1927 to 1936 featuring players primarily from Cuba.[1]

History

Syd Pollock began booking opponents for the Havana Red Sox in 1927,[2] and bought the club from Ramiro Ramirez in 1928.[3] Ramirez stayed on as the manager and the team began barnstorming around Miami.[4] By 1929, Pollock introduced comic routines into the games and developed what was to become known as "shadow ball."[5] Shadow ball was when the infielders would mime throwing a ball around for between-inning warm-ups.[6] These routines would later be made famous in the 1940s by Pollock's Indianapolis Clowns and Abe Saperstein's Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.

In 1931, the club changed its name to the Cuban House of David,[7] which Pollock appropriated from the original House of David, a white commune known for their bearded baseball players. They were the only Cuban team permitted to enter the country in March by the United States Immigration Department.[8] That season, they were an associate team in the Negro National League[9]

The team joined the East–West League in March 1932 as Pollock's Cuban Stars.[10] [11] [12] They returned as an independent team still under the "Pollock's Cuban Stars" moniker from 1933 until 1936.

From 1927 until at least 1933, Ramiro Ramírez served as manager.[7] [13]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pollock's Cuban Stars franchise history at Seamheads.com. seamheads.com . February 14, 2021.
  2. Web site: Havana baseball team. 13. The Standard Union. Newspapers.com. June 28, 1927. February 4, 2022.
  3. Web site: History of the Indianapolis Clowns . Center for Negro League Baseball Research . 16 February 2021.
  4. Web site: Havana Cubans Are Paying Second Visit to City Lot. 25. Altoona Mirror. Newspapers.com. July 30, 1929. February 4, 2022.
  5. Web site: Carroll . Brian . Black Baseball’s "Funmakers": Taking the Miami Ethiopian Clowns Seriously . Society for American Baseball Research . 16 February 2021.
  6. Web site: 1929 Havana 'Red Sox' Baseball Club of Havana, Cuba. 4. The Clarion Democrat. Newspapers.com. June 13, 1929. February 4, 2022.
  7. Web site: Cuban House of David Team Invades U.S.. 7. The Birmingham Reporter . Newspapers.com. January 17, 1931. February 4, 2022.
  8. Web site: House of David Team of Cuba At The Fair. 1. Bloomfield Monitor. Newspapers.com. August 20, 1931. February 4, 2022.
  9. Web site: Negro National League Standings (1920-1948) . Center for Negro League Baseball Research . 16 February 2021.
  10. Book: Riley, James A. . The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues . registration . New York . Carroll & Graf . 1994 . 0-7867-0959-6 . .
  11. Web site: Newark Joins East-West League. 15. Pittsburgh Courier. Newspapers.com. March 5, 1932. February 4, 2022.
  12. Web site: Cuban Players In Local Game. 6. Sandusky Register. Newspapers.com. May 10, 1932. February 4, 2022.
  13. Web site: Ramiro Ramírez manager profile at Seamheads.com. seamheads.com . February 14, 2021.

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