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Serie Monumental

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Serie Monumental
Tournament details
CountryVenezuela
CityCaracas and Maracaibo
Venue(s)Estadio Cerveza Caracas de San Agustín
Estadio Olímpico de Maracaibo
DatesNovember 24, 1945 – January 1, 1946
Teams4

The Serie Monumental (English: Monumental Series) was an international club baseball tournament held in Venezuela in late 1945–46. It saw a team of all-stars from the American Negro leagues play their opposites in the Venezuelan League. The series, played only once, was the immediate precursor to the 1946–50 Interamerican Series (and is sometimes considered the first of those contests), and by extension, to the modern Caribbean Series.

Although the Major League Baseball color barrier had not yet been broken in 1945, the Negro league all-stars (dubbed the Estrellas Negras) included several future Hall of Famers, including Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella. The Americans first played several exhibition games in Caracas against the Cerveceria Caracas club (calling themselves the Criollo All-Stars), which included active major-leaguer Alex Carrasquel; and another team (the "Caribbean All-Stars", with an international roster).[1] The North American team finished with a 7–2 record, with Cerveceria/Criollos at 3–4–1 and the Caribbean All-Stars at 2–5–1.[2] The Negro leaguers then traveled to Maracaibo to play an all-star team from Zulia State, headlined by Luis Aparicio Sr.[1]

The series came in the wake of Venezuela hosting the 1944 and 1945 Amateur World Series.[3] The tournament was a commercial success, and an impetus for the professionalization of the baseball in Venezuela; the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League opened its first season in early January 1946, with Venezuelan teams contracting several Black players from the tour.[4] Sabios de Vargas reportedly tried to hire Jackie Robinson, who hit .339 in the series with a home run and five RBIs, but either he or the Brooklyn Dodgers (who had recently signed him) declined.[5][6][4]

Participants

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Rosters

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Keys

Negro All-Stars

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Jackie Robinson in 1945

Managed by Felton Snow of the Baltimore Elite Giants, the Negro All-Stars were composed of players from the Negro National League and Negro American League:[1][4][2]

Pos. Player Team
C Quincy Trouppe Cleveland Buckeyes (NAL)
1B Buck Leonard Homestead Grays (NNL)
2B Marvin Barker New York Black Yankees (NNL)
3B Parnell Woods Cleveland Buckeyes (NAL)
SS Jackie Robinson Kansas City Monarchs (NAL)
OF Gene Benson Philadelphia Stars (NNL)
OF Sam Jethroe Cleveland Buckeyes (NAL)
C/OF Roy Campanella Baltimore Elite Giants (NNL)
P Bill Anderson New York Cubans (NNL)
P George Jefferson Cleveland Buckeyes (NAL)
P Verdell Mathis Memphis Red Sox (NAL)
P Roy Welmaker Homestead Grays (NNL)

The Zulia All-Stars were composed of Zulia-born players from both of the other Venezuelan teams, with the notable addition of Luis Aparicio Sr. The Zulia team also included Americans Bill Jefferson and Marvin Williams, who had traveled with the Negro All-Stars and played with the Caribbean team, and Panamanian Frank Austin.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c González and Ruiz, Campos de Gloria, p. 389—91
  2. ^ a b Layton Revel; Luis Munoz (2018). "Forgotten Heroes: Marvin "Tex" Williams" (PDF). Center for Negro League Baseball Research: 9.
  3. ^ "El Béisbol en Venezuela: Serie Interamericana, semilla de la Serie del Caribe". La Gran Aldea (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e "El Béisbol en Venezuela: Las estrellas negras visitan Venezuela". La Gran Aldea (in Spanish).
  5. ^ Castrovince, Anthony. "Negro Leagues difficult but fruitful for Jackie". MLB.com.
  6. ^ "Jackie Robinson en Venezuela" (in Spanish). Caracas Chamber of Commerce.
  7. ^ González and Ruiz, El Vuelo de Las Águilas, p. 79—87

Bibliography

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