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Serie Monumental

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

TheSerie Monumental(English:Monumental Series) was an international club baseball tournament held inVenezuelain late 1945–46. It saw a team ofall-starsfrom the AmericanNegro leaguesplay their opposites in theVenezuelan League.The series, played only once, was the immediate precursor to the 1946–50Interamerican Series(and is sometimes considered the first of those contests), and by extension, to the modernCaribbean Series.

Although theMajor League Baseballcolor barrierhad not yet been broken in 1945, the Negro league all-stars (dubbed theEstrellas Negras) included several future Hall of Famers, includingJackie RobinsonandRoy Campanella.The Americans first played several exhibition games inCaracasagainst theCerveceria Caracasclub (calling themselves the Criollo All-Stars), which included active major-leaguerAlex 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 toMaracaiboto play an all-star team fromZulia State,headlined byLuis Aparicio Sr.[1]

The series came in the wake of Venezuela hosting the1944and1945 Amateur World Series.[3]The tournament was a commercial success, and an impetus for theprofessionalization of the baseballin Venezuela; theVenezuelan Professional Baseball Leagueopened its first season in early January 1946, with Venezuelan teams contracting several Black players from the tour.[4]Sabios de Vargasreportedly tried to hire Jackie Robinson, who hit.339 in the series with a home run and five RBIs, but either he or theBrooklyn 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 byFelton Snowof theBaltimore Elite Giants,the Negro All-Stars were composed of players from theNegro National LeagueandNegro 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 ofZulia-born players from both of the other Venezuelan teams, with the notable addition ofLuis Aparicio Sr.The Zulia team also included AmericansBill JeffersonandMarvin Williams,who had traveled with the Negro All-Stars and played with the Caribbean team, and PanamanianFrank Austin.[7]

References

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  1. ^abcGonzález and Ruiz,Campos de Gloria,p. 389—91
  2. ^abLayton 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).Retrieved10 February2024.
  4. ^abcde"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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