Seamheads.com updates Negro Leagues Database with 1901 Cuban League stats
We are pleased to pass along this update from SABR member Gary Ashwill at Seamheads.com on September 25, 2018:
Our newest addition to the DB is the 1901 Cuban League. This is another product of our collaboration with Negroleagueshistory.com, based on research in 1899-1901 Cuban sports newspapers from the collections of Jay Caldwell and Ryan Christoff.
The 1901 season was the second year of integrated pro baseball in Cuba. After San Francisco’s shock pennant win in 1900, the powerhouse Habana club raided them for their pitcher (Salvador Rosado) and shortstop (Rogelio Valdés), added Carlos Royer from the Cubano club, and won the 1901 league going away. San Francisco was still good, despite being forced to scrounge for pitching; they added Julián Castillo, who would become perhaps the first true Cuban slugger, as well as pitcher/outfielder Emilio Palomino, a future batting champ, and Gervasio González, who would eventually be recognized as perhaps the greatest of all Cuban catchers—but got his start here as a little-used backup shortstop.
After the regular Cuban League concluded at the end of July, another championship was organized. Called El Gran Premio Particular (I’ve called it the Cuban Fall Championship in English), it seems to have been an attempt to revitalize interest after Habana ran away with the pennant. The two weakest clubs, Cubano and Fé, were dropped, and some of their best players redistributed to the remaining clubs. Unfortunately Habana also easily won the fall championship.
To view the award-winning Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, visit http://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/index.php
Related links:
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1938 season (June 4, 2018)
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1945 season (September 21, 2017)
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1925 season (February 4, 2016)
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1932 East-West League stats (August 13, 2015)
- Little-known players from the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database (February 2, 2012)
- Read our Q&A with Gary Ashwill about the Negro Leagues Database (September 14, 2011)
Originally published: September 27, 2018. Last Updated: July 16, 2020.