The Original Eight
The New York Cuban Stars (1916–1935), formally known as the Cuban Stars (East), was a baseball team founded by Cuban American Alejandro “Alex” Pompez.
When Pompez (1890–1974) started the team in 1916, a baseball team named the Cuban Stars already existed in the Midwest under Abel Linares and José Agustín “Tinti” Molina. To differentiate between the two, the Pompez team, which played mostly in New York and the northeastern US, became known as the Cuban Stars (East), informally known as the New York Cuban Stars.
Before their 1916 U.S. professional regular season, the Cuban Stars toured through Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Pompez wanted his team to leave an impact in the transnational baseball circuit. As a Black Cuban American, Pompez understood both the business of the Negro baseball leagues and the wealth of talent in Latin America and the Caribbean. His positionality resulted in an increase of Latin American talent into the U.S.
The Cuban Stars remained independent and played year-round until they joined the Eastern Colored League (ECL) in 1923. By then, Martín Dihigo had joined the team and become a star player. As the competition for Cuban players increased, Pompez recruited other Caribbean and Latin American players, especially from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Panama. His connections in the Caribbean, fluency in English and Spanish, and an understanding of Caribbean and Latin American cultures, gave Pompez a significant advantage in recruiting. In the early 1920’s, Pompez secured an exclusive lease at the Dyckman Oval. It became the club’s home field, a rarity for a Negro League team. The New York Cuban Stars earned second place in their first season in the Eastern Colored League.
Duration: 1897 – 1907
Honors: Colored Champions (1899), Easter Champions (1897 – 1903), Eastern Co-Champions (1900-1902)
Affiliation: Independent
Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.
