{"id":1032,"date":"2007-02-02T17:27:23","date_gmt":"2007-02-02T13:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dominicana-online.org\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2018-08-03T21:37:50","modified_gmt":"2018-08-03T21:37:50","slug":"deportes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/cultura\/deportes\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

History of Dominican Baseball<\/h2>\n

Baseball began in the Dominican Republic at the end of the 19th century.\u00a0 There is no consensus as to the exact date, but we know that in the last decade of the century, small groups practiced the sport.<\/p>\n

The first formally established team was Ozama, which was quickly followed by other squads.\u00a0 The popularity of the sport grew quickly, as the people saw it as a way to release the frustrations caused by the political and economic conflicts that left the country in constant instability.<\/p>\n

In the early 20s, other countries began to recognize the value of Dominican players. \u00a0In 1922, the pitcher Baldomero Ure\u00f1a (Mero) was hired by the Ponce de Puerto Rico team and in 1925, he became the first Dominican ballplayer to be drafted by a U.S. team: Allentown.\u00a0 Other baseball players also began to join foreign leagues, especially in Puerto Rico and Venezuela, and stellar players from Cuba and Puerto Rico arrived to participate in national Dominican championships.\u00a0 The quantity, quality and high cost of imported players (especially from Cuba) in the national series of \u201929 gave it the name \u201cthe luxury championship\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another national series was not held until 1936, after the expenditure of \u201929. \u00a0Its re-implementation came from the hand of Trujillo, who used the sporting event for his ends of manipulation, power and personal glorification.\u00a0 Consequently, he spared no expense in 1937 in bringing the best players from the U.S. Negro players league.\u00a0 The monetary investment was so great that the country would remain without professional baseball for 14 years as it recovered.<\/p>\n

In the 50s, upon reestablishing and reinforcing national championships, the first Dominicans debuted in the U.S. major leagues.\u00a0 In 1956, Osvaldo Virgil inaugurated a tradition that continued to grow over time.\u00a0 Along with him, Felipe and Mateo Rojas Alou, Juan Marichal, Juli\u00e1n Javier, Ruddy Hern\u00e1ndez and Guayub\u00edn Olivo compose the group of national pioneers that helped to open the door for Dominicans in U.S. professional baseball.<\/p>\n

Today, more than 385 Dominican players have participated in the major leagues. \u00a0One of these, Juan Marichal, has entered the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.\u00a0 Two others, Felipe Rojas Alou and Tony Pe\u00f1a, have coached teams; many others have received awards and recognition for their excellent performance.\u00a0 It is no accident that the professional ballplayer with the most lucrative contract in the history of the major leagues is the son of Dominicans immigrants to the United States.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Enthusiasm for baseball<\/h2>\n

It is known that precisely on June 17, 1898, the Base-Ball Club was founded in Santo Domingo, whose honorary president was the manager of the Cervecer\u00eda Nacional Dominicana, the national beer producer, William Orr.\u00a0 The club quickly began to expand to other towns.\u00a0 In fact, the three communities of Santiago, San Pedro de Macor\u00eds and La Vega argue over the origin of organized baseball in the country.\u00a0 From its beginning, the game became very popular.\u00a0 In the capital, in the period from 1894 to 1910, at least two large spaces were set aside for its practice, the one on the outskirts of the city named \u201cla Sabana del Estado\u201d and the urban field named Plaza Colombina.\u00a0 Later, in the second decade of the 20th century, others appeared: the so-called \u201cPatio de los Ba\u00e9z\u201d a group of lots located between the streets Padre Billini and Arzobispo Portes; also El Gimnasio Escolar (1911) and Licey Park, in Villa Francisca, opened October 4, 1914.<\/p>\n

The first team recorded in existence is Ozama. \u00a0In order to compete with this team, the Licey team was founded (November 7, 1907), which to this day is the team with the greatest tradition and influence in the history of Dominican baseball.\u00a0 It was the time of the growth of the sugar industry and its foreign capital; the time of the negotiation of payment to the immense international companies that were being pressed by U.S. creditors; the time of the expropriation of national customs offices and the time of high political instability that occurs with governments lacking control.\u00a0 Perhaps as a consequence of such confusion, the public followed the sport more and more, as various other groups emerged throughout the country.\u00a0 Though these groups were generally quite ephemeral, the following teams stand out: In Santo Domingo, Casino, Santo Domingo, Receptoria, Gimnasio Escolar (it barely lasted a year), Nuevo Club (1911) the team of the Escuela de Agricultura, the team of the Escuela Normal (teachers\u2019 college), those of educational establishments, such as Trinitaria and Duarte, San Carlos, Columbia and Patria, Legalista (1914) and Herold (1914); in Santiago, Yaque and el Inoa (1912); Uni\u00f3n de Azua (1910); and Macoris of San Pedro de Macor\u00eds (1910).<\/p>\n

In a historic national moment, the first national championships were held (1911).\u00a0 In 1912, foreign players were hired for the first time to reinforce local teams (Licey imported Cuban players to the national championship for that year).\u00a0 In 1913, the first international series was held on Dominican soil, with the national team (\u201cEscogido Dominicano\u201d) facing off against the Ponce de Puerto Rico team. \u00a0An illustrated magazine was even published dedicated exclusively to this baseball event titled\u00a0La Pelota<\/em>and edited by Luis Eduardo Betances (1913).\u00a0 Games series and local and national championships had massive attendance and were filled with music and joyful celebrations of the fans for the victory of their team.\u00a0 The sport was also included in the national Olympic games though it had not yet entered the world Olympics (1915).\u00a0 All of these moments demonstrate the effervescence that the game provokes in the Dominican spirit.
\nIt is clear that the politicians of this era were conscious of the popularity of the game. \u00a0At the opening of Licey Park, the first pitch was thrown by the then president of the Republic,\u00a0 Dr. Ramon Ba\u00e9z (1914).\u00a0 In 1913, the U.S. vice-consul in the country, Mr. Bohr, acted as referee in a game between Nuevo Club and Licey.\u00a0 In the same year, the U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic mentioned to the U.S. Secretary of State, among other points, that the importance of the popularity of baseball in the DR should not be minimized, as it could serve as \u201ca real substitute for the excitement of revolutions\u201d, (Naboth’s Vineyard, Sumner Welles, Vol.II, p.722, Savile Books, 1966).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Baseball and the U.S. intervention<\/h2>\n

From the beginning, Dominicans saw the playing field as a stage for liberation and victory when the battles of daily life seemed to continually be lost.\u00a0 During the U.S. intervention (1916-1924), in addition to the semi-anarchical front that the guerrillas, in the mountains or the more civic resistance formed by intellectuals (based on principle, in order to lend credibility to their protest), baseball became the means by which the population coped, though minimally, with their frustrations toward the foreign invader.\u00a0 The games between Dominican teams and groups composed of U.S. marines or military men were true patriotic displays in defense of Dominican dignity.\u00a0 Strong local teams formed for this purpose, one of which, \u201cEl Escogido\u201d (1921) was a product of a triple alliance between the groups Delco Light, Los Muchachos and San Carlos.\u00a0 The press trumpeted each victory won by national teams, which were the majority.\u00a0 After a noted Licey victory over a team of Marines, one journalist said \u201cThe U.S.M.C. teams will not win even one baseball challenge here, as they are simply inferior to our players.\u00a0 The physical fitness of our under-fed boys is superior to that of the chubby, ruddy-faced whites.<\/p>\n

Long before the intervention, games had been held between local teams and groups from American boats that dropped anchor on the coasts of the country.\u00a0 It was precisely in one of these games, on September 20, 1914, between the Nuevo Club and the sailors of the battleship Washington, that the Dominican pitcher Indio Bravo (Enrique Hern\u00e1ndez) threw the first no-hitter in the history of Dominican baseball, striking out 21 players and allowing only one, on an error, to get to first.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The internationalization of Dominican baseball<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The worth of Dominican players had to be recognized.\u00a0 In 1922, a national team traveled abroad to play for the first time.\u00a0 Licey, reinforced with players from other teams and carrying the name \u201cEstrellas Dominicanas\u201d, went to play in Puerto Rico.\u00a0 There they won 6 of 11 encounters.\u00a0 Due to their brilliant game, the players began to be drafted by teams from neighboring countries a year later.\u00a0 The first was the Licey pitcher Baldomero Ure\u00f1a (Mero), who was signed by the Ponce team of Puerto Rico.\u00a0 Various others followed immediately, also hired to play in Puerto Rico: Nin\u00edn, Ernesto S\u00e1nchez, Mateo de la Rosa, Guagua Vargas, Fellito Guerra and the famous Tetelo Vargas.\u00a0 The latter was 17 years old when he was drafted by the Humacao Starts.\u00a0 It should be added that, in 1925, Baldomero Ure\u00f1a (Mero) became the first Dominican called to play on a U.S. team, Allentown.<\/p>\n

In the following years, the participation of national players in foreign leagues, as well as the participation of foreign players in local leagues, intensified.\u00a0 The national championship of 1929 is specifically remembered as \u201cthe luxury championship\u201d, for the large number of imported ballplayers (from Cuba and Puerto Rico) that were paid incredibly high salaries.\u00a0 The participation of Dominicans was minimal.\u00a0 It was said of Escogido, for example, that \u201cit was a Cuban team reinforced by the incredible Tetelo Vargas\u201d.\u00a0 The expense was so burdensome for the country\u2019s economy that until 1936, no national series were held, which caused many of the professional players to go to Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the United States.\u00a0 In the last season of the 20s, the teams Licey, Escogido and Sandino (founded in 1928 in Santiago), which the Santo Domingo press called \u201cthe \u00c1guilas Cibae\u00f1as\u201d, competed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trujillo and baseball<\/h2>\n

The first period of the Trujillo dictatorship was rocky for professional baseball.\u00a0 The economic hangover from the luxury championship of \u201929 and the Cyclone San Zen\u00f3n that destroyed the country and the baseball stadiums of the capital (the Gimnasio Escolar and the hippodrome La Primavera) affected the performance of the teams.\u00a0 Still, Trujillo immediately took this sporting activity as one of his tools of power, manipulation and personal glorification on a local and international level.<\/p>\n

One of his first measures was the formation of the General Trujillo team, which in 1931 began a tour of Latin America.\u00a0 The team visited Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua and Mexico in a journey that was extended due to the fact that a scam left the group without money to return when planned.\u00a0 Two of the players (Nin\u00edn and Titico) had to work in Cartagena to pay for the tickets.<\/p>\n

All of the national championships held during the course of the dictatorship were titled with some direct reference to Trujillo and his family. \u00a0In 1936, the year in which the series was reestablished, it was named \u201cCertamen Mayor Trujillo\u201d and the teams competed for the Copa Julia Molina.\u00a0 There were names like \u201cReelecci\u00f3n Presidente Trujillo\u201d in 1931; \u201cCampeonato Era de Trujillo\u201d in 1951; \u201cPro Elecci\u00f3n del General H\u00e9ctor B. Trujillo Molinas\u201d (1952); \u201cLeonidas Radham\u00e9s\u201d (1953); \u201cCampeonato Benefactor\u201d (1954); \u201cCampeonato Padre de la Patria\u201d (1955-1956); \u201cCampeonato Reelecci\u00f3n Presidente Trujillo\u201d (1956-57); \u201cCampeonato Leonidas Radham\u00e9s\u201d (1957-58); and \u201cCampeonato 24 de Octubre\u201d, as Trujillo was born October 24, 1891, (1959-60).<\/p>\n

The Championship of \u201837<\/strong><\/p>\n

The national championship of 1937 was famous for the quantity and quality of foreign players hired and the quantity of money shelled out to pay them. \u00a0Given that the crown of the season before had stayed with the Estrellas Orientales de San Pedro de Macor\u00eds team, Trujillo unified the teams of the capital and created the \u201cDragones de Ciudad Trujillo\u201d (March 4, 1937), which featured the best foreign players he could get.<\/p>\n

The order was to win no matter what.\u00a0 This team and other rivals were reinforced with stellar players from the U.S. Negro leagues and Cubans, among them Statchel Paige, George Scales, Mart\u00edn Dihigo, Clyde Spearman, David Thomas, L\u00e1zaro Salazar, Santos Amaro, Coca\u00edna Garc\u00eda, Ram\u00f3n Braga\u00f1a, William Perkins, Silvio Garc\u00eda, Rodolfo Fern\u00e1ndez, Chester Brewer, Ernest Carter, Josh Gibson, Harry Williams, Leroy Madlock, James Bell, Sammy Bankhead and Eustaquio Guti\u00e9rrez (Cuban umpire).<\/p>\n

The average salary of these imported players was $150 pesos monthly, Dominicans only received $24 pesos per month, though it eventually rose to much more. \u00a0Mart\u00edn Dihigo and Josh Gibson were paid $2,500 pesos for five weeks of playing two games per week, while eight players made a sum of $30 thousand dollars for the Dragones Ciudad Trujillo.\u00a0 As Dr. Joseph Arbena affirms, one of the consequences of these types of measures taken or encouraged by the Dictatorship was that it made the Dominican Republic, before any other country (including the United States), into the country where ballplayers, separated in their countries, came together to play, including whites, blacks, mulattos,\u00a0mestizos<\/em>, Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and North Americans.<\/p>\n

The search for baseball players for the championship of \u201937 started a scandal in the United Status and resulted in a diplomatic impasse between the two countries.\u00a0 By virtue of the fact that the salaries offered in the Dominican Republic were much higher than those offered in the neighboring nation, the players did not hesitate to accept, which made the directors of the Pittsburg Crawfords and Homestead Grays accuse a Dominican agent and the consul accompanying him of trying to steal their players, throwing them both in prison.\u00a0 The Dominican Government and Chancellery had to intervene; they bought the freedom of the two men for a $500 fine.<\/p>\n

The U.S. players that decided to come to the Dominican Republic were expelled from the Negro Baseball League for abandoning their teams.\u00a0 Statchel Paige, one of those expelled, created his own club called the Trujillo All-Starts, which eventually won the Denver Post tournament.<\/p>\n

In spite of the players at his disposal, it was not without difficulty that the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo won the victory in the series. \u00a0The management of the team even brought in a voodoo priest from Haiti to \u201chelp\u201d them win.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amateur Baseball during the Dictatorship<\/h2>\n

The investment of economic resources in the championship of \u201937 was enormous and again the country was forced lose professional baseball again for 14 years, until 1951.\u00a0 That period was characterized by the strengthening of amateur baseball.\u00a0 It is calculated that in 1944, between Saturday and Sunday, there were more than 15 games played in the capital, with the participation of around 30 teams and more than 350 ballplayers.\u00a0 In addition, two new spaces for games were opened, Molinuelo Park (1943) and the Hip\u00f3dromo Perla Antiallana (1944).\u00a0 All of these activities allowed the Dominican Republic, in 1948, to win the world amateur baseball championship, held in Colombia.<\/p>\n

The members of one of the teams from Santiago died in what was considered one of the greatest tragedies of Dominican sports.\u00a0 They returned to their city by plane after playing two games in the city of Barahona.\u00a0 The aircraft crashed due to bad weather.\u00a0 32 passengers died, among them 18 players.<\/p>\n

The lethargy of professional practice was not an impediment for our best players to continue gaining recognition abroad and for visits to continue from foreign players and teams.\u00a0 In fact, February 29, 1948, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Montreal Royals arrived in Santo Domingo to hold their spring training.\u00a0 With them, the star Jackie Robinson arrived, who, two years earlier, had moved into the major leagues, becoming the first black man to do so.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dominican professional baseball team<\/h2>\n

Tigres del Licey
\n<\/strong>Founded on 1907
\nQuisqueya Stadium
\nTel: (809) 566-3261, (809) 567-3090
\nhttp:\/\/www.licey.com<\/u><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Aguilas Cibae\u00f1as
\n<\/strong>Founded on 1937
\nCibao Stadium
\nTel: (809) 575-4310, (809) 575-1810, (809) 575-8250
\nhttp:\/\/aguilas.lidom.com\/home\/<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

Leones del Escogido
\n<\/strong>Founded on 1921
\nQuisqueya Stadium
\nTel: (809) 565-1910
\nhttp:\/\/www.escogido.com<\/u><\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/milb\/stats\/roster.jsp?sid=l132&t=t_ros&cid=671<\/a><\/p>\n

Estrellas Orientales
\n<\/strong>Founded on 1911
\nTetelo Vargas Stadium
\nTel: (809) 529-3618
\nhttp:\/\/www.estrellasorientales.com.do\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Azucareros del Este
\n<\/strong>Founded on 1983
\nFrancisco Micheli Stadium
\nTel: (809) 556-6188, (809) 556-6189
\nhttp:\/\/lostorosdeleste.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Gigantes del Cibao
\n<\/strong>Founded on 1997
\nJulian Javier Stadium
\nTel: (809) 566-4882, (809) 588-8882, (809) 588-8854
\nhttp:\/\/gigantessfm.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Golf<\/h2>\n

Manzanillo, a port located in the northeast of the Dominican Republic, and Montellano, a sugar refinery located in the south, were witnesses, among other areas, to the first golfing challenges in the country.\u00a0 U.S. company executives placed in various Dominican economic enclaves brought a passion for the sport to the country in the first decades of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

The sport soon won over the youth that came into contact with the small greens constructed to stave off the boredom of executives that had few options for amusement in a country that barely appeared on the economic map of the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

In Santo Domingo, a private club, the Santo Domingo Country Club, almost single-handedly began the practice of the sport that throughout decades had been limited to an economic elite that saw the discipline as a motive for meeting and relaxation, while serving as a vehicle for integration with Caribbean neighbors that competed in periodical tournaments.<\/p>\n

The construction of Casa de Campo, resort located in the province of La Romana, at the beginning of the 70s, began an enhanced stage of the sport through the development of the tourist industry in the immense resort. \u00a0Two greens designed by Pete Dye in the hotel resort put the country on an exclusive global list.\u00a0 The \u201cDiente de Perro\u201d became, and still is, one of the top 20 golf greens in the world.<\/p>\n

On the northern coast of the country, two other greens, constructed with public monies, offer quality and quantity at a reduced price.\u00a0 In Puerto Plata, next to the Playa Dorada resort, operations for a green with the same name have begun, constructed by the lauded Robert Trent Jones.\u00a0 And a few kilometers away, in R\u00edo San Juan, 18 holes were constructed; and the Playa Grande green has 10 holes at the seashore.<\/p>\n

However, it was not until the 90s that golf tourism exploded. \u00a0From Juan Dolio and La Romana, passing Bayahibe, B\u00e1varo and Punta Cana, to Saman\u00e1, the construction of golf greens continues without pause.<\/p>\n

Other designers of great prestige arrive to the country to create greens of impressive design. \u00a0Among them, Gary Player, with his company Gary Player Design, designed and constructed Guayaberry Golf & Country Club, in Juan Dolio.\u00a0 Next, Jack Nicklaus invested in the country through his ambitious project Cap Cana, on the eastern coast of the country, where he constructed Golden Bear Lodge and built three impressive golf courses.<\/p>\n

The famous golfer and course designer, Nick Faldo, also constructed the golf course of the Roco Ki resort in Punta Macao, on the eastern coast of the country, with the goal of finishing it in winter 2006.\u00a0 It already promises an exceptional course for the Caribbean region.<\/p>\n

Currently, only in the area that borders La Romana, Bayahibe and Punta Cana, B\u00e1varo and Macao, there are 13 golf courses in operation.\u00a0 The majority of the new courses have been constructed as a part of large projects, including the construction of villas.<\/p>\n

In Punta Cana, the resort of the same name features the famous Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and the well-known Dominican designer Oscar de la Renta, and, as icing on the cake of this already developed resort, an accredited golf course.<\/p>\n

A local federation, the Federaci\u00f3n Dominicana de Golf, allows local aficionados to keep up their golf with reputable tournaments that follow international regulations. \u00a0Affiliation to this institution guarantees benefits for golf lovers and has contributed to making the sport less and less elitist.<\/p>\n

For more information:
\nwww.fedogolf.org.do
\n<\/a>www.golfdominicano.com
\n<\/a>www.gfddgolf.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Track and Field<\/h2>\n

Track and field originated in the Dominican Republic in 1946, when the country participated in the Fifth Central American and Caribbean Games, held in Barranquilla, Colombia.<\/p>\n

At the time, the Dominican retinue was composed of 10 people: eight athletes, one trainer and one delegate.<\/p>\n

The athletes who participated in these games were Elpidio Jim\u00e9nez, Alejandro Qu\u00edrico, Bienvenido Abreu, Antonio Lora, Mois\u00e9s Cohen, Texido Domingo Pichardo, Angel Mar\u00eda Acosta y Angel Mar\u00eda Mezquita.\u00a0 Jaime D\u00edaz was the trainer and Braulio M\u00e9ndez, the delegate.<\/p>\n

The Federaci\u00f3n Nacional de Atletismo (National Federation of Track and Field) was created March 21, 1953 with the objective of participating in the Seventh Central American and Caribbean Sporting Games that were to be held in Mexico the following year.<\/p>\n

The Dominican Republic has participated in the following Central American and Caribbean Games<\/strong><\/p>\n