Book Review: Béisbol Begins

 Béisbol Begins: How Nemesio Guilló Brought Baseball to Cuba by Ramon Olivera, Millbrook Press, Minneapolis, 2026.

This book tells the story of how baseball arrived in Cuba.  Nemesio Guilló and his brother Ernesto were sent to the United States to get an education.  They went to Mobile, Alabama where baseball was just beginning to take off.  The national sport in Cuba was bullfighting.  But Nemesio dreamed of forming a team in Cuba.  Nemesio returned with a bat.  This would have been the 1860s as Nemesio went to the united States about this time..  At first they did not have enough players for a team, so played other games with bat and baseball.  They were swinging and hitting and running and throwing and catching.  By 1868 they had formed their first team, the Habana Baseball Club.  There first game was against a team of American sailors.  They tagged and hit and slid.  They played a full nine innings.  The Habana Club won.  Baseball quickly spread across the country.  Baseball even became a professional sport and Nemesio continued to play.  His brother retired from the game.  However the Spanish rulers saw the game as a threat.  The players could be rebels and the bats weapons.  The game was outlawed.  Cuban finally fought for their independence in the 1890s because of the oppression of the Spanish.  The U.S. joined the side of the Cubans for the Spanish American war.  Cuba was free in 1902.  Baseball became the national sport.  

Bob Gibson's Home in Bellevue

 Bob Gibson was one of the greatest baseball players ever.  He was a teo-time Cy Young Award winner, Two-tim World Series champion and the baseball MVP one year.  He is in the Hall of Fame.  He grew up in South Omaha.  After he retired from baseball he lived in Bellevue Nebraska.  He passed away in 2020.  His home recently changed owners and there are still pictures on line.

I snapped a couple upon driving past.

College World Series at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha

 While visiting the zoo we parked by the Memorial to Rosenblatt Stadium.   The original stadium was built as a replacement for Vinton Street Park which was a mile up the road, 13th to the north.  Vinton Park stadium had burnt down in 1936.  It was built in 1947-1948 with the first game October 17, 1948.  In 1950 Rosenblatt became the site for the Collage World Series every year.  It hosted this even until 2010 when the location was moved to its current site, Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.  Rosenblatt Stadium also was the home field for four minor league teams.  It was the largest minor league stadium in the U.S. before its closure.  It was next to the Doorley Zoo and the zoo purchased the stadium to expand their parking lot.  Demolishing took place in 2012.  The new Memorial to Rosenblatt Stadium had a grand opening in June 2013.

Documentary Review: 30 30 Fernando Nation

This ESPN documentary tells the story of Fernando Valenzuela, Mexican man who had a dream of pitching in major league baseball; and was actually doing so at the age of 18 when he was rookie of the year and the Cy Young Award winner.  He rode his screw ball to pitch in the World Series in the third game, which game they won, and went on to become champions.  This movie is presented over the backdrop of the construction of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Canyon, which was the home of many Mexican Americans.  They were evicted to make way for the stadium.  In 1981,  the Dodgers made amends with the Latino community with Fernando being part of the team, and the opening day starter.  Fernando had other career high lights, including a no-hitter in 1990; but nothing was like that first year.  His career record was 173-153 with and ERA of 3.54 and his career spanned 17 years.  His first ten years were with the Dodgers, and then several teams after this including the Jalisco Charros in Mexico.  He retired in 1997  but still plays independent ball or Mexican ball at times.

Native American Biography: Louis Sockalexis: Book Review: Indian Summer

 Indian Summer: The Forgotten Story of Louis Sockalexis the First Native american in Major League Baseball, by Brian McDonald, Rodale, Emmaus, PA, 2003.
I found this story very fascinating.  I had never heard of Louis Socalexis.  He was Panobscot, and grew up on Indian Island in the Penobscot River.  He took up baseball after watching others play, and used it to get a college education.  He played college ball for Holy Cross.  He was a team star, playing in the outfield and hitting.  He was noted for his speed, his ability to track down a ball, his arm, and his bat.  He was a well rounded player.  When he joined the Cleveland team, the name of the team changed to Indians to reflect their new rookie.  The team was known as Tebeau's tribe (their manager.)  Sockalexis was touted as a future star, and that he was.  He hit home runs, touring home runs.  He through a runner out at the plate, he ran down base balls, and he could steal bases standing up with his speed.  However he had to deal with tremendous pressure.  Wherever he traveled he was taunted with war whoops and people making fun of his name.  The pressure got to him, and he turned to drink.  It was the drink that was his undoing.  While drinking, he umped from a second story window and broke his ankle.  He never took time for the ankle to heal properly, as he had to get back to the bars.  He was kept on the roster, but for many games was inactive.  He didn't play the later part of the season because of his drinking.  The next year, the owner bought a new club, the St. Louis ball team.  He jumped ship because he wan't allowed to play Sunday games in Cleveland.  His second year he was part of the worst team in baseball history.  He didn't make it through the season and was released.  He struggled for a time, but eventually made it home to his people.  There he started to heal.  He was involved in baseball umpiring.  He worked in logging or other jobs.  Both his parents passed away.  Sockalexis died rather young, age 42 form a heart attack.

Native American Biography: Jim Thorpe: Athlete

Canton Bulldogs

Miss-matched socks and shoes, 1912 Olympics

An argument could be made for Jim Thorpe as the greatest American athlete of all time.  He could do so many things and do them well.  He is of Sauk and Fox descent, and the great-grandson of Black Hawk, The Chippewa War Chief.  Both his parents were half Caucasian but he was raised in an Indian household.  He began his career on the football field, playing for "Pop" Warner at Carlisle Institute.  He then played semi-professional baseball (he was paid to play) a couple years and then returned to Carlisle for football.  In 1912 his football team won the national championship with an 11-1 record.  Thorpe played running back, defensive back, punted and kicked.  He scored 25 touchdowns and 198 points.  President Eisenhower, while a youth played against Thorpe, playing for Army.  Of Thorpe he said, "Here and there, there are some people who are supremely endowed. My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe. He never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw." In the game he ran a 93 yard touchdown, called back for a penalty, and he ran 97 yards for a touchdown the next play.  At the 1912 Olympics he showed his versatility.  He won the pentathlon and the decathlon.  He not only won the events but dominated.  Taking first in 8 of the 15 individual events.  He also competed well in the long jump and the high jump.  An interesting side note, Thorpe's shoes were stolen.  He competed in the decathlon in shoes he found in a trash can.  Because they were mismated, he wore heavy socks on one foot so they would fit.  He was also given two special awards, by the King of Sweden and the Czar of Russia.  Upon given him the award the Kind of Sweden reportedly said, "You are the Greatest Athlete in the World."  Thorpe replied, "Thanks Coach."  (This maybe anecdotal but the feeling was accurate.)  Thorpe was greeted by a ticker tape New York parade upon his return to America.  Later his gold medals were taken away because of his time playing professional baseball.  They were returned to his family in 1982.

With the New York Giant

He played basketball, baseball and football professionally, and retired in 1929.  He organized a professional Indian football team at one point, and although they didn't win many games, Thorpe played well and was honored as an all league player in the league which became the NFL.  DUring his career, when racial issues were prevalent, his race was sometimes an issue, particularly in the newspapers.  The papers would say such things as He passed away in Lomita, California in 1953.