Baseball in Puerto Rico - Early History of Baseball in Puerto Rico

Early History of Baseball in Puerto Rico

The game of baseball was introduced to the island in the late 19th century, by Puerto Ricans and Cubans who had learned the game in the United States. At first the sport was poorly received by the hard-working farmers, tobacco workers and sugarcane cutters of the island, who considered it an effete, unmanly game.

The first two baseball clubs were founded in 1897: the Almendares Baseball Club owned by Francisco Alamo Armas, and the Borinquen Baseball Club owned by Santos Filippi.

According to El Pais newspaper, the first organized baseball game was played on January 11, 1898 at the old velodrome in Santurce, San Juan. The Borinquen beat the Almendares 3 to 0. The first game to go a complete nine innings was played on January 30, 1898, when the Borinquen beat the Almendares again, by a score of 9 to 3.

Later that same year, Puerto Rico became an American territory when the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War. By way of recreation, the American soldiers stationed in Puerto Rico were permitted to organize a baseball club to play against the local Puerto Rican clubs. On November 4, 1900 the Almendare's Baseball Club trounced the American Baseball Club of the Second Regiment of Infantry, by a score of 32 to 18.

In the early 1920s teams from Puerto Rico, such as the San Juan Baseball Club and the Porto Rican Stars, would travel to New York City to play against some of the professional American teams.