It was said that Castro sported an impressive loopy curveball. The caption reads “FIDEL CASTRO RUZ: star pitcher of the glorious Cuba Libre Club.”įidel ended up pitching 1 scoreless inning for Barbudos in this exhibition, in front of 26,532 fans (many of them Castro supporters), the largest crowd of the year for an International League game. A program guide published by a cracker factory features Fidel on the cover clad in a Barbudos uniform. The beards gave the team a distinct House of David look and were a peculiarity since beards were out of fashion at the time. The team was managed by Eduardo Castellano and included such players as Raul Catala, Laudelio Reyes, Alfredo Carvajal, Ilcibiades Santos, Ruben Tamayo, Ronaldo Sanchez, Amador Torres, Ramiro Rodriguez, Sergio Garcia and Bernardo Hechavarria, who later went on to play professional ball. The organizers of the event decided that Comandante Camilo Cienfuegos (Fidel’s right hand man, next to Ché of course) could represent the Police as a pitcher. The “Hero of Yaguajay” (as Cienfuegos was known) refused, stating “I won’t be against Fidel, in life or in baseball.” Barbudos used Cienfuegos as their catcher and he ended up being Fidel’s battery mate, taking over from Guerra Matos (who was the country’s Sports Director). On July 24th, 1959, Castro staged an exhibition game between Los Barbudos and the Cuban National Police prior to a game between the Sugar Kings and the Rochester Red Wings. In fact, Castro had been a pitcher during his days at the University of Havana. One of his first acts as President was to pledge to underwrite the debt of the Havana Cuba Sugar Kings. With the Sugar Kings perched at the top of the International League standings (on their way to an eventual title), Fidel made it clear that he wanted the pride of Cuban baseball to continue, “even if I have to pitch.” To raise money for this cause, the barnstorming baseball team played exhibition games and donated the proceeds to the Sugar Kings. The team consisted mostly of members of the 26th of July movement. The team was aptly named “Los Barbudos” (The Bearded Ones).įidel was a long-time baseball fan and often attended Sugar Kings games at Gran Stadium. Baseball was again at the heart of Cuba’s nationalism, even though Fidel had yet to reach Havana.Ĭastro knew how important baseball was and how integral it was to Cuba’s social fabric. It was a time of celebration at Gran Stadium (now Estadio Latinoamericano). When Carlos Paula hit a home run, one of the Barbudos jumped onto the field and embraced him. The crowd stood to sing the July 26 movement’s anthem and gave a long standing ovation to the guerrillas. These guerillas were known as “Barbudos” – the bearded ones – and beard length was a point of pride as it was used to determine length of time served in the movement. What do you do when you have just overthrown the Cuban government? If you are Fidel Castro – you start a barnstorming baseball team!įive days after Castro had seized power in Cuba, members of Castro’s guerilla army – known as the 26th of July Movement – were invited to attend a Havana Cuba Sugar Kings game for free.
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