| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1878 |
| Ceased | 1961 |
| Replaced by | Cuban National Series |
| No. of teams | 4 (usually) |
| Country | Cuba |
| Confederation | CPBC |
The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known as the "Cuban Winter League."
The league generally comprised 3 to 5 teams, and was centered in Havana, though it sometimes included teams from outlying cities such as Matanzas or Santa Clara. Despite its name, it was not the only professional league active in Cuba during that time, nor was it always the most popular; Peter C. Bjarkman argues that amateur play drew far more interest due to its reach outside the capital.[1] However, the Cuban League did join Major League Baseball's National Association in 1947, becoming the first Latin American league to join the fold of "Organized Baseball".[2]
The league became racially integrated in 1900, and during the first half of the 20th century the Cuban League was a premier venue for black and white players to meet. Many great African American players competed in Cuba alongside native black and white Cuban stars such as José Méndez, Cristóbal Torriente, Adolfo Luque, and Martín Dihigo. Following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, however, tensions rose with the new Communist government, and in March 1961 the government decreed the abolition of professional baseball.