Origins

Introduced in 1864 by Nemesio Guilló, a Cuban student returning home from studying in the United States, baseball has been as much a part of the Cuban landscape as the powdery, white sands of the island's beaches. Cuba's first organized game took place on December 27, 1874, at Palmar del Junco. The first stadium of its kind on the island, it was erected in Pueblo Nuevo, Matanzas.

On that Sunday, a team from Havana defeated the Matanzas club 51-9. Esteban Bellán, the first Latin American to play in the major leagues, played catcher, hit three home runs and scored seven times. Emilio Sabourin (left) played in left field and scored eight runs. The game ended at 5:35 p.m., called on account of darkness. Two years after Chicago promoter William H. Hulbert established the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs in 1876, Sabourín helped establish Cuba's first organized baseball league, La Liga de Beisbol Profesional Cubana.

The league embarked upon its first campaign on December 29, 1878, with three teams: Almendares, Habana and Matanzas. Havana, "captained'' by Bellán Cuba's first professional baseball game, 21-20. Over the years, the most popular teams were Habana and Almendares, although the league included teams such as Cienfuegos, Fé, Marianao and Santa Clara. The Spaniards controlling the island for Spain had tried to force soccer on the Cuban people, calling it "the sport of kings.'' But the Cubans countered that baseball was "the king of sports.''