Forgotten Heroes: Juan “Tetelo” Vargas by Center for Negro League Baseball Research Dr. Layton Revel and Luis Munoz Copyright 2014 Juan Vargas (Team Mascot) – Licey Tigers (1921) (Vargas – standing second from right) Juan Vargas (Team Mascot) – Escogido Leones (1922) (Vargas – seated front row by himself) Juan Esteban “Tetelo” Vargas Marcano was born on April 11, 1906 in Santo Domingo de Guzman (Dominican Republic) to Isaias Vargas, a local shoemaker, and Baudilla Marcano. Tetelo would go on to become the greatest Dominican ball player of his time. He stood five feet ten inches tall and weighed 160 pounds during his playing career. Tetelo was an excellent all around ball player. As a hitter he always batted a solid .300 everywhere he played. In the field, he was an excellent defensive player. Tetelo could cover a lot of ground and had a strong, accurate arm in the outfield. During his career he was given the nickname of “El Gamo Dominican” (The Dominican Deer) because of his blazing world-class speed. Tetelo was excellent at stealing bases and always seemed to know how to score, once he got on base. He was known to routinely beat out ground balls to shortstop and third base. It was also not uncommon for him to take second base on a throw to first base. Millito Navarro who played with and against Tetelo in the 1920’s and 1930’s had the following to say about Tetelo’s speed: “He would score from first base on a single and he would often score from second base on a sacrifice fly.” Over his career he led his league five times in stolen bases and seven times in runs scored. Tetelo started his baseball career as an infielder: playing shortstop, second base and occasionally third base. Over the years he transitioned into one of the best defensive outfielders in Negro League and Latin baseball. Juan “Tetelo” Vargas Dominican Super Star Early Baseball Career Tetelo grew up in Santo Domingo playing sandlot ball. From 1918 to 1922 the primary teams that Tetelo played for were Gimnasio Escobar, Capotillo and the Licey “B” team. In 1921 he was the batboy and team mascot for the Licey Tigres. Already recognized for his baseball talents on the field, Tetelo was asked to be the batboy and team mascot for Escogido during their 1922 baseball season. Tetelo’s first season as a professional baseball player was in 1923 when at the age of 17 he joined his older brothers Eduardo “Guagua” and Juan Rafael to play for the Escogido team in Santo Domingo. He also made his professional debut in Puerto Rico with Humacao in 1923. Tetelo played professional ball in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico until he went to the United States and Venezuela in 1927. From 1923 to 1927, Tetelo played for the following teams in Puerto Rico: Humacao Stars (1923-24), Ribosch de Cayey (1924), Arecibo Lobos (1925) and Guayama Stars (1926). After his trip to United States in 1927 to play for the Cuban Stars, Tetelo returned to Puerto Rico and played for Guayama for the 1927 season. He also played for Guayama in 1928. Vargas Brothers Playing for Escogido (1923) (Guagua, Tetelo and Juan) 1 During the 1920’s, Juan Vargas also continued to play professional baseball in Dominican Republic for Escogido (several seasons) Estrellas Dominicanas (Dominican All Stars) and Central Romana (1926). In 1925 Juan and his good friend and fellow ball player Enrique Lantigua traveled to Colombia (South America) to play for the Atlas B.B.C. Juan Vargas Juan Vargas Ribosch (1924) Escogido (1929) Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Negro League Career Juan “Tetelo” Vargas first came to the United States in 1927 when he signed to play for Ramiro Ramirez’s Havana Red Sox. The Red Sox was an independent team with a roster of only 14 players that barnstormed all over the country. They were presented in the media as being a representative of the Cuban Winter League which was not true. Vargas was the team’s starting shortstop, batted lead-off and was the team’s best hitter. Havana often billed Tetelo as “Babe” Vargas because of his exceptional hitting ability. Other star players on the Havana Red Sox team in 1927 were Antonio Castro (C), Agustin Parpetti (1B) and Ramiro Ramirez (OF). Vargas also played briefly for Alex Pompez’s Cuban Stars (East) of the Eastern Colored League and the Colored All Stars during the 1927 season. In late August, the Cubans Stars were in the middle of the pennant race for the Eastern Colored League championship. Pompez signed Vargas in an attempt to strengthen his roster for the pennant drive. Needing to win their final seven games, the Cuban Stars faltered and finished in third place in the final “league” standings with a record of 33-32 (.508). The Colored All Stars were formed in late September after the regular season and were made up of players from the Buffalo Colored Elks, Havana Red Sox and Homestead Grays. In 1928 Tetelo appeared briefly in August for the Cuban Stars during their 1928 season. Vargas returned to the United States in 1929 to play for both the Havana Red Sox and the Cuban Stars of the American Negro League. The Havana Red Sox were owned by promoter Syd Pollock and played an independent schedule. Pollock billed the Red Sox as the “World Colored Champions.” They were extremely successful and by the end of June had already won 70 games according to an article that appeared in the Chicago Defender. From late July to the middle of September, Vargas played for the Cuban Stars during their American Negro League season. While playing for the Cuban Stars, he went 28 for 73 for a .384 batting average and a .575 slugging percentage 2 against “league” teams. Research by John Holway credits Tetelo Vargas with a .484 batting average for the season. Other top hitters on the 1929 Cuban Stars team were Angel Alfonso, Bernardo Baro, Jose “Blue” Perez and Jose Ramos. The starting pitching rotation for the Cuban Stars included Isidro Fabre, Willie Gisentaner, Oscar Levis, Juan Mirabal and Basilio Rosell. The Cuban Stars finished last in the final standings of the 1929 American Negro League season with a record of 15-39 (.278). Prior to the start of the 1930 season Vargas was signed by Syd Pollock to play for his Havana Red Sox team. Like all their seasons in the past, the Red Sox were very successful in their independent schedule. In an article that appeared in the Chicago Defender on August 2nd, the newspaper reported that the Havana Red Sox while playing at least one ball game every day had only lost three games since June 8th. Before the start of the 1931 season, Syd Pollock changed the name of the Red Sox to the Cuban House of David and his first priority was to sign Tetelo Vargas. Under manager Ramiro Ramirez, the Red Sox had a very successful season and compiled an impressive record of 167-31-6 (.840) for the season. Over the season the team traveled over 34,000 miles through 32 different states. The Cuban House of David was led by the hitting of Tetelo Vargas and Jacinto Roque. Pollock billed Vargas as the “fastest player in baseball” and Roque as the “Babe Ruth” of Cuba. Also in the line-up for the Cuban House of David were Pelayo Chacon, Cando Lopez, Oliver Marcell, Alejandro Oms and Javier “Blue” Perez. Luis Tiant, Sr. was the ace of the Cuban pitching staff. Juan “Tetelo” Vargas had one of the best seasons of his career in 1931. While playing in a baseball tournament in Sioux City (IA) in July, Tetelo hit seven consecutive homeruns over two days. The event was reported in the Afro American on August 1st. The Cuban House of David won the Southwestern Iowa Baseball Tournament. Then in September it was reported that he set a world record of 13.25 seconds for circling the bases. This remarkable feat was accomplished in Sioux City, Iowa. During the 1931 season Tetelo also played for the Cuban Stars (West). They were an independent team that was owned by Abel Linares and played primarily in the western part of the United States. Box scores have been found for 17 games that Vargas played for the Cuban Stars (West). He went 21 for 70 for a .300 batting average in these games. Tetelo Hits 7 Consecutive HR Cuban House of David From 1932 through the 1937 season, Tetelo spent most of his time playing baseball in Venezuela during the regular season. Afro American He is, however, reported to have briefly played for Cuban Stars 08-01-31 of the Negro National League in early August of 1935. Vargas spent most of the 1938 season in Venezuela but was also recruited by Alex Pompez to play for the 1938 New York Cubans as they prepared to enter the Negro National League. During the 1938 season the New York Cubans played an independent barnstorming schedule. The New York Cubans entered the Negro National League in 1939 and Tetelo was one of the team’s starting outfielders. Mickey Casey, Ramon Heredia and Juan Vargas led the team in hitting. In 14 “league” games Tetelo batted .321. Fifty year old Silvino Ruiz was the top pitcher for the team during the season. During the season the New York Cubans were also billed as the Cuban Stars of Havana (Cuba). Their first year in the Negro National League was very rough on the Cubans. They only managed to win 5 of their 27 “league” games and finished the regular season in last place in the “league” with a record of 5-22 (.185).