Sunland Tribune

Volume 18 Article 13

1992

The Inter-Social League: 1943 Season

Wes Singletary

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Recommended Citation Singletary, Wes (1992) "The Inter-Social League: 1943 Season," Sunland Tribune: Vol. 18 , Article 13. Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/sunlandtribune/vol18/iss1/13

This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sunland Tribune by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE INTER-SOCIAL LEAGUE: 1943 SEASON

By WES SINGLETARY

Through its ongoing task to support every numbers ranging from 1500 to 20003, and war in which the United States has been a witnessed their own brand of baseball; the participant, Baseball has gained chauvinistic Inter-Social League. recognition for its morale boosting, which in turn, has enhanced its claim to being the The Inter-Social League was made up national game.1 primarily of Latin players living in both Ybor City and West Tampa. Their games Such recognition does not fall upon were played on Sunday afternoons at "organized" baseball alone. During World Cuscaden Park in Ybor City4. The League War 11, the long hours served working at was comprised of four teams, Centro shipyards and in defense factories by many Asturiano, Cuban Club, Loyal Knights and citizens rendered the game an almost the Italian Club, which were all sponsored essential means of relaxation and by well known mutual aid societies and entertainment. Regardless of the quality social clubs of the same names. League play presented, the demand for baseball was had begun in 1938, with the Italian Club extremely high in wartime America. proving dominant by winning three of the However, due to limited communication, first four championships. organized baseball was unable to reach the amount of people it does today. This was The 1943 season featuring the Italian Club particularly true in the South, where the promised to be a great year. The Italian Club major exposure to big-league baseball had however had lost many of their top players been spring training. With the wartime to the service and other defense related relocation of all spring training sites to the endeavors. As such, when the start of the north, as the result of fuel and travel season was trumpeted in the Tampa Tribune, restrictions, many southern cities and towns the Cuban Club and Centro Asturiano were had only their local amateur leagues to turn listed as co-favorites.5 to.2 That prediction proved accurate as the two Tampa, Florida had long been a winter home teams raced to early season victories and to baseball, its principal occupant being the exchanged the league lead time and again. Cincinnati Reds. With the 1943 pullout of By midpoint in the season the teams were the Reds came the realization that big time locked at identical 6-2-1 records, the lone tie baseball would remain a remembrance of the coming in their first head-to-head meeting.6 past until the war was over. Citizens of Tampa, many working tiresome shifts at The season was marked by player shifts and shipyards or in cigar factories, were as managerial changes primarily due to baseball hungry as any in the nation and conflicts in work schedules. The Loyal were not about to do without it. Knights club suffered through two such Consequently, they turned out weekly, in changes in the early months of the season. When the original manager of the Knights baseball with the Tampa Smokers and others was obligated to resign, Marcelo Maseda, a upon returning from the service.11 sure hitting second baseman for Centro Asturiano, assumed the Knight's reins. League playoffs then commenced with the However, Maseda proved to be a short lived second and third place teams vying to win helmsman as he quickly returned to the the best 3 out of 5 games, and the winner Asturians. Maseda, who would go on to play moving on to play the Asturians in a best of for the Crackers of the Southern seven "little world series”.12 As the games Association as well as the Class A Tampa were played only on Sunday afternoons, the Smokers remembers the league for its tournament continued into the latter part of competitiveness and would later again November. at the University of Tampa.7 In the playoffs, the Cubans, relying on In early August, Arnold Holmes, who had strong pitching by their duo of Charlie been leading the Loyal Knights, left town to Cuellar and Alston McGahagin and the join the Marines and Louis Piniella, a well slugging of first-baseman Benny Fernandez known pitcher with an excellent mind for (the brother of Asturian catcher Manual), baseball, became the new leader of the cellar bested the Italians thereby earning the right dwellers. Upon arrival, Piniella quickly to face the Asturians. Charlie Cuellar, who inserted himself into the Knights starting in the playoffs was rebounding from a rotation and an immediate improvement was hard-luck season, was a pitcher of some noted.8 Piniella also brought with him his talent and later pitched for the Class A, St. brother-in-law, hard hitting Joe Magadan, to Petersburg Saints, of the Florida help man the outfield and to provide some .13 Benny Fernandez, needed punch on offense.9 These additions like his brother Manual, went on to play and to the Knights helped improve their record manage in . He was a significantly and ended their year on an up first baseman of such merit that "if he were note. Piniella and Magadan would also playing today, with his glove and hitting, prove to be gifted in rearing baseball playing would almost certainly be in the sons as "Sweet Lou" Piniella, the manager big-leagues”.14 of the Cincinnati Reds and David Magadan, the New York Mets third baseman, have The series proved to be much the same, as grown into quality major leaguers.10 the Cuban Club continued its strong end of season run. Centro Asturiano, with Willie The season came to a close on September Paz behind home-plate substituting for 26, with the Asturians, who had gradually Manual Fernandez, and the hot hitting pulled away from the others, winning the Marcelo Maseda, jumped out to secure the regular season championship. The Asturian's series lead with an opening game victory. catcher, "Big" Manual Fernandez, was However Maseda, who in the past had hit named the regular season outstanding McGahagin so regularly that the latter took player. Fernandez however, was unable to to throwing at him when he came to bat,15 participate in post-season play as he was and his teammates could only watch as the inducted into the Navy. As a catcher, undaunted Cubans battled back to sweep the Fernandez was "terrific" with the bat as well next four games and capture their first as the glove and played minor league Inter-Social League crown.16

While the quality of play in this league and 16 others like it was never assumed or Tampa Tribune, October 17, 1943 - November 29, 1943. presented as being that of major league, it nevertheless provided good baseball and 17 Will, George. The Morning After. New York, 1986. served the purpose of detouring the minds of the local citizenry away from the larger events at hand. The relaxation provided by the game made the effort of returning to the job not quite as taxing. This in itself, was -a purpose well served; and perhaps gives us yet another indication of why so many "true" Americans believe the last eight words of the "Star Spangled Banner" to be "and the home of the brave ... play ball".17

ENDNOTES

1 Voight, David. America through Baseball. Chicago, 1976.

2 Goldstein, Richard. Spartan Seasons: How Baseball Survived the Second World War. New York, 1980.

3 Oral Interview with Marcelo Maseda. June 12, 1992. Tampa, Florida.

4 Id.

5 Tampa Tribune, March 15,1943.

6 Tampa Tribune, May 17,1943.

7 Maseda.

8 Tampa Tribune, August 8,1943.

9 Tampa Tribune, August 29, 1943 and Maseda.

10 Maseda.

11 Id.

12 Tampa Tribune, September 26, 1943.

13 Maseda.

14 Id.

15 Id.