The Rise of the Cubans
The New York Cubans played from 1935 to 1950 (although they underwent a short hiatus from 1936 to 1939) under the direction of owner Alejandro Pompez. Despite tumultuous years in which the Negro Leagues threatened to break up and often did, they were the perennial favorites of the Negro National League. Though they only won the Negro League pennant once, when they beat the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1947, they would go on to become the first Negro League Team to serve as a farm team for a professional team (the New York Giants in 1948).15
It was their owner, Alejandro Pompez, born May 3, 1890 in Havana, Cuba, to a white Cuban father and an Afro-Cuban mother, who would take the team to its highest and lowest points. From 1922 to 1929 he would have at least some stake in the eastern version of the team known as the Cuban Stars, either as an owner, manager, or promoter, and often as all three simultaneously.16 Unlike previous owners of Cuban teams, he would be the one who, using his Latin connections, would introduce major Carribean and Central American players into Negro and Major League Baseball. Although he will always be tied to his role in the illegal gambling world of Black urban centers, he became a major force in the social dynamic of Harlem prior to Jackie Robinson. Most importantly, it was the numbers kings and queens who physically engaged Harlem.
Shady characters like Pompez were the ones to drive and define the Negro Leagues in the Northeast for years. According to Donn Rogosin, “Negro national League meetings were conclaves of the most powerful black gangsters in the nation. Ed ‘Soldier Boy’ Semler had the Black Yankees; Tom Wilson, the Baltimore Elite Giants; Abe Manley, the Newark Eagles; Alex Pompez, the New York Cubans; and Ed Bolden, the Philadelphia Stars.” In 1937 the entire NNL was run by numbers bankers, including the “Numbers Queen” Effa Manley, who, along with her husband Abe Manley, owned and operated the Newark Eagles.17 In 1935, Russel Owen of the New York Times reported that annual income from the Numbers Racket in New York City exceeded $100,000,000, though that number seems to be exaggerated.18 Two years later, when special prosecutors raided Pompez’ partner, Joe Ison, arresting 70 men in the process but narrowly missing Pompez himself, $14,136 was seized, and it was estimated that the Pompez-Ison ring alone was making $5,000,000 a year.19
It was their owner, Alejandro Pompez, born May 3, 1890 in Havana, Cuba, to a white Cuban father and an Afro-Cuban mother, who would take the team to its highest and lowest points. From 1922 to 1929 he would have at least some stake in the eastern version of the team known as the Cuban Stars, either as an owner, manager, or promoter, and often as all three simultaneously.16 Unlike previous owners of Cuban teams, he would be the one who, using his Latin connections, would introduce major Carribean and Central American players into Negro and Major League Baseball. Although he will always be tied to his role in the illegal gambling world of Black urban centers, he became a major force in the social dynamic of Harlem prior to Jackie Robinson. Most importantly, it was the numbers kings and queens who physically engaged Harlem.
Shady characters like Pompez were the ones to drive and define the Negro Leagues in the Northeast for years. According to Donn Rogosin, “Negro national League meetings were conclaves of the most powerful black gangsters in the nation. Ed ‘Soldier Boy’ Semler had the Black Yankees; Tom Wilson, the Baltimore Elite Giants; Abe Manley, the Newark Eagles; Alex Pompez, the New York Cubans; and Ed Bolden, the Philadelphia Stars.” In 1937 the entire NNL was run by numbers bankers, including the “Numbers Queen” Effa Manley, who, along with her husband Abe Manley, owned and operated the Newark Eagles.17 In 1935, Russel Owen of the New York Times reported that annual income from the Numbers Racket in New York City exceeded $100,000,000, though that number seems to be exaggerated.18 Two years later, when special prosecutors raided Pompez’ partner, Joe Ison, arresting 70 men in the process but narrowly missing Pompez himself, $14,136 was seized, and it was estimated that the Pompez-Ison ring alone was making $5,000,000 a year.19
|
|
Although they were despised by the New York Police Department, the Numbers racketeers were well-known and respected in Harlem, and ushered in the age known as the Harlem Renaissance. In the late 1920s, a racketeer named John Diamond owned a “‘fine home’ on West 137th Street, a flashy car, and several investment properties, including the ‘swanky apartment building at 772 St. Nicholas Avenue,’” although he would later pass away completely broke according to the New York Age. Another Numbers banker, Casper Holstein, an immigrant from the Dutch West Indies, would later be considered “the black philanthropist in Harlem.” As a prominent member of Harlem’s fraternal organization the Elks, he was a member of the Monarch Lodge, at 245 West 137th Street. He gave out 500 food baskets to Harlemites every Christmas, funded a girls’ dormitory in Liberia, and made generous donations to black universities and hospitals.20 It was in this atmosphere of prominent black involvement, despite the fact that it was funded mainly by illegal enterprise, that the African American author Richard Wright attested, “They would have been steel tycoons, Wall Street brokers, auto moguls had they been white.”21
Pompez himself was involved socially and geographically in Harlem, and this may be why the public admired him. Apart from the ballparks and temporary numbers banks, Pompez established residences at 11 West 131st Street, 321 and 409 Edgecobe Avenue (while his partner Joe Ison resided at nearby 880 and 870 St. Nicholas Avenue), set up offices for the Cubans Stars and New York Cubans at 84 Lenox Avenue between 114th and 115th and at 200 West 135th Street, invested in a cigar shop on 7th Avenue and in Rockland Palace as a boxing and entertainment venue, and attended Negro League meetings at the Harlem YMCA and the Hotel Theresa.22, 23 At the time of his trial, the Courier wrote of him: “Any person who has the honor of knowing Pompez personally is well aware that he is no way a hardened criminal and does not look at life through the eyes of a criminal.”24 It was here, in Harlem, that crime, baseball, and entertainment united in an amalgamation that was simultaneously unique and incredible. When Missouri born All Star Negro Leaguer Jimmy Crutchfield described his first experience of 125th Street, he remembered “a feeling of freedom [he] had never felt before.”25
In, Harlem, players from the South and Midwest could experience some exemption from segregation policies. Touring teams in the South either had the options of staying in all-black hotels which were described as “fleabags,” sleeping on the cramped tour buses, or even sleeping in the ballparks in which they were slated to play.26 By contrast, the facilities at Dyckman Oval, and for the teams who could afford the price tag, the accommodations at the Theresa and Woodside Hotels in Harlem, which were two of the best hotels in New York at the time. The players, who had readily available cash, became somewhat infamous within the hotels, and players were known to have a different girl waiting for them in every city. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, and Cab Calloway were all known to be the immediate acquaintances of the Negro League celebrity ballplayers. In fact, the musicians, the ballplayers, and the gangsters were some of the very few blacks that could go to the famous nightclubs such as the Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn, and Small’s Paradise.27 In 1930, the famous dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson took over the Lincoln Stars and renamed them the Harlem Stars. The team would rename themselves the Black Yankees and he would remain an officer and part-owner until 1950. Robinson was the face of the team, and would sometimes take the field to exhibit his foot speed, running backwards against the team’s current fastest player.28 He lived in the Dunbar Apartments on what is now 2588 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard and was known to make headlines for appearing at most East-West Classics.29
Some of Harlem’s greatest strengths were results of its physical organization. Before the waves of Puerto Rican and later Latino immigration turned east Harlem into El Barrio it was known as Italian Harlem. According to Robert A. Orsi, “Italian Harlem had a geography of rebellion: subways, elevated trains, buses, and social clubs were some of the spaces people inhabited apart from the domus…. The parks were good for romantic assignations. Young men escaped into the world of close friendships and street gangs.”30 The Blacks and Latinos of Harlem, although probably experiencing different degrees of racism and discrimination, were subject to very similar exclusion from mainstream white society that their Italian predecessors had experienced. It is because of this that the ballpark is important, especially when located along train lines. Fans who were making their way to Dyckman, the Polo Grounds, or Catholic Protectory Oval in the Bronx were stating their claim for public ownership. In a time when clubs and hotels were segregated, when amusement parks had separate “colored” days, often outside the peak season, perhaps the subway served as an equalizer in the psyches of black Harlemites. In May of 1921, Mayor Hylan attended a baseball game at Dyckman Oval between the Cuban Stars and the Tesreau Bears, a white semi-pro team. The New York Times reported “Mayor John F. Hylan had a hard time yesterday afternoon in working his way into the Dyckman Oval without a ticket.”31
Pompez himself was involved socially and geographically in Harlem, and this may be why the public admired him. Apart from the ballparks and temporary numbers banks, Pompez established residences at 11 West 131st Street, 321 and 409 Edgecobe Avenue (while his partner Joe Ison resided at nearby 880 and 870 St. Nicholas Avenue), set up offices for the Cubans Stars and New York Cubans at 84 Lenox Avenue between 114th and 115th and at 200 West 135th Street, invested in a cigar shop on 7th Avenue and in Rockland Palace as a boxing and entertainment venue, and attended Negro League meetings at the Harlem YMCA and the Hotel Theresa.22, 23 At the time of his trial, the Courier wrote of him: “Any person who has the honor of knowing Pompez personally is well aware that he is no way a hardened criminal and does not look at life through the eyes of a criminal.”24 It was here, in Harlem, that crime, baseball, and entertainment united in an amalgamation that was simultaneously unique and incredible. When Missouri born All Star Negro Leaguer Jimmy Crutchfield described his first experience of 125th Street, he remembered “a feeling of freedom [he] had never felt before.”25
In, Harlem, players from the South and Midwest could experience some exemption from segregation policies. Touring teams in the South either had the options of staying in all-black hotels which were described as “fleabags,” sleeping on the cramped tour buses, or even sleeping in the ballparks in which they were slated to play.26 By contrast, the facilities at Dyckman Oval, and for the teams who could afford the price tag, the accommodations at the Theresa and Woodside Hotels in Harlem, which were two of the best hotels in New York at the time. The players, who had readily available cash, became somewhat infamous within the hotels, and players were known to have a different girl waiting for them in every city. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, and Cab Calloway were all known to be the immediate acquaintances of the Negro League celebrity ballplayers. In fact, the musicians, the ballplayers, and the gangsters were some of the very few blacks that could go to the famous nightclubs such as the Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn, and Small’s Paradise.27 In 1930, the famous dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson took over the Lincoln Stars and renamed them the Harlem Stars. The team would rename themselves the Black Yankees and he would remain an officer and part-owner until 1950. Robinson was the face of the team, and would sometimes take the field to exhibit his foot speed, running backwards against the team’s current fastest player.28 He lived in the Dunbar Apartments on what is now 2588 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard and was known to make headlines for appearing at most East-West Classics.29
Some of Harlem’s greatest strengths were results of its physical organization. Before the waves of Puerto Rican and later Latino immigration turned east Harlem into El Barrio it was known as Italian Harlem. According to Robert A. Orsi, “Italian Harlem had a geography of rebellion: subways, elevated trains, buses, and social clubs were some of the spaces people inhabited apart from the domus…. The parks were good for romantic assignations. Young men escaped into the world of close friendships and street gangs.”30 The Blacks and Latinos of Harlem, although probably experiencing different degrees of racism and discrimination, were subject to very similar exclusion from mainstream white society that their Italian predecessors had experienced. It is because of this that the ballpark is important, especially when located along train lines. Fans who were making their way to Dyckman, the Polo Grounds, or Catholic Protectory Oval in the Bronx were stating their claim for public ownership. In a time when clubs and hotels were segregated, when amusement parks had separate “colored” days, often outside the peak season, perhaps the subway served as an equalizer in the psyches of black Harlemites. In May of 1921, Mayor Hylan attended a baseball game at Dyckman Oval between the Cuban Stars and the Tesreau Bears, a white semi-pro team. The New York Times reported “Mayor John F. Hylan had a hard time yesterday afternoon in working his way into the Dyckman Oval without a ticket.”31
In this territorial attitude, Negro League owners staked their claims of public space. Their bold moves were publicly backed by fan involvement and chronicled by black newspapers such as the Amsterdam News and the Chicago Defender. Negro League teams tried to book exhibition games in big league stadiums to gain exposure despite high booking fees. Yankee Stadium became the cutting-edge, sought after stadium upon its completion in 1923, but was one of the last to accept Negro League teams. According to Robert Peterson, “It was not until June 1930 that the first Negro League game was played in the storied confines of Yankee Stadium.” By 1945, the Yankees organization was making $100,000 annually from rentals at Yankee Stadium and at minor league parks.32
New York owners varied in how they dealt with the Major League teams. James Semler and Bill Robinson of the Black Yankees preferred to stay out of Negro League play in order to book high-profile games at Yankees Stadium and the Polo Grounds. Robinson brokered a deal that would allow the team to use old Yankee uniforms. But the team did not often play in the ballparks, and when it did, it was included in four-team doubleheaders. It was the white booking agent Nat Strong who had virtually complete control over the two stadiums. Pompez shied away from becoming dependant on Strong, but Semler would go so far as taking loans from Strong when the Black Yankees were short on cash.33 Semler preferred Strong’s booking power over the league structure, attesting that Strong “can keep the team working and I know the league can not.”34 But it was the leagues that brought about the greatest moments, made the greatest gestures, and provided the most gossip.
In 1947, New York was tasked to hold the East-West classic, arguably the most important game in the Negro League season. Equivalent to today’s NBA All Star Game, the game was as much of a social spectacle as it was a sporting event, with entertainers, politicians, and prominent black figures attending. Though it was regularly held in Chicago, this was the year that Jackie Robinson was signed to the Dodgers, so there was a potential of the game serving as a display of Black baseball to Major League scouts. The Amsterdam News printed an article prior to the game featuring the “five players the scouts rate as sure bets for the major leagues.” Four of the five would later play for the MLB.
It was decided by the League owners that the Classic would be held at the Polo Grounds. Alex Pompez was tasked with the organization and advertising, and tickets were sold at the current office of the Cubans. Describing the scene of the game, Adrian Burgos, Jr. writes: “they streamed out of the subway stop at 155th Street, spilled out of jammed buses at the gates of the Polo Grounds, and exited from a convoy of taxis and private cars that lined up 158th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue, and surrounding side streets. In all, 38,402 fans paid to enter through the turnstiles to watch the Classic; inclusive of incited guests, the overall crowd totaled nearly 42,000.”35 It was Pompez’s flair for promotion that made the scene possible. He had years of practice in the Harlem area and had honed his craft in renovating and promoting Dyckman Oval.
New York owners varied in how they dealt with the Major League teams. James Semler and Bill Robinson of the Black Yankees preferred to stay out of Negro League play in order to book high-profile games at Yankees Stadium and the Polo Grounds. Robinson brokered a deal that would allow the team to use old Yankee uniforms. But the team did not often play in the ballparks, and when it did, it was included in four-team doubleheaders. It was the white booking agent Nat Strong who had virtually complete control over the two stadiums. Pompez shied away from becoming dependant on Strong, but Semler would go so far as taking loans from Strong when the Black Yankees were short on cash.33 Semler preferred Strong’s booking power over the league structure, attesting that Strong “can keep the team working and I know the league can not.”34 But it was the leagues that brought about the greatest moments, made the greatest gestures, and provided the most gossip.
In 1947, New York was tasked to hold the East-West classic, arguably the most important game in the Negro League season. Equivalent to today’s NBA All Star Game, the game was as much of a social spectacle as it was a sporting event, with entertainers, politicians, and prominent black figures attending. Though it was regularly held in Chicago, this was the year that Jackie Robinson was signed to the Dodgers, so there was a potential of the game serving as a display of Black baseball to Major League scouts. The Amsterdam News printed an article prior to the game featuring the “five players the scouts rate as sure bets for the major leagues.” Four of the five would later play for the MLB.
It was decided by the League owners that the Classic would be held at the Polo Grounds. Alex Pompez was tasked with the organization and advertising, and tickets were sold at the current office of the Cubans. Describing the scene of the game, Adrian Burgos, Jr. writes: “they streamed out of the subway stop at 155th Street, spilled out of jammed buses at the gates of the Polo Grounds, and exited from a convoy of taxis and private cars that lined up 158th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue, and surrounding side streets. In all, 38,402 fans paid to enter through the turnstiles to watch the Classic; inclusive of incited guests, the overall crowd totaled nearly 42,000.”35 It was Pompez’s flair for promotion that made the scene possible. He had years of practice in the Harlem area and had honed his craft in renovating and promoting Dyckman Oval.
In 1935, frustrated with the Cuban’s lack of a home field, Pompez spent $60,000 on renovations and a floodlight system for Dyckman Oval. Previously, his Cuban teams had played “home” games wherever they could book a space - usually at Catholic Protectory Oval in the Bronx, Dexter Park in Brooklyn, Dyckman or Olympic Ovals in Manhattan, or Davids Stadium in Newark. He recognized the importance of having a home field and being part of an organized Negro League. In an Editorial in The Pittsburgh Courier, he wrote, “We must have a league and then we can refuse to play any club which cannot guarantee us protection against the conduct of the fans and players. But now we are handicapped and must accept games where or whenever we can get them.”36 Dyckman allowed the Cubans to remain in the league structure, as they now had a home stadium where they could regularly host visiting teams. Additionally, the space served to protect players and fans in a time when white-violence, or even violence between minorities, was not uncommon. The renovations increased seating capacity to approximately 12,000 and installed a new floodlight system in order to support night games. Newspapers reported “Dyckman Oval is rapidly gaining the right to the title of Manhattan’s amusement center… Every branch of sports from races to cricket have been exhibited at Pompez’s beautiful miniature stadium.” The stadium was more than just a sporting retreat: it was equipped with a restaurant and a beer garden.37 Lawrence D. Hogan described Dyckman as “a location where [Harlemites] could feel separated from the indignities of racialized treatment in a wider society, a place of their own to celebrate their own.38
Dyckman was located on a spot of prime real estate for sporting events. Like the Polo Grounds, it stood along the East River, adjacent to a train yard. Eddie and Jess McMahon - two Irish sports promoter brothers who had formed several semi-pro teams, two Negro League teams in the New York Lincoln Giants and the New York Lincoln Stars, and had built the ballpark known as Olympic Oval - had their eyes on Dyckman a decade earlier than Pompez. On March 25, 1921, the New York Times reported that “Plans for an outdoor arena where important boxing bouts will be held during the Summer months were disclosed yesterday when reports reached here from Albany that the Dyckman Oval Arena Company had filed papers of incorporation with the Secretary of State.” Eddie McMahon’s renovations would have taken the seating capacity to 18,000, though the plans were later scrapped.39 Columbia University soon realized the advantages of the area. Just a few blocks north and a few months later, The New York Times covered Columbia University’s decision to build athletic facilities on what was known as the Dyckman tract at Broadway and 218th street. The article claimed the estimated costs for facilities along the Harlem Shipping Canal were $2,500,000, less than half the cost of the earlier proposal, facilities at 116th street and the Hudson River.40 Interestingly, the article aired the same day Mayor Hylan pitched at a Cuban Stars game at the Oval.
Dyckman was located on a spot of prime real estate for sporting events. Like the Polo Grounds, it stood along the East River, adjacent to a train yard. Eddie and Jess McMahon - two Irish sports promoter brothers who had formed several semi-pro teams, two Negro League teams in the New York Lincoln Giants and the New York Lincoln Stars, and had built the ballpark known as Olympic Oval - had their eyes on Dyckman a decade earlier than Pompez. On March 25, 1921, the New York Times reported that “Plans for an outdoor arena where important boxing bouts will be held during the Summer months were disclosed yesterday when reports reached here from Albany that the Dyckman Oval Arena Company had filed papers of incorporation with the Secretary of State.” Eddie McMahon’s renovations would have taken the seating capacity to 18,000, though the plans were later scrapped.39 Columbia University soon realized the advantages of the area. Just a few blocks north and a few months later, The New York Times covered Columbia University’s decision to build athletic facilities on what was known as the Dyckman tract at Broadway and 218th street. The article claimed the estimated costs for facilities along the Harlem Shipping Canal were $2,500,000, less than half the cost of the earlier proposal, facilities at 116th street and the Hudson River.40 Interestingly, the article aired the same day Mayor Hylan pitched at a Cuban Stars game at the Oval.
In reality, Hylan was a lesser celebrity at Dyckman. Joe Louis and Jesse Owens were reported guests at Dyckman. In a fight organized by Pompez, Puerto Rican boxer Sixto Escobar fought his first fight in the States at the stadium, losing his title of bantamweight champion in front of 10,000 fans. According to Philadelphia Stars outfielder Ted Paige, Fats Waller was a regular guest at the Oval, since he used to play at the nearby Lafayette Theater.41 Four years after renovating Dyckman, Pompez began promoting boxing at Rockland Palace on 155th street, as reported by the Chicago Defender. Commenting on his plans to bring in big name fighters, Pompez said “Such a card will cost us plenty but we figure on giving our fans what they want.”42
It was this mentality that made and eventually broke Pompez and Dyckman. Pompez was arguably the most important figure in the introduction of Latino baseball in America. As a biligual, bi-racial Cuban American he started by recruiting Cubans, but soon began importing talent from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela. For a large portion of his career he had a virtual monopoly on Latino baseball players entering the country. Although he was often frustrated by other Negro League teams stealing his well-scouted players, and even Major League ball clubs for the light-skinned Latinos, he is often credited for opening the floodgates of Latino talent in American baseball. When his Numbers operation was raided, he fled to Mexico and was only apprehended by the Mexican authorities after driving around in a bulletproof car with “Chicago” license plates.43 Choosing a plea bargain to avoid serving time, Dyckman was leveled, the Numbers game was fading, and the Negro League was standing on its last legs.
In 1947, the New York Cubans won their long overdue Negro League World series title. In the final stretches of the pennant run, the Cubans played against the Newark Eagles at the Polo Grounds. A cheer erupted from the crowd of 4,500, but it was not for the players on the field. The Dodgers and Cardinals were playing in St. Louis, and the game was being broadcast on the radio at the stadium: Jackie Robinson had just hit a game tying home run.44 Effa Manley later commented that when Jackie Robinson was signed, she and her husband realized that their Eagles would no longer be profitable.45
Perhaps it was an event at Dyckman 12 years earlier that most clearly foreshadowed the decline. Babe Ruth, in one of his last games, took the Ruth All Stars for a doubleheader to Dyckman. 5,000 to 10,000 fans showed up. The ticket prices were inexpensive, the crowd was diverse, and there were no politicians in the stands as Ruth’s team was outscored 21-6 in the two games. Joe Bostic wrote in the Amsterdam News, “the so-called semi pro and minor league white ball tossers have absolutely no business in the same town with the top flight Negro teams, to say nothing of in the same ball yard at the same time.”46 Although white sportswriters generally viewed the game as pathetic, to black spectators, it was as if Ruth had passed the torch to the Negro Leagues.
In the years that followed they reached their climax, and their successes led to their decline. Integration validated and destroyed Negro baseball. The Inner City ballparks would soon disappear and many of the best Negro League players faced early retirements. In New York, it was Alejandro Pompez, with all the bravado of a Numbers king and all the ethos of a tragic hero, who took the Cubans from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of black culture, only to rapidly fade into obscurity.
It was this mentality that made and eventually broke Pompez and Dyckman. Pompez was arguably the most important figure in the introduction of Latino baseball in America. As a biligual, bi-racial Cuban American he started by recruiting Cubans, but soon began importing talent from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela. For a large portion of his career he had a virtual monopoly on Latino baseball players entering the country. Although he was often frustrated by other Negro League teams stealing his well-scouted players, and even Major League ball clubs for the light-skinned Latinos, he is often credited for opening the floodgates of Latino talent in American baseball. When his Numbers operation was raided, he fled to Mexico and was only apprehended by the Mexican authorities after driving around in a bulletproof car with “Chicago” license plates.43 Choosing a plea bargain to avoid serving time, Dyckman was leveled, the Numbers game was fading, and the Negro League was standing on its last legs.
In 1947, the New York Cubans won their long overdue Negro League World series title. In the final stretches of the pennant run, the Cubans played against the Newark Eagles at the Polo Grounds. A cheer erupted from the crowd of 4,500, but it was not for the players on the field. The Dodgers and Cardinals were playing in St. Louis, and the game was being broadcast on the radio at the stadium: Jackie Robinson had just hit a game tying home run.44 Effa Manley later commented that when Jackie Robinson was signed, she and her husband realized that their Eagles would no longer be profitable.45
Perhaps it was an event at Dyckman 12 years earlier that most clearly foreshadowed the decline. Babe Ruth, in one of his last games, took the Ruth All Stars for a doubleheader to Dyckman. 5,000 to 10,000 fans showed up. The ticket prices were inexpensive, the crowd was diverse, and there were no politicians in the stands as Ruth’s team was outscored 21-6 in the two games. Joe Bostic wrote in the Amsterdam News, “the so-called semi pro and minor league white ball tossers have absolutely no business in the same town with the top flight Negro teams, to say nothing of in the same ball yard at the same time.”46 Although white sportswriters generally viewed the game as pathetic, to black spectators, it was as if Ruth had passed the torch to the Negro Leagues.
In the years that followed they reached their climax, and their successes led to their decline. Integration validated and destroyed Negro baseball. The Inner City ballparks would soon disappear and many of the best Negro League players faced early retirements. In New York, it was Alejandro Pompez, with all the bravado of a Numbers king and all the ethos of a tragic hero, who took the Cubans from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of black culture, only to rapidly fade into obscurity.