Puerto Rico’s All-Imports Caribbean Series Phase I “Dream Team,” 1949-1960

Puerto Rico (PR), Cuba, Panamá, and Venezuela participated in the first 12 Caribbean Series (CS) events, aka Phase I, 1949-1960. Cuba won seven: 1949, 1952, and 1956-1960; PR won four—1951 and 1953-1955; and Panamá won in 1950. Teams comprised Natives and Imports—Stateside players. Natives included Dominican-born players, U.S. Virgin Islanders (USVI), and Stateside-born players of PR descent. This particular All-Imports Dream Team is a 22-player roster, with half (11) comprising current or former Negro Leaguers. CS teams in Phase I had 20-22 players on their roster in a six-game, round-robin tournament. The 1951-1953-1955 Santurce Crabbers were the first team to win three CS tournaments.

This 22-player PR All-Import All-Star Team for 1949-1960 CS includes three players who pitched and played the field—Ellis “Cot” Deal (P-OF), Wilmer Fields (3B-P), and Alonzo Perry (1B-P). The other 19 include seven pitchers and 12 position players. This “Dream Team” comprises 15 position players and 10 hurlers. Criteria include a minimum of 17 plate appearances for hitters and 10.3 innings for pitchers.

Ten Pitchers

Three top starters are Bill Greason (2-0, 2.00 ERA), 1955 CS; Bobo Holloman (2-0, 2.25), 1953 CS; and Sam Jones (1-0, 0.82), 1955 CS, with Santurce. Caguas’s Jerry Nelson (1-1, 0.00) and LHP Taylor Phillips (1-0, 2.61 ERA) deserve fourth/fifth starter roles. The bullpen can be anchored by Ellis “Cot” Deal (2-1, 2.31) with San Juan (SJ) and Santurce, and Pete Wojey (1-2, 3.37), for Mayagüez and Santurce. Dan Bankhead (1-2, 5.06) is the all-time Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) leader in SO (555) per Jorge Colón Delgado. Bankhead, Wilmer Fields, and Alonzo Perry round out the 10-pitcher staff. (Fields and Perry were better known for their PRWL hitting, namely with the 1948-49 Mayagüez Indios.) Bankhead blanked Almendares, 1-0, in Caguas’s opener, February 21, 1950. Conrado “Connie” Marrero took the loss.

Greason was 46-31, 3.23 ERA in seven PRWL seasons, six with Santurce. Holloman went 15-5 for the 1952-53 Crabbers while Jones was 1954-55 PRWL MVP, winning the pitching Triple Crown: 14-4 W-L, 171 SO, and 1.77 ERA. Nelson (10 wins, 1.50 ERA) for 1957-58 Caguas, was a potent force with teammate Juan “Terín” Pizarro, Triple Crown pitcher at 14-5, 183 SO, and 1.32 ERA. Taylor Phillips was considered a better LHP than Caguas’s Sandy Koufax circa 1956-58 by the Criollos’ management. Cot Deal was aka “Mr. Refuerzo” by the SJ Senators faithful—he could pitch and play LF. His #8 was retired by SJ in 1952-53; he was the league MVP and received a 1953 DeSoto sedan in a special late-season ceremony.

Deal vividly recalled reinforcing Santurce in the 1953 CS, hosted by Havana, Cuba, February 20-25. On February 22, Santurce rallied in the ninth for a 6-5 win over the Havana Reds. Deal allowed a (top of the) ninth-inning run, and Havana led, 5-3, going into the “home” ninth. Mario Picone—fourth Lions hurler—retired the first two Crabbers. Then, Deal doubled. Canena Márquez’s single drove in Deal. Hits by Junior Gilliam and Vic Power scored Canena to tie it. Rubén Gómez—who entered the contest in the seventh, pinch-running for Willard Brown—came up. “The Cuban fans got all over him [Rubén] listed as a pitcher on our roster,” said Deal. “When Gómez drove in Gilliam with the winning run, they [the Cuban fans] got quiet all of a sudden.” Most of the 16,700 fans went home disappointed.

Sam Jones’ 11-inning CG win (4-2) over Venezuela’s Magallanes Navigators on February 12, 1955, was also special. It ended on a two-run walk-off HR by Willie Mays at 12:03 a.m. on February 13! Mays, in a 0-for-12 slump, until his 385-foot HR to left-center off Ramón Monzant, jumped into home plate after teammate Roberto Clemente scored ahead of him. Enriqueta Marcano Zorrilla, niece of Santurce team owner Pedrín Zorrilla, recalled that Venezuela’s fans did a “quiet sign” routine while Mays was in his slump. “When Mays stepped to the plate, you could hear a sh whisper throughout the stadium,” said Enriqueta. “That changed.” Tables IA and IB contain CS pitching stats for the 10 hurlers. Five of the 10—Bankhead, Fields, Greason, Jones, and Perry—pitched in the Negro Leagues.

Table IA: 1949-1960 PR Imports’ CS Dream Team, W-L, Minimum 10.1 IP

C=Caguas; M=Mayagüez; SJ=San Juan; S=Santurce. #Pitched for Panamá’s Carta Vieja Yankees, 1949 CS. ##Pitched for Carta Vieja, 1950 CS. ^Played for Caracas, 1952 CS. Source for Tables IA, IB, IIA, IIB: The Caribbean Series—Latin America’s Annual Baseball Tournament, 1949-2024, McFarland Publishers, by Tom Van Hyning. 

Table IB: 1949-1960 PR Imports’ CS Dream Team, SO-BB, ERA, WHIP

Catchers

Harry Chiti (5/15, .333 BA, one HR, four RBI) gets the nod at catcher. A minimum of 17 plate appearances (PA) was the criterion for line-up/reserves since most Imports (15/22, 68.2 percent) played in one CS for PR. Chiti replaced Valmy Thomas in Santurce’s line-up the last month of the 1954-55 season, and caught two-thirds of 1955 CS games. Mickey Owen, Caguas’s 1953-54 player-manager, caught five of six 1954 CS games for Caguas at Sixto Escobar Stadium. Brooks Lawrence and several other Caguas starters were somewhat more comfortable communicating with him, their player-manager, than with talented catcher Luis St. Claire, known as Güigüí Lucas, who “kept his wallet in his uniform back pocket since his money had been stolen before from clubhouses.”

Infield (IF)

Lou Limmer (1B), Junior Gilliam (2B), Wilmer Fields (3B), and Don Zimmer (SS) comprise the IF, with Alonzo Perry (1B), Buster Clarkson (3B), and Stan Bread (SS) in reserve. Limmer, a 1954 teammate of Vic Power with the 1954 Philadelphia A’s, and Vic’s 1955-56 Caguas teammate, had a superb 1956 CS in Panamá for the Criollos: .350 BA, three HR, eight RBI, and a .850 SLG as the All-Star 1B! He outperformed back-up Perry of 1949 Mayagüez—7/21, 0 HR and four RBI—and George Crowe (Caguas-Santurce), who did not make this Dream Team. (Limmer was suspended from winter ball, 1951-55, after leaving the 1950-51 Aguadilla Sharks baseball team post-“escaping from Aguadilla” in late December 1950.) He showed that a “fugitive” can return and contribute.

Gilliam was called the “Black Sea” for his solid play at second base for Santurce, 1950-53, playing for skippers George Scales and player-manager Buster Clarkson. “Junior” was terrific in the 1953 CS, going 12-for-22, a .545 BA, with seven runs, two HR, and a .909 SLG. He helped Santurce post a .367 team BA, .575 SLG, and score 50 runs. Gilliam’s performance was instrumental in his making the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers club out of spring training and starting a solid 14-year playing career with them. He would lead off for this CS Dream Team.

Wilmer Fields (3B) hit the first grand slam in CS history on February 23, 1949, for Mayagüez, versus Spur Cola of Panamá, to help the Indios win their only game in Havana. https://beisbol101.com/wilmer-fields-two-decades-of-baseball-brilliance-negro-leagues-and-caribbean-part-i/ Fields, a year later, hit a pinch-hit two-run, ninth-inning walk-off HR in Caguas’s 2-1 win. It came off Terris McDuffie, giving Luis “Tite” Arroyo the win. On February 24, 1950, Fields pitched a 6-1 CG win over Almendares. “When a player was named to an All-Star Team or picked to play in the CS, that gave him the ability to negotiate a better contract,” said Fields. “My ability to play 3B and pitch made me a valuable Import in PR, Venezuela, and elsewhere.”

Don Zimmer (SS) was the MVP of the 1955 CS in Caracas, with three HR, four RBI, .385 BA, and .808 SLG, key hits, and fine defense. Santurce owner Pedrín Zorrilla acquired Zimmer in late December 1954, after Mayagüez released him around Christmas time. “I was struggling with Mayagüez, and they let me go,” said Zimmer. “There was a rule that if I left PR, then any other club could bring me back to PR to play…went to Miami, and Herman Franks [Crabbers’ skipper] called me to play for Santurce, and I got on an airplane…” Santurce played better with Zimmer leading off, followed by Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. “We were the best Winter League Team ever assembled,” noted Zimmer. “I enjoyed playing with [2B] Ronnie Samford, a great OF, good starters.”

The IF reserves include 1B-P Alonzo “His Majesty” Perry, SS Stan Breard, and 3B-SS Buster Clarkson. Perry was a Mayagüez fan favorite in 1948-49, along with Fields, Johnny Davis, Luke Easter, and player-manager Artie Wilson. Breard, a native of Montreal, Canada, performed admirably for Luis R. Olmo, Caguas’s 1950-51 skipper, and for Santurce manager George Scales. 1951 CS (11-for-27, .407 BA). Clarkson was Santurce’s 1952-53 player-manager and productive 1953 CS hitter: 7/15, .467 BA, .600 SLG. He and Caguas player-manager Owen led PRWL teams to back-to-back CS crowns.

The OF

Willie Mays, Willard Brown, and Bob Thurman are a superb starting OF, hitting 2^nd-3^rd-4^th. Mays went 11-for-25 for 1955 Santurce in Caracas (.440 BA and .880 SLG) in being voted CF to the CS All-Star Team. He led the 1954-55 PRWL with a .395 BA for 47-25 Santurce, and scored 63 runs, second to Clemente’s 65. Mays’s 10 SB tied him with Zimmer for fourth-best in the PRWL. Brown holds the PRWL mark of 27 HR in 1947-48. (It was a 60-game season.) His four HR and 13 RBI in the 1953 CS earned him MVP laurels. Brown’s .350 PRWL lifetime BA, in 10 seasons, remains the top figure for at least 1,500 AB. Thurman’s 12-year PRWL career included 11 Santurce seasons, 120 career HR, and 566 RBI—best in loop history. His .364 BA in the 1951 CS featured two HR, seven RBI, and a .773 SLG. He went 9/19, .474 BA, .684 SLG for Santurce, 1953 CS.  

Jackie Brandt, Santurce’s All-Star CF in the 1959 CS in Caracas, is the fourth OF, who could also play LF and RF. He finished second (.349 BA) to teammate Orlando Cepeda (.362 BA) in the 1958-59 batting chase. Brandt lived in the Carmen Apartments, catty corner from Sixto Escobar Stadium. He had meals, went to the racetrack with Santurce GM Pedrín Zorrilla, and played golf at Dorado, where he met Chichi Rodríguez. Cot Deal is an OF reserve.  

Designated Hitter (DH) Slot

Luke Easter—a “perfect DH—is slotted in at DH. He played left field and 1B for 1948-49 Mayagüez, winning the batting title (.402) and going 100/249. His 14 HR were third-best behind co-leaders Willard Brown and Thurman. Easter’s 80 RBI only trailed 88 by teammate Fields. The 81 runs by Easter topped Alonzo Perry’s 76, Artie Wilson’s 69, Aguadilla’s Canena Márquez (65), and Carlos Bernier’s 64. Easter went 10-for-25 in the 1949 CS, a .400 BA, after helping the Indios defeat Santurce, four games to two, in the 1948-49 PRWL finals. Cuban sportswriter Eladio Secades called Easter “the team’s [Mayagüez] best hitter, and most spectacular one we have seen since the days of Josh Gibson.” https://beisbol101.com/luke-easter-larger-than-life-figure-caribbean-minors-and-american-league-part-i/.

Gilliam, Mays, Thurman, Brown, Easter, and Fields are six Negro Leaguers in the starting lineup. Clarkson and Perry are two reserve Negro Leaguers. Tables IIA and IIB include the starting line-up and reserves. They posted a collective .345 BA and .577 SLG.

Table IIA: 1949-1960 PR Imports’ CS Dream Team Line-Up, 17+ PA

^Played for Valencia (Venezuela), 1958 CS.

Table IIB: 1949-1960 PR Imports’ CS Dream Team Line-Up (continued)

Post-Script: 1953 Caribbean Series, Havana, Cuba, February 20-25, 1953

Rubén Gómez told the author [1992] that his February 22, 1953, game-winning hit versus Havana was his most special memory in 28 seasons wearing the Santurce uniform. “Nothing can top that one,” said Gómez. “It was the only time a [professional] team from PR won the CS in Cuba.” More details on 1949-1960 CS events can be accessed via the author’s 1949-2024 CS book  (Amazon) at https://www.amazon.com/Caribbean-Americas-Baseball-Tournament-1949-2024/dp/1476693919.

Thanks to Jackie Brandt, Cot Deal, Wilmer Fields, Rubén Gómez, Lou Limmer, Enriqueta Marcano Zorrilla, Mickey Owen, and Don Zimmer. Jorge Colón Delgado did the editing and photo placements.

Tom Van Hyning

Tom Van Hyning se crió en Santurce, Puerto Rico. Su familia se mudó a esta preciosa Isla cuando tenía dos años. Tom es el autor de tres libros: “Puerto Rico’s Winter League”, “The Santurce Crabbers” y “The Caribbean Series: Latin America’s Annual Baseball Tournament 1949-2024, que fue publicado en 2025. Laboró como Economista de Turismo en el estado de Mississippi y es miembro de SABR, Capítulo Cool Papa Bell en Mississippi. Sus artículos han sido publicados por SABR en la revista National Pastime y Baseball Research Journal. Igualmente escribe para las páginas web negroleaguerspuertorico.com y safabpp.com.