Estadio Cerveza Caracas de San Agustín Estadio Olímpico de Maracaibo
Dates
November 24, 1945 – January 1, 1946
Teams
4
The Serie Monumental (English: Monumental Series) was an international club baseball tournament held in Venezuela in late 1945–46. It saw a team of all-stars from the American Negro leagues play their opposites in the Venezuelan League. The series, played only once, was the immediate precursor to the 1946–50 Interamerican Series (and is sometimes considered the first of those contests), and by extension, to the modern Caribbean Series.
Although the Major League Baseballcolor barrier had not yet been broken in 1945, the Negro league all-stars (dubbed the Estrellas Negras) included several future Hall of Famers, including Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella. The Americans first played several exhibition games in Caracas against the Cerveceria Caracas club (calling themselves the Criollo All-Stars), which included active major-leaguer Alex Carrasquel; and another team (the "Caribbean All-Stars", with an international roster).[1] The North American team finished with a 7–2 record, with Cerveceria/Criollos at 3–4–1 and the Caribbean All-Stars at 2–5–1.[2] The Negro leaguers then traveled to Maracaibo to play an all-star team from Zulia State, headlined by Luis Aparicio Sr.[1]
The Zulia All-Stars were composed of Zulia-born players from both of the other Venezuelan teams, with the notable addition of Luis Aparicio Sr. The Zulia team also included Americans Bill Jefferson and Marvin Williams, who had traveled with the Negro All-Stars and played with the Caribbean team, and Panamanian Frank Austin.[7]
References
^ abcGonzález and Ruiz, Campos de Gloria, p. 389—91
