Joe Cambria

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Joe Cambria
Born
Carlo Cambria

(1890-07-05)July 5, 1890
Messina, Italy
DiedSeptember 24, 1962(1962-09-24) (aged 72)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
NationalityAmerican
Other namesJoseph Carl Cambria
Occupation(s)Baseball scout
Executive in Minor League Baseball
Executive in Negro league baseball
Minor League Baseball outfielder

Joseph Carl Cambria, also known as "Papa Joe," (born Carlo Cambria; July 5, 1890 – September 24, 1962) was an American professional

Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins.[1] Cambria was described as "the first of many scouts who searched Latin America for inexpensive recruits for their respective ball clubs."[2]

Early life

Cambria was born in

Berlin Green Sox of the Canadian League in 1911–12. His career as a baseball player ended after he broke his leg, and he returned to Massachusetts, worked in Boston and Lowell, and married Charlotte Kane. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1916 and served in the military during World War I.[1][3]

Baltimore

After his military service, Cambria moved to

Central League, after which he sold the team.[1][4]

In 1932, Cambria became co-owner (with George Rossiter) and

Ben Taylor headed the Baltimore Stars, and J. B. Hairstone headed an independent team called the "Black Sox" that obtained an injunction forcing Cambria to temporarily rename his team as the "Sox."[7] In 1934, Cambria applied to reenter the Negro National League, but when several star players announced they would leave the team his application was rejected, and he disbanded the team.[1]

In 1933, Cambria purchased the

New York Giants, who moved the franchise to Jersey City, New Jersey.[1]

From 1937 through 1940, Cambria also owned the

National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, but to no avail. But the team continued to play very well and eventually retook the lead, going 59–11 over the remainder of the season. The best pitcher, Joe Kohlman, pitched a no-hitter to clinch the pennant and a second no-hitter two weeks later to win the deciding game of the league playoffs.[8]

Cambria invested in other minor league teams. In 1935 he bought the

South Atlantic League, and in 1940 he owned the Newport Canners of the Appalachian League. After the 1940 season, Landis ruled that a major league scout could not own a minor league team, so Cambria sold his minor league interests to work as a full-time scout for the Washington Senators.[1]

Cuba

Cambria made his first trip to Cuba in the spring of 1936 and signed nine Cuban players for the Albany Senators.[9] After the early 1940s, Cambria usually resided in Havana most of the year. He signed many other Cuban players who eventually made it to the major leagues, including Sandy Consuegra, Bobby Estalella, Willy Miranda, Mike Fornieles, Connie Marrero, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual, Pedro Ramos, and Zoilo Versalles.[1] He also signed players from other Latin American countries, including Alex Carrasquel, the first player from Venezuela.[1] Cambria developed a system of "bird dog" scouts, including Merito Acosta, who would scout the provinces for young baseball players who had not yet made their way to Havana. He also invested in the neighborhood around Gran Stadium, buying bars, rental properties, and a small restaurant behind the center-field scoreboard.[10]

In 1946, Cambria was one of three investors who owned the

Havana Cubans, a franchise in the new minor league Florida International League. Griffith soon purchased a 50-percent interest and turned the Cubans into a Senators farm team. The attendance during the team's first season, 197,389, was nearly double the old attendance record for a Class C minor league team. During each of its first five seasons, the team had the best record in the Florida International League, though it won the playoffs only twice, in 1947 and 1948.[11]

When the Senators relocated to Minnesota in 1961 and became the Minnesota Twins, Cambria remained with the team. In March 1962, Cambria became very ill and was flown from Havana to Minneapolis for treatment. He died at St. Barnabas Hospital in Minneapolis on September 24, 1962.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j McKenna, Brian. "Joe Cambria". SABR BioProject. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  2. ^ Regaldo, Samuel O. (2000). ""Latin Players on the Cheap:" Professional Baseball Recruitment in Latin America and the Neocolonialist Tradition". Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 8 (1): 9. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  3. ^ "Joe Cambria Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  4. ^ "Future of Middle Atlantic in Youngstown not Rosy". Daily News-Dispatch. Jeannette, Pennsylvania. July 17, 1931. p. 4. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  5. ^ Gibson, Bill (June 4, 1932). "Hear Me Talkin' to Ya". The Afro-American. p. 14. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  6. ^ "East-West League Moguls Abandon Hope of Survival: Players' Salaries Stop; Use Co-Plan". The Afro-American. July 2, 1932. p. 15. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  7. ^ "New Pro Ball Club Looms: Ben Taylor Heads New Baltimore Ball Club". The Afro-American. March 4, 1933. p. 17. Retrieved February 24, 2013. "Seek to Enjoin Team from Use of "Black Sox"". The Afro-American. May 27, 1933. p. 16. Gibson, Bill (June 17, 1933). "Hear Me Talkin' to Ya". The Afro-American. p. 17.
  8. ^ James 2001, pp. 162–165.
  9. ^ Figueredo 2003, p. 206.
  10. ^ González Echevarría 1999, pp. 58, 268–270.
  11. ^ Figueredo 2003, pp. 269–270, 289, 304–305, 318–319, 334–335.

References

External links
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