Francisco Coimbre

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Francisco Coimbre

Personal Info
Birth	February 17, 1909, Coamo, Puerto Rico
Death:	November 4, 1989, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Professional Career
Debut	1920, Leones de Ponce vs. San Juan Athletics,
Team(s)	Leones de Ponce, Ponce-Kofresí, Puerto Rican Stars, New York Cubans, Pastora, Concordia, Santa Marta,
Career Highlights
Negro league baseball All-Star player (1941, 1943)

Francisco Coimbre (February 17, 1909 – November 4, 1989), more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was born in the municipality of Coamo, but moved to Ponce early in his life. Here he began having participation in athletics and baseball. Coimbre played thirteen seasons in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR), with the Leones de Ponce. During his participation the team won five league championships. He finished his career with an average of .337, and had an average of 2.2 strikeouts per season, this includes four consecutive seasons (1939-1942) without scoring strikeouts. Coimbre also won two LBPPR batting titles and the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1943.

After completing his first professional season in Puerto Rico he traveled to New York, where he joined a team named the Puerto Rican Stars. While playing with the team he was contracted by the New York Cubans, where he played several seasons. When he was active in the league Coimbre's batting average remained over the .300 mark, including two seasons where he batted over .400. While playing in the Negro leagues he was selected to play in the league's East-West All-Star games twice, where he played with several players that were subsequently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He also played with teams established in Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Following his retirement Coimbre worked as a coach and manager of teams in both the professional and amateur leagues of Puerto Rico. Coimbre died on a house fire when he was eighty years old, after being unable to escape the building.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Baseball career 2.1 Formation of the LBPPR and participation in Negro league baseball 3 Retirement and death 4 References

[edit] Early life

Francisco Coimbre was born in Coamo, Puerto Rico to Guillermo Coimbre and Zoila Atiles. Following his birth, he was listed as a resident of Arroyo, Puerto Rico, following a common practice at the time.^[1] Cimbre began practicing baseball on 1922, when he was 13 years old. On this year he moved to Ponce, Puerto Rico along his mother, in order to live closer to his sister, Angela Coimbre. There he enrolled in a local school, and began receiving training by Miguel Caratini and Antonio Gordan, two hall of famers in the local league.^[2]

His first accomplishments in sports where in athleticism, where he competed in the 50 yard dash, eventually developing his skills on other aspects of the sport. He continued practicing this sport, and while coursing high school he was transferred to an institution in Caguas, Puerto Rico, but when he tried to participate in an athletic competition he was denied permission because he was classified in a different division on the records of Puerto Rico's Instruction Department.^[3]

This led to a court case which marked the first time that a court hearing was scheduled to attend a sports case.^[4] He subsequently transferee to Ponce High School, where the Instruction Department tried to have him removed of the athleticism team based on allegations that he had received payment while being a student athlete.^[5] The hearing took place and judge Roberto Tood Jr. determined that the evidence against Coimbre was insufficient.

[edit] Baseball career

On high school Coimbre used to play in a scholar league where he was a pitcher and second base player. His incursion in organized baseball came when he was recommended by a member of the Leones de Ponce, the local team of the Puerto Rican amateur league to play in a series against the San Juan Athletics. At the moment the team needed additional players and he was selected by the team's owner, Pipo Maldonado. He debuted in a game that took place on Ponce, where he played in the right field and batted four hits in five at-bats.^[6] He continued in the team and on 1920 participate in a championship series between his team and Guayama, where Ponce won on six games. In the last game of this series Coimbre pitched and won with a final score of 5-3, in a game where the team almost lost following an error.^[7]

Coimbre's first performance outside Puerto Rico was in the Dominican Republic where he played with a team named Sandino in Santiago de los Caballeros in 1927. He was accompanied by several Puerto Rican players during this stay. On 1929 he worked for Magallanes a team in Venezuela where he played as a pitcher and outfielder, where he worked with four players that had worked in the Puerto Rican league before establishing homes in Caracas.^[8] After recording a solid performance in the 1930 season of the amateur league, he was recruited by Licey to play in the Dominican Republic, which was coached by Charles Dore. Following this season he continued alternating between both leagues, playing with Santo Domingo in 1931.

On 1932 the Puerto Rican league recessed and Coimbre had to work as a security guard in a penal institution, only playing with a semi-professional team.^[9] Shortly after working in this he was offered a contract to play in La Guaira, with Santa Marta. The season concluded with Buchipluma, a second team owned by Santa Marta's proprietor winning the league's championship. Following his participation with La Guaira he continued performing in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. While playing with Licey, the team developed a rivalry with El Escogido, which gave Coimbre a chance to know several players, from both countries. During this time the team continued to be coached by Dore, and included several known Dominican players.^[10] The team would win the league's championship once, but Coimbre decided not to assist to the ceremony where the trophy was awarded choosing to stay in his hotel room instead. There Dore took the cup so Coimbre could have it in his possession some days, but he rejected this and suggested that it was filled with money for a donation.^[11]

On 1935 he moved to Maracaibo where he played for Pastora, which played in Zulia's Stadium. The team reached the league's final but lost the series to Magallanes. Prior to this series the team had to travel to Caimbas, an oiler city where the games where scheduled. The usual way of traveling there was via boat, but following Coimbre's advice the team was transported there on airplane. After the season was over he moved to La Victoria, Aragua, where one of his friends resided in a hacienda. He continued playing in there, on a series that served to determine the final roster of Concordia, a team that was going to travel to Puerto Rico that year. Coimbre participated in the series but chose to play with Ponce instead of Concordia.^[12] In 1937 he returned to the Dominican Republic, and was part of what he describes as the "most powerful team in his memory", where the team won the league's championship.^[13]

[edit] Formation of the LBPPR and participation in Negro league baseball

Later that year when he returned to Puerto Rico he discovered that the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR) was being organized. When the league was organized they elected Teófilo Maldonado, a press writer as their president. Coimbre joined the Ponce-Kofresí, that represented Ponce. The team's roster included several players that were known by the local fanbase, was coached by Isidro Fabré and owned by Juan Luis Boscio.^[14] After the season's conclusion Coimbre traveled to New York for the first time in his life, after being invited by a close friend. Coimbre's original intention was to visit his sister, he lived as a guest in her house while in the city. In New York he met Santiago Bartolomei who was the owner of a team named "Puerto Rican Stars". Bartolomei visited Coimbre along a group of players and offered him a contract to play with the team. He accepted and joined a team that included players from Puerto Rico and Cuba.^[15]

While he played for the Puerto Rican Stars Alejandro Pompéz called him, at the moment he was the owner of the New York Cubans and made him an offer to play with the team. Pompéz became interested in Coimbre after hearing several reviews of his work, but he was skeptical of these claims, so he was hesitant to contract him and didn't do so until a group of players recommended him.^[15] He debuted in a game against a team named Buschwick, in a game that took place in Brooklyn, New York. In his first two games with the team he connected four hits, three singles and a double. Following this performance Pompéz informed him that he was going to stay with the team.^[15] After the season concluded he was instantly offered a second contract with the Cubans, which by this time where playing in the National League of the Negro League.^[15] He also participated with Ponce in the 1940-41 season of the winter league, he concluded the season with an average of .401, and did not record a strike out.^[15] During his second season with the Cubans he had an average of .409, and was included in the league's All-Star Game for the first time in his career.^[16]

Following this he returned to Puerto Rico and had an average of .372 with his team. This season marked the first time that Ponce won the LBPPR championship. The next season Coimbre won his first batting championship in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, finishing with an average of .342 after he connected a hit in twenty-two consecutive games.^[17] In 1943 he had his best season in the Negro leagues and in the United States, when he was selected to the East's All-Star team for a second occasion and had an average of .428, the highest one on his career with the Cubans. On this year Coimbre received a homage in the Yankee Stadium, where hundreds of Puerto Ricans reunited and awarded him a scroll and a ring recognizing his performance.^[18] The same year he led the LBPPR in runs batted in, scoring twenty-seven. He was subsequently invited to play in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol for the first time in his career, where he joined Puebla. He began the season experiencing problems adapting to Mexico's climate, his average improved over the course of the season, eventually finishing as one of the league's leaders. Coimbre experienced a similar pattern in the 1944-1945 LBPPR season, where he was unable to score a hit in the first games but finished winning his second batting championship.^[19] On this year he also joined a team named El Torices, which was organized in Barranquilla, Colombia.

His participation with the team mostly consisted of managing work since he was unable to play due to a previous injury. This time of inactivity also included Administration of Parks and Recreation. Another injury product of an accidental pitch ended Coimbre's participation in the 1946 LBPPR season, the injury's treatment required hospitalization and recovery treatment.^[20] After recovering from the injury he traveled to New York in 1948, originally with the intention of joining the Baltimore Elite Giants or the New York Black Yankees. During this visit he was contacted by Chebrook, a team of the Canadian league to play in the right field position.

Coimbre wasn't able to play in his full capacity because he still experienced problems with the injury on his knee. He ended the season batting an average of .316, in a season where the team won the league's championship.^[21] Coimbre spent the 1948-1951 working as a designated hitter in the LBPPR. His final season in the league was in 1952, when he was reassigned to play in the right field and was the fourth player in the batting lineup. His last game was against the Cangrejeros de Santurce, where a wild pitch re-injured the knee that was injured several seasons before, prompting Coimbre's decision to retire as an active player.^[22]

[edit] Retirement and death

Following his retirement Coimbre began working as the coach of the Leones, he attended two Caribbean Series with the team. He also worked as the manager of a team named Caguas-Guayama, which was established in Panama. He was employed after receiving an invitation from the team's owner. Coimbre also had administrative participation with the Indios de Mayagüez, when the team traveled to play in Havana, Cuba.^[23] He subsequently decided to work as a coach in the amateur league, while continuing his participation with the professional Ponce team. There he began coaching a team that represented Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico.

Upon joining the team Coimbre began promoting an ideology that focused in the performance of the team, instead of the success of individual players. He won a national championship with the team, but decided to leave it and work with the Cachorros de Ponce, where he won another championship.^[24] During this time he also worked as a talent scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates, after the team hired him to do this work.^[25] As a scout he was directly responsible for Pittsburgh hiring of Roberto Clemente, when he urged the Pirates to draft him in the first draw of the Major League Baseball Draft, even if Clemente was under a minor league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.^[25]

Coimbre died on November 4, 1989, when he was trapped in a house fire. The fire originated in the house's kitchen while he was cooking and it consumed the wood that composed it. When Coimbre tried to escape he was unable to open the front door, because he had locked it with a padlock.^[26]

[edit] References