Pancho Coimbre - Knowledge

359: 430:, with the Santa Marta club. The season concluded with Buchipluma, a second team owned by Santa Marta's proprietor, winning the league's championship. Following his time with Santa Marta, he continued playing, both in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. While playing with Licey, the team developed a rivalry with El Escogido, which gave Coimbre an opportunity to establish relationships with several players, from both countries. During this period Licey continued to be coached by Dore, and included several well known Dominican players. The team won the league's championship, but Coimbre decided not to attend the award ceremony, choosing to stay in his hotel room instead. Dore took the trophy to Coimbre so that he could enjoy it for a while, but he rejected this and suggested that it be filled with money for a donation. 469: 655: 66: 516:(Mexican Baseball League) for the first time in his career, and joined the Puebla club. Coimbre had problems adapting to Mexico's climate at first; however, his average improved over the course of the season and Coimbre finished among the league's leaders. Coimbre experienced a similar pattern in the 1944–1945 LBPPR season, where he was unable to record a hit in the first games, but finished with his second batting championship. 683: 669: 460:(LBPPR) was being organized. The LBPPR elected Teófilo Maldonado, a press writer, as their president. Coimbre joined the Ponce-Kofresí team, which represented Ponce. The team was coached by Isidro Fabré and owned by Juan Luis Boscio, and the team's roster included several players known by the local fanbase, After the season's conclusion, Coimbre traveled to 446:. There he played in a series to determine the final roster of Concordia, a team that was going to travel to Puerto Rico. Coimbre participated in the series, but choose to play with Ponce instead of Concordia. In 1937, he returned to the Dominican Republic and his team won the league's championship; he described it as the "most powerful team in his memory". 464:

for the first time in his life, after being invited by a close friend. Coimbre's original intention was to visit his sister, with whom he lived while in the city. In New York, he met Santiago Bartolomei who owned the Puerto Rico Stars (also known as "Puerto Rican Stars"). Bartolomei met with Coimbre

619:

Coimbre died on 4 November 1989, when he was trapped in a house fire. The fire originated in the house's kitchen while he was cooking, consuming the structure's wooden frame. When Coimbre tried to escape he was unable to open the front door, because he had locked it with a padlock. He was buried at

503:

Following this success, he returned to Puerto Rico and had a batting average of .372 for Ponce as they won their first LBPPR championship. The next season Coimbre won his first batting championship in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, finishing at .342 after connecting for base hits in

286:

while playing with the Porto Rico Stars. He joined the NY Cubans and played several seasons for them. Coimbre's batting average remained over the .300 mark, including two seasons in which he batted over .400. While playing in the Negro leagues he was selected to play in the league's East–West

547:

Coimbre was not able to play in his full capacity, due on ongoing problems from his knee injury. He ended the season with a .316 average, as Chebrook won the league's championship. Coimbre spent the 1948–1951 seasons as a designated hitter in the LBPPR. His final season in the league was in

437:

where he played for Pastora, in Zulia's Stadium. The team reached the league's final series but lost to Magallanes. Prior to this series, the team had to travel to Caimbas, an industrial city where the games were scheduled. The usual mode of travel was by boat, but following Coimbre's advice, the

591:

Coimbre began promoting an idea that focused in the performance of the team, instead of the success of individual players. In his first day as an amateur coach, Coimbre summoned the players to a conference, where he noted that if all of them felt like "stars" and played for statistics their

382:

to team officials. Leones de Ponce, the local team of the Puerto Rican amateur league, was about to play a series against the San Juan Athletics. Leones de Ponce needed additional players, and Coimbre was selected by team owner Pipo Maldonado. He debuted in a game at Ponce, starting as the

350:, where the Instruction Department tried to have him removed of the athleticism team based on allegations that he had received payment as a student-athlete. Judge Roberto Tood Jr. determined that the evidence against Coimbre was insufficient during the hearing and the case was dropped. 395:. Coimbre remained with the team and in 1928 participated in a championship series against Guayama, which Ponce won in six games. In the last game of the series, Coimbre pitched and won with a final score of 5–3, in a game which the team almost lost following an 488:. In his first two games, Coimbre connected for four hits, three singles and a double. Following this performance Pompéz informed him that he had made the team. After the season concluded he was instantly offered a second contract with the Cubans, now playing in the 535:

games organized by local businessmen. A knee injury from an accidental pitch ended Coimbre's 1946 LBPPR season; the injury required hospitalization and recovery treatment. After recovering, Coimbre traveled to New York in 1948, seeking a contract from the

484:. Pompéz became interested in Coimbre after hearing several reviews of his work, but he was initially skeptical of these claims and was hesitant to offer a contract until a group of players recommended Coimbre. He debuted in a game against Buschwick in 504:

22 consecutive games. In 1943, he had his best season in the U.S. Negro leagues and was selected to the East's All-Star team for a second time. He finished with a .428 average, the highest with the Cubans. Coimbre received a tribute at

339:, where he competed in the 50-yard dash, eventually developing his skills in other aspects of the sport. He continued practicing this sport while attending high school. Later he was transferred to another educational institution in 425:

After the Puerto Rican league season came to an end in 1932, Coimbre went to work as a security guard in a penal institution and only played with a semi-professional team. Shortly after, he was offered a contract to play in

531:. His participation with the team mostly consisted of managing work since he was unable to play, due to a previous injury. During his time of inactivity, he worked in the Administration of Parks and Recreation, supervising 331:

along his mother, in order to live closer to his sister, Angela Coimbre. There he began playing baseball under the training and supervision of Miguel Caratini and Antonio Gordan, two hall of famers in the local league.

749: 307:. Following his retirement, Coimbre worked as a coach and manager of teams in both the professional and amateur leagues of Puerto Rico. Coimbre, who was eighty years old, died due to a fire at his home. 636: 363: 343:, 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. 271:

per season, this included four consecutive seasons from 1939 to 1942, without any strikeouts. Coimbre also won two LBPPR batting titles and the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1943.

422:

team to play in the Dominican Republic; the Tigres were coached by Charles Dore. Following that season, he continued alternating between both leagues, playing with Santo Domingo in 1931.

584:. He subsequently decided to work as a coach in the amateur league, while continuing his participation with the professional Ponce team and began coaching a team that represented 643:

in Ponce is named "Francisco "Pancho" Coímbre". The town of Coamo also honored Coimbre by naming a sports complex "Complejo Deportivo Francisco Pancho Coimbre Park" after him.

566:, a tournament where the champions of each Caribbean league participate. He received an invitation from the team owner of the Caguas-Guayama team, which was established in 346:

This event led to a court case which marked the first time in Puerto Rico that a court hearing was scheduled for a case involving sports. He subsequently transferred to

410:

in 1927. He was accompanied by several Puerto Rican players during this stay. In 1929, he played in Venezuela for the "Magallanes", with appearances as a pitcher and

465:

and fellow players, and he offered Coimbre a contract to play with the team. He accepted and joined the team, which included players from Puerto Rico and Cuba.

562:

Following his retirement Coimbre began working as the coach of the Leones de Ponce, leading the team to two championships as well as extending his work to the

631:". The museum, which contains a large collection of sports memorabilia, is located on the Calle (Street) Lolita Tizol. Also, in Ponce, he is honored at the 1144: 1121: 1291: 418:, had played with him in the Puerto Rican league. After a solid performance in the 1930 season of the amateur league, Coimbre was recruited by the 1266: 500:. During his second season with the Cubans Coimbre had an average of .409, and was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career. 754:

José "Pepén" Fernández Colón. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 1 February 2012. Year 30, Issue 1470. p. 54. Retrieved 1 February 2012.

508:, where hundreds of Puerto Ricans reunited and awarded him a scroll and a ring recognizing his performance. Coimbre also led the LBPPR in 1094: 267:. During this period the team won five league championships. He finished his career with an average of .337, and had an average of 2.2 258: 731: : In those days the American government had changed the name of Puerto Rico to Porto Rico, pursuant to the Act of 17 May 1932. 1276: 632: 1281: 358: 1184: 701: 592:

collective performance would suffer. He won a national championship with the team, but decided to leave it and work with the

489: 278:, after completing his first professional season in Puerto Rico, where he joined the Porto Rico Stars baseball team of the 1215: 17: 1198: 1286: 288: 1148: 628: 706: 549: 605: 456: 1235: 493: 407: 263: 150: 132: 585: 1271: 621: 472:

Early poster announcing a baseball game between the San Juan BBC and the Porto Rico Stars in New York

287:

All-Star games twice, where he played with several players who in the future would be elected to the

1239: 513: 253:

early in his life. It was in Ponce where he would begin to actively participate in sports, both in

544:. During this visit he was contacted by Chebrook in the Canadian league, to play in right field. 596:, where he won another championship. During this time he also worked as a talent scout with the 548:

1952, playing right field and batting fourth in the lineup. Coimbre's last game was against the

492:. He also played with Ponce during the 1940–1941 season of the winter league, recording a 1231: 541: 537: 1210:"Using American Law Books"; By Alfred J. Lewis; p. 89; Published 1990 Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co.; 696: 1098: 572: 1261: 1256: 323:, to Guillermo Coimbre and Zoila Atiles. Upon his birth, he was inscribed as a resident of 219: 1145:"Artículos Publicados: Final de la serie del Caribe 2007 Puerto Rico - III Parte (ultima)" 8: 439: 340: 324: 238: 554:, where a wild pitch re-injured his knee, prompting his decision to retire as a player. 327:

in his birth certificate, following a common practice at the time. In 1922, he moved to

660: 597: 485: 403: 328: 316: 300: 250: 246: 171: 101: 85: 1211: 347: 449: 674: 613: 601: 563: 419: 396: 254: 167: 688: 627:

The City of Ponce honored the memory of Coímbre by naming its sports museum the "

481: 336: 283: 191: 570:, to work as the team manager. Coimbre also worked in the administration of the 1189:

El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.

505: 388: 375: 468: 65: 1250: 509: 461: 384: 279: 275: 609: 524: 195: 185: 33: 1169: 965:

Cruz Roque-Vicens. "Gana campeonato de bateo 22 juegos bateando de Hit".

477: 454:

Later in 1937, when he returned to Puerto Rico, Coimbre learned that the

320: 161: 154: 411: 497: 434: 427: 296: 268: 178: 532: 528: 443: 292: 242: 604:, when he urged the Pirates to draft him in the first draw of the 233:(29 January 1909 – 4 November 1989), more commonly known as 450:

Formation of the LBPPR and participation in Negro league baseball

415: 371: 37: 1078: