Cuban Baseball Biographies

This article was written by Darren Gibson

(José Ramírez Contributor)

 

Cuban outfielder Carlos Paula parlayed an all-star tour in the United States into a full-time minor-league role in the early 1950s. With his chiseled frame and stylish flair, he became the man who integrated the Washington Senators on September 6, 1954, making the Senators the 12th of the original 16 major-league teams to do so. However — dogged by perceptions of suspect fielding — Paula never fulfilled his promise. Eventually he was jailed by revolutionary forces back in his homeland but returned to live a largely anonymous life in the States.

Carlos Paula Conill was born on November 28, 1927, in La Habana, Cuba.1 He had four brothers and three sisters.2 However, much about this man’s origins — including the names and occupations of his parents — remains cloaked in mystery.

An early writeup on Paula stated that he quit school after the seventh grade to wait tables, dig ditches, and even work as a prizefighter.3 Paula later married, and welcomed two boys: Carlos Jr., born in 1949, and José, born in 1951.4 The name of his wife and their wedding date have also not yet surfaced.

In 1950, Carlos joined the Havana Cuban Stars in an American barnstorming tour. In late June, the Stars, coming off “their best winter season in history in Cuba,” faced the New York Black Yankees, managed by Marvin Barker.5 They later battled the Omaha Rockets, a minor-league affiliate of the Negro League Kansas City Monarchs,6 managed by James “Cool Papa” Bell.

The next year, in May, the Cuban Stars returned under a travel immigration quota. Sponsored by Jerome W. “Red” Brummer of Woodbine, Iowa,7 the team had faced the Cubans the prior fall.8 Paula belted a home run in support of the battery of white Cubans Luis Puga and Alberto Mieres in a June victory over a South Dakota team.9 In June, the “Pepper Pots from the Caribbean” defeated Holdrege of the Nebraska Independent League, thanks to two hits and a running catch in deep left field from Paula.10 Carlos went three-for-five with a double in a July loss to Kearney, Nebraska.11 Later in the month, the left fielder hit for the cycle in a victory over the Waukon (Iowa) Veterans club.12 He then collected all six of his team’s RBIs in a 12-inning win versus Brookings, South Dakota. As of September, the Cubans boasted a season record of 69-19.13 They walloped the House of David 15-0, with the local press referring to Carlos as “Charlie.”14

New York Yankees scout Joe McDermott was interested in signing Paula (and two of his teammates) and sending them to the Duluth (Minnesota) Dukes of the Class D Northern League. However, as announced by Brummer, the promotor and sponsor, immigration rules prohibited the players from signing until they had first returned to Havana in the fall.15 Brummer claimed that Paula hit 34 home runs in 128 games over two years for the Cuban squad.16

Heading into 1952, it was reported in March that Paula and three Cuban Stars teammates had all signed with Duluth.17 However, by late April, “Charlie Paul” had signed with the Decatur (Illinois) Commodores of the Class D Mississippi-Ohio Valley League.18 Manager and fellow Cuban Julio Acosta was “quite enthused” about “Paul (sic), the 6 foot, 4 inch (actually 6-foot-3) Negro from Cuba, the first to belt one over the center field wall.”19 Paula was the Opening Day left fielder and cleanup hitter for the “Commies,” who won the league championship. Paula hit .334, led the team with 152 hits, and led the entire league with 16 triples.

In the winter of 1952-53, Paula first played for the Almendares Scorpions of the Cuban League, a team for which he would play for nine straight seasons.20 To kick off Paula’s 1953 minor-league season in the United States, he was promoted to the Paris (Texas) Indians of the Class B Big State League. However, Paris owner Arturo Gonzélez cut payroll by returning Paula to Decatur in August. The move helped Decatur with their pennant chase.21

At the turn of 1954, Paula, the “cocky Cuban-Negro,” was sold to the Washington Senators, netting Paris owner Gonzalez, who still retained his rights, $1,500.22 Paula was signed by the team’s longtime super scout in Cuba “Papa” Joe Cambria, who provided the Senators a rich pipeline of talent from the island. 23 Cambria touted Paula as “a player who can do everything well enough to be in the majors.” 24 This raised the total “to four Negroes who will be in the Orlando (Florida) training camp,” following outfielder Angel Scull, first baseman Julio Becquer, and shortstop Juan Delis.25 Cuban pitchers Connie Marrero, age 43, and rookie Camilo Pascual were also with the Senators. Washington had been importing Latino players for decades, some who possessed “skin as dark as many Negro League players.”26

During the Senators’ spring training, Paula and Scull were being thought of as the best bets to be “the first Negro players to crack the roster,” with Scull having the inside track.27 Scull stood just 5-foot-6, in contrast to Paula, who at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, was “built like a blacksmith”28 and “a railroad section hand.”29 Sportswriter Shirley Povich, contributing to The Sporting News, wrote that Paula “has the build and face of an old heavyweight of the trail-horse type,” but also that “he speaks better English than most of the Cubans.”30 Paula became “the first Negro ever to crash a Washington lineup on March 8 when he pinch-hit, fouling out to opposing catcher Earl Battey with the bases loaded.”31 Carlos was soon labeled potentially as the “Senators’ best rookie in years.”32 Paula’s third exhibition game was also the spring debut of Elston Howard, the “first Negro ever to play with the (New York) Yankees.”33 Paula was labeled as “uncertain” in the field, but, as coach Heinie Manush noted, “That’s the least of our worries. If he keeps hitting, we can teach him to field.”34

Senators manager Bucky Harris commented regarding Paula, “He can whack that ball. He has size and power. Even more impressive, he’s not only fast for a big man — he’s fast for a man of any size.”35 Harris also intoned that Paula “runs like a deer, hits like hell, (and has) great power.”36 But Harris also lamented that he thought Paula “had a hitch in his swing.”37 The Spanish Miami-based newspaper Diario las Américas was taking notice of Senators prospects Paula, Scull, and Becquer in camp.38 Paula was further identified as the “flashiest dresser” in camp, with a hat “wide enough to provide shade for Griffith Stadium’s bleachers.”39

However, Brooklyn scout Al Campanis, who managed the Cienfuegos club in the Cuban Winter League, was bullish on Scull, but hesitant about Paula’s future. “Paula can hit a ball a mile, but I don’t know where Bucky Harris can play him. I’ve seen him at first base and in the outfield and he’s not too hot at either spot. His power is to right-center and he’s liable to hit one over the rightfield wall at Griffith Stadium, but, like I say, he’s no fielder.”40

By mid-March, the Senators were hitting less than .200 as a team in camp, although Paula was posting a .267 average.41 Still, with a week left in camp, it seemed as if Scull would be the player kept by the Senators, mainly as a defensive replacement.42 Even baseball card company Topps thought so, and included Scull, but not Paula, in their upcoming 1954 card set.43 Harris was ambivalent, saying, “We don’t know yet whether Angel Scull or big Carlos Paula can hit big league pitching, but I suspect they can and we will probably carry them.”44

Within two weeks, neither player would be with the Senators.

Ironically, in the same edition of The Sporting News, news of Angel Scull leaving the team surfaced. Ossie Bluege, Washington farm club director, had been told by an official in Winter Garden, Florida, where the Senators’ farmhands were training, to “get his Cuban Negroes out of town.”45 The Cuban players were incensed.46 Scull played in a couple more exhibition games but was then sold on April 10 to the Havana Sugar Kings of the Class AA International League. 47 He would never reach the majors in a regular-season contest.

When pressed as to why he didn’t pull all of his farm teams out of Winter Garden, 84-year-old team president Clark Griffith remarked, “That would be as discriminatory as the people who started this in the first place. You don’t solve anything by running away from it.

Negroes have demonstrated that they have a place in baseball and the Washington club will go all-out in giving them fair treatment.”48

In even further irony, the same TSN edition touted the precedent of Nat Peeples of the Atlanta Crackers being the first Black player under contract within the Southern Association. The league’s prior segregation had made it impossible for Paula to go to the Senators’ Class AA affiliate in Chattanooga.49

Paula was sent down to the Class A Charlotte Hornets of the South Atlantic League at the end of camp. He became the “first Negro to wear a Hornets’ uniform.”50 First baseman Becquer was sent to Havana, as was shortstop Delis. Paula was thus the sole Black player in the organization playing for a team domiciled in the United States.51 Paula collected the Hornets’ first homer and triple, along with two singles,52 in the team’s sixth game of the season, a 13-inning win against Jacksonville.53 By the end of the first month, it was reported that Paula was “thumping the ball…and will be recalled at the first sign of compelling need for him.”54

As the Senators floundered, Paula languished in Charlotte. In May, Paula blasted a homer against Montgomery, estimated by two sportswriters to have traveled 559 feet.55 As the month ended, Paula led the Sally League with 33 RBI, two more than 18-year-old rookie Frank Robinson of Columbia (South Carolina).56 Heading into June, Paula had a 13-game hitting streak for the seventh-place Hornets. Meanwhile, the parent Senators were 10-and-a-half games back, mired in fifth place.57

Even with Paula boasting a .352 average with nine home runs and 43 RBIs in June, Senators Vice President Calvin Griffith was leery of promoting Paula. “We’ve been debating the possibility of bringing him up right away. I don’t know if it would be a good gamble. He might be able to help us. On the other hand, if he isn’t ready, we rush him along too fast and he fails with us, it could wreck his confidence. We’ll wait until we get a complete report from Sherry (Robertson) before deciding.”58

Two days later, Robertson — ex-major leaguer, nephew of Clark Griffith, and assistant to farm director Ossie Bluege– recommended that the Senators keep Paula in the Sally League rather promote him. Robertson claimed he was skeptical about “Paula’s ability to hit major league pitching now and feels he needs more seasoning.”59

A local Black sports organization, the Charlotte Fullback Club, honored Paula, the “star Negro outfielder of the Hornets,” before a Charlotte home game in mid-June.60 Paula batted third, played the whole game, and collected two hits as the lone Hornet representative in the South Atlantic League All Star game on July 5.61

Paula batted .309 at Charlotte with 14 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 51 extra-base hits, good for a .495 slugging percentage. He was finally promoted to the Senators on September 2, along with outfielder Jim Lemon, second baseman Roy Dietzel, and catcher Steve Korcheck.62 With Washington now 39 games out of first place, Carlos Paula became “Baseball’s First Black Senator,”63 making his debut on September 6, in the same Griffith Stadium that had previously housed the Homestead Grays, the Washington Pilots, the Washington Black Senators, and the Washington Elite Giants.64

Paula collected a double and single in nine at-bats as the starting left fielder in both games of a doubleheader against the seventh-place Philadelphia Athletics.65 Paula played in nine games for the Senators in September 1954, hitting .167. The initial reports were enthusiastic for Lemon, but “less impressive has been the showing of Paula, who still bears traces of the over-eagerness he showed in the spring camp, when he went groping for bad balls, to the detriment of his average.”66 Some thought that Paula’s promotion was simply a token gesture,67 or “giving in to agitators.”68

That winter, Paula returned to play in the Cuban League for Almendares, managed by Bobby Bragan.69 He was the opening day first baseman, before moving back to the outfield.70 Almendares, with Joe Hatten (13-5) as their ace and Paula’s former Senators camp mate Angel Scull as the league’s top hitter (.370), defeated Havana to repeat as Cuban League champs. They then traveled to Venezuela for the Caribbean Series,71 won by Puerto Rico.72 Paula was also credited during one of these winters with giving the first baseball glove to his brother’s stepson, future AL MVP Zoilo Versalles.73

After the Senators hired Charlie Dressen as their new manager, off-season reports indicated that team brass was warming to the idea of Paula becoming a starter for 1955. Clark Griffith remarked “that big galoot could be a good player for us, with a little more preparation.”74 Another consideration was the potential gate attraction. With a “colored population of nearly 400,000,” Griffith yearned for the day to “give the fans a standout colored player.”75 Nonetheless, Griffith stated that “Dressen wants to go in with more than him (Paula) in spring training.”76 Five Black players joined the 1955 Nats training camp roster: Paula, Becquer, Delis, Panamanian pitcher Vibert “Webbo” Clarke, and infielder Curtis Hardaway.77 During camp, Dressen viewed Delis, not Paula, as “the colored player most likely to make good with the Senators.”78 Still, Dressen and coach Cookie Lavagetto worked tirelessly with Paula in spring training on refining his hitting stroke.

Paula broke camp with the Senators but was mainly a pinch-hitter the first month of the season. In mid-May, he replaced the slumping Roy Sievers (.128, 0 for his last 24) in left field.79 The advanced age of the 26-year-old rookie, as well as other Black major-leaguers of the time, drew comment from esteemed writer Sam Lacy of the Baltimore Afro-American. “For reasons that are all too apparent, the colored players who made the grade were not considered until far beyond the age of the white recruit.”80 It was suggested that owner Griffith’s and the franchise’s “Anybody but a Negro” policy had evolved to “Anybody but an African-American.”81

Writer Povich commented that Paula was considered “something of a crudity in the field, but his bat has been working smartly for Dressen.”82 Povich also added flattering writeups on Paula’s fielding. “As an outfielder, the fellow is one of the better ones despite his great size. He has both agility and judgement, and there is no complaint with his speed. His throwing arm, too, is an asset.”83 He continued, “In the outfield, Paula never has been any problem. His startling speed for a 200-pounder has always been heavily in his favor and so has his throwing arm. He is learning to play the hitters and charge ground balls, but there is still a bit to be desired with his base running.”84

On September 2, Paula broke up New York Yankee Whitey Ford’s no-hit bid with a seventh-inning single. During a 22-game stretch in August and September, Paula hit .450 with 36 hits, raising his average to .326.85 A late slump dropped his season-ending average to .299, good for second place on the team to Mickey Vernon. Unfortunately, he also ended the year with the lowest fielding percentage (.941) among American League outfielders by a “considerable margin.” 86 Delis and Becquer, along with Clarke, had joined the Senators during the 1955 season. 87 Paula would sometimes employ fellow Cuban and rookie shortstop José Valdivielso as an interpreter. 88

 Paula did not play in the final five games of the last-place Senators season, possibly to head back to Cuba to prepare for the Blues’ October 7 opener. Paula, Valdivielso, and Elston Howard were among those who made The Sporting News’ All-Rookie team for 1955. 89

Paula again played for Almendares in the winter, now skippered by old teammate Connie Marrero.90 After his strong campaign with the Nats, Paula negotiated a salary increase from $450 to $1,000 per month in Cuba.91 He slumped at the beginning of his winter season92 but recovered to end up with a .293 mark for last-place Almendares.93 During the off-season, local Washington Post sportswriter Bob Addie needled the Cuban players, most of all Paula, referring to Carlos as “a child of nature who was singularly allergic to thinking.”94

In the middle of the Senators 1956 spring training, Paula was forced to return to Cuba to care for his mother, who had suffered a heart attack. Despite the circumstances, the team threatened to fine him when he did not return when expected.95 He did not break camp with Washington, instead being optioned to a Yankees farm club, the Denver Bears of the American Association, subject to a 24-hour recall.96 Paula tore up the AA in April, batting .481 with 13 hits over his first 27 at-bats.97 He was recalled to Washington in mid-May after hitting .375 with six home runs in 22 games for the Bears.98 Paula belted a pinch-hit three-run homer on June 11 against Kansas City — his last round-tripper in the majors.99 He hit just .183 in 33 games for Washington and was sent to the Louisville Colonels, also of the American Association, in late June.100 He never played again at the top level.101

Paula hit safely in his first six games for Louisville, including three home runs. Even though he was the leading hitter in the AA as of mid-August, he was shipped by the last-place Colonels to the Miami Marlins of the International League.102 Paula floundered in his short time in Miami, hitting .158 in 11 games. In one doubleheader, Paula went 0-for-7, and it was observed that he “fielded ground balls like he was trying out for (the) U-Miami (football) team as a dropkicker.”103 He was undoubtedly flustered when a ballpark employee from his former Louisville team had an accident while driving Paula’s Cadillac. The car rolled over three times. The employee “escaped unhurt, but the car didn’t.”104 Notwithstanding his Marlins showing, Paula and ‘bonus baby’ Harmon Killebrew were among eight players recalled by the Senators in early September. Paula saw no game action.105

By then 29, Paula once again attended the Senators spring training in Orlando in spring 1957, but he was optioned to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. Pitcher Joe Black became the first U.S.-born player of African descent on the Senators during the 1957 season. 106 It would be 1960 before catcher Earl Battey and outfielder Lenny Green established themselves as everyday players for the Senators. 107

Paula pulled a back muscle early in the season and missed the Millers’ home opener. Upon his return, rookie Felipe Alou was sent back to the bench.108 As of mid-June, Paula led the AA with a .372 batting average.109 He slumped mightily in the second half, ending the season with a .288 average. General Manager Rosy Ryan labeled Paula a “disappointment.”110

Washington was out of options on Paula111 and cut ties with him in the spring of 1958, selling him to the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League. Paula hit .315 in 120 games out West. Another winter in Cuban ball with Almendares followed; the Blues once more won the league title and advanced to the Caribbean Series — winning the tournament for Cuba.

Perhaps as a result, Paula’s arrival back in California’s capital was extremely tardy.112 When he finally arrived, he hit only .167 in 12 games before being sold to Havana of the International League.113 Paula quickly rebounded, hitting .312 in 1959 for the Sugar Kings and manager Preston Gomez, but was suspended before Havana’s playoff series against Richmond.114 Paula had missed his team’s flight from Buffalo to Havana, arriving late for the Sugar Kings’ next home game. He was told not to dress and to sit in the stands. Later in the extra-inning contest, Paula broke loose from police in a spectator box near the Havana dugout, stepped over the fan railing, and was charged with disorderly conduct, drunkenness, and resisting an officer.115

In January 1960, Paula was jailed in Havana on charges of assaulting “a Fidel Castro policeman.”116 Carlos’s brother, known as the ‘Black Hand’ during the Batista regime, was executed in 1959 when Castro forces assumed power.117 Eventually, Carlos was released, and latched on with the Mexico City Tigers, where he hit .339 in 85 games in his last full professional summer season. His last pro action came with Almendares in the Cuban League’s final season, 1960-61. During his nine years in the league, he hit .265 with 36 homers and 169 RBIs in 1,135 at-bats (games played figures are incomplete).118

Paula returned to Cuba. His whereabouts throughout the 1960s remain a mystery. However, sportswriter Povich reported in 1970 that Paula had escaped Cuba, 119 settling in the Miami area. After he came to the U.S., little information came to light about Paula. He was apparently a private man. Even his fellow Cuban ballplayers, a close-knit community, did not have much knowledge. One of them, infielder Miguel “Mike” de la Hoz, remembered Paula as “always a happy man, who liked to have a good time, telling jokes, and singing. He liked to look good, with his shoes always shined. He got along well with everyone. A good man.”120

Carlos Paula died on April 25, 1983, in Miami, Florida. He is buried in the Miami-Dade County Cemetery in town.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the following:

SABR member José Ramirez, for invaluable information on Paula, culled from personal interviews with Miguel (Mike) de la Hoz and Leopoldo (Leo) Posada on May 13, 2021, interview with South Florida sports radio personality Jose (Chamby) Campos on May 4, 2021, and statistics on Paula’s years playing in the Cuban Winter League.

SABR BioProject co-chair Rory Costello for his suggestions on obtaining supporting material to enhance the biography.

Larry Brunt from the Baseball Hall of Fame, for his seminal biographical article on Paula.

La Vida Baseball for the insightful background into the Washington Senators’ race relations and socioeconomical context.

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Bruce Harris and fact-checked by Don Zminda.

 

Sources

Brunt, Larry. Baseball Hall of Fame “Going Deep” series: Carlos Paula, the man who integrated the Washington Senators: https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/going-deep/carlos-paula-integrated-washington-senators

La Vida Baseball: https://www.lavidabaseball.com/carlos-paula-washington-senators/

The Baseball Sociologist: https://baseballsociologist.wordpress.com/tag/carlos-paula/

Swaine, Rick. Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2009, 166-176.

Ramirez, José Ignacio. Cuba and the “Last” Baseball Season: The 1960-62 Story of Cuban Baseball Players’ Sacrifice in Their Pursuit of a Professional Baseball Career. Self-published, 2018.

Figueredo, Jorge S. Who’s Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2003), 182-3.

Torres, Angel. La Historia del Beisbol Cubano, 1878-1976, Los Angeles: Angel Torres, 1976, 181.

Reynolds, Robert Grey Jr. Carlos Paula, Washington Senators Outfielder from Cuba Smashwords Edition, 2014.

Baseball-Reference.com

StatsCrew.com

 

Notes

1 Paula’s H-1 visa immigration card from 1959 states his birthdate as November 4, 1928.

2 Bob Addie, “Big Slugger an Athlete to ‘Avoid Work,’” The Sporting News, October 19, 1955: 5.

3 Rick Swaine, Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2009), 166-176, quoting Bob Addie, Washington Post, August 1955 (exact date unknown).

4 Bob Addie, “Big Slugger an Athlete to ‘Avoid Work.’”

5 “Havana Cuban Stars and New York Black Yankees Meet on Local Diamond,” Belleville (Kansas) Telescope, June 29, 1950: 1. (Baseball-Reference.com only shows Barker playing and managing through 1948).

6 Benjamin Chase, “Omaha Rockets Came to Huron in 1947,” Huron (South Dakota) Plainsman, February 28, 2020, www.plainsman.com/article/barnstorming-black-team-got-its-start-in-huron.

7 “Dick, Bob Larsen, Ex-Card Players, Now with Visitors,” Harlan (Iowa) Tribune, June 8, 1951: 8.

8 “Woodbine Cards Tilt with Cuban Ball Club,” Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, July 15, 1950: 6.

9 Oscar Rico Oviedo, “Homer Run ‘Impels’ Cuban to Forth (sic) Victory,” Des Moines (Iowa) Tribune, June 9, 1951: 7.

10 “Far-Hitting Cuban Nine Trims Bears,” Holdrege (Nebraska) Daily Citizen, June 19, 1951: 4.

11 Leaford D. Miller, “Irishmen Nip Traveling Cuban Stars in Hitting, Scoring Dual 12 to 11,” Kearney (Nebraska) Daily Hub, July 18, 1951: 8.

12 “Cuban Stars Down Waukon Vets, 14-9,” (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Gazette, July 25, 1951: 13.

13 “House of David, Cuban Stars in Feature Ball Game Here Saturday,” Imperial (Nebraska) Republican, September 6, 1951: 6.

14 “Cuban Stars Defeated House of David 15-0 in Game Here Sept. 8,” Imperial Republican, September 13, 1951: 6.

15 “Yankees Covet Cuban Trio,” Omaha World-Herald, August 9, 1951: 30.

16 Wally Provost, “Touring Ace on Nat Club,” Omaha World-Herald, March 28, 1954: 36.

17 Frank Farrington, “The Fanning Mill,” St. Cloud (Minnesota) Times, March 24, 1952: 12.

18 “King Starts in Nebraska,” Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, April 14, 1970: 25.

19 Howard Millard, “Gala Opening Planned for Sunday Game,” Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review, April 30, 1952: 18.

20 Jose Ignacio Ramirez, Cuban and the “Last” Baseball Season: The 1960-62 Story of Cuban Baseball Players’ Sacrifice in Their Pursuit of a Professional Baseball Career (self-published, 2018), 130-132.

21 “Just Rambling ‘Round,” Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), July 29, 1953: 16.

22 Bill Thompson, “Billboard,” Paris News, January 24, 1954: 10.

23 Bud Burns, “Touchin’ em All, ‘Latins Love to Wear Glove, Carry Hot Bats,’” (Nashville) Tennessean, May 7, 1967: 30.

24 Jose Ignacio Ramirez, Cuban and the “Last” Baseball Career, 131.

25 Shirley Povich, “Bucky Tips Off Tipton on How to Win No.1 Job,” The Sporting News, February 3, 1954: 12.

26 Rick Swaine, Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History.

27 “Scull, Paula May Be First Nat Negros,” Las Vegas Review-Journal (through International News Service), March 12, 1954: 11.

28 “Scull, Paula May Be First Nat Negros.”

29 Furman Bisher, “The Swap and Shop Club,” Atlanta Constitution, March 12, 1954: 25.

30 Shirley Povich, “Carlos Paula, Husky Cuban Negro, Catches Bucky’s Eye with His Blasts,” The Sporting News, March 17, 1954: 28.

31 Burton Hawkins, “Paula Quickly Earns Long Look by Harris; Scull May Be Better,” Evening Star, March 9, 1954: 16.

32 Burton Hawkins, “Paula Might Be Senators’ Best Rookie in Years,” Evening Star, March 11, 1954: 67
.

33 Joe Trimble, “Yanks Outlast Nats, 4-3; Howard Stars in Debut,” Daily News (New York City), March 11, 1954: 440.

34 Burton Hawkins, “Paula Might Be Senators’ Best Rookie in Years.”

35 “Scull, Paula May Be First Nat Negros.”

36 Furman Bisher, “The Swap and Shop Club.”

37 Larry Brunt, “Carlos Paula, the man who integrated the Washington Senators,” Baseball Hall of Fame Going Deep series, https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/going-deep/carlos-paula-integrated-washington-senators.

38 Don Nadie, “Tampa Deportiva,” Diario las Americas (Miami), March 12, 1954: 8.

39 Burton Hawkins, “The Baseball Beat,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), March 11, 1954: 69.

40 Burton Hawkins, “The Baseball Beat,” Evening Star, March 16, 1954: 15.

41 Burton Hawkins, “Griffith’s Calm Gives Way as Club ‘Hits’ at .196 Pace,” Evening Star, March 17, 1954: 63.

42 Burton Hawkins, “Harris to Keep Scull to Defend in Late Innings,” Evening Star, March 24, 1954: 58.

43 “Barrier Breakers: 1954 Carlos Paula — Washington Senators,” Cards That Never Were, March 6, 2021, http://cardsthatneverwere.blogspot.com/2021/03/barrier-breakers-1954-carlos-paula.html.

44 Shirley Povich, “Played Regulars Sparingly in Early Tilts to Find Out What He Had ‘On Shelf,’” The Sporting News, March 31, 1954: 11.

45 Bob Addie, “Winter Garden Denies Ban, But Nats’ 7 Negroes Leave,” The Sporting News, March 31, 1954: 17.

46 Rick Swaine, Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History.

47 “Nats Sell Angel Scull, Cuban Negro, to Havana,” Hartford (Connecticut) Courant, April 11, 1954: 12.

48 Bob Addie, “Winter Garden Denies Ban, But Nats’ 7 Negroes Leave.”

49 “Atlanta Club Keeps Negro, Setting Precedent for Loop,” The Sporting News, March 31, 1954: 17.

50 Bob Quincy, “Bees Get Paula, Clark, 4 Others,” Charlotte News, March 29, 1954: 16.

51 “Deals of the Week: Majors-Minors,” The Sporting News, April 7, 1954: 28.

52 Arnold Finnefrock, “Griggs Cops in 13; Paula, Gonzalez Hot,” Charlotte Observer, April 20, 1954: 20.

53 Bob Quincy, “Bees Home After ‘Biggest Win,’” Charlotte News, April 20, 1954: 19.

54 Shirley Povich, “Spring Over? McDermott’s Flipper Okay,” The Sporting News, April 28, 1954: 7.

55 “Paula’s Homer 559-Footer,” The Sporting News, May 26, 1954: 33.

56 J.P. Friend (SAL Statistician), “Bees’ Paula Paces Loop with 33 RBI’s,” Charlotte Observer, May 30, 1954: 60.

57 “Sally League,” The Sporting News, June 16, 1954: 37.

58 Burton Hawkins, “The Baseball Beat,” Evening Star, June 8, 1954: 15.

59 Burton Hawkins, “The Baseball Beat,” Evening Star, June 10, 1954: 70.

60 “Fullback Club Honors Paula,” Charlotte Observer, June 12, 1954: 8.

61 Max Moseley, “Macon’s Calvin Howe Gains Credit for Classic Victory,” Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, July 7, 1954: 12.

62 “Four to Join Nats,” Boston Daily Record, August 18, 1954: 22.

63 Bijan C. Bayne, “Carlos Paula: Baseball’s First Black Senator,” La Vida Baseball, July 9, 2018, https://www.lavidabaseball.com/carlos-paula-washington-senators/.

64 Ron Juckett, “Washington Nationals Legacy: Carlos Paula Broke DC’s Color Barrier,” District on Deck, February 26, 2017, https://districtondeck.com/2017/02/26/washington-nationals-legacy-carlos-paula-broke-dcs-color-barrier/.

65 Burton Hawkins, “Paula and Jim Lemon Show Senators Some Batting Promise,” Evening Star, September 7, 1920: 20.

66 Shirley Povich, “Bucky to Lose Out? He’s Shaping Club for 1955,” The Sporting News, September 15, 1954: 7.

67 Rick Swaine, Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History.

68 Brad Snyder, Beyond the Shadows of the Senators: The Untold Story of the Homestead Grays (New York: Contemporary Books, 2003), 285. (as referenced in Swaine)

69 Clarence Young, “Say-Hey Willie, Gomez to Play in Puerto Rico Loop,” The Sporting News, September 29, 1954: 42.

70 Pedro Galiana, “Almendares Gets Fast Start in Defense of Championship,” The Sporting News, October 20, 1954: 23.

71 Pedro Galiana, “Almendares Plans Surprise in Caribbean Tournament,” The Sporting News, February 9, 1955: 27.

72 “Dodgers’ Don Zimmer Voted Most Valuable in Tourney,” The Sporting News, February 23, 1955: 28.

73 Larry Brunt, “Baseball Hall of Fame “Going Deep” series: Carlos Paula, the man who integrated the Washington Senators.”

74 Shirley Povich, “Paula Tabbed for Berth in Nat Outfield,” The Sporting News, November 10, 1954: 14.

75 Shirley Povich, “Paula Tabbed for Berth in Nat Outfield.”

76 Shirley Povich, “Chuck Scans Nats’ Roster, Murmurs ‘Hmm,’ Failing to Find .300 Hitter on List,” The Sporting News, November 20, 1954: 20.

77 Shirley Povich, “Senators to Screen Five Negro Players in Spring Workouts,” The Sporting News, January 19, 1955: 9.

78 Shirley Povich, “Dressen Digs Umphlett for Sun Field Job,” The Sporting News, March 23, 1955: 8.

79 Shirley Povich, “Hard for Chuck to Believe — Need for Benching Sievers,” The Sporting News, May 25, 1955: 10.

80 Sam Lacy, “A to Z,” Afro-American (Baltimore), July 7, 1955: 15.

81 Rick Swaine, Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History.

82 Shirley Povich, “Chuck Trying Conga Contingency in Effort to Quicken Nats’ Step,” The Sporting News, June 1, 1955: 7.

83 Shirley Povich, “Nats Show New One-Two Punch, Jar Contenders,” The Sporting News, September 7, 1955: 7.

84 Shirley Povich, “Nats’ Spark Tabbed Good Sign for ’56,” The Sporting News, September 21, 1955: 10.

85 Larry Brunt, “Baseball Hall of Fame “Going Deep” series: Carlos Paula, the man who integrated the Washington Senators.”

86 Rick Swaine, Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team-by-Team History.

87 “Barrier Breakers: 1954 Carlos Paula — Washington Senators.”

88 Bob Addie, “Big Slugger an Athlete to ‘Avoid Work.’”

89 Bob Broeg, “2 Cardinals and 2 Senators on The Sporting News Club,” The Sporting News, October 26, 1955: 5.

90 Maximo Sanchez, “Five Big Leaguers Expected to Join Almendares Club,” The Sporting News, September 7, 1955: 37.

91 Bob Addie, “Bob Addie’s Column,” The Sporting News, September 7, 1955: 10.

92 Maximo Sanchez, “Flop of Cuban Big Timers Handicaps Blues, Ex-Champs,” The Sporting News, November 23, 1955: 20.

93 “Cuban League Stats,” The Sporting News, February 1, 1956: 26.

94 Bob Addie, “Chuck Talked — and Pedro Grinned,” The Sporting News, January 18, 1956: 10.

95 “BaseballRebecca,” “The Integration of the Washington Senators, Part 2,” The Baseball Sociologist, February 26, 2020, https://baseballsociologist.wordpress.com/tag/carlos-paula/.

96 “Senators Option Paula to Denver,” Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), April 16, 1956: 12.

97 “Denver’s Paula Leads in Hitting,” Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, April 29, 1956: 42.

98 “Nats Recall Paula, Luttrell in Shakeup,” Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, May 14, 1956: 9.

99 Robert Grey Reynolds Jr., Carlos Paula, Washington Senators Outfielder from Cuba Smashwords Edition, 2014.

100 “Nats Farm Paula to Louisville in AA,” Afro-American (Baltimore), July 7, 1956: 15.

101 Larry Moffi and Jonathan Knonstadt, Crossing the Line: Black Major Leaguers, 1947-1959 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 1994), 116.

102 “Marlins Acquire Carlos Paula, No.1 Hitter in American Association,” Miami Herald, August 19, 1956: 68.

103 Norris Anderson, “Marlins Lose Two,” Miami News, August 22, 1956: 13.

104 Norris Anderson, “Extra Innings,” Miami News, August 25, 1956: 10.

105 “Nats Recall Eight,” Courier-Journal (Louisville), September 6, 1956: 30.

106 “BaseballRebecca,” “The Integration of the Washington Senators, Part 3,” The Baseball Sociologist, February 26, 2020, https://baseballsociologist.wordpress.com/tag/carlos-paula/.

107 Cliff Corcoran, “Sons of Jackie Robinson: Remembering the Players Who Broke the Color Line for the Other 15 Teams of That Era,” Sports Illustrated, April 15, 2014: online. (copied from Paula’s Hall of Fame file).

108 Tom Briere, “Paula Possible Starter Today Against Indianapolis,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), April 25, 1957: 24.

109 Association Averages, Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, June 16, 1957: 18.

110 Tom Briere, “Ryan Says Millers Lucky to Finish 3 rd,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), September 6, 1957: 26
.

111 “BaseballRebecca,” “The Integration of the Washington Senators, Part 2.”

112 “Latest Report from Cuba — Paula en Route,” Sacramento Bee, April 25, 1959: 13.

113 “Solons Drop Four to Cut Roster to 21,” Sacramento Bee, May 17, 1959: 37.

114 Shelley Rolfe, “Split at Havana Vital for Vees,” Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia), September 15, 1959: 20.

115 “Bad Boy Suspended,” Miami News, September 7, 1959: 25.

116 Wilbur Adams, “Between the Sport Lines,” Sacramento Bee, April 2, 1960: 15.

117 Wilber Adams, “Between the Sport Lines.”

118 Jorge S. Figueredo, Who’s Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2003) 183.

119 Larry Brunt, “Baseball Hall of Fame “Going Deep” series: Carlos Paula, the man who integrated the Washington Senators.”

120 Personal interview with Miguel (Mike) de la Hoz conducted by SABR member José Ramirez, May 13, 2021.