Museo Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre

Museo Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre

Coordinates: 18°00′53″N 66°36′32″W / 18.01466°N 66.60901°W / 18.01466; -66.60901

Museo Francisco "Pancho" Coímbre

Museo Francisco "Pancho" Coímbre looking Southeast
Museo Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre is located in Puerto Rico
Location in Puerto Rico
Established 1992
Location Lolita Tizol & Castillo Streets , Ponce, Puerto Rico, 787.843-6553
Type Sports Museum
Director Hector L. Ortiz
Website http://www.museopanchocoimbre.org/

The Museo Francisco "Pancho" Coímbre (English: Francisco "Pancho" Coímbre Museum) is a sports museum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Contents

History

The Francisco Pancho Coimbre Sports Museum was inaugurated on January 21, 1992.[1] It was named after Ponce's own baseball great Pancho Coímbre, who is considered "the most feared and productive Puerto Rican baseball batter of all times." [2] It is considered Ponce's sports hall of fame.[3] The museum is located on Lolita Tizol street, next to various other attractions, including the old Spanish military barracks.

One January 12, 2010, a new track and field gallery was inaugurated in memory of Juan (Papo) Franceschi, one of many heroes from the San Antón barrio.[4]

Features

The museum houses a collection of photographs, documents and memorabilia regarding the early days of baseball in Puerto Rico, "back when professional players won only $5 per game and played the game during daylight hours only."[5]

The museum portraits figures such as Willy Mays and Richard Nixon. Some of the names in the museum might be not be instantly recognized. Names such as Francisco “Pancho” Coimbre, Rafael “Rafaelito” Ortíz, or Emilio "Millito" Navarro -- as they never played in the Major Leagues. However, they did serve as as the source of inspiration for easily recognized figures such as Roberto Clemente. Pancho Coimbre Museum has some great information about not only Puerto Rican sports history, but also features fascinating information about early women sport stars and racially divided baseball leagues. [6]

The museum is a one-room museum honoring ponceño athletes in all sports. Among the interesting pieces of memorabilia is a uniform from Ponce’s short-lived women’s baseball team and a baseball bat that was the only object to survive the house fire that killed Coimbre. [7]

Significance

The respect for Coimbre's natural talent, his ability to dominate the field with speed and strength and for bringing confidence and pride home to other Puerto Ricans and aspiring baseball players is evident in the museum.[8]

"Coimbre began his career as an eager seventeen year old in 1926 and had landed a place in the New York Cubans. By the time he retired from professional baseball in 1951, he was the darling of every local in Ponce and they opened their hearts and gave support to the magnificent sportsman. He remained in the sports industry, and in Ponce, until his tragic death in 1989 when his home burnt to the ground."[9]

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Francisco Coimbre — Infobox baseball player name = Francisco Coimbre |50px width=100 px birthdate = February 17, 1909 birthplace = Coamo, Puerto Rico deathdate = November 4, 1989 deathplace = Ponce, Puerto Rico debutdate = 1928 debutteam = Leones de Ponce… …   Wikipedia

  • Parque Atlético Charles H. Terry — (Charles H. Terry Athletic Field) Parque Charles H. Terry …   Wikipedia

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