Sports in Puerto Rico

This is a page about major sports in Puerto Rico from an historical perspective. Despite being a dependency of the United States, Puerto Rico has its own autonomy sports-wise. Puerto Rico does, for example, send its own teams to the Olympic Games.

Table of contents

1 American Football
2 Association football
3 Baseball
4 Basketball
5 Bobsled
6 Boxing
7 Cockfights
8 Equestrian
9 Golf
10 Horse racing
11 Marathon
12 Martial Arts
13 Sailing
14 Softball
15 Tennis
16 Track and Field
17 Volleyball
18 Wrestling
19 External links

American Football

Although not a large sport in Puerto Rico, American football nonetheless is played in the streets of the Caribbean island ocassionally.

Ron Rivera became the first Puerto Rican to play in the NFL when he played for the Chicago Bears in the 1980s. Another Puerto Rican who plays American football is O.J. Santiago of the Atlanta Falcons.

Association football

Puerto Rico has a FIFA sponsored league. Association football hasn't typically enjoyed much popularity in Puerto Rico, and the FIFA threatened, in 2003, to withdraw its sponsorship of the Puerto Rican league. The Puerto Rican league's leader answered by announcing a league-wide plan that is aimed towards placing Puerto Rico in the 2010 World Cup.

Baseball

Puerto Rico has a winter baseball league that operates since the early 20th century. Puerto Rico is a participant of the Caribbean World Series, and has over 100 Major League Baseball players who are currently active, in addition to the hundreds others who have participated in the past. These facts combine to make Baseball one of the most popular sports in the island.

Some of the most famous baseball players from Puerto Rico include: Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Clemente plus Roberto Alomar, Jose Cheo Cruz, Juan Gonzalez, Edgar Martinez, Ivan Rodriguez, Victor Pellot, Bernie Williams, and others.

In 1942 Hiram Bithorn (Chicago Cubs)became the first Puerto Rican to play in the Major Leagues.
In 1948 Luis Olmo (Los Angeles Dodgers) became the first Puerto Rican to play in a World Series game and the first one to hit a Home Run and to get three hits, in the same game.
In 1954 Ruben Gomez (New York Giants) became the first Puerto Rican to pitch in a World Series game and the first one to win a World Series Championship ring.
In 1971 Roberto Clemente became the first hispanic to reach 3,000 hits and the first Puerto Rican to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
In 1984 Willie Hernandez became the first Puerto Rican to win both the AL Cy Young and the AL MVP Awards.
In 1992 Jose "Cheo" Cruz is honored by the Houston Astros when his #25 is retired by the team.
In 1999 Orlando "Peruchin" Cepeda became the second Puerto Rican enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 2001 Baseball history was made when Opening Day was in San Juan at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium with a game between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
In 2003, the Montreal Expos played 22 home games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

Basketball

Basketball has also enjoyed much popularity in Puerto Rico, thanks in part to the Liga de Baloncesto Superior Nacional, which has been around since the 1930s. During the early 1980s, with many games showed on television, the sport's popularity increased. Street basketball is very popular among Puerto Rico's youth.

Puerto Rico's national basketball team has reached the Olympic Games multiple times, including the upcoming Athens games in 2004. Puerto Rico's national team has won gold medals in other international competitions.

Famous Puerto Rican Basketball players include: Carlos Arroyo, Larry Ayuso, Angelo Cruz, Raymond Dalmau, Raul Feliciano, Mario Morales, Jerome Mincy, Jose Ortiz, Ramon Ramos, Ramon Rivas, Ruben Rodriguez, Daniel Santiago and Felicity Willis.

Ortiz was the first Puerto Rican in the NBA, when signed by the Utah Jazz in 1988. Rivas followed him two weeks later, being signed by the Boston Celtics. Ramos was signed by the Portland Trail Blazers, but he never played because of a life changing accident. Arroyo now plays for the Jazz, and Santiago used to play for the Phoenix Suns, but now is a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.

There is also a women's professional league, which is affiliated to the BSN.

Bobsled

Contrary to popular belief, boxing is not the only sport in which Puerto Rico has earned an Olympic medal: At the 1992 Winter Olympics, a Puerto Rican bobsled team surprised most critics by earning a bronze medal.

Boxing

Boxing has, for many years, disputed the top spot for the Puerto Rican fan's favorite sport with Baseball and Basketball. Puerto Rico's first world champion was Sixto Escobar. In 1948, boxer Juan Evangelista Venegas earned Puerto Rico's first Olympic medal, finishing his participation in London with a bronze medal that year. Subsequently, Puerto Rico has earned five more medals in Olympic boxing, including a silver one by Luis Ortiz in 1984. That silver medal is the only silver medal ever won by any Puerto Rican at Olympic Games. Although he did not win a medal, Alberto Mercado became, in 1980, the only American citizen to actually participate in the Moscow Olympics.

During the 1970s, with the coronation of such fighters as Hall of Famers Wilfred Benitez and Wilfredo Gomez as professional world champions, and the visits of such others as Roberto Duran, Muhammad Ali and Alexis Arguello for fights, boxing in Puerto Rico enjoyed what many refer to as the golden era of boxing in Puerto Rico.

In 2001, Puerto Rican John Ruiz made history by becoming boxing's first Latin American world Heavyweight champion ever, after beating WBA world champ Evander Holyfield.

Famous boxers from Puerto Rico include: Hall of Famers Wilfred Benitez, Wilfredo Gomez, Sixto Escobar, Carlos Ortiz, and Jose Chegui Torres, plus Hector Macho Camacho, Alfredo Escalera, Belinda Laracuente, Pedro Montanez, Edwin Rosario, John Ruiz, Alex Sanchez, Samuel Serrano, Felix Trinidad and Ada Velez, who is the first Puerto Rican Women's boxing world champion.

Cockfights

Cockfighting is legal in Puerto Rico, and there are many places that draw large crowds to see bantams fighting every weekend.

Equestrian

The sport of Equestrianism has certain popularity in Puerto Rico, more so among members of higher classes. Puerto Rico frequently sends contestants to different international tournaments, such as the Olympics.

Golf

While golf is not very popular in Puerto Rico, there are many golf fields across the island.

The most famous Puerto Rican golfer is Hall of Famer Chi-Chi Rodriguez.

Horse racing

Horse Races are very popular in Puerto Rico. During the earlier part of the 20th. century, races were held at El Comandante race track. Since 1972, El Nuevo Comandante, in Canovanas, has been the home of Puerto Rico's sunday horse races, and of the annual Clasico del Caribe, a race that reunites important horses from many countries.

Famous jockeys include Hall of Famer Angel Cordero and J.A. Garcia. One of the most famous horses in Puerto Rican history was El Platino.

Marathon

Marathons have long been a part of Puerto Rico's sporting tradition. Many important marathons are run annually in the island, including the Maraton de San Blas in Coamo, long considered one of the most important marathon races in the world.

Famous marathon runners include: Peco Gonzalez, Hunga Maldonado.

Martial Arts

Martial arts sports, specially Karate, have had a marked ascent in popularity in Puerto Rico since the 1970s, when Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies were very popular among Puerto Rico's youth. Puerto Rico has won various medals in international competition.

Sailing

Sailing as a sport has picked up in popularity in Puerto Rico since the middle 1990s, under the leadership of Enrique Figueroa and his wife, Carla Malatrasi. The pair have combined to win many international medals, and they competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Figueroa also participated at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Softball

Women's softball has enjoyed certain popularity in Puerto Rico. The women's national softball team has won many international events and participated at many Olympics.

Ivelisse Echevarria is one of Puerto Rico's most well known players.

Tennis

Tennis is not very popular as a fan sport in Puerto Rico, however, many Puerto Ricans practice it as a means of excersise. It should be noted, through, that the 1984 television match between Martina Navratilova and Gigi Fernandez was one of the most watched events of the year in Puerto Rican television.

Gigi Fernandez was arguably Puerto Rico's most famous tennis player ever, having won championships at Wimbledon and many other tournaments. Charlie Pasarell was another noted Puerto Rican Tennis player, having defeated Pancho Gonzalez in one of Wimbledon's most famous games ever. Rafael Jordan was a player that many considered had potential to become a men's professional tour champion, but he passed away after a tragic automobile accident during the middle 1990s.

Track and Field

Track and Field has been another sport of note in Puerto Rico. Most schools there base their field days only on track and field events. Many Puerto Rican runners, hurlers and throwers have participated at the Olympics.

Famous Puerto Rican track and fielders include: Rebbekah Colberg, Angelita Lind.

Volleyball

Long considered the dormant sport among major sports in Puerto Rico, Volleyball has enjoyed much popularity since the 1990s, both in its professional and beach volleyball versions. Puerto Rico's Liga Superior de Volleyball has thrived in recent years, both in the men's and women's tournaments.

In 1970, most of Puerto Rico's national women's volleyball team's members were killed when a plane that was flying them to San Juan from the Dominican Republic crashed shortly after take-off.

Some of Puerto Rico's famous volleyball players are Willie De Jesus and Raul Papaleo.

Wrestling

Wrestling, the entertainment kind, has enjoyed much popularity in Puerto Rico for a long time. Matches have been televised since the 1960s, and multiple, non televised matches are held each week across the island. Capitol Sports Promotions is the main wrestling promoter in Puerto Rico.

Famous Puerto Rican wrestlers have included Barrabas, Carlitos Colon, Los Invaders, WWF* Hall of Famer Pedro Morales, and Los Super Medicos. In addition, many WWE (formerly WWF) stars, such as Randy Savage, and Ric Flair fought in Puerto Rico before.

Women's wrestling has been gaining popularity in Puerto Rico since the 1990s.