From la bomba to béisbol: sport and the Americanisation of Puerto Rico, 1898–1950

Abstract

The concept of ‘Manifest Destiny’, which had been of interest to some Americans since the early 1800s, was made a reality by The Spanish-American War 1898. As a consequence of victory the United States gained control of the Philippines and the Island of Puerto Rico. The latter is the focus of this article. Education proved to be an especially useful means for the United States to impose its values upon the resident population. Games and sports were, in many ways, more influential. Within a short time children, youth, and adults were engaging in basketball, volleyball, and other sports for health and, more so, for enjoyment. The close proximity of Puerto Rico to the American mainland facilitated the introduction of baseball, which quickly became the Island’s most popular sport. In 1936 the Cincinnati ‘Reds’ were the first of a long tradition of major league teams that came to the island for Winter League training. Imported sports were of considerable value in bringing Puerto Rico into wider global affairs. Puerto Rico began participating in the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1930 – its athletes first participated at the Olympic Games in 1948. Whereas American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands ended in 1946, Puerto Rico remains an Estado Libre Asociado (Commonwealth).