Tigres del Licey

Tigres del Licey
Tigres del Licey
Information
League	Dominican Professional Baseball League
Location	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Ballpark	Estadio Quisqueya
Established	1907; 117 years ago
Nickname(s)	El Glorioso (The Glorious One)
League championships	22 ( 1951, 1953, 1959, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2020)
Colors	Royal blue and white;
Uniforms
Home	Away

Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in the capital city of the country, the other being Leones del Escogido—the two teams share Estadio Quisqueya as their home ballpark.

Tigres is the oldest team in LIDOM, and lead the championship Aguilas Cibaeñas with 23 LIDOM titles and 12 Caribbean Series titles. Some of the team's best players^{[according to whom?]} have included Alonzo Perry, Pedro González, Manuel Mota, Guayubín Olivo, César Gerónimo, and Elvio Jiménez. Many of the best Dominican players and Major League Baseball players have taken part in the long history of the Tigres, including Tommy Lasorda, a National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee who took the team to the 1973 Caribbean World Series title. The Licey logo is a cursive "L". The team, nicknamed "El Glorioso" (the Glorious One), has a passionate fan base.

History

Circa 1900, baseball in the Dominican Republic was only a minor pastime, due to the heavy political turmoil surrounding the country back then. By 1907, baseball was increasing in popularity.

The Licey team was founded as the result of a meeting that took place in the house of Vicente María Vallejo, on el Conde Street, in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, on November 9, 1907. Founding members were: George and Cuncún Pou, Luis and Federico Fiallo, Luis and Pinchán Valejo, Luis Castillo, Salvador Piñeyro, Alvaro Alvarez, Tutú Martínez, Angel and Chichí Mieses, Arturo Perdomo, Bi Sanchez, Virgilio Abreu, Alberto Peña, Arturo Nolasco and Tulio Piña. Many of the founding members of the original team were also part of the first roster.^[1]

Over the next 16 years, Licey became so dominant that an agreement was made among the three other competing teams (Los Muchachos, San Carlos and Delco Lite) to form a new team, composed of their best players, in order to beat Licey. This team, called "Leones del Escogido" ( Lions of the Chosen one ), still exists and the teams share the same stadium in Santo Domingo.

During what Dominicans call the "first stage" of the country's baseball history, the game was only played during the day. The game's "second stage" didn’t begin until dictator Rafael Trujillo built the capital's Estadio Quisqueya in 1955, a brilliantly designed and built stadium for the time. With the stadium came lights and what is considered the Dominican's golden age of baseball.^{[citation needed]}

Licey has won the "Serie del Caribe" 10 times. In an unusual situation during the 2008 season Licey finished second in the Dominican championship (and would not qualify for the series) but replaced Puerto Rico, which was absent (Puerto Rico canceled their winter league for financial reasons). Licey won the series defeating Mexico, Venezuela and their Dominican rival the Aguilas Cibaeñas. Licey is the only team to have won the series on every venue celebrated.