Pericos de Puebla

Lore & Background

The Pericos de Puebla trace their origins to 1938, when Club De Béisbol Hudson was founded by Sir Delfino Pérez. The club's colors were green and white. In 1939 the club was sold to a local car dealership, which renamed it Chevrolet and entered it in the Mexican League. The club changed its name to Pericos (parrots) in 1942 to attract more people, a name commonly attributed to the green color of the uniforms or local parrot species. Between 1942 and 1946 the league consisted of six teams from Mexico City, Veracruz, Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, Tampico, and Puebla. In 1948, due to lack of championship titles, fans stopped attending games, and the team became inactive or moved to another league for four years.

Reader's Guide

The Pericos de Puebla are significant as one of the oldest continuously operating franchises in Mexican baseball, representing the state of Puebla since the early 20th century. Their history reflects the broader development of baseball in Mexico, from amateur clubs like Almazán de Puebla (1922) and 74 Regimiento (1924) to professional status. The team has undergone multiple name changes and relocations, including a stint as Ángeles Negros de Puebla in the 1970s. Their 1963 championship was their first Mexican League title under the Pericos name, managed by Antonio 'Tony' Castaño. The club's home ballpark, Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán, opened in 1973 and has hosted both the Pericos and, from 2002 to 2006, the Tigres de la Angelópolis. The Pericos' five championships (1963, 1979, 1986, 2016, 2023) place them among the more successful teams in the Mexican League, though their early years were marked by financial struggles and periods of absence from the league.

Did You Know?

• The Pericos name was adopted in 1942, inspired by the custom of wealthy households keeping a talking parrot at the front door.
• The club's first Mexican League title under the Pericos name came in 1963, managed by Antonio 'Tony' Castaño.
• From 2002 to 2006, the Pericos shared their home ballpark with the Tigres de la Angelópolis from Mexico City.
• The club played in the Liga Invernal Veracruzana from 1949 to 1959, winning a title in 1959.

Roots in the 1920s: How the Game Reached Puebla

Baseball first took hold in Puebla in the early 1920s, carried back by local men who had served in military units stationed in northern Mexico and shared the sport with their neighbors. Enthusiasts quickly embraced the game in their spare time, spawning a wave of amateur clubs across the state. In 1922, General Andrés Zarzosa Verástegui organized the Almazán de Puebla, an amateur outfit whose players made the trip to Mexico City for exhibition matches. That club moved to the capital in 1924 under owner General Juan Andrew Almazán and was eventually left without leadership, fading into obscurity. By 1925, the sport's momentum was strong enough that General Alejandro Aguilar Gómez founded a professional league. Puebla entered through the 74 Regimiento, a squad based in Atlixco that captured the very first championship that year. Early standouts included center fielder Oscar Martínez, catcher Hakino, shortstop Javier Pérez, and pitcher Gómez, all guided by Cuban manager Jesús "Matanzas" Valdez. The 74 Regimiento later relocated to San Luis Potosí, where it never again won a title.

From Chevrolet to Parrots: Forging a Franchise Identity

The modern Pericos trace their lineage to 1938, when Sir Delfino Pérez established Club De Béisbol Hudson, a semi-professional club sporting green and white colors. The following year, local car-dealership owner Don Castor bought the outfit, rebranded it Chevrolet, and entered it into the Mexican League, making it the first team to represent the city of Puebla in that circuit. The squad wore white jerseys with "Chevrolet" across the chest and blue numerals, fielding a roster that included Roberto Villarreal, Beto Ávila, Leopoldo Cervantes "el Rábano," and Vidal Romero "el Chachapa." They captured the Winter League title in 1941. In 1942 the name shifted to Pericos, a deliberate reference to the upper-class custom of keeping a talking parrot perched at the front door—a colorful image meant to draw crowds. Yet by 1948, a string of championship droughts and dwindling attendance led Delfino Pérez to withdraw the team from the league for a four-year hiatus.

Championships, Heartbreak, and the Long Wait

Across their storied history the franchise has lifted five Mexican League trophies: 1963, 1979, 1986, 2016, and 2023. Notably, two of those titles (1972 and 1986) were earned while the club operated under the Ángeles Negros banner, underscoring that the championship pedigree stretches beyond the Pericos name. One of the most searing memories in franchise lore came in 1958, when Puebla met Poza Rica of the Veracruz Winter League in a final staged at Estadio Ignacio Zaragoza before a packed house of 25,000 fans. The city was chasing its first title since 1925, but in the tenth inning Poza Rica produced two decisive runs to steal the game 5–3. The following season, on February 15, 1959, the long wait finally ended as Puebla claimed the championship, which also marked the last season the team competed in that league. The 1963 title, won squarely under the Pericos name, remains a cornerstone of the franchise's identity.

Home Grounds, Shared Parks, and Enduring Rivalries

The Pericos call the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán their home, a ballpark situated right beside Estadio Cuauhtémoc, the long-time fortress of soccer club Puebla F.C. since 1972. Earlier in the franchise's history the team played at Estadio Ignacio Zaragoza, a 25,000-seat venue that hosted the 1952 return season and the dramatic 1958 and 1959 championship series. From 2002 to 2006 the Pericos shared their home park with the Tigres de la Angelópolis, a Mexico City-based club that won a championship in 2005 before relocating to Quintana Roo in 2006. That migration forged a lasting rivalry between Puebla and the Yucatán-based franchise. The franchise's journey through various identities—Almazán de Puebla, 74 Regimiento, Hudson, Chevrolet, Pericos, and Ángeles Negros—reflects a community's persistent, if sometimes interrupted, devotion to the sport since the 1920s.

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