José Casanova

José Antonio Casanova

• Born February 18, 1918 in Maracaibo, Venezuela
• Died July 8, 1999 in Maracay, Venezuela

Biographical Information

José Casanova is the most successful Venezuelan manager in history. He managed teams in the Venezuelan League for 18 years and owns the record for most wins. He played at the 1941 Baseball World Cup in Havana, Cuba and won the MVP award as Venezuela stunned Cuba in the finals. He hit .429/~.556/.500 with 5 runs, 7 RBI and 8 walks.

In 1943, Casanova assumed the reigns of Cervecería Caracas, a position that he would remain in for 10 years. As manager of Caracas he won four titles, one in the first division (1945) and three in the professional league (1947-1948, 1948-1949 and 1951-1952). He also managed the Tiburones de La Guaira to a league championship in 1964-1965. Casanova also managed Vargas for a season (1952-1953), Leones del Caracas for two years (1954-1956), Pampero for three years (1959-1962), Tiburones de La Guaira for three years (1962-1965) and Tigres de Araguafor two years (1965-1967).

Casanova was the manager of the Venezuelan team at the 1944 and 1945 Baseball World Cups; Venezuela won gold in both years. He won Silver in the 1953 Amateur World Series, guiding Venezuela. He managed gold medal winners at the 1954 Central American Games and the 1959 Pan American Games. He served as the manager of Venezuelan Military Academy for 29 years.

In 1987, Casanova was elected to the Salón de la Fama del Deporte Venezolano and to the Venezuelan baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. A stadium in Caracas is named after him.