- Ybor City is historic.

I think of baseball with Ybor.

The restaurants, nightlife, cigar factories, now the Ybor Baseball Museum.

Mr. Lopez is an icon, in Ybor and baseball.

(upbeat music) Baseball was it in Ybor City back in the early days when I was a kid.

The Inter Social League had four original baseball teams, Loyal Knights, Cuban Club, Centro Asturiano, and Italian Club.

I played for the Italian Club.

I played for several teams.

Some of the players there went on to play pro ball.

Of course, Mr. Lopez was the first.

He started it all.

(playful doorbell music) What did you expect?

(upbeat music) - Al Lopez is Mr.

Baseball in Tampa.

First Major League Player starting in 1928.

First All-star Major Leaguer, first manager from Ybor City Tampa, managed in the World Series and ultimately in the Hall of Fame.

(upbeat music) - My name is Chantal Hevia.

I'm president and CEO of the Ybor City Museum Society and the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez house.

(upbeat music) Well, baseball actually got started in Ybor City because of the cigar industry.

So many Cubans had come here to make cigars that they actually established the first two teams.

In the '40s, '50s, and '60s, baseball was a hot ticket.

This house, where the museum is located is our biggest artifact.

It was the childhood home of Al Lopez.

His parents who came from Asturias, Spain rented the house when he was a child and they came here to work in the cigar industry.

It is a very big deal that Al got into the major leagues as a Hispanic person.

In those days, as you may know, Hispanics were not as prevalent in the game.

It's a big deal that both he became a player as a Hispanic and that he got into the Baseball Hall of fame.

(bright music) - Once he made it, we all thought we could make it.

It was an inspiration to us.

Of course, he's one of a kind though.

I lost my father at a young age of 46 and I was grieving very badly.

And that's when I met my wife to be and she's the one that encouraged me to start something to memorialize my dad.

We did, we checked with the coaches and got the tournament started in 1981.

We've had 53 players from the tournament go to the major leagues.

Our goal is not to put them in the big leagues or college or the minors, but to become caring and responsible citizens one inning at a time.

We stress that every year, if they make pro ball college major leagues, that's all a bonus.

We're proud of them but we want them to be role models when they get there.

Tournament has changed formats in recent years and my son has taken over doing all of the bracketing, scheduling, getting the sites.

It's a pleasure being there with him.

He does it all.

I'm there if needed and it's been great.

(players cheering) (upbeat music) - Al Lopez changed the landscape of Ybor City because he was the first one, he was numero uno.

- I was appointed chairman of the committee to erect the statue for Mr. Lopez.

My wife talked to him in English and Spanish and told him we were gonna do the statue.

If we would've asked him, he would've said no.

So I didn't know anything about a statue and a sculptor and how to raise money and all that but we did it.

In return for that, he invited me to go with him to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Everybody that I turned to was a Hall of Famer.

That was his way of thanking us for doing that for him.

That's the kind of guy he was.

Baseball is still big.

The Rays have made it bigger.

The Rays helped me with the tournament.

They're helping this museum also.

So it's a great thing for the community here and in Saint Pete.

Off season, he always came back to Ybor City, hometown guy.

He would be very appreciative of this museum.

- What I hope this museum does is help people to enjoy a game that has been part of our passion for more than 135 years.

You know, because it's not just about the players, it's about all those that have made this happen.

(upbeat music)