From 1916 to 1929, the Cuban Stars (East) were owned by Alex Pompez. Because they carried the same name as another, contemporaneous Cuban baseball team that after 1916 primarily played in the midwestern United States, the two teams are generally distinguished as the Cuban Stars (East) and the Cuban Stars (West). From 1916 to 1922 they were an independent team that played in the New York and northeast region of the United States; because of their ties to the region they were also referred to as the New York Cuban Stars early on.