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Martin
DiHigo
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(b.
May 25, 1906 - d. May 20, 1971)
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| Martin Dihigo Llanos was perhaps the most versatile
player in baseball history. Known as "El Maestro,"
he played all nine positions skillfully. Dihigo became
a national institution in his native Cuba, but also
starred in many other countries, including Mexico,
Puerto Rico, Venezuela, also spending 12 seasons in
the Negro leagues. Playing in the Mexican League in
1938, he went 18-2 and led the league with a 0.90
ERA, while also winning the batting crown with a .387
mark. The first Cuban elected to the Hall, Martin
DiHigo, he won more than 250 games from the mound
and hit over .400 three times. DiHigo is also in the
Cuban and Mexican Halls of Fame. More history about
the great player many consider to be one of the best
of all time can be found at BaseballLibrary.com
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Inducted in 1977
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1946-7 Fotos
Postcards Martin DiHigo SGC 20 FAIR
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Click Image to Zoom
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Click Image to Zoom
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Comments: In 2004 I met Ryan Christoff
and we struck up a friendship - thanks for everything buddy! Soon
thereafter I purchased a couple cards from him and remember seeing
the DiHigo Fotos card at his booth at the following National.
He sent me the following email on January 5th, 2006:
Mark,
I hope your New Year is off to a good start. I have a potential
trade going on that includes a bunch of cards, one of them being
the Fotos postcard of Martin Dihigo. I wanted to let you know
before I did anything with it because I promised you first crack
at it. If you're still interested, let me know ASAP.
Thanks, -Ryan
SOLD!!! Shown above is one of the three known copies of a 1946-7
Fotos Postcard of Martin DiHigo. The card is in fair condition
with rounded corners and one small wrinkle visible on the reverse.
The picture shows DiHigo during his playing days in the Mexican
League with Club Cienfuegos. In addition to the card shown, SGC
has also graded an GOOD 30 and VG 40 and there's really not much
difference between them as far as condition goes. The SGC 40 is
sepia toned with a stained back, the SGC 30 is very dark and portrays
DiHigo in almost an angry manner. The card shown above has a small
newspaper clipping stuck to the front just above the Fotos logo.
It once read, "El Inmortal Lanzador" - the Immortal
Pitcher in Spanish.
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| Card Details Below: |
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| Year(s): |
1946-7 |
| ACC Set Designation: |
N/A |
| Set Name: |
Fotos Postcards |
| Country: |
Cuba |
| Description: |
Fotos was a prominent sports publication up until Fidel Castro
came in to power. Beginning in September of 1946, Fotos Magazine
offered 2 series, each having 4 postcards. Subscribers could clip
out the coupon from the magazine and order the postcards by series.
September, 1946
December, 1946
February, 1947
April, 1947
The advertisements contained a list of all player cards available
at that time. December, 1946 contained the new series 7 (DiHigo)
and 8, along with 1 through 6. Older series were available until
the last issue in May, 1947. So, it's safe to say the last cards
may be the rarest having been available the least amount of time.
But, this has not yet been proven with so few cards remaining
from any of the series. There were a total of 18 different series
offered - 72 cards in the set.
The February, 1947 issue pictures the champion Cienfuegos team
with Martin DiHigo and coached by Adolfo Luque. A team
picture is also shown on the back of that issue.
Please find some images of the Fotos magazines below:
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