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. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame site...

Martín 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. More history about the great player many consider to be one of the best of all time can be found at BaseballLibrary.com

In addition to the card shown above, 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, while mine 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.

Fotos was a prominent sports publication up until Fidel Castro came in to power. Each month, 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. The advertisements contained a list of all player cards available at that time. December, 1946 contained the new series 7 and 8 (DiHigo), 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 coached by Adolfo Luque. A team picture is also shown on the back of that issue.

April, 1947