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Martin DiHigo
(b. May 25, 1906 - d. May 20, 1971)
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
 
Inducted in 1977
     
1946-7 Fotos Postcards Martin DiHigo SGC 20 FAIR
     
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Comments: 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 below, 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 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.
   
Card Details Below:  
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. 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

Some other cards from the set: