4. Cuba's 1923-24 Tomas Gutierrez (by Ryan Christoff)
Produced for the 1923-24 baseball season in Cuba, this set consists of 85 cards that were distributed in packs of "Tomás Gutiérrez" brand cigarettes made by a tobacco company named Díaz. While the players in this set all played in Cuba, the company also produced a set from the same time period containing only Major League pitchers.
Printed on typical baseball card stock, the Gutierrez set has the closest resemblance to American cards of any Cuban issue of the 1920's. The cards have a sepia tone to them and feature portraits of players from each of the 4 teams (Santa Clara, Almendares, Habana, Marianao).
The card fronts feature in-uniform player portraits. Printed at top is the player's team; his name and position are printed at bottom. Several team managers, umpires and banners for three of the four teams are also found. Card #84 from the set has never been found and remains unknown.
Thirty-eight of the players from the set are now in the Cuban baseball Hall of Fame. Six cards, including two of Cristobal Torriente, have been honored in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Others now in the National Hall of Fame are Jose Mendez, Oscar Charleston, "Pop" Lloyd and Andy Cooper.
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Page from Accordion Album |
The backs are numbered and explain that there is also an album that contains all of the cards (it actually contained all of the images printed on pages that look similar to team premiums). It is thought that in order to receive this album, which was hardbound and of very high quality, you had to first collect the set. Once you completed the set you could then turn those cards in and receive the album in exchange. Most likely, the cards were then thrown away by the company. As a result the individual cards are even scarcer than the album which is itself exceptionally rare. Only a handful of albums are known to exist.
It is interesting to note that the set contains two cards of HOFer Cristóbal Torriente. In Cuba it was somewhat common for players to jump from team to team, even in the middle of a season. Torriente began the 1923-24 season playing for Habana and at some point switched to Marianao. On card #62 he can be found as a member of the Habana team. This same image was also used for his Aguilitas and Nacionales cards in those two sets respectively. But on card #83 he is on Marianao, a card which features an image that can only be found on this card and in the Tomás Gutiérrez album mentioned earlier. The Marianao Torriente card has also been seen in a blank back version although it is unclear how or why it was produced, and whether or not is a legitimate card.
The set also includes the only known cards of several star Negro Leaguers such as Oscar "Heavy" Johnson and Willis "Pud" Flournoy. Flournoy's card has his name misspelled "Floynocht." Ironically, this is the only Cuban issue that does not misspell John Henry "Pop" Lloyd's name.
Some of the images, such as Oscar Charleston or Oliver Marcelle, are unique and cannot be found elsewhere. Others were later used in both the Nacionales and Aguilitas Segundas issues. Mendéz, for example, has the same image on all 3 cards. The set contains 2 cards of umpires as well as 3 cards showing the pennants of Almendares, Habana and Marianao. Why there is no pennant card for Santa Clara is anybody's guess.
The Tomas Gutierrez set has three known back variations as illustrated below:
Standard |
Black Print |
Number Inside Frame |
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As seen seen from the examples, the "standard" Gutierrez back is printed in brown ink with the card number printed above a rectangular frame line. It is easily the most common of the three.
One variation (middle image at left) follows the exact same design but is printed in black ink. Thirteen examples (representing 12 players) have been reported with this back.
The least common back style (rightmost example) contains the same text as the others, but is printed with the card number inside the frameline and the title "Cigarros Tomás Gutiérrez" omitted at the top of the card.
The Tomas Gutierrez Set Profile is provided on the Old Cardboard website along with a recently added Checklist and Gallery of Cards. An overview of vintage Cuban cards ("Cuban Baseball Cards: The Golden Years 1909-1950" by Cesar S. Lopez) is featured in Issue #22 (Spring 2010) of Old Cardboard magazine.
Additional information about Cuban cards (as well as those from other Latin American countries) can be found at CubanBaseballCards.com.
5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings)
eBay "Top 25" Sellers List Update. Old Cardboard has recently updated the Top 25 eBay auctioneers of vintage sports material and published the updated list linked from the Old Cardboard homepage. Each dealer has been awarded an "Old Cardboard Top 25" recognition. The 25 dealers making the cut are:
mwcards,
davidbvintage,
buythatcard,
wvshoebox,
kityoungcards,
dd9191,
joesvintagesportscards,
legacysportsrarities,
oldbbcards,
hyee_auctions,
dentom,
b-e-collectibles,
sportsinvestments,
1oldcardman,
darby-s,
bagger77,
hendersonscards,
bbsports,
MileHighCard,
memorylaneinc,
houseofcardsmd,
bbcexchange,
T206-Holygrailcollector, just_collect,
andymadec.
We have awarded them with a "Top 25" icon for use on their websites and eBay listings. Be sure to look for these guys when bidding on auctions. They are the best-of-the-best when it comes to selling vintage cardboard on eBay!
Family Ties. Here is a recent note we received from website visitor Rob Silvanic that we thought might be helpful to pass along: "Frankie Silvanic was my great uncle and I am looking for a 1941 Crowley’s Milk card of him." Grand-nephew Rob can be contacted via email or at 518-526-3969.
Cinematography Award. Old Cardboard's own Brett Hardeman has won a Wedding Wire's Bride's Choice award for 2011. Brett has shot/edited some high profile videos in the past year including weddings, corporate events, and even a video for collectors (see Item #2 in our August 2011 eNewsletter). Examples of his corporate and events video production business can be found at www.hardemanfilms.com. Please join me in wishing Brett the best with his endeavor heading into 2011!
Lyman and Brett Hardeman
Old Cardboard, LLC.
Old Cardboard, LLC. was established in December 2003, to help bring information on vintage baseball card collecting to the hobbyist. Produced by collectors for collectors, this comprehensive resource consists of three components: (1) Old Cardboard Magazine, (2) a companion website at www.oldcardboard.com and (3) this eNewsletter. The Old Cardboard website contains more than 500 pages of descriptive reference information for baseball card sets produced fifty years ago or longer. Each of these set summaries has a direct set-specific link to 
auctions and a similar link to 
's powerful search engine for further research. The website also includes a Show and Auction Calendar, an eBay Top 50 Vintage Sellers List, and much more. As a result, the Old Cardboard website makes a great "Alt-tab" companion for vintage card shoppers and researchers. Old Cardboard eNews provides current hobby news, upcoming shows and auctions, and updates to the website and the magazine. It is published around the middle of each month. For a FREE subscription to the eNewsletter, or for subscription information on Old Cardboard Magazine, please visit the website at www.oldcardboard.com. If you find this information resource helpful, please tell your friends. We need your support and your feedback. Thank you.
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