1950s Dominican Baseball cards
I have done research into the Dominican sets in my search to identify all cards of Cuban born players. Of all the Latin American issues the Dominican ones are the least documented. So far I have identified a few sets. The first is the above mentioned 1950 Dominican Republic set. This set is more accurately dated to 1951 since that was the inaugural year of the Dominican professional League and the player selection more accurately fits that year. The Dominican league was a summer league from 1951 through 1954 then a winter league from 1955-56 and afterwards. The 1951 cards are paper thin, blank backed, with player photos in various tints and a white border. A card number and the players name is printed below the photo. The cards in the set can be divided into six groupings. The first group (#1-79?) pictures players from the Dominican teams that participated in the 1951 Dominican League. The second group (80-120s?) are players from the 1950-51 Cuban Winter league. The fourth group pictures retired Major Leagues greats (130s to 140s?). The fifth group pictures players active in the 1950 Major League Season (150s-280s?). The last group pictures stars from the Puerto Rican League (280s-290s?). (A group of 6 are pictured below)
The second set from 1951, that I have been able to Identify, was issued by Caremelo Fortunas. These are small photo cards made to be pasted into team albums. The cards are black and white photos with nothing else printed on them. I know of the existence of a Águilas Cibaeñas and a Estrellas Orientales team albums. Both are incomplete. (Pictured below is a page from the Águilas Cibaeñas album).
The third set is also from 1951 and are even smaller photo cards. These are black and white player photos with a white border and have right and left deckle edges. A number and what looks like a photographer signature is printed on the face of the card. I have not been able identified the maker but may have been issues with candy. (Pictured last is the Rene Gutierrez Valdes card)
A 1958 and 1959 set is also listed in the Standard Catalog.
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Cuban baseball cards and cards of Cuban born players is my area of expertise and main focus of my collecting. Always open to discussing Cuban baseball and expanding my PC.
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