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Posted By: Ryan Christoff

As promised, here is my take on the “Polar” cards.

But first, I want to be clear that this is only my opinion. I am still open to the possibility of this being a legitimate issue, however, I do not believe it is. I have not held one of these in my hands so I cannot be 100% certain either way. Also, I am in no way making any kind of statement about the ebay seller as I believe they genuinely believe these to be authentic cards. Additionally, the seller is only selling them for someone else. I know the seller personally and am hoping they do not get bombarded with e-mails about how they’re selling fake cards or about me saying anything negative about them. I’ve been in contact with the seller and heard the reason why they feel the cards are real. 've also said I think they are not. We simply disagree. Anyone who won one of the auctions should still honor their bid whether or not they have doubts about authenticity after reading this. With that said, here are a few of the reasons I don’t think they’re real:

A. No one’s ever seen them before. This, by itself, means nothing. There are definitely still undiscovered issues that surface from time to time and there are some cards tucked away in collections that almost no one knows about. But when they do surface, they are generally cards issued by an unknown issuer, or a very small business. Not by one of the largest breweries of the era (in Cuba) who also produced many different baseball booklets, schedules, etc. “Polar” also advertised in all the baseball publications and even had signs inside the stadiums. They were huge. They SHOULD have issued baseball cards. If they had produced any cards, they would have produced a ton of them. It would probably have been the most common Cuban baseball card issue of the pre-Castro era. They wouldn’t trickle out one by one in 2005.

B. The look is not right. They do not fit the era in which they are alleged to have been produced. The golden age of baseball card production in Cuba took place in the 1920’s. Primarily between 1923 and 1927. Most of the baseball cards produced during this time were photographic, that is, glossy cards printed on thin photographic paper. The “Polar” cards would have been much more believable if they were listed with a 1920’s issue date, instead of the 1950’s, and didn’t include later players like Monte Irvin. Nothing issued past 1930 is remotely similar to those. In fact, I can only think of two post-1930 issues (1946-47 Campo Alegre and 1949-50 Ansco) that were photographic, and one of those was produced by a photographic film company to advertise their rolls of film. The backs look to have been hand-stamped instead of printed on. Every fake Cuban card I have seen shares this trait. The excess scrapbook paper stuck to some of the cards is a nice touch to make them look even more legitimate. “How could they be fake, they’re not mint! They were even glued into an album like most other Cuban cards. They MUST be real!”

C. Player selection. Now this makes no sense at all, especially when you factor in the team each one is pictured on. On ebay were 6 cards. I’ll go over each one:

~ Jimmy Foxx ~
Major Leagues: 1925-45.
Nothing too unusual here. It would be easy enough to believe they would produce a set that contained cards of some of the all-time great Major Leaguers, similar to the 1946-47 Montiel set.

~ Monte Irvin ~
Negro Leagues: 1937-48.
Cuban League: 1947-49.
Major Leagues: 1949-56.
Okay, this one is interesting. Irvin was a star in Cuba, and every other country he played in. Although he only played 2 seasons in Cuba (47-48 & 48-49) he led the league in home runs in one of them helping his Almendares team win the championship. There are MANY images of Irvin in Cuba. During the 1948-49 season there were pictures of him in nearly every sports magazine including several with him on the cover. This is BEFORE he ever played a single game in the Majors for the Giants. So why in the world is he pictured in a Giants uniform? They couldn’t find a single card of him playing in the country these cards are supposed to have been produced in? No way. But maybe they intended to market these cards in the United States, which would also explain adding Foxx and having other Americans in the set. No. This isn’t true either as can easily be seen by the players on the other cards. But the real giveaway about the Irvin is this: Of everything I have ever read or seen that was produced in Cuba during the late 1940’s that featured Monte Irvin or mentioned his name, I have never seen anything that didn’t spell his name “Irving” with a “g” on the end. Covers of magazines, captions of photos, listings in programs and rosters; always “Irving.” With one exception: his only Cuban baseball card (1948-49 El Indio) spells it “Yrving.” They never forgot the “g”.

~ Jacinto Calvo ~
Cuban League: 1913-27
Major Leagues: 1913, 1920
Had they only listed Cuban players and said the cards were from the 1920’s, these cards would have been much more plausible. A Cuban issue featuring some of the greats of the Cuban League. Makes sense. Calvo is in the Cuban HOF and was one of the first Cubans in the Majors shortly after Almeida and Marsans debuted in 1911. Yes, yes, Bellan and Nava, I know, I know. But on his “Polar” card, Calvo is pictured on the Washington Senators. They couldn’t find an image of him in Cuba?

~ Manuel Cueto ~
Cuban League: 1912-33
Major Leagues: 1914-19
Another Cuban HOFer. He’s pictured as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

~ Emilio Palmero ~
Cuban League: 1913-29
Major Leagues: 1915-16, 1921, 1926, 1928
Another Cuban HOFer. Shown playing for the New York Giants. So we have 3 Cuban HOFers, but all are pictured with Major League teams. This seems unlikely that they would produce Cuban cards of Cuban players but only show them playing for Major League teams, but it’s still within the realm of possibility. But then how do we explain the last card:

~ Antonio Susine (Susini) ~
Cuban League: 1918-1920
Negro Leagues: 1921
Here is a player who never played in the Majors, had a cup of coffee in the Negro Leagues, and in his native country had a diamond career that consisted of pitching in 2 games in the 1918-19 season (going 0-1) and taking 8 at-bats in the 1919-20 season (career average .125) so it is only natural that he would have a baseball card produced in a set that so far contains only HOFers. Personally, I do not believe that picture is actually him, but I have no idea what he looks like. I do know that the Cuban Stars uniform he is wearing is similar to those worn in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. What, exactly, would be the reason to make a card of a Cuban player but on an American Negro League team? But here's the best part: As bad as Antonio Susini was as a player, he still managed to leave his mark on the game. During an non-league game in January of 1922 he got into a fight with a teammate, Julio Leblanc. Although Susini couldn’t seem to hit a baseball with a bat, he did manage to hit Leblanc’s head with one, fracturing his skull and killing him. He was arrested immediately and served 13 years in prison. Yes, I’m sure the company who made “Polar” beer felt that their logo on a picture of a hack baseball player and convicted murderer would be an ideal way to advertise their product. “If the skull gets hit, the card must be legit.”

Or maybe….

these images were all ones that were available and easy to reproduce with decent picture quality, as opposed to using an image of Irvin from a magazine, for example. The size of the actual photo was likely an issue as well. Remember, these “cards” are photos of photos. The clearer the original, the clearer the “card.” I believe I know exactly how these were made, although I’d rather not go into too much detail or give anyone any ideas. Something worth noting is the way they cut out long rectangular strips of paper and wrote each player’s name on it. Then they laid that on top of the photo, on top of a black background, laid a cut-out “Polar” logo on top of that, and were well on their way. That part they could have done better. Please keep in mind that all of this is merely speculation on my part and everything I’ve written is only my opinion.

It is also my opinion that this group on ebay was only meant to introduce us to this new and rare issue. Look for more cards to surface, probably always in small groups. After we’ve seen 3 or 4 groups of different players, enough to have us convinced that it’s probably a real issue, then look for the big guns. If there’s a Jimmy Foxx, there must be a Babe Ruth, right? If there’s a Manuel Cueto, there must be a Martin Dihigo, right? If there’s an Antonio Susini, there must be an O.J. Simpson, right? If there’s a Monte Irvin, how about a Cool Papa Bell or Buck Leonard? When cards of the top level Negro Leaguers surface, especially HOFers who have no other cards like Bell or Leonard, this is where the big dollars come in and it starts to make sense why someone would go to all that trouble. Also, look for more Cuban Stars players because there are a number of players that have individual photos of them wearing the same uniform that I have seen. The images would have been perfect for cards. Unfortunately, no cards like this exist.

-Ryan