1914 AA Montreal Contract

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Posted By: Nickinvegas

Does anyone know of any previous auction values for this type of contract?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2772038114

This one is signifigant for a variety of reasons:

1. Raphael Almeida: The first Cuban(along with Marsans) to play MLB.

2. It was from the last year of his carrer.

3.I was bidding on it, so it had to go for a big price.

Although I am a collector of Almeida items I just could not bring myself to bid again(plus my connection was to slow!)

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Posted By: runscott

What about those three unknown 1927 cards? Ghost Marcelle did well

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Posted By: Nickinvegas

Tobacco-R-Us!

He won all of them, I don't think I would have won had I bid more. As they say "he's got some serious scratch"! As opposed to my pathetic excuse for "scratch".

Nick

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Posted By: runscott

He won Marcelle, but the other two didn't attract much interest.

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Posted By: ramram

Sandy Nava was the first Cuban player in the US(1882)??

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Posted By: runscott

Nice item, but very high I thought. Still, I wanted it!

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Posted By: MW

Not sure I agree. The last contract for a famous Cuban player from 1918? $1,358.00? That doesn't seem unreasonable at all. If I were a Cuban collector, I would have gladly paid $1,500.00. Maybe even $2,000.00. JMO.

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Posted By: Joe P.

Steve Bellan
Esteban Enrique Bellan

Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
Height 5' 6", Weight 154 lb.
Debut May 9, 1871
Born 1850 in Cuba
Died August 8, 1932 in Havana, Cuba

http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellast01.shtml

Enjoy,
Joe P.

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Posted By: MW

1914

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Posted By: ramram

It was a very nice early game shot but I was suprised what it went for considering it was an unknown small-town game. Conversely, maybe these kind of rare shots are going to start getting more respect.

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Posted By: ramram

was directed to Scott. Bad placement.

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Posted By: Kenny Cole

I was really tempted by the Marcelle, but ultimately couldn't bring myself to pay $1,500 for an itty bitty card from a set that I had never heard of before. That being said, if the card is proven to be the real deal, the buyer probably got a bargain.

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Posted By: runscott

I don't know anything about Cuban memorabilia - I was referring to an "in action" baseball cabinet that Ramram bid on. Actually, I guess I don't know much about those either - it went for over $200, and I was expecting to get it for under $130.

I watched all the Cuban auctions out of curiosity, actually planned to bid on the folded Cincinnati stadium pic, but $399?!? Just another vintage learning experience - hopefully I don't get a fake card in the mail (catcher gear card).

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Posted By: ramram

Scott - what Cinc. stadium pic are you referring to??

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Posted By: Nickinvegas

Joe,
Good point regarding Ballan. Although some consider the NY(Haymakers&Mutuals)teams of 1871-73 to be professional teams. In my opinion I do not consider them to be organized Major League baseball teams. I would say they were considerd professional Minor League teams. Although many historians feel they were major leauge teams.

There seems to be some disagreement as to who was the first latin player to play MLB. Most credit Marsans and Almeida with this honor. Almeida is a bit of an afterthought as the number of games he played was minimal. Many consider Marsans to be the first Black player of the century as he was a dark skinned cuban.

I consider Luis "Jud" Castro to be the first Latin player in organized major league baseball:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/castrlu01.shtml

Not much of a carrer, but he was part of a championship team!

Anyway, I've gone on...

Regards,
Nick

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Posted By: Joe P.

Nick:
1." Raphael Almeida: The first Cuban (along with Marsans) to play MLB."
*
*
Actually my answer was directed to your above statement.
Although it really doesn't matter if you said Cuban or Latin American, the
fact of the matter is that Esteban Bellan played professional baseball for the
Haymakers in 1871.
At this very moment I'm looking at a scored program of a game played by the
Haymakers and the Mutuals on Oct 2 1871.
Bellan is batting 8th and playing 3rd base.
Also listed for Troy is Bill Craver playing second, who in a couple of years will be thrown out of baseball for doing what Hal Chase got away with later on.
For the Mutuals I'm looking at Joe Start playing first, and Dickie Pearce playing short.

Nick, from the moment that Cincinnati started paying ballplayers in 1869, and
someone invented the turnstile, we are now talking the coinage of the realm.
Whether it's cents, centavos or drachmas, we are now in the world of professionalism.
The game played by the National Association, which eventually became the
National League had evolved from the game played by the amateur Knickerbockers at Elysium Park Hoboken, NJ. in 1845.
The young and short time National Association were the majors of that time.
There were no minor leagues at that time as we know them.
You must remember that paying for a team of ball players was an expensive hobby even then, only some bigger towns and cities could afford them.
A team or league would go under, and that was a way that the survivors would get some players.

Nick, why don't we just say that Luis "Jud" Castro may have been the first
Columbian Latino of the 20th Century to play Pro baseball in the US.

By the way Nick, that is a beautiful Almeida card in the picture thread, my compliments.

Stay well,
Joe P.