1954 Cincinnati Redlegs- Nino Escalera

[Marckus99]

Herb - My comment regarding his race was just a point of clarification. I apologize if it came off the wrong way.

As you mentioned this PC is a rather tough find. I believe the only other issue he is depicted on is on the 1949-51 Toleteros.

Great pick up!

Stevie - You are correct that many Puerto Ricans are of African decent due to their history but their blood line also includes the indigenous Indian (Taino & Carib) people's who inhabited the island long before Africans amd Columbus came along. I highly doubt you would find a single person in Puerto Rico that would say they were/are "black". My parents are from Puerto Rico and I would NEVER consider myself "black" - under any circumstances.

Furthermore, there are numerous Latin ball players who dealt with issues of race/color long, long before J. Robinson (BTW, who was highly overrated) came along in 1947. The list includes Marsans, Almeida, Cueto, Herrera, Luque,
Viola, Palmero, Gonzalez, Almada...). As a matter of fact, prior to Escalera, Tomas de la Cruz pitched for Cincy - for an entire year in 1944.

Native American Indians and Asians played this game years before 1942 and dealt with many injustices, but that too largely goes undocumented. While it seems only one "race" gets pandered to.

- Mark Rios

[Volod]

Apparently, "race" is only tangentially about "color." Back in the late '60's, Henry Aaron and Rico Carty got into a brief fist-fight aboard an airliner after Carty used the N-word. Hank later quipped that Rico was sort of dark-skinned himself. We're all shades of a single palette named Homo Sapiens.