I honestly did not think I had any Fidel Castro cards but came across the one when doing some weekend paging.
2008 Topps Heritage News Flashbacks #NF3 Fidel Castro
The Card Title "Fidel Castro Becomes Prime Minister of Cuba" pretty much sums it up. The Back goes into a bit more detail and briefly alludes to Castro's baseball career.
2008 Topps Heritage News Flashbacks #NF3 Fidel Castro (b-side)
One of the benefits of a SABR membership is access to the Paper of Record archives which includes back issues of "The Sporting News". The late 1950s articles on Cuban baseball are pretty interesting, The Havana Sugar Kings were a pretty successful team playing in a very uncertain environment.
As you can see on the card above Castro took power on February 16 1959. The issue of "The Sporting News" that hit the stands two days later included the following:
The Sporting News (1959 02 18)
The Sugar Kings President Bob Maduro appeared to truly believe that Havana would eventually get a Major league baseball team. According to future issues of the Sporting News Castro did hold up his commitment to throw out the first pitch at the Havana opener.
However any trust between Maduro and Castro quickly ended. In 1962 Maduro fled the country after the Castro Regime confiscated all of his assets.
Bobby Maduro immigrated to the United States and remained in Baseball. He held a variety of different positions with different minor league clubs and worked for Major League Baseball as a liaison with Latin American Leagues and ballplayers.
Sources and Links
SABR Bobby Maduro Biography - Rory Costello
New York Times
The Card Title "Fidel Castro Becomes Prime Minister of Cuba" pretty much sums it up. The Back goes into a bit more detail and briefly alludes to Castro's baseball career.
One of the benefits of a SABR membership is access to the Paper of Record archives which includes back issues of "The Sporting News". The late 1950s articles on Cuban baseball are pretty interesting, The Havana Sugar Kings were a pretty successful team playing in a very uncertain environment.
As you can see on the card above Castro took power on February 16 1959. The issue of "The Sporting News" that hit the stands two days later included the following:
The Sugar Kings President Bob Maduro appeared to truly believe that Havana would eventually get a Major league baseball team. According to future issues of the Sporting News Castro did hold up his commitment to throw out the first pitch at the Havana opener.
However any trust between Maduro and Castro quickly ended. In 1962 Maduro fled the country after the Castro Regime confiscated all of his assets.
Bobby Maduro immigrated to the United States and remained in Baseball. He held a variety of different positions with different minor league clubs and worked for Major League Baseball as a liaison with Latin American Leagues and ballplayers.
Sources and Links
SABR Bobby Maduro Biography - Rory Costello
New York Times
I'm not sure how PC the Topps write-up is but it's pretty good, "the curveballing lefty-turned-leftist-revolutionary..."
ReplyDeleteLooks like Lumpy Rutherford!
ReplyDeleteHe does look like Lumpy, if Lumpy had a crappy beard.
ReplyDelete