Words by Darren Lopez
Recently, someone purchased a Buck O’Neil Almanaque baseball card at Hake’s auctions for over $6000.
The 1946-1947 Almanaque was a Cuban winter league baseball card set that had a mix of Negro League, Cuban League, and MLB ball players.
A detail that makes this set stand out is that it is the first colorized Cuban baseball card set, which adds to its beauty.
This Buck O’Neil card is considered his rookie card and is just one of two that PSA has graded.
These cards are rare, considering Cuba’s post-revolution history and the flux of immigration, but they are excellent documentation of the love and passion for baseball in Cuba.
Negro League and Major League baseball players had been playing with and against each other throughout the history of baseball in Cuba. It was a microcosm of what competition in America could looked like if not for baseball’s color barrier.
There are a lot of Negro League baseball cards out there if you know how to hunt them down.
The cards mainly come from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Mexico and are extremely fun to hunt.
They are expensive, but if you have the budget, they are a beautiful addition for any collector.
A big Negro League baseball card collector must have purchased this card, which hopefully will end up in the Negro Leagues Museum for all to enjoy.
