Chico Barbon

The New York Times ran an article last week on Robert "Chico" Barbon, the first Cuban player in Japan. He played for the Hankyu Braves from 1955-64 and then for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1965. The article is well worth the read and gives me the opportunity to show off the only cards I have of him.

This first card is the only one I have that came out while he was an active player. It's from the 1960 Marusho "4 In 1" set. Barbon's card is in the upper right corner. (Out of completeness, the players on the top row from left to right are Yoshitaka Nishio of the Tigers, an unknown Braves player, an unknown Orions player and Barbon. The bottom row is Kenjiro Tamiya of the Flyers, an unknown Buffaloes catcher, Kunimitsu Yanouchi of the Buffaloes and Kazuhiko Kondo of the Whales.)


A couple more recent cards:

1994 BBM "Nostalgic Stars" subset #538


2009 BBM Hankyu Braves Memorial #21