The Billiken Cigarettes issue of 1923-24 was from a Cuban-produced set that featured 2" x 2 5/8" cards depicting 60 players from the Cuban Winter League. Each black and white glossy photo contains an ad on the reverse, either for Billiken or, less frequently, La Moda Cigarettes. One of the more popular Cuban League sets, the issue includes many stars from the American Negro Leagues, including Oscar Charleston (the key card in the set), Pop Lloyd, Jose Mendez, Andy Cooper, and, of course, Cristobal Torriente.

One of the great Cuban Hall of Famers, Torriente won two batting titles in the Cuban Winter League and played a nine-game series against the New York Giants in 1920. During the series, Torriente outhit Babe Ruth, who was playing on the Giants roster for the series. Torriente was one of the greatest ballplayers to hail from Cuba and was part of the introductory class of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.

This card presents amazingly well, with a sharp, detailed image of Torriente. The primary condition issue here is moderate corner wear, along with a tiny bit of lightening to the image. A few minor, light-colored print spots, common to the issue, can be observed at the bottom left and in the "n" in "Torriente," mentioned here for the sake of accuracy. Though a single PSA 5 example exists on that company's population reports, no other example has graded higher with either PSA or SGC. An outstanding and very rare example of one of Cuban baseball's greatest players, and a Hall of Famer.

Size: large
Condition: yes