One of the things I learned trying to get a card from each year going back to 1900 is that there were not many, if any, cards produced in 1942 and 1943. Luckily for me, the Cubs produced team picture packs in 1942 and Chico Hernandez was on that Cubs team. Chico was a star catcher for the Bloomers in 1938 - catching all 121 games and being named a Three-I League All-Star. My friend and McLean County Museum of History Librarian, Bill Kemp, wrote a nice piece about Chico and how he made baseball history.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mchistory.org/research/articles/cuban-chico-hernandez-star-of-1938-bloomers">https://mchistory.org/research/articles/cuban-chico-hernandez-star-of-1938-bloomers</a>

Well before Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color line in 1947. Latin Americans had already made inroads into the lily-white world of the “national pastime.” The catch, of course, was that these mostly Spanish-speaking players— from places...

Cuban ‘Chico’ Hernandez star of 1938 Bloomers

Sports Memorabilia

Bloomington Bloomers - Chico Hernandez

Bloomington Bloomers

Chicago Cubs

Cubs

MLB Pioneer

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Bloomington Bloomers - Chico Hernandez

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