Escondido A Plena Vista

I was thumbing through the 1989 Guernsey's Topps Auction catalog recently, looking for something or other and realized, after having owned this publication for over thirty-five years, that it contained some images that were used for the 1960 Venezuelan Baseball Tattoos.  Yes, mixed in among the 1960 US Baseball Tattoo images and some from the 1965 Baseball Hot Iron Transfers were illustrations only seen in the South American set, last discussed here and stalled at nineteen confirmed subjects (plus another that is inferred with a high degree of confidence).

Well, it's no longer stalled at nineteen/twenty subjects, or at least I don't think so.  Take a gander at this page from the catalog:

Three distinct looks, three distinct sets! This really makes me think the universe of potential Venezuelan subjects is larger than my previously posited 24.

Some notes:

A) A total of 16 Venezuelan subjects, some already known, run across the top row and part of the second.

B) The captions for those 16 were added for the catalog and do not form part of the original art.

C) The missing caption on the left side of cell A21 is Ruben Amaro:

D) The (very) partial piece of a Zoilo Versalles Venezualan example that is thought to exist is not on display here. 

E) The "Cepida" image is not the same one used for Orlando Cepeda in the US set. If you compare the stateside tattoo...

...to the possible Venezuelan tattoo it's quite obvious:

I think the "possible" Venezuelan Cepeda drawing is taken from his 1961 Topps card, which further cements the issue as coming out after the 1960 US MLB season:

F) Ten additional "Venezuelan subjects" appear likely based upon the imagery in the catalog:

1. Matty Alou
2. Luis Aparicio (previously surmised as a possible subject)
3. Chico Fernandez
4. Tony Taylor
5. Felipe Alou
6. "Clio" (Elio) Chacon
7. Felix Mantilla
8. O. "Cepida"
9. Jose Pagan
10. Chico Cardenas

In terms of nationality, the Alou's were both from the Dominican Republic, while Chico Fernandez, Tony Taylor and Chico Cardenas were Cuban,  We know already that Cepeda was Puerto Rican, as were Felix Mantilla and Jose Pagan. Finally (at last!), Aparicio and Chacon were Venezuelans, with the latter also surmised as the other best bet as representing that country in the set. 

G) Excluding the possible Venezuelan issue-only subjects, a review of the 1960 US Baseball Tattoo and 1964 Hot Iron Transfers checklists show that if a player's image was in this lot, a corresponding issued tattoo exists.

H) It's certainly a coincidence but there's 55 player images from the two different tattoo sets on the page, which matches up with the 1960 US issue in terms of individual player count. There is known overlap between both sets and we see that here in a way.

I) Given all this along with the fact these types of tattoo sets usually have a total subject count divisible by eight that, I was previously hoping that at least three additional players could be found to be part of the Venezuelan issue. I note that five of the Venezuelan subjects are on this sheet in US form: Wynn, Drysdale, Lary, Groat and Woodling. Toting this up, it appears we have rounded the next divide-by-eight corner, so perhaps the final count will hit 32. With 96 subjects in the US set (thanks to various extras added by Topps) that divisor being 8 could also extrapolate out to 32 and the 16 shown here neatly represent half that number, which is a macro kind of thing with Topps in terms of laying out various sets. So, are we missing two subjects still?!

Of high interest then, is Bob Gibson who pitched for three MLB off seasons in the VWL from 1959-61 and then a winter in Puerto Rico. Gibson was also a participant, for two different teams, in the 1961 and 1962 Inter-American Series, the tournament that replaced the Caribbean World Series that year due to the shutdown of pro ball in Cuba by Fidel Castro in 1960 and the subsequent banning of MLB players from the country by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick. Gibson as a possible additional Venezuelan subject does seem plausible. He is not depicted in the U.S. set.

Possible Subject 32 is another matter. Over 100 different players were involved in the combined 1961 & 1962 tournaments and each team was allowed to "import" a number of players from elsewhere (eight to ten from what I can tell). This led to a large contingent of MLB players on each roster. 

The Inter-American Series was held in February each year, just before Major League spring training kicked off. The inaugural 1961 IAS included a squad each from Panama and the Dominican Republic facing off against two teams from the host country (which was allowed an extra club) and the 1961 tournament was waged in Venezuela. The Series was a major event and the culmination of various Caribbean Winter League seasons, so interest was high.

Unfortunately, it's hard to find rosters for the 1961 series, although some scattered clues are out there.  Assessing all of this, I am very much coming around to the idea that this first Inter-American Series was the inspiration for the set, but that it could have been issued in conjunction with, or even after, with the 1962 event, which was held in Puerto Rico. In addition to the host country's two squads, Panama and Venezuela also competed that year and the rosters of the participating teams are more completely documented than 1961's, although a few gaps exist in what I've determined to date. 

The questions then are:

1) Was the Venezuelan tattoo set intended for 1961 and/or 1962? 

2) How many US players were mixed in?

I think it's plausible the set was issued in each year, just like the Venezuelan Topps card sets that saw a release every other year after 1960 (1962, 1964, 1966) and served double duty. It's also possible a handful of players were changed out, and if so, it's far more likely to my mind that existing subjects from the US set were subbed in as the artwork was already done by Topps. I am guesstimating they would not bother with creating a mere handful of new subjects for a re-release. However, there is a lot of overlap between the active major leaguers in the "possible" pool, not all of them Winter League or AIS participants, plus there are non-US-born natives who played in both MLB and the various Winter Leagues and tournaments (Luis Aparicio for instance). A real possibility too is some Winter League players who did not participate in the Inter-American Series were included in the set beyond those we already know.

One thing I believe may be in favor of a 1962 Venezuelan release is the inclusion of Frank Lary as a subject. He was also in the 1960 US release and his MLB campaign that year was pretty solid, but 1961 saw him go 23-9 and finish third in the Cy Young balloting (across both leagues at the time) and seventh in the AL MVP tally for a strong Tigers squad that finished second to the Yankees.

The Venezuelan tattoos are so hard to find we may never get an answer to what comprises the full set but I would like to narrow down the pool of possibilities with some more research.  First though, I'd like to see if any of you Archivists out there have any thoughts.