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04-14-2005, 04:08 PM
Posted By: <b>Ted Zanidakis</b><p>Sorry guys, about "beating this subject to death". Anyhow, just<br />some final clarifications. The 1948 LEAF Boxing Champs set of<br />49 cards was issued by the summer of '48. It includes Champions<br />like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta,<br />John L. Sullivan, and a very rare Rocky Graziano card. Now the<br />early printing runs of this set used WHITE cardboard stock.<br /><br />Subsequently, in the fall of '48 LEAF issued a 98 card Football<br />set. It was printed on WHITE cardboard stock. These cards were<br />straightforwardly numbered (#1 - 98). While the above mentioned<br />Boxing set was skip-numbered (#1 - 102).<br /><br />Now both these sets also exist printed on GRAY cardboard stock.<br /><br />LEAF Gum Co early in 1949 switched to using the GRAY stock for<br />all their following sportscard sets. Why LEAF did this is at <br />this point is unknown, and unfortunate. As any collectors of<br />the '48 sets will consistently tell you that the fronts<br />of the WHITE cardboard cards are distinctly sharper than the GRAY ones.<br /><br />Of course we know that the 1949 BaseBall set (98 cards, skip-<br />numbered #1 - 168) was printed only using GRAY stock. And, in<br />the Fall of 1949, LEAF issued a 98 card Football set, skip-numbered (#1 -150) which was printed only on GRAY stock.<br /><br />So, the reason for the two aforementioned 1948 sets existing in<br />WHITE and GRAY cardboard, to my understanding,is that as LEAF's<br />markets had expanded and became national issues; they had to<br />print more cards for these two 1948 sets to fill the increasing<br />demand. This they did in early 1949 using then the available <br />GRAY cardboard stock. <br /> <br /><br />