Favorite boxing related memorabilia

[wicker56]

I’m hoping to stir up some conversations on this site, due to it’s been pretty quiet ,as of late. The fact that it’s freezing cold here in Indiana gives me a lot of time to spend indoors. Much of that time is spent reading boxing related books, watching boxing related movies, and searching for memorabilia online. This morning my wife asked me what my favorite boxing related item was. I don’t recall anyone asking me this in the past, so it made me stop and think a bit. My answer was I don’t think I could pick just one item. So I’ve decided to break up my collection into 6 different categories. Now, I just need to pick an item from each category.


I guess my hope is that others will chime in and want to discuss some of their favorite items. I plan on posting some pics once I’ve made some choices.


Post Cards
Trading Cards
Photographs
Books
Vinyl records
Movies

[Exhibitman]

Nice idea; I'll play:

1937 Louis-Braddock newspaper door hanger for newstands:



1963 Cassius Clay reply letter and publicity photo:



Jack Dempsey-Lou Gehrig McGovern's Gym premium:



Louis-Schmeling betting slip:



7.5" x 9.5" [10" x 12" mount] mounted photo of Jim Jeffries on his farm in Burbank with his pup, with a handwritten copyright of 1906 By Jas. J. Jeffries and Jas. M. Johnson [perhaps the photographer], captioned "The Good Friends" in pencil on the mount. From his estate by way of the Helms Sports Museum.



A spectacular Max Baer 8 x 10, inscribed and signed on 8/25/1934, during his one-year reign as heavyweight champion.



A pair of 1920s Cuban matchbox panels of Kid Chocolate



Pac-Man signing a glove for me:



Riddick Bowe signing a ticket for me:




1935 Brown & Bigelow Louis Premium:



Signed contract for 1951 Topps Ringside, from the Topps Archive, Ray Miller, Ruby Goldstein, Barney Ross:





Uncut sheet of 1940s Coney Island Arcade cards (world's weirdest selection--George Courtney???):

[Bored5000]

Wow, so much neat stuff in that post, Adam. That Louis-Schmeling betting slip is especially cool. I had never seen that before.

[Writehooks]

Hey Chad:
Don't know if "freezing" in Indiana is quite the same as the mid-minus-40s (Celsius) we're currently dealing with in Northern Alberta, but it is indeed a good time to revisit some favorite pieces of memorabilia. Here' s some of mine (sorry, can't figure out why the photos are sideways) ...

1) Cassius Clay "I Am The Greatest" 45 record, 1963
2) Dundee brothers Christmas card, 1967
3) 1920s Romeo & Julieta card of world white heavyweight champion Luther McCarty
4) 1925 Ogden Cigarettes card of Arthur Pelkey, who killed McCarty in the first minute of their white heavyweight title fight in Calgary on May 24, 1913
5) Cabinet photo of McCarty, 1912
6) Imperial cabinet photo of McCarty vs. Al Kaufman 1912
7) Ultra rare pennant from Ali vs. George Chuvalo, March 29, 1966 in Toronto
8) On-site MSG poster for Chuvalo vs. Jerry Quarry, Dec. 12, 1969
9) On-site MSG poster for Chuvalo vs. George Foreman, Aug. 4, 1970

[Exhibitman]

Magazine covers with my cousin on them:

[Writehooks]

Stern Electronics produced 2,971 Ali pinball games in 1980. Mine is one of the handful in Western Canada still in excellent working condition ...

[Exhibitman]

Ali is the king of the boxing collectible, that's for sure. I cannot believe the demand for his stuff. Even with a seemingly endless supply of autographs, for example, they just keep selling. I admire Joe Louis more but Ali has that magic, that's for sure.

[wicker56]

This is one of my favorite boxing related photos. The back states it was taken at the Cypress St. Jeffries family home in L.A.. Many years ago, I recall a paper weight that sold in a Leland's auction with the same image.

[wicker56]

This is an 8x10 of Benny Leonard from 1918

[G1911]

I only collect the trading cards, have to draw the line somewhere or I'll never have a clean home again. I have more books than I do cards it seems sometimes, but not as a collectible, just reader copies for my library. I'd love too see what others have.

My present favorite single item is probably still this piece, but this thread will be a good excuse to dig through my boxes in the back of the safe and pull some more obscure favorites. I guess my favorite is often what's come in most recently and I haven't looked at 300 times yet.

[wicker56]

Writehooks


That McCarty Romeo & Julieta card is really nice. You definitely don’t see many Of those. I actually wasn’t aware that he was in the Romeo & Julieta set. I have a couple of McCarty post cards in a box somewhere. McCarty is buried just a couple of hours away from where I live.

I also really like the Ali record. I’m not an Ali fan, but I’d still buy a copy of that record, if I ever get a chance.

[wicker56]

Gregg,


I wondered if you would post a pic of the Donovan panel. It really is a great piece. Do you plan on framing it?

[wicker56]

I have had these Susini's for years and not thought much about them. For some reason they caught my eye yesterday, when I was going through some scans.

[G1911]

I have not got it framed yet; I wanted to piece together and frame the whole sheet but that's not going to happen. Still, I want to wait for the others to come to market and to try and connect with whoever it was that bought the Beecher and Moore sheets, so that they can perhaps, even if momentarily, be reunited all together so that someone may piece each panel into it's slot by comparing the edges, so we can know the total sheet layout.

I also need to compare the 8 images on the panel to the 4 known Donovan final-production cards. On all the panels, there are differences between of the 8 image slots (some major, like the 'stain' looking dark mark in the upper right of 1 of the Driscoll slots, and some very minor and hard to spot), it may prove useful to connect each Donovan to it's slot to perhaps get some idea what may have happened that led to the extreme SP'ing.

Eventually I'll give up on repiecing the sheet and frame it to protect it, It's in a big top loader right now inside a soft sleeve designed to hold an 8x10 piece of paper, but that's not ideal for the long term.

Very nice Susini's, I love that image of Johnson. Greatly regret not getting one when they were more affordable

[wicker56]

Johnson Polin Brothers postcard

[wicker56]

Out of all of the Johnson postcards out there, this has to be the most popular image. I think it really shows how many people actually despised Johnson.

[wicker56]

This is a blank back panel. Johnson and Greb are two of my favorite boxers to read about. I'll share some of the books that I have of each, some time tomorrow. I know most don't like the 48 Leaf set , but it happens to be one of my favorites. I have to admit that the 48 Leaf of Johnson is probably one of his worst cards though.

[Writehooks]

More from my McCarty file...

[wicker56]

Adam,

that Louis Schmeling ticket is really cool. How long ago did you acquire it? How big are those Kid Chocolate Cuban cards?

[wicker56]

I'm interested to hear what others think of the lines on this postcard. My guess is that the card was once mounted in a frame or something. You really don't see too many Louis postcards for sale, even on Ebay.

[wicker56]

When I purchased this postcard I was pretty sure it had been trimmed. The Apeda signature is partially missing from the bottom right corner. I was pleasantly surprised when I compared it to several other AZO postcards, it was the exact same size.

[G1911]

That Louis post card is a great image, love it.

[Exhibitman]

Louis might've been in one of those single PC holders from the era. I've seen a few. Here's one from the same series:



That image is the base for an Orcajo PC of Louis.

[wicker56]

I love those Louis postcards, Adam. The Harrison postcards seem to be really rare. I’ve only seen a few over the years. I especially like the one with his wife. Louis looks really young in that photo. Thanks for sharing!

[Exhibitman]

Thanks, Chad. They are very, very tough. There's at least one other Joe and Marva card. The images look to be from the same photo shoot that produced some premiums. I'd say 1935-1937.

Louis PCs just don't get to market. I was looking at mine the other day and trying to remember the last time I'd seen some of them offered for auction and realized that it's been years.

[G1911]

Too much potential to let this thread die already.

Here's a cool one I have on my desk. For some reason, the majority of unique-oddities in T220 are of Joe Coburn, over 50% of what I've seen are his card. There's a couple really cool yellow proof/incompleted cards that I don't have. I like the mystery of it, the odd removal of the generic man-to-left that seems to be completely pointless.

Top Row, the Silvers:
Here's an incomplete T220 with a blank back and no name on bottom. SGC slabbed this as a proof, which I do not believe is accurate. I think it more likely this is just from a scrapped sheet.

Second card is a normal silver, except... there's almost no silver. There are just a few flakes here and there of the silver coating, and his name is printed twice in a very bold way. I cannot be sure if this card was screwed up in printing or some kind of damage occurred over the years. I've owned some really beat up, exposed and nasty T220-1's and never found one with this kind of damage, nor have I for a similar ATC card. I'm 50/50 agnostic on if this card left the factory this way at the moment. I am pretty confident these two cards are a clue to the printing of the name. I have some cards where the name is clearly printed below the silver, others where the black ink name is clearly printed on top of the silver. The evidence does not all point the same direction, to the name being printed with the original black pass, being printed after the silver application, or being printed twice. SGC slabbed this one a 10, which seemed wrong. It should be an A, either because it's been altered or because it's an incomplete card.

The third card is a correct, final silver card.

Row 2, The White Errors:
Again, not sure if some kind of pre-production piece or from a scrapped sheet. The card is handcut, and has an upside down back of Joe Gans. This is probably significant as a clue to sheet layout. Gans was the 3rd of 5 cards on the right side of the sheet in the Silver run. Coburn cannot be placed because his Silver sheet does not exist or has not yet appeared. This may suggest that, for him to be printed upside down here, Coburn was on the left edge of the sheet. It is also possible the type 2's have no relation to the layout of the type 1's, though that would seem to create unnecessary work for Brett Lithography to achieve nothing by rearranging everything. It seems likeliest there were 2 sheets for T220-2. This card is certainly from the early print run, if not from a test/proof run. The man to Coburn's left has been removed but appears as a blue haze, which indicates it is from early production before the image was edited again.

The next card is a fully printed and produced blue haze man-to-left. These cards are pretty darn tough, though recurring. They so far have only been discovered with 649 backs. I suspect the first printings were Mecca 649, though not all Mecca 649's were produced before all Mecca 30's. Tolstoi appears to have been issued significantly later.

Row 3, the boring ones:
A Mecca 30, Mecca 649 and Tolstoi back cards with the normal removal of the man at left, where he can faintly be seen in black, not a blue haze.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by wicker56

Adam,

that Louis Schmeling ticket is really cool. How long ago did you acquire it? How big are those Kid Chocolate Cuban cards?

Sorry, missed this.

I traded for that one at least ten years ago at a National. I don't recall which one.

The Kid 'cards' are matchbox panels. They are about the size of a Goudey card.

And more:



H815 Adam Hats Jake LaMotta premium. Only known example.



1937 Veteran Boxers Association of Illinois presentation photo inscribed to HOF sportswriter Grantland Rice. L to R: Jimmie Barry, Harry Forbes, Johnny Coulon, Battling Nelson, Buddy Ryan, George Gardner

[wicker56]

Greg,

I admire your dedication. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a card with 8 different variations, before. I enjoy the rare backs of the Tolstoi’s, but I’m also very fond of the blank back cards, for some reason.

Thanks for sharing. Now I need to go choose a couple of scans to keep the thread going.

Originally Posted by G1911

Too much potential to let this thread die already.

Here's a cool one I have on my desk. For some reason, the majority of unique-oddities in T220 are of Joe Coburn, over 50% of what I've seen are his card. There's a couple really cool yellow proof/incompleted cards that I don't have. I like the mystery of it, the odd removal of the generic man-to-left that seems to be completely pointless.

Top Row, the Silvers:
Here's an incomplete T220 with a blank back and no name on bottom. SGC slabbed this as a proof, which I do not believe is accurate. I think it more likely this is just from a scrapped sheet.

Second card is a normal silver, except... there's almost no silver. There are just a few flakes here and there of the silver coating, and his name is printed twice in a very bold way. I cannot be sure if this card was screwed up in printing or some kind of damage occurred over the years. I've owned some really beat up, exposed and nasty T220-1's and never found one with this kind of damage, nor have I for a similar ATC card. I'm 50/50 agnostic on if this card left the factory this way at the moment. I am pretty confident these two cards are a clue to the printing of the name. I have some cards where the name is clearly printed below the silver, others where the black ink name is clearly printed on top of the silver. The evidence does not all point the same direction, to the name being printed with the original black pass, being printed after the silver application, or being printed twice. SGC slabbed this one a 10, which seemed wrong. It should be an A, either because it's been altered or because it's an incomplete card.

The third card is a correct, final silver card.

Row 2, The White Errors:
Again, not sure if some kind of pre-production piece or from a scrapped sheet. The card is handcut, and has an upside down back of Joe Gans. This is probably significant as a clue to sheet layout. Gans was the 3rd of 5 cards on the right side of the sheet in the Silver run. Coburn cannot be placed because his Silver sheet does not exist or has not yet appeared. This may suggest that, for him to be printed upside down here, Coburn was on the left edge of the sheet. It is also possible the type 2's have no relation to the layout of the type 1's, though that would seem to create unnecessary work for Brett Lithography to achieve nothing by rearranging everything. It seems likeliest there were 2 sheets for T220-2. This card is certainly from the early print run, if not from a test/proof run. The man to Coburn's left has been removed but appears as a blue haze, which indicates it is from early production before the image was edited again.

The next card is a fully printed and produced blue haze man-to-left. These cards are pretty darn tough, though recurring. They so far have only been discovered with 649 backs. I suspect the first printings were Mecca 649, though not all Mecca 649's were produced before all Mecca 30's. Tolstoi appears to have been issued significantly later.

Row 3, the boring ones:
A Mecca 30, Mecca 649 and Tolstoi back cards with the normal removal of the man at left, where he can faintly be seen in black, not a blue haze.

[wicker56]

Adam,


The other night when you posted the veteran boxers of Chicago photo, I couldn’t recall where I had seen it before. So, today I searched online until I found it. The South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame website was the place. The photo is also a great reminder of just how small Johnny Coulon, really was.

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Sorry, missed this.

I traded for that one at least ten years ago at a National. I don't recall which one.

The Kid 'cards' are matchbox panels. They are about the size of a Goudey card.

And more:



H815 Adam Hats Jake LaMotta premium. Only known example.



1937 Veteran Boxers Association of Illinois presentation photo inscribed to HOF sportswriter Grantland Rice. L to R: Jimmie Barry, Harry Forbes, Johnny Coulon, Battling Nelson, Buddy Ryan, George Gardner

[wicker56]

When looking at the the postcard lot in the Leland's auction last weekend, I noticed a couple of Jeffries Rob Roy cards. You don't see them come up for sale all that often.

[wicker56]

This Johnson - Burns card is one of my all time favorite cards. I have no idea why the scan is so grainy. It's hard to believe that PSA has slabbed a couple of 7's. In the ring this fight wasn't much, but it's influence on the sport was felt for many many years.

[G1911]

The Johnson/Burns is my favorite Johnson picture on a card. His Turkey Red is his best aesthetic card to me largely due to the size allowing better quality, but I love this one. It seems to come up more than his other 2 cards in the E79 set and remains pretty affordable. The red back version of it is near the top of my want list

[wicker56]

Greg,

It took me years of collecting to actually purchase a Turkey red card for my collection. The cards were just too large for my liking , I guess. The strange thing is that I always admired the 2006 Turkey Red series. The 06 series in my mind is simply incredible, and the cost is a fraction of what the originals are.

[Jerry G]

Original 1965 Jack Dempsey versus Luis Firpo Aurora plastic model. Not perfect, but better than the one I built at 12 years old. The first one was blown up with firecrackers along with my airplane and monster models of the era.

[wicker56]

Very nice, Jerry. I recall seeing one of these on Ebay, not long ago. The picture of one actually completed is much more impressive, then just looking at the box.

[wicker56]

Sticking with the topic of larger cards are more appealing. I also really like the 2013 Box Toppers. The cards are readily available and the image is great.

[Jerry G]

As my eyes get older, my appreciation for bigger cards expands.

[G1911]

I collected all three of the baseball Topps Turkey Red sets when they came out, and the 2006 football series. I have a beautiful George Washington box topper from the 06 footballs picturing him at prayer that I love. The modern size base cards also had a few presidents that I enjoyed trying to get in every color (Ford, Reagan, Grant, Kennedy). There was an insert series in one of the baseball sets showing all the presidents in the T9 design I liked too.

I hadn’t realized Johnson was in the series. I have my own checklist of modern boxing cards that have appeared in other sports sets but this one was not even on my list. I need to find one of these now, it will look gorgeous next to the original showing both the sets designs.

I’m a big fan of the Panini Golden Age sets too.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by wicker56

When looking at the the postcard lot in the Leland's auction last weekend, I noticed a couple of Jeffries Rob Roy cards. You don't see them come up for sale all that often.

The Rob Roy and the 1907 D & K Publishing are the only PCs I collect by set. I chased that lot but only needed two cards from it so couldn't justify another bid. If anyone got the lot, I need two of the dupes.

Originally Posted by wicker56

Adam,


The other night when you posted the veteran boxers of Chicago photo, I couldn’t recall where I had seen it before. So, today I searched online until I found it. The South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame website was the place. The photo is also a great reminder of just how small Johnny Coulon, really was.

SD. Boy you get around.

Here's a complete set of Max Baer Gillette contest premiums from Canada, ca. 1935. Printed on paper about as good as a magazine section in a newspaper.