Let's See Some Awesome Boxing Cards!

[Exhibitman]

One per day per poster; let's keep it going as a virtual card show. I will start with the granddaddy of them all:



Pre-1870 John C. Heenan CDV by Fredricks. This is the earliest verifiable boxing card. Until the late 1850's the photographic technology did not permit commercial scale, affordable production of photographs. Fredricks was one of the first to make albumen images, a skill he learned in France and brought to the States in 1855. By the time this card was issued as part of his commercially produced "Specialite" series of famous personages, Fredricks owned a large studio and gallery in New York City. His work is featured in a number of museum collections, including the Smithsonian.

[Bill77]

Ogden's A series No. 83

[yanksfan09]

My favorite, 1908 Birmingham Smallwares PC Jack Johnson #1

[RCMcKenzie]

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[wondo]

One of my favorites

[sthoemke]

I pulled this card a couple years ago

[Bill77]

I bought this because I liked the image.

[Exhibitman]

N269 Lorillard's Mechanics Delight John L. Sullivan. One of two Sullivans in the set, both carrying the same card number.



It's a little rough around the edges.

[Bill77]

Here we have Conan O'Brien oops, I mean Patsy Brannigan.

[Exhibitman]

I did not think of that...you're right. I did a show last week with his staff writers.



I waited for years for this one:




Is an Australian stadium card made to promote a fight and one of the few career-contemporary cards of Darcy: I think there may be a few other stadium cards of him but that's it as far as I know. All the rest are posthumous.

[yanksfan09]

Boxing and the Babe

[G1911]

Forgive me for being the guy to break the 1 per day per poster, but these 7 go together and can't be seperated. The first Boxing cards I got, a gift from my father on my 12th birthday who thought I might like some tobacco cards that weren't a T205 or a t206. He got them on eBay in a lot for a few $, a few $ gift that has inspired me to spend far more than I want to tabulate on cards of a sport I never cared about until I got these shiny silvers. I buy more 'valuable' cards nowadays, but these will always be my favorite boxing cards in my collection. 18 years later, I am still looking for more T220 silvers.

[Bill77]

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[Exhibitman]

N692 Sunny South featuring Cal McCarthy, an early featherweight and bantamweight champ. I really like this card because it took years for us collectors to successfully ID the white boxer on the Sunny South cards. Also part of one of the best nickname fights ever: The Harlem Spider v. The Wonder.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

N692 Sunny South featuring Cal McCarthy, an early featherweight and bantamweight champ. I really like this card because it took years for us collectors to successfully ID the white boxer on the Sunny South cards. Also part of one of the best nickname fights ever: The Harlem Spider v. The Wonder.

This is a really random photograph but very cool looking. I really like this one

[Exhibitman]

Richard K. Fox, publisher of the Police Gazette, made up several CDVs of himself, like this one. I guess if you have the equipment and the day is slow...like xeroxing your butt at the office.

[Bill77]

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[Casey2296]

Don't have much in the way of boxing but I'm a big fan of Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, & Ray Robinson.
_

[G1911]

I don't collect much modern, but some of the throwback releases have pretty cool (and dirt cheap, since most buyers are looking for hits and selling off their base for whatever they can get) designs. The Goodwin Champions in the early 2010's used a design layout and artwork very reminiscent of the N and T originals, and included some boxers from that era other than Sullivan who usually appears in these types of sets. I really like these as cool cards, that cost basically nothing.

I don't believe I know of another card of Mike Donovan between his 1911 T220's and this 2013. Fitzsimmons was in Ringside, 1956 Adventure, 2006 A&G, others and Gans has appeared many times since he was active. Cards of Sullivan, Corbett, Peter Jackson, Jack McAuliffe, Ketchel and a few others were all made in these designs

[Bill77]

I got both of these as Jack Johnson cards started to take off a few years ago for about the same price a week apart. I bought the 1st one thinking that was the best I could get at the time and would save up for the other Johnson card in the set. A week later the second card pictured showed up and I decided to put in a bid not thinking I would win giving the price increases at the time. I paid about $25 a piece for them and I think the nicer one was a dollar or two less than the other. But the 1st one has really nice color to it.

[Mark Webster]

Here to represent Britain is a seldom seen card of Ezzard Charles issued in 1953 by M.M. Frame.

[GasHouseGang]

Might as well start with one of my favorites.

[Exhibitman]

That's a fun one, Mark.



1904 Jeffries-Munroe cabinet card by Sporting Life magazine. Only known example. With the rabid W600 collectors out there I was fortunate to grab up this one.

[Mark Webster]

Anonymous issue Bob Fitzsimmons card. Purchased over 20 years ago from a seller in America. After all this time I’m still unable to pin it down! One of my favourites.

[GasHouseGang]

Today's entry. An M125 of James J. Corbett.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Mark Webster

Anonymous issue Bob Fitzsimmons card. Purchased over 20 years ago from a seller in America. After all this time I’m still unable to pin it down! One of my favourites.

So you have the Fitz! I've been looking for that one since it sold. I picked up this one a bit ago and it seems to be from a similar anonymous issue:

[G1911]

If anyone ever figures out the source, I’d like to know out of pure curiosity. I thought about bidding on them but wasn’t sure they were even cards. Really like the McGovern image

[Ryno447]

Have one card left to complete the Ringside set. While Joe Louis is a close 2nd, this has to be my favorite:




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[Mark Webster]

Here to represent Canada is another seldom seen card. This one of Joe Choyinski/Choynski issued in 1910 by Robertson Candy Co. I’m still unsure about the surname!

[herbc]

[GasHouseGang]

Here's one I bought framed, and decided to leave that way.

[Bill77]

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[Exhibitman]

Mark: it's "Choynski" pronounced "koy-in-ski"

Herb: very sharp Cobra. Here's the original image:



Ryan: that's a sharp Marciano RC. Mine is only an "A"

[Ryno447]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Mark: it's "Choynski" pronounced "koy-in-ski"

Herb: very sharp Cobra. Here's the original image:



Ryan: that's a sharp Marciano RC. Mine is only an "A"

This is an amazing piece! Haven't ever seen one of these before. So cool.

[Ryno447]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

Here's one I bought framed, and decided to leave that way.

Love this. So unique with unique style. Do you know what issue this is?

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by Ryno447

Love this. So unique with unique style. Do you know what issue this is?

Ryan,
These are called Stevengraphs. Here are a group they sold recently.

[G1911]

Here's a pretty tough one, only a handful out there:

[Ryno447]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

Ryan,
These are called Stevengraphs. Here are a group they sold recently.

Awesome, thanks for the info!


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[GasHouseGang]

Something a bit newer.

[Exhibitman]

[herbc]

[G1911]

in my eyes, these and the T220 Silver's are the most aesthetically pleasing boxing cards issued yet. Here's Peerless Jim/Jem

[Exhibitman]

Nice JJ RC, Herb.

I'm not a big Turkey Red collector but they are great looking cards. As long as we're talking cabinets, here are two HOFers in the Pioneer Facial Hair category:



Paddy Ryan, 2020 IBHOF, Sarony cabinet



Joe Goss, 2003 IBHOF, Wood cabinet

[GasHouseGang]

An early caramel card of Sullivan.

[Bill77]

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[Mark Webster]

South African issue Vic Toweel Series issued in the early 1950’s by Honey Bee Candy Works Ltd. A subsidiary of Barratt’s Confectionery. The card features the fight between Toweel and Manuel Ortiz.

[G1911]

Here's an amusing one. What happened to Al Kaufman's top? Did the artist get 3/4 through painting his shirt and decided there wasn't enough nipple on this card? Was he portraying Kaufman shirtless, and then realized it would be easier to just color fill in half his body? The E77's were a marked step up in quality from the awfully generic E75/E76 cards, but this one is such a bad card, that I like it.

Kaufman's claim to fame is being one of the contender cans Jack Johnson destroyed during his title reign in a heavily lopsided bout. Johnson doesn't seem to have held much interest in defending his title against strong competition, beating middleweights, light heavyweights, cans, mediocre heavyweights and a retired and a washed up old champ in his title defenses, while Jeanette and Langford were left without a title shot. Kaufman became an actor after calling it quits.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by G1911

Here's an amusing one. What happened to Al Kaufman's top? Did the artist get 3/4 through painting his shirt and decided there wasn't enough nipple on this card? Was he portraying Kaufman shirtless, and then realized it would be easier to just color fill in half his body? The E77's were a marked step up in quality from the awfully generic E75/E76 cards, but this one is such a bad card, that I like it.

Kaufman's claim to fame is being one of the contender cans Jack Johnson destroyed during his title reign in a heavily lopsided bout. Johnson doesn't seem to have held much interest in defending his title against strong competition, beating middleweights, light heavyweights, cans, mediocre heavyweights and a retired and a washed up old champ in his title defenses, while Jeanette and Langford were left without a title shot. Kaufman became an actor after calling it quits.

Yeah, that's a weird ass card.

[herbc]

Nice JJ RC, Herb.

Thanks Adam, Johnson was my first boxing card.

Burns gave Johnson an opportunity.

[Exhibitman]

Another nice one, Mark; add that to my type card want list.