1948 Leaf Graziano card...True Story

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Posted By: paulgrubor

My Graziano Leaf boxing card story...

I'm the seller that auctioned off the Rare 1948 Leaf Graziano card via a Sports Collectors Digest auction in the late 1980's. The story behind this rare card is as follows. My wife and I were set up at a Sun Times show in Chicago and we met a Doctor from Streator, Il and we became good friends with this person. He mentioned that Streator was a big Baseball town and that we should come there on a buy trip. We ran ads in the local paper and did buy a 1963 presentation set along with a wonderful collection of old Bobbing heads.
A Honus Wagner Ball also was offered but we passed on it because we were mainly sellers of sportscards (darn it). We had a great time and purchased quite a few nice collections.

We arrived home and the Doctor called us about three days later and said he was contacted by a local business man that had quite a nice collection of sets from the 50's and 60's. He was unable to make it during our previous visit so we set up a time and date to visit his furniture store located in downtown Streator. Upon arriving we walked in his backroom and lined up on 4 back to back eight foot tables were stacks and stacks of cards with alot of complete sets. Included was a stack of Ringside and Leaf boxing cards that were added to the final purchase price. Upon leaving the store my wife noticed a nice recliner and asked about the price. The owner threw it in and we put it in the trunk and tied it down...True story..It was January and we had a back seat loaded with vintage cards and froze all the way home.

I never really had boxing cards so I offered them to a collector in Milwaukee for $500.00 for the group but he passed. I decided to run an SCD auction with the cards and kept getting calls to end the Graziano card early. I told my wife that something is up with this card because I swear I had at least 15 calls to end early. The card ended up at $1100.00 or so and I was shocked. There were 2 bidders on the line and I kept switching back and forth with bids increasing by the second. The card was creased and by todays standards would grade a 2 or 3. Anyway, thats my story on the Graziano card that the original owner stated was purchased in the Chicago area during his childhood.

Paul Grubor

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Posted By: JimB

Great story. Thanks for sharing it.
JimB

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Posted By: peter ullman

i thought you were gonna say you found the graziano card in the cushion of the la'z'boy!

pete ullman

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Posted By: dennis

"i thought you were gonna say you found the graziano card in the cushion of the la'z'boy!"
i thought that too!

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Posted By: Jimmy

great story for the boxing fan, and this card always gets attention in the hobby

Thanks for sharing your story

Jimmy

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

The Old Judge #33 has a brief article on the Graziano. It basically details the 2 known examples at the time, one of which was noted to have been stolen in the late 1980's.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

In the late '90s, the dealer in the next booth to mine at the Ft. Washington show had a Graziano. it was only the 2nd one I had seen.
Leaf card #50 with White cardboard (Graziano was never printed on Gray cardboard, as the other 49 cards in the set are).
This was a crisp, sharp card (Nr Mint). He didn't sell it at the show and subsequently consigned it to an auction where it sold for $5000+.

TED Z

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Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

Any theories why this card is so rare? How many are known to exist?

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

COREY

My understanding is that Graziano didn't like (or want) his picture on a Gum card. He was always "a piece of work" to begin with.
I met him at the 1984 National and he was not a friendly dude.

Anyhow, Leaf Gum quickly replaced him on their sheet of of 49 cards (supposedly with Arturo Godoy). At that point the Graziano
card, inadvertently, was to become the most scarcest post-war sportscard in the hobby.

It's really a shame that he had the card removed, as it was at a time when Graziano and Tony Zale were at their zenith in the
Chicago fight scene. And, many kids in 1948 were disappointed in not finding a "Rocky" card upon opening up those Leaf packs.

The two cards I know of was one Don Flanagan had and another that Pete Waldham (Florida collector) has; besides, the cards
mentioned in this thread. There can't be more than 10 in circulation.

TED Z

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Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

Thx Ted

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

If that's the case, where did the white stock cardboard come from?

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

In 1948 LEAF initially printed their Boxing card set and their Football card set on WHITE cardboard stock.
At the end of that year and into 1949 Leaf switched to GRAY cardboard stock. They had additional press runs
on both of these sets using the GRAY stock. Leaf continued using the GRAY cardboard for their 1949 BB set
that was issued in early Spring of '49. And, the GRAY cardboard was also used for their 1949 Football set,
issued in the Fall of '49..

The Rocky Graziano only exists with WHITE cardboard since it was discontinued during the very 1st press run
early in 1948.

I have two complete sets of the Boxing issue....one with WHITE and one with GRAY cardboard. I wish they would
have printed only with the WHITE stock, as the pictures are much clearer than the cards with the GRAY stock.

TED Z