Ali cards

[Exhibitman]

I've noticed a spike of about 10-20% in the number of cards on eBay in the boxing cards category, basically all Ali modern stuff plus some of the older cards.

I have gotten a lot of questions about Ali cards over the last few days, mostly people wanting advice on which Ali card to get for their collections. My views, FWIW, on the essential Ali cards, which are representative of my own personal preferences, peccadillos and prognostications:

1960 Hemmets Journal Cassius Clay: A Swedish Olympic issue of four card panels in pages that could be cut up or inserted into a booklet. Each card was individually numbered and has a self-contained bio back. This is the real RC for Clay/Ali whether hand cut from the page or as part of the four card sheet.

1962 Rekord: His second card. Another Swedish issue, these were two to an issue cards on the front covers of the magazine. Again, clearly intended to be a card cut from the publication.

1960s Exhibit (green tint): This is the first American issued Ali card. I haven't been able to pin down the exact date yet but definitely 1963-1964. There are sepia tint and black and white versions that were issued a few years later, so the greenie is the one to get.

1964 MacRobertsons: An Aussie game issue that is often touted as the RC, which is not correct. It is early enough to be notable.

1964 Simon Chocolates: A Spanish issue that is also promoted by those who own it as a RC. Personally, I don't really like the drawn and caricatured cards as much as the photographic ones but it is another very early and therefore worthwhile card.

1965 Lampo: The first of the Italian sticker cards.

1966 Panini: The first of the Panini issues. I don't like it as much as the later Panini cards because it uses the Olympic photo but it is the first one from the most important card issuer for the heavyweights' greatest era.

1966 DC Thompson: I would argue that this is the first British Ali card. There is something called a "Bancroft's Tiddler" that dates to 1965 but that is a page ripped out of a booklet that has no indication of intent to be a card. It doesn't even have the Ali bio on the back: the bio is on a different page which sits directly across from the picture, so that when the booklet is open you can read the bio and see the picture. Someone, somehow, got PSA to slab the Tiddlers, so it is on the registry. The Thompson card is for my money the first real British card.

1969 Shindana Games: If you are the sort of pinhead who thinks that Exhibit cards don't count because PSA won't slab them, then the first American card of Ali is this one.

1975 Asian "menko" issues: When Ali decided to fight in Asia twice (Joe Bugner in Malaysia and Joe Frazier in Manila) it touched off a wave of card issues in the region. A gigantic series of menko-style cards were issued in Malaysia in connection with the Bugner bout. I don't know how many there are but they are found in two or three formats (the third may be Japanese menko). I think having a few is essential for a global look at Ali:

1979 Sportscasters: They are common and cheap but they are career-issued Ali cards with some really nice images.

1992 Classic autographed: Ali signed thousands of these insert cards for the Classic release. The most common has a nice signature at the bottom and a certification on the back. Another group of 2500 were issued numbered. A final group numbered to 250 has 1964 KO on the front as well. All have a white back with printing explaining the card is a limited issue autograph. This is the best Ali signed insert to get because it is early, 8 years after his diagnosis but before the disease really wrecked his signature, and they show his Liston I action image. The cards are also very affordable; they used to sell for around $150-$175 each, before his death. They've spiked a bit since but are still a good deal IMO.

OK. that's my $0.02 worth; now have at it.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Did you mention the 1971 Barratts?

[Exhibitman]

I did not. It is a common card and not a compelling image. I'd rather have any of the panini cards from the same era.

[scooter729]

I've seen the greatest interest in the 1966 panini in the past week, both from regular collectors as well as fans eho want an early Ali collectible. The Lampo is pretty popular as well, and the couple on eBay right now are a bit crazy on their BIN asking prices, so I'm not sure what the real going rate would be on these now. (I sold a PSA 4 Lampo last year for $500; the 5 has a $4500 BIN.)

I personally like the 1967 Panini one, which is much more reasonable price wise right now than the 66 counterpart.

[Exhibitman]

Another fun one to consider is the 1978 Ali Spinks Swedish card. They are usually available cheaply and show a significant fight from his career. And for sheer weirdness the Ali v Superman card cannot be beat.

[Bored5000]

Thanks for the informative thread, Adam. On a general note, I have always thought the Ali vs. Superman card was a great card. I actually like the Simon Chocolates card the best of all the early Ali cards because of the image.

[Exhibitman]

Here are my favorite Ali cards.

This card was issued in Israel around 1970 and says "Cassius Clay (Boxing)" in Hebrew:



My second favorite is this one. Great image:



Here is the Shindana card (right) with a cabinet sized version that was discovered recently. I don't know the reason for the larger card but there are others from the set known including a card of the 1968 Olympics protestors with different artwork than the regular card.

[Exhibitman]

Has anyone noticed a variation on the 1966 Panini card? I have been looking at them and see that some have a light background and some are dark. Here is a dark one:



and a light one:



I've seen the regular backs in light and dark. The valida backs so far are only dark but they are tough to find so my sample base isn't very broad.

[wrestlingcardking]

I have noticed that for quite some time and wasn't real sure what to make of the difference. I found the dark backgrounds first and then later I started to see the lighter backgrounds appear......i was buying these cards about 15 years ago before all the sellers from Italy started to put them up for themselves on ebay......at first i was thinking the light backgrounds were knock offs of some kind although I really do not think that way today.

[scooter729]

I had nearly 20 of the '66 Clay cards from as strong of a first-hand source as possible - someone who worked at Panini in the 1960s. All of them were the dark version. (There were no Validas among the group.) I've noticed the difference as well in the light / dark version, and can't theorize why it is - but only can say that of the bunch which I had that came directly from the factory, they were all dark.