What are you top 5 20th century boxing cards?

[Andy Baran]

I only own 1 20th Century Boxing Card, so I guess it's my favorite. It's the Romeo y Julieta John L. Sullivan vs. Jake Kilrain card. I love that it shows them as old men, rather than using an old photo from their fighting days. I still need to find the Sullivan/Corbett from this set.

As far as pure aesthetics go, I'd have to choose the Ogdens Boer War Bob Fitzsimmons and the Susini Jack Johnson. I don't own either, and have only ever seen 1 example of the Fitz.

[Exhibitman]

I was thinking of the Susini Johnson as an example of a much better looking Cuban card than the R y J.

The Ogdens is interesting; wouldn't mind having it as a type card. That company got around; there are some rare Aussie Ogdens cards too, like this Peter Jackson, which has only a few known examples:



ETA: so yeah, I bought it even with the corner missing.

One of the best parts of boxing cards is how far-flung they are. I have stuff from every continent except Antarctica, and if penguins could box there'd probably be cards of those too. That's one reason why it is so hard to assess rarity. How do you even begin when there are so many cards of 5 or fewer specimens from all over the world?

[david_l]

That Jackson card is so amazing. I constantly hope that one day I'll stumble across one. Probably not very likely. Definitely deserves to be in the top 5. I love that the card says "Champion pugilist of the world." Damn straight.

Agreed on your points about how far flung these cards are. Just another fun aspect of collecting pugilist cards that some of our card collecting brethren miss out on.

[david_l]

I was reading up on Bob Fitzsimmons recently. Really cool guy who was a sparring partner of Jackson's for a bit. He was quoted as saying something like future generations will look poorly upon fighters who draw a color line. Very astute thinking for the time.

I also loved that Fitzsimmons publicly refused to fight Peter Jackson. Not because he was black (like Sullivan claimed) but because he was a bad dude (and I mean that in the best of ways).

So much really cool history in the sport.

[boxingcarddigest]

Andy, that's my Fitz Ogdens. Found it in the strangest of places (old antique bookshop within a folder of cards). Hadn't ever seen one in my time of collecting. Also found two of the Ogden's Jacksons in odd places in Australia (within 2 weeks of each other !). The only two I have ever seen however is the one Adam has posted, and the one I have sitting at home.


In terms of nice looking cards, it's hard to go past the T218's, T9's and T220's.








As for my favorites, for pure image aesthetics, I cannot go past the Felix Potin Jack Johnson - still one of my favorite cards in my collection.



The La Morena's have some funky images.


The Aussie stadium cards around the WW1 period had some awesome graphics



And I always liked the colors on the Danish Rich's cards:

[david_l]

Wowza that Aussie card is sharp. Also super jealous about your Jackson finds.

[boxingcarddigest]

Some of those stadium promotional cards were wacky:

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by david_l

That Jackson card is so amazing. I constantly hope that one day I'll stumble across one. Probably not very likely. Definitely deserves to be in the top 5. I love that the card says "Champion pugilist of the world." Damn straight.

Agreed on your points about how far flung these cards are. Just another fun aspect of collecting pugilist cards that some of our card collecting brethren miss out on.

Honestly, I did not realize it was that rare when I saw it for sale, I just knew the Aussie Ogdens was a type card I needed for my collection.

As long as we're talking crazy-ass rarities I have to give a shout out to Adam Hats:

[david_l]

Them's some good looking hats!

Out of curiosity, was there any 19th Century Peter Jackson cards produced? I have your book but don't remember it being mentioned.

Awesome stuff everyone. This thread has turned into a nice show and tell.

[Exhibitman]

19th Century Jackson Cards:

N310 Mayo would be the easiest to find and afford. There is an N338 SF Hess. And the N566 Newsboy cabinets. And N266 Jackson-Slavin.

[Andy Baran]

There is also an N174 Old Judge produced in Australia. There are 2 variations listed of the SF Hess. Does anyone know what the difference between the 2 cards is?

[david_l]

Originally Posted by david_l

Them's some good looking hats!

Out of curiosity, was there any 19th Century Peter Jackson cards produced? I have your book but don't remember it being mentioned.

Awesome stuff everyone. This thread has turned into a nice show and tell.

lol. Sorry. I have the 2008 version of your book and I noticed that you mention Jackson a LOT. I just managed to retain none of the info.

[Dpeck100]

The Mike Tyson 1986 Panini Supersport Italian deserves consideration. It is arguably the most followed boxing sticker and while it isn't exactly rare it is Kid Dynamite from 1985. Moments after Tyson bloodies up Sammy Scaff on December 6th of that year he is interviewed and captured for this image. The UK version came out in 1987 and features images from the Australian Open from that January so there is no disputing which is the rookie of Mike Tyson.

My generation grew up playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out and arguing with elders that he is the best ever.

I think of the Tyson Italian similar to the 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan. If you are trying to determine the top basketball cards there are plenty to choose from that are more rare and perhaps more valuable. But popularity counts for something and so it should at least be considered for the list. Top 10 easily.