Happy Boxing Day

Another Christmas means another boxing day.  Like past years I'm going to treat you to some boxing cards.  I scanned the fronts and the backs because I'm sure many of these sets are new to most that might read this. 

1911 Wills Boxers Young Cohen

Since Boxing day originated in England I am starting of with a card from England.  Most people think that boxing day is the day you bring boxes you don't want back to the store.  While that is probably accurate today that isn't what it originally was.  It started as a holiday for servants where they got the day off and received a Christmas box.  They didn't get Christmas on Christmas because they were busy taking care of their employers.  This is a mini card. Like a Ginter mini but a little shorter. 

I don't know anything about this set other than I found this card on COMC for $2.  It is 107 years old and in such good shape.  I have nothing else that is over a century old in this good shape.  I also don't know much about Young Cohen. It looks like he was a journeyman fighter with a 9-9-1 career record.  Originally I thought this was a card of the Mob Boxer Micky Cohen but then realized it was way to old.

If you got Chocolate at Christmas I bet you are not boxing it up and bringing it back.  I'm surely not bringing this back.  This was the last card in my 1948 Leaf Boxing Set.  (the Rocky Graziano SP doesn't count)  Yes you read that correct, I built a 70 year old set.  You're probably thinking yeah boxing cards are cheap and in most cases you would be correct.  But this set has some real big names in it that are not cheap. (Dempsey, Jeffries, Johnson, Schmelling, Lewis, Tunney, Baer, Sullivan, LaMotta)

The back is just like a 48 leaf baseball card.  (the front is allot the same also)  They both have the same layout, font, text size everything.  The differences are where this one says "KNOCK-OUT BUBBLE GUM" the baseball cards say "ALL-STAR BASEBAL GUM".  Under that the boxing cards say "Collect this series of Boxing Greats" and the baseball cards say "Collect this series of Diamond Greats".  The mail in offer is even exactly the same only the substitute Knock-Out cards for Basecall cards.   

1938 Churchman Joe Lewis

 Sticking with set finishing cards this finished off my 38 Churchman set.  Yes I finished an 80 year old set.  These are a ton cheaper than 48 Leaf.  If you wanted to start collecting vintage boxing I would suggest starting here.

My grandma is 93 years old and loves boxing.  She has told me many times about how she used to sit in the living room and listed to Joe Lewis fights on the radio with her family.  

1910 ATC Champion Athlete and Prizefighters

Man, his set's name is a handful to say.   I guess that is why it is just shortened to T220 Mecca.  Those spots are not just spots, they are mold. 

Read the write up on this fight.  How crazy is that a 42 round draw.

1910 ATC Champion Athlete and Prizefighter - Pal Moore

No mold here but there is wome water damage to go with those creases.  

 This is Philadelphia Pal Moore who was one of the "Fighting Moore Brothers".  They were 7 brothers that all fought.  (though some not successfully and some as bare knuckle only fighters.)  How is that for a rough childhood.

1951 Ringside Bob Montgomery

Most people haven't heard of Bob Montgomery but he is a Hall of Fame lightweight.

I've always thought the number being inside of a glove was really cool on the 51 Ringside cards.  

1964 Salina Stamp Jim Braddock

Braddock is better known as "The Cinderella Man" from the movie.  If you haven't seen it go find somewhere to stream/rent it and watch it today!  Amazing story.  This is a regular old stamp so I'm not going to scan the back you have seen the back of a stamp before.

1996 Ringside Gold Spotlight Signatures - Vinny Pazienza

1996 Ringside is another good boxing started set.  The easiest way to get this set is to trade for my dupe set.  I built this set along with all the insert sets.  Trying for inserts I built a whole extra set.  (or 3 but I'm down to one extra set now)  I finally gave up and bought the Gold Carbajal card though it took about 15 years to find one. There is something about boxers and amazing stories.  The Vinny The Pazmanian Devil has a movie Bleed for This made about him because of his crazy life and comeback.  This card is autographed though you can hardly see it.  

Stop here and read the back of that card.  See what I mean about comeback.  After this card was made he went on to win two World Championships.  

This isn't a normal run of the mill auto either.  This is pulled from a pack.  Instead of a little blurb in writing like card companies do now these had the blurb embossed right on the card.  It doesn't show very good in a scan but you can faintly see the embossed seal between my arrows.  As far as I know I have the whole auto set but there is no list of them anywhere I have found so you never know if another one might pop up.