Lot 216. 1887 N184 W.S. Kimball Champions Card of John L Sullivan. Collectors of 19th century cards know how difficult it is to find examples of this issue. SGC graded the card 10 Poor 1. The back has a significant amount of paper loss. Otherwise, there is a horizontal crease and a few other inoffensive creases. The back dictates the grade, while the front looks better, with a colorful, strong image of Sullivan.
Winning Bid $110
Lot 217. 1910-11 T9 Turkey Red Card of #55 Hall of Fame Boxer James Jeffries. A strong puncher and excellent athlete, Jeffries was the undefeated heavyweight champion from 1899-1905. In the 1970s, to improve his enjoyment of this card, our consignor had the tips of the four corners restored, along with a chip in the center at the top. The card has two tiny pin holes in the top border. There is on crease on the front, at Jeffries’ elbow. In the aftermath of being professionally restored, the card has a vg to vg+ appearance and a clean back.
Winning Bid $213
Lot 218. 1910-11 T9 Turkey Red Cabinet Card of #56 Jack “Twin” Sullivan. The front of this card is vg with two creases in the upper left corner. Otherwise, it is free of creases, and the corners show light wear. The image of Sullivan is bold. The back shows surface wear and various small areas of paper loss that affect the double-line border and a few letters. G-vg. In 1908, Sullivan had a shot at the vacant world middleweight title, but Stanley Ketchel knocked him out in the 20th round.
Winning Bid $75
Lot 219. 1910-11 T9 Turkey Red Cabinet Card of #58 Packey McFarland, Hall of Fame Boxer. The top border has a ½” tear, and the back has light soiling along the top edge and a couple of insignificant stains. A few corner or border creases do not affect the powerful image of McFarland. G appearance. Although he never won a title, McFarland was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992. He was one of the better lightweights on the boxing scene from 1905 to 1915.
Winning Bid $75
Lot 220. 1910-11 T9 Turkey Red Cabinet Card of #65 Sam Langford, Hall of Fame Boxer. The front of this card has a vg appearance; there is a ¼” edge tear that is difficult to see. The back shows some paper loss along the bottom half at the left edge and at the lower right corner. These cards are made up of several layers of paper, and the layers have begun to separate very slightly. The image of Langford is sharp and colorful. G. Langford was one of many excellent black boxers who were never given a title shot in the early 1900s. In 1906, he lost a 15-round decision to Jack Johnson, who was at least 20 pounds heavier. After Johnson became heavyweight champion, he refused to fight Langford again. Langford was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Winning Bid $152
Lot 221. 1910-11 T9 Turkey Red Card of #73 Al Kaufman. This bright, colorful card is free of creases except for a tiny edge crease in the lower right. Three corners and an edge chip have been restored. A small edge chip and a chip in the lower right corner remain. Our consignor has enjoyed this card since the 1970s. He had it restored to improve its appearance. He is now parting with the card for health reasons. The card displays very nicely. Kaufman was a “Great White Hope” who unsuccessfully challenged Jack Johnson. Otherwise, he won his share of heavyweight bouts, defeating Philadelphia Jack O’Brien once and Twin Sullivan twice.
Winning Bid $75
Lot 222. 1920s Uncut Strip of 10 Anonymous Boxing Cards Including Jack Johnson. This strip is from a series of 30 cards that employs b&w photography. It is from the “Gray Backs” series printed on light cardboard. The cards are unnumbered with the exception of #34 Jack Johnson. Besides Johnson, the fighters are Ad Wolgast, Young Griffo, Mike O’ Dowd, Frankie Genaro, Johnny Buff, Pal Moran, Joe Bernstein, Kid Williams and Young Corbett. There is a bit of inoffensive staining but no creases.
Winning Bid $75
Lot 223. 1930 Cloetta Chocolate Cards of Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey. These cards, which measure about 1 1/16” x 2”, turn up infrequently. They feature b&w photos. The card of Tunney, #73, has a moderate amount of paste residue on the back and presents as vg-ex. The card of Dempsey, #129, is vg+ to ex.
Winning Bid $61
Lot 224. 10 1956 Topps Adventure Boxing Cards – 8 PSA NM-MT 8, 2 PSA NM 7. This high-grade group consists of: PSA NM-MT 8: #22 Post War Battlers Sugar Ray Robinson, Bobo Olson, 35 Tunney, 42 Charles, 76 The great John L. Sullivan, 77 Corbett, 78 Fitzsimmons, 79 Jeffries, 80 Hart. PSA NM 7: #32 Jack Johnson, 88 Carnera.
Winning Bid $222
Lot 225. 1970 Life Muhammad Ali Comeback Cover with Signature. From 1967, when he refused to report for military service, until 1970, Ali was out of boxing. In 1970, he was finally granted a license to box in Georgia. This Oct. 23 issue of Life previews the bout with Jerry Quarry and speculates on a fight with the heavyweight champion, Joe Frazier. Ali scored a TKO over Quarry in the third round. The cover shows Ali with red trunks, gloved hands on hips. His signature is a bold 10 in black sharpie across the trunks and makes for a very dramatic presentation. Ex-m magazine with mailing label. Authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $198
Lot 226. Joe Louis Autograph on a Special Caesars Palace Card. Gem mint 10 signature on 3 ¼” x 5 3/8” autograph card with the Caesars Palace logo. Personalized to “Terry” and dated 1980. Louis died the following year. Bold autograph of one of the great heavyweight champions. In fact, in 2005, the International Boxing Research Organization named Louis the greatest heavyweight of all time. Authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $100
