As you can see, my set is far from being in pristine condition. In fact, grading the set in VG condition would be kind. Of course, I don't really care. It's just been a joy to put it together. I think my favorite card is the John L Sullivan, not only because he was a great boxer, but because my card happens to be in great shape. I remember lucking out on a eBay auction lot several years back that included that great looking card. On another note, one great boxer is noticeably absent. For whatever reason, Jack Johnson is not included in the set. As always, click on any pic to enlarge.
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Looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Ernest!
Nice set - It is amazing they had cards of Black fighters.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Racism and discrimination still prevailed, yet, in sport, Black athletes garnered a huge following and a certain level of respect that was much slower to come for the majority of the Black population.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that only went so far. As I wrote, one Black boxer (and the most famous of boxers) Jack Johnson is missing from the set. Even though he was respected in some circles there were still others who despised him. Most of which probably had to do with marrying White woman.
Very, very cool. How long did it take you to complete the set? Do you remember which card was your first?
ReplyDeleteIt was easily 6 to 7 years ago... with a 2 to 3 year break towards the end... at this point I have no recollection how I got started with the set. I've been a big boxing fan for a long time now, and with nice vintage Baseball cards from this time period way to expensive to chase down I turned to boxing to satisfy my collecting cravings. My first boxing card purchase was a e79 Philadelphia scrappers card (i don't exactly recall who it was) and went full steam ahead after that.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, I probably purchased a large lot of vintage boxing cards that had a handful of T220's in it and got started that way. I'm pretty sure that's how I got started on my T218 set (still 10 cards or so away from finishing) and caramel boxing cards (e cards)- which will take me considerably more time to complete- prices on (e) caramel cards, in general, have skyrocketed.