18th Century Boxing Token & Rare Tobacco Cards John L. Sullivan Jack Johnson Boxer Joe Louis Cigarette Cards
I have a fantastic piece of boxing history; an 18th century boxing medal/token, depicting a pioneering boxer and I’ll be discussing it later in this blog.
Who was the first boxing super star? I bet a whole host of great boxers from the past sweep through your mind: Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Jack Johnson or John Lawrence Sullivan. Actually, this great sport dates back thousands of years, with the earliest depictions of fist fighting appearing on relief carvings from the Bronze Age. The first English bare knuckle boxing champion was James Figg in 1719 and this was about the same time the word “boxing” was initially used. Early fights had no written rules and there were no weight divisions, round limits or referees. The first boxing rules, called the Broughton’s rules, were introduced by heavyweight champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring.
One of greatest boxing matches in living history, between Thomas Johnson and Isaac Perrins , was held in 1789. It was such a momentous event that two medals, one representing each participant, were struck to commemorate it. I own the medal featuring the winner of the fight, Thomas Johnson. The obverse of the medal shows the bust of Johnson. The reverse is inscribed with the words “Science and Intrepidity”, because Johnson was well known for using his brain to outwit bigger and more muscular opponents, which was unusual for that time. He was thought to have earned more money during his reign as champion than any other fighter until John L. Sullivan almost a century later. Jack Anderson, a modern historian of the sport, has summarised the early boxing writers as agreeing the period of Johnson’s reign as champion “rescued the declining sport and heralded the beginning of a golden age”.
Thomas Johnson (Iohnson) Boxing Medal / Token (Inscribed: “Bella! Horrida Bella!” and “Science and Intrepidity”), 1789
Tobacco card featuring John L. Sullivan, Allen & Ginters, circa 1887
Famous Boxers (featuring Jack Johnson), Cohen Weenen & Co., 1912
A Gallery of 1935 (featuring Joe Louis), Stephen Mitchell & Son
Boxing Personalities (featuring Gene Tunney), WA & AC Churchman, 1938
Sporting Champions (featuring Jack Dempsey), 1922
If you would like to find out more about the boxing memorabilia and tobacco cards featured in this blog please click here.
Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you found it interesting!
-
Recent
- Rare WW1 Weapons In Action 15-inch Howitzer Gas Masks Anti-Aircraft Gun Cigarette Cards
- 1960’s Elvis Presley and Tommy Steele 1st Ever British Rock and Roll Star ABC Trading Cards 1962
- Sexy 1930’s Movie Stars Joan Crawford Marlene Dietrich Vintage Erotica Risque Cigarette Cards
- 1950’s Comedians Benny Hill Film Stars Pat Boone Terry Thomas Memorabilia Snap Gum Trading
- Pre WW2 Police of the World USA New York NYPD Ireland Iraq UK Palestine History Memorabilia
- Buiding WW2 Fighter Planes Bombers Life In the RAF 1930’s Royal Air Force Cigarette Cards
- 1920’s Warriors Native Americans Zulus Papuan Headhunters Cossacks DC Thomson The Rover Comic Trading
- $2.8M Baseball Card Honus Wagner T206 and Rare Vintage Sports Card Set Boxing Golf Billiards Football Major Drapking Cigarette Cards
- WW1 Cavalry Regimental Uniforms Horses Lancers Artillery Cossacks Russian Hussars John Player & Son Cigarette Cards
- Early 1900s Ghost Train Roller Coaster Ride Folkestone Kent Railway Amusement Park Postcard
- 18th Century Boxing Token & Rare Tobacco Cards John L. Sullivan Jack Johnson Boxer Joe Louis Cigarette Cards
- Rare 1900’s Harry Houdini $2000.00 Trading Card Memorabilia 1924 Frys Magic Tricks and Puzzles Cigarette Cards
-
Links
-
Archives
- September 2011 (3)
- August 2011 (4)
- June 2011 (2)
- May 2011 (6)
- April 2011 (7)
- March 2011 (5)
- February 2011 (4)
- January 2011 (9)
- December 2010 (2)
- May 2010 (22)
- April 2010 (28)
- March 2010 (7)
-
Categories
- 1930's Movie Stars
- 1950's Movie Stars
- Ancient Egypt
- Animals
- Antique Clocks and Watches
- Association Football (Soccer)
- Aviation
- Baseball
- Bicycle
- Billiards
- Boxing Memorabilia and Vintage Cigarette Cards
- British Comedians
- Classic Cars
- Collecting Cigarette Cards
- Cricket
- Dogs
- Entertainers
- F1 Racing
- Footballers
- Gardening
- Golf
- Greyhound Racing
- Horse Racing
- Illusions and Puzzles
- Jetons
- Kent
- Lighthouses
- Magic and Mystery
- Magic Tricks
- Military
- Model Making
- Motor Racing
- motorcycle
- Motorcycles
- Music
- Police
- Poultry
- Royalty
- Rugby
- Science
- Silent Movie Stars
- Soldiers
- Space Travel
- Sports
- Stamps
- Tennis
- Tokens
- Uncategorized
- Vintage Erotica
- Vintage Games
- Water-Polo
- Weapons etc)
- WW1 History (Propaganda
- WW1 Propaganda and Weapons
- ww2
- Zoo Animals
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS