18th Century Boxing Token & Rare Tobacco Cards John L. Sullivan Jack Johnson Boxer Joe Louis Cigarette Cards

Click Here To See More

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”.

Click Here To See More

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!

Click Here To See More