The mysterious 1938 American Sweets
doubledragon
Posts: 23,269 ✭✭✭✭✭
Oh, hi there! Come over here by the campfire and relax for a while. Let me entertain you with a thread about a mysterious set of cards called 1938 American Sweets. As the legend goes, back in 1938 in Manila in the Philippines, a set of cards was under production that included boxers, weightlifters, and some exercising images. The set was originally slated for 250 subjects, but it is believed that only 40 exist, 20 boxers and 20 weightlifting and exercising images. This is a mysterious set, and the production of the entire set of 250 was interrupted by the invasion of the philippines by the Japanese. It is also believed that only one known example exists for many of these cards, they are truly rare treasures. I have read about this set online and I have seen some of the boxing cards, and they are unbelievably awesome! Now, this is a mysterious story and if any of my information is incorrect, please feel free to add on to this thread, because this set deserves it's time in the spotlight, and I want the information to be as accurate as possible. Below are some of the known examples of boxers from this legendary set. Thanks for stopping by!
Comments
Joe Louis. Yeah, this is the top of the mountain for this set, and I believe it is owned by Adam Warshaw. I believe Adam owns or owned most of the 1938 American Sweets boxing cards?
Jack Sharkey.
Kid McCoy.
Panama Al Brown.
Mickey Walker.
Kid Chocolate.
Tony Canzoneri.
Jersey Joe Walcott in the middle.
Johnny Kilbane.
Awesome stuff.
Yes, they are awesome! I love the design of them.
Benny Leonard.
I just learned that there are also wrestlers included in the set.
The way you wrote it as a campfire story cracks me up.
Thanks I needed that !
Oh man, > @doubledragon said:
I think nowadays the MOD should frag you and you should be banished from the world for posting something like this.
Yeah, I thought it would be fun to add a little campfire to the thread, it gives it a fun atmosphere!
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I also discovered these images, and I can see that the set includes Abe Attell, Max Baer, Primo Carnera, Jackie Fields, Joe Gans, Bob Fitzsimmons, and Gene Tunney.
Awesome Primo Carnera!
Man, these cards are just freakin awesome. I'm just in awe everytime I see them. Here is the knockout bubblegum wrapper, and apparently one card was inserted in each pack of American Sweets knockout bubblegum.
>
That's great! What other wrestlers were in the set?
I'm not really sure, the only one I have found an image of is the Man Mountain Dean pictured above so far.
The backs of these cards indicate that the set was to have 250 cards, but the gum wrapper indicates only 140 cards in the set. It should also be noted that 40 is the highest number in the set ever to be confirmed. It is also said that these cards were produced prior to the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese and that the invasion was the cause of the production of the cards coming to an end. I also read that most if not all of these cards have been found "in the wild" over the years. It is possible that the surviving cards were brought to the states by Americans fleeing WWII during this time. It should also be noted that all of this information comes from Adam Warshaw, who is the foremost expert on boxing cards in the United States, if not the world, and he is the author of "America's Great boxing cards". I have purchased cards from Adam before, and he is a human encyclopedia on the subject of boxing cards.
Here are the images of some of the exercise cards from this legendary and mythical set.
Adam's book is invaluable. No one should collect boxing cards without it.
Arthur
And quite the stand up comedian. I’m sure his skits are somewhere on YouTube.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
Yup, I agree, I like this set and have some of them (formerly owned by Warshaw). Be careful with your Joe Walcott identification though; much like "The Two Jack Dempseys", there are also two noteworthy HOF boxers by the name of Joe Walcott you'll encounter. The Sweets one you show, and the other two as well, are the older boxer, Barbados Joe Walcott. Jersey Joe didn't come around until years later after the American Sweets set. The Swedish set on the left has both Walcotts in it.
https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/21091
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_Joe_Walcott
https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/11028
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Joe_Walcott
BTW, I have a complete set of the Fantomen ones, including the checklist. If you haven't seen the Joe Louis one, LMK and I can scan it up for you some time.
Agreed; he is very knowledgeable. For reasons unknown to me, there are still some items in Adam's book that PSA won't grade yet (SGC will do them all though).
I do wish Adam had time to put together the foreign card version of the boxing card guide he has thought about but not been able to move forward on.
I've got the 1955-56 Ringens Mastare - Fantomens Boxar Samlarserie, card number 5. Joe Louis scanned for you, and I also am including the no-number Header w/ checklist back. To follow up on my earlier post, Jersey Joe Walcott is no. 4, and Barbados Joe Walcott is no. 79. SGC labels them as 1956, but 1955-56 is correct/accurate.
Oh mama! That is sweet! I had no idea about this. Those are awesome, thanks for scanning them!
I can't speak for Adam but doing a foreign (outside the Americas) reference would be unimaginable. I think it would probably at least come close to entering the "life's work" category of endeavors.
Arthur
Those are cool. I love the simplicity of the art work.
Sgc grades Fantomen ? Wow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
I bought american sweets Al Brown from Adam..i bought his book also..his book is a little confusing though lol...but great book..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
hey DD,
Pretty cool...