I love this photo of Jimmy Wilde, the expression on his face as he catches Joe Conn flush with a left hook that distorts Conn's face. This fight took place in 1918 and Wilde won by TKO in the 12th.
Jess Willard, nicknamed the "Pottawatomie Giant," was the World Heavyweight Champion from 1915 to 1919. Standing 6 feet 7 inches tall with an 83-inch reach, he was celebrated for his massive size, incredible stamina, and devastating right-hand punch. On August 22, 1913, Willard fought the match that would secure his early reputation as a brutal puncher. In Vernon, California, he was matched with another gigantic fighter named William "Bull" Young. Young was not a particularly talented fighter and had already lost to Willard once by this point, but the spectacle of these behemoths going at it generated enough dollars for a rematch. In the second fight, Willard floored his over-matched opponent with a right uppercut in the eleventh round. The next day, Young was dead. The true cause of death had been the cerebral hemorrhage caused by his head hitting the floor in the eleventh, but the press attributed the tragedy to Willard's punching power. Willard himself was devastated. He never enjoyed boxing to begin with but now "I hated it as I never hated a thing previously." Still, the paychecks were getting bigger and he had mouths to feed. After beating charges of second-degree murder for his part in the Bull Young debacle, Willard showed evidence of how traumatic the whole experience had been for him. In his very next match, against over-matched South African George Rodel, whom he outweighed by fifty pounds, Willard fought cautiously and let the bout go the ten round distance, never once throwing his fearsome right hand. Willard initially worked as a Kansas wheat farmer and cowboy before entering professional boxing. During the "White Hope" era—a time when promoters were eager to find a white contender to dethrone Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight champion—Willard rose to prominence. He achieved his most famous victory on April 5, 1915, by knocking out Jack Johnson in the 26th round under the sweltering sun in Havana, Cuba, ending the heavyweight title reign of the great Jack Johnson. Willard held the title for over four years, successfully defending it once against Frank Moran in 1916. We'll start off with this beauty, a 1948 Leaf Gum - Cream Back - Jess Willard. Beautiful card.
1920s W-UNC Playing Card - Ace of Clubs - Jess Willard. Couldn't get the back scan for the card, but the backs are blank so it's pretty much irrelevant.
Came up short on trying to find the photo to match up with this little treasure, I'll leave it here just in case I run across it in the future. The 1922 Romeo Y Julieta - Jess Willard. VERY rare card.
Let's get a few photos of Jess Willard in here showing his size, standing at 6"7', he is one of the biggest heavyweight champions in history, hell, he's one of the biggest fighters period.
This is Jess Willard in his absolute prime, knocking out Jack Johnson to win the heavyweight title in 1915. You can see just how much of a nightmare it was to face the giant Willard at his best, Johnson rushes him with vicious attacks and it has little effect. Willard's devastating power is on full display here as he catches Johnson flush with a brutal right hand that ends Jack Johnson's seven-year reign as heavyweight champion.
Harry Wills was a heavyweight known as the "Black Panther" or "Brown Panther". He held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship three times and is one of the greatest heavyweights to be denied a chance at the world title due to the "color line". Wills fought professionally for over two decades (1911–1932) and compiled an incredible record of roughly 70 wins and 56 knockouts. Because white heavyweight champions refused to fight Black challengers—a policy that persisted in the aftermath of Jack Johnson's controversial reign—Wills was forced to compete mostly against other great Black fighters of his era. He famously fought the formidable Sam Langford 22 times. Despite the color line, Wills became the undisputed number-one contender for the world heavyweight championship in the early 1920s. A highly anticipated title bout between Wills and reigning champion Jack Dempsey was signed multiple times, most notably in 1925. However, promoters, athletic commissions, and Dempsey's management consistently found ways to block or cancel the interracial match, largely fearing the social and financial fallout of another Black champion. The fight never happened, making Wills one of the most famously avoided fighters in boxing history. Harry Wills was a formidable, physically imposing heavyweight with a silky, reflex-driven out-boxing style. At 6'4" with an extraordinary 84-inch reach, he combined height and strength with excellent fundamentals, utilizing constant arm-parrying, shovel uppercuts, and counter-punching to dominate his opponents, and with 50 Knockouts to his credit, his punching power speaks for itself, he could whack. Legendary fighter. This is his rookie card, the 1923 Burstein Isaacs - Famous Prizefighters - Capitals - Harry Wills.
1930; Singleton Cole Famous Boxers - Harry Wills. This is a reprint card, this series is one of my absolute favorites but they are brutally rare and it's nearly impossible to find a scan of most of the original cards. Will update if I run across an original Harry Wills.
Gosh, I have to say, it's sad what is happening in this country right now, it's a shame that we have a president that is a cruel, heartless piece of garbage. Gutting USAID, medicaid, hundreds of thousands of people are going to die from that, many of them women and children. Honestly, screw everyone who voted for this.
1926 Exhibit Supply Company - Harry Wills. On top is the studio photo of Wills that was used for the image on the cards, Two different variations of the card are shown here. It sucks when people neglect to upload back scans of cards.
1923 W515 Little Wonder Picture Series - Harry Wills. Man, it's been brutal trying to find the photos to match up with a lot of Harry Wills cards, a lot of them just aren't available anywhere.
Battling Siki held the World Light-Heavyweight Championship from September 24, 1922, to March 17, 1923. He made history by knocking out French champion Georges Carpentier, becoming the first African-born boxing world champion. Battling Siki’s boxing style was defined by an unorthodox, lunging, and highly aggressive approach. He fought with a leaping, bobbing, and bounding movement that kept opponents off-balance, paired with a devastating knockout punch in his left hand, and heavy, punishing body shots. Known originally by his birth name, Amadou Mbarick Fall, the Senegalese-born fighter was a powerful and muscular athlete who moved "like a big cat". He had a flair for the dramatic, often amusing himself and the crowd with his slapstick-style ducking and weaving. However, beneath the theatricality was a highly capable brawler with natural, raw power. Siki was known to turn the tide of a fight instantly if he felt his opponents were fighting unfairly, he was an incredibly dangerous fighter that could turn animalistic in an instant. This is the 1928 Amatller Chocolate - Battling Siki.
Comments
I love this photo of Jimmy Wilde, the expression on his face as he catches Joe Conn flush with a left hook that distorts Conn's face. This fight took place in 1918 and Wilde won by TKO in the 12th.
Jess Willard, nicknamed the "Pottawatomie Giant," was the World Heavyweight Champion from 1915 to 1919. Standing 6 feet 7 inches tall with an 83-inch reach, he was celebrated for his massive size, incredible stamina, and devastating right-hand punch. On August 22, 1913, Willard fought the match that would secure his early reputation as a brutal puncher. In Vernon, California, he was matched with another gigantic fighter named William "Bull" Young. Young was not a particularly talented fighter and had already lost to Willard once by this point, but the spectacle of these behemoths going at it generated enough dollars for a rematch. In the second fight, Willard floored his over-matched opponent with a right uppercut in the eleventh round. The next day, Young was dead. The true cause of death had been the cerebral hemorrhage caused by his head hitting the floor in the eleventh, but the press attributed the tragedy to Willard's punching power. Willard himself was devastated. He never enjoyed boxing to begin with but now "I hated it as I never hated a thing previously." Still, the paychecks were getting bigger and he had mouths to feed. After beating charges of second-degree murder for his part in the Bull Young debacle, Willard showed evidence of how traumatic the whole experience had been for him. In his very next match, against over-matched South African George Rodel, whom he outweighed by fifty pounds, Willard fought cautiously and let the bout go the ten round distance, never once throwing his fearsome right hand. Willard initially worked as a Kansas wheat farmer and cowboy before entering professional boxing. During the "White Hope" era—a time when promoters were eager to find a white contender to dethrone Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight champion—Willard rose to prominence. He achieved his most famous victory on April 5, 1915, by knocking out Jack Johnson in the 26th round under the sweltering sun in Havana, Cuba, ending the heavyweight title reign of the great Jack Johnson. Willard held the title for over four years, successfully defending it once against Frank Moran in 1916. We'll start off with this beauty, a 1948 Leaf Gum - Cream Back - Jess Willard. Beautiful card.
1951 Topps Ringside - Jess Willard. Another beautiful card.
1956 Adventure Gum - Jess Willard of Kansas - Jess Willard.
Music break. This is a song that you legit never want to end, just a beautiful masterpiece of a song.
1948 Topps Magic Photos - Number on Side - Jess Willard.
1923 The Rocket - Famous Knockouts - Jess Willard vs. Jack Johnson.
1920 Underwood & Underwood - Jess Willard.
1920 W519 Strip Card - Jess Willard. They flipped the image of Willard around on this card.
2001 Brown's Boxing - Jess Willard.
1985 Brown's Boxing - Jess Willard.
1946 Propagandas Montiel - Jess Willard.
1920s W-UNC Playing Card - Ace of Clubs - Jess Willard. Couldn't get the back scan for the card, but the backs are blank so it's pretty much irrelevant.
Police Gazette Gallery of Champions - Jess Willard.
Police Gazette Gallery of Champions - Jess Willard.
Came up short on trying to find the photo to match up with this little treasure, I'll leave it here just in case I run across it in the future. The 1922 Romeo Y Julieta - Jess Willard. VERY rare card.
Also want to get this card in here, it's one of my favorite sets. The 1999 JF Sporting Collectibles - Boxing Champions - Jess Willard.
Let's get a few photos of Jess Willard in here showing his size, standing at 6"7', he is one of the biggest heavyweight champions in history, hell, he's one of the biggest fighters period.
Jess Willard chopping down a tree.
Jess Willard demonstrating his brutal right hand power.
This is Jess Willard in his absolute prime, knocking out Jack Johnson to win the heavyweight title in 1915. You can see just how much of a nightmare it was to face the giant Willard at his best, Johnson rushes him with vicious attacks and it has little effect. Willard's devastating power is on full display here as he catches Johnson flush with a brutal right hand that ends Jack Johnson's seven-year reign as heavyweight champion.
Harry Wills was a heavyweight known as the "Black Panther" or "Brown Panther". He held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship three times and is one of the greatest heavyweights to be denied a chance at the world title due to the "color line". Wills fought professionally for over two decades (1911–1932) and compiled an incredible record of roughly 70 wins and 56 knockouts. Because white heavyweight champions refused to fight Black challengers—a policy that persisted in the aftermath of Jack Johnson's controversial reign—Wills was forced to compete mostly against other great Black fighters of his era. He famously fought the formidable Sam Langford 22 times. Despite the color line, Wills became the undisputed number-one contender for the world heavyweight championship in the early 1920s. A highly anticipated title bout between Wills and reigning champion Jack Dempsey was signed multiple times, most notably in 1925. However, promoters, athletic commissions, and Dempsey's management consistently found ways to block or cancel the interracial match, largely fearing the social and financial fallout of another Black champion. The fight never happened, making Wills one of the most famously avoided fighters in boxing history. Harry Wills was a formidable, physically imposing heavyweight with a silky, reflex-driven out-boxing style. At 6'4" with an extraordinary 84-inch reach, he combined height and strength with excellent fundamentals, utilizing constant arm-parrying, shovel uppercuts, and counter-punching to dominate his opponents, and with 50 Knockouts to his credit, his punching power speaks for itself, he could whack. Legendary fighter. This is his rookie card, the 1923 Burstein Isaacs - Famous Prizefighters - Capitals - Harry Wills.
1923 W580 Strip Card - Harry Wills.
1930; Singleton Cole Famous Boxers - Harry Wills. This is a reprint card, this series is one of my absolute favorites but they are brutally rare and it's nearly impossible to find a scan of most of the original cards. Will update if I run across an original Harry Wills.
Gosh, I have to say, it's sad what is happening in this country right now, it's a shame that we have a president that is a cruel, heartless piece of garbage. Gutting USAID, medicaid, hundreds of thousands of people are going to die from that, many of them women and children. Honestly, screw everyone who voted for this.
1926 Casanova Cigaretten - Serie Boxer - Harry Wills.
It's a shame I can't find the photo for the other 1926 Casanova Cigaretten - Serie Boxer - Harry Wills.
Can't find the photo for this either, but it's an awesome image of "The Brown Panther", 1923 Exhibit Supply Company - Postcard Back - Harry Wills.
1926 Exhibit Supply Company - Harry Wills. On top is the studio photo of Wills that was used for the image on the cards, Two different variations of the card are shown here. It sucks when people neglect to upload back scans of cards.
1924 W-UNC Playing Card - Five of Hearts - Harry Wills.
1920s Romeo Y Julieta - Harry Wills.
1925 La Morena El Salvador - Serie A - Harry Wills.
No photo to match with it but this is a really cool and rare card. The 1928-29 Tabacalera La Morena & Fabrica Morazan - Harry Wills.
Another wicked Harry Wills exhibit card, 1926-29 Exhibit Supply Company - Harry Wills. Love the pitch dark room in the background.
1923 W515 Little Wonder Picture Series - Harry Wills. Man, it's been brutal trying to find the photos to match up with a lot of Harry Wills cards, a lot of them just aren't available anywhere.
Battling Siki held the World Light-Heavyweight Championship from September 24, 1922, to March 17, 1923. He made history by knocking out French champion Georges Carpentier, becoming the first African-born boxing world champion. Battling Siki’s boxing style was defined by an unorthodox, lunging, and highly aggressive approach. He fought with a leaping, bobbing, and bounding movement that kept opponents off-balance, paired with a devastating knockout punch in his left hand, and heavy, punishing body shots. Known originally by his birth name, Amadou Mbarick Fall, the Senegalese-born fighter was a powerful and muscular athlete who moved "like a big cat". He had a flair for the dramatic, often amusing himself and the crowd with his slapstick-style ducking and weaving. However, beneath the theatricality was a highly capable brawler with natural, raw power. Siki was known to turn the tide of a fight instantly if he felt his opponents were fighting unfairly, he was an incredibly dangerous fighter that could turn animalistic in an instant. This is the 1928 Amatller Chocolate - Battling Siki.
1923 Burstein Isaacs - Famous Prize Fighters - Capitals - Battling Siki.