1911 Wills Scissors / Green Star & Circle Jim Driscoll. This set featured a total of 36 boxers and was printed by Wills for its Scissors brand cigarette cards as well as its Wills cigarettes. The Wills cigarette cards have a star and circle logo on the backs, which is where that set gets its name. In all, these are two different sets but utilize the same cards. The cards featured color pictures of fighters along with their names at the bottom. The cards are recognizable with the names of the boxers being printed inside of a yellow box. Backs of the Scissors cards were printed in red ink and featured a cartoon image of the Scissors cigarettes package as well as a brief bio of the subject featured. Green Star & Circle cards mention Wills Cigarettes. Wills produced several cigarette cards with boxing cards, including another set for its Scissors brand. Two years after this issue, the company distributed a set for Scissors cigarettes products featuring boxers in the British Army. The cards are not entirely rare but, as an earlier international issue, they are not wildly abundant in the U.S. like domestic issues or the later international sets.
I wish I could find the photo to match up with this card but it's just not available, the 1923 Burstein Isaacs Jim Driscoll, this is my favorite Driscoll card, very unique image of Driscoll.
Johnny Dundee, a legendary fighter known for his immense endurance, fought approximately 330 to 350+ professional bouts during his career from 1910 to 1932. Different sources cite slightly different totals due to the "no decision" era, with figures including 331, 335, and roughly 350, only two fighters in history, Len Wickwar (463) and Jack Britton (350) had more fights than Dundee. Known as "The Scotch Wop", Dundee faced all of the great fighters in the featherweight, lightweight and junior-lightweight divisions of his era. He fought the great Benny Leonard nine times, and Lew Tendler three times. He also boxed lightweight champions Freddy Welsh and Willie Ritchie. Dundee was regarded as a skillful boxer with great footwork, he won the featherweight and junior lightweight world titles. Dundee had a chin made of granite, he was knocked out only twice in his career. I guess we'll start with the 1920 W529 strip card. This card is really cool and it has a reverse image variation.
That was of Johnny Dundee was also used for his 1946 Propagandas Montiel cards, these were a Cuban issue that have two different variations, a yellow border and orange border.
1923 Burstein Isaacs Johnny Dundee, Capitals variation. These cards were issued with two types of variations, the fighter's name in a mixture of lower-case letters and capital letters or "mix type", and the fighter's name in all capital letters, "capitals". I believe the capitals variation is a bit more scarce but I'm not 100% sure.
Here is the 1923 Burstein Isaacs Johnny Dundee with the "mix type" letters variation, with his name being a mixture of lower-case and upper-case letters. This is absolutely fascinating stuff and it's the kind of thing you could easily miss if you didn't know about it.
At the age of only 16-years old, Jackie Fields won the Olympic gold medal in the featherweight division at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, becoming the youngest boxer to ever receive an Olympic gold medal. In the pros, he proved to be the real thing, winning the world welterweight title twice, in 1929 and 1932. A great scientific-minded boxer with a granite chin, he was stopped once in 86 fights. This is a beautiful 1948 Leaf Gum Jackie Fields.
Bob Fitzsimmons, "Ruby Robert", one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters ever, first man to win world titles in three separate weight divisions, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight, also one of the most frightening punchers in boxing history. He carried his incredible knockout power across all three divisions, often knocking out much larger opponents. He maintained high stopping power throughout his career, with a knockout ratio of over 90%. This is the 1890 Mayo's Cut Plug Bob Fitzsimmons.
1902 Ogden’s Cigarettes General Interest Series F - Bob Fitzsimmons. Between 1901-02, Ogden's produced four card of Bob Fitzsimmons, all of them have the same image on the front but different variation back, all of these cards are difficult to find.
This is the 1902 Ogden's Composite Tabs With "Labour" Clause back Bob Fitzsimmons. These cards were issued with a text disclaimer on the reverse side regarding the labor conditions under which the cigarette tabs were made. Very cool card.
Bob Fitzsimmons had a few nicknames, "Ruby Robert" and also "The Fighting Blacksmith" because he was actually a blacksmith in his spare time, which probably helped him develop his murderous punching power. He was also nicknamed "The Freckled Wonder" because he was covered in freckles. Here's a cartoon portraying the freckles and also portraying his brutal punching power, in particular his "solar plexus punch". He invented the "solar plexus punch", a punch to the solar plexus part of the body, it was ruthless and devastating, a precise body blow—often described as a half-uppercut, half-hook—that targeted the nerve cluster in the midsection, he took James Corbett out with it in 1897 to win the world heavyweight title. The 1897 blow was so profound it popularized the term "solar plexus" in general society. I have to say, Fitzsimmons was legit intimidating as hell, he was tall and lanky, the freckles gave him an eerie appearance and he just looked like a freak of nature, and knowing how hard he hit, he's not a guy you wanted to see standing across from you in the ring.
Here's a photo of Bob Fitzsimmons admiring his handy work, staring at James Corbett after knocking him out with the "solar plexus punch" on March 17, 1897. Cold as ice.
And the thing is, James Corbett was the first boxer to apply a scientific approach to the sport, a great fighter, he is called the "Father of Modern Boxing" because he revolutionized the sport from a raw, bare-knuckle brawl into a strategic, technical art form. By prioritizing scientific techniques like footwork, jab combinations, and defense over brute strength, he fundamentally changed how boxing was fought in the 1890s. He was out-thinking and out-boxing Fitzsimmons for most of the fight, and then boom, just like that. You were never safe against Fitzsimmons. Great image of Fitz as a blacksmith.
Bob Fitzsimmons with his pet lions, he used to bring his lions traveling with him, and they caused trouble on more than one occasion when they either bit or scratched people trying to get a close look.
What a heavyweight war last night, two big punchers, bombs away. Fabio Wardley's nose was broken and the injury caused heavy bleeding throughout the fight, leaving Wardley's face covered in blood, and he was checked by the ringside doctor multiple times before the stoppage. I have to say, I don't know how Wardley stayed on his feet, the guy has a granite chin.
"The hardest puncher I ever run up against was Bob Fitzsimmons, my goodness! How that man could punch! I caught one wallop in our second match that made me think of home and mother!"
1956 Adventure Gum Bob Fitzsimmons. I love this card because it eludes to his murderous punching power, "KO Specialist", and I also like the Kangaroo looking over his shoulder.
1947 Timaru Milling Co. Bob Fitzsimmons, this is actually my favorite Bob Fitzsimmons card, I really like the look of this card, the design, the artwork, the colors, the image of Fitzsimmons emerging from the orange inferno dressed in white. It's just a cool looking card.
1938 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum Bob Fitzsimmons. I apologize for the poor scan of these American Sweets cards, just can't get good scans of them.
Can't find the photo to match up to this, not sure if they used an actual photo, I haven't ever run across a photo of Fitzsimmons where he's posing with his arms folded and wearing a tank-top, but it's a cool collectible, 1960 Anglo American Gum Bob Fitzsimmons.
Ok, up next Theodore "Tiger" Flowers, "The Georgia Deacon." He was nicknamed the "Georgia Deacon" because he was a deeply religious man who frequently brought his Bible into the boxing ring and recited Psalm 144 before his fights. Born in Georgia, he was known for his clean living—neither smoking nor drinking—and serving as a deacon at the [Butler Street CME Church] in Atlanta. The first African-American world middleweight champion (1926), he was a converted southpaw known for a fast-paced, "unconventional" and highly aggressive style. He was crafty, slippery, and used superior hand speed, angles, and relentless punching to overwhelm opponents, often described as a "left-handed Harry Greb" due to his high volume of punches. Speaking of Harry Greb, Flowers beat him twice in 1926, both times by decision to win and retain the world middleweight title. Great fighter. We'll start off with the 1926 Spalding Champions Tiger Flowers, his rookie card and a very, very rare card. I'm honestly lucky to find a scan of it.
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1912 Cohen Weenan & Co. Jim Driscoll, it's a shame I can't find a scan of the elusive Gray back variation.
1911 Wills Scissors / Green Star & Circle Jim Driscoll. This set featured a total of 36 boxers and was printed by Wills for its Scissors brand cigarette cards as well as its Wills cigarettes. The Wills cigarette cards have a star and circle logo on the backs, which is where that set gets its name. In all, these are two different sets but utilize the same cards. The cards featured color pictures of fighters along with their names at the bottom. The cards are recognizable with the names of the boxers being printed inside of a yellow box. Backs of the Scissors cards were printed in red ink and featured a cartoon image of the Scissors cigarettes package as well as a brief bio of the subject featured. Green Star & Circle cards mention Wills Cigarettes. Wills produced several cigarette cards with boxing cards, including another set for its Scissors brand. Two years after this issue, the company distributed a set for Scissors cigarettes products featuring boxers in the British Army. The cards are not entirely rare but, as an earlier international issue, they are not wildly abundant in the U.S. like domestic issues or the later international sets.
I wish I could find the photo to match up with this card but it's just not available, the 1923 Burstein Isaacs Jim Driscoll, this is my favorite Driscoll card, very unique image of Driscoll.
Alright, let's get some music in here. I'll tell you what, Elton John could flat-out bring the house down.
Johnny Dundee, a legendary fighter known for his immense endurance, fought approximately 330 to 350+ professional bouts during his career from 1910 to 1932. Different sources cite slightly different totals due to the "no decision" era, with figures including 331, 335, and roughly 350, only two fighters in history, Len Wickwar (463) and Jack Britton (350) had more fights than Dundee. Known as "The Scotch Wop", Dundee faced all of the great fighters in the featherweight, lightweight and junior-lightweight divisions of his era. He fought the great Benny Leonard nine times, and Lew Tendler three times. He also boxed lightweight champions Freddy Welsh and Willie Ritchie. Dundee was regarded as a skillful boxer with great footwork, he won the featherweight and junior lightweight world titles. Dundee had a chin made of granite, he was knocked out only twice in his career. I guess we'll start with the 1920 W529 strip card. This card is really cool and it has a reverse image variation.
That was of Johnny Dundee was also used for his 1946 Propagandas Montiel cards, these were a Cuban issue that have two different variations, a yellow border and orange border.
1923 Burstein Isaacs Johnny Dundee, Capitals variation. These cards were issued with two types of variations, the fighter's name in a mixture of lower-case letters and capital letters or "mix type", and the fighter's name in all capital letters, "capitals". I believe the capitals variation is a bit more scarce but I'm not 100% sure.
Here is the 1923 Burstein Isaacs Johnny Dundee with the "mix type" letters variation, with his name being a mixture of lower-case and upper-case letters. This is absolutely fascinating stuff and it's the kind of thing you could easily miss if you didn't know about it.
1940 Kemmel Les Vedettes Sportive Johnny Dundee.
1955-56 Swedish Masters of the Ring Johnny Dundee.
A couple of cool Johnny Dundee Police Gazette Gallery of Champions premiums here.
1927 York Caramel Johnny Dundee. Extinction-level rare.
At the age of only 16-years old, Jackie Fields won the Olympic gold medal in the featherweight division at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, becoming the youngest boxer to ever receive an Olympic gold medal. In the pros, he proved to be the real thing, winning the world welterweight title twice, in 1929 and 1932. A great scientific-minded boxer with a granite chin, he was stopped once in 86 fights. This is a beautiful 1948 Leaf Gum Jackie Fields.
1948 Leaf Gum Jackie Fields with cream back, I love the 48' Leaf cream backs.
1938 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum NX5 Jackie Fields. Rare as the Dodo Bird.
Awesome image of Jackie Fields after regaining the world welterweight title from Lou Brouillard in 1932.
Bob Fitzsimmons, "Ruby Robert", one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters ever, first man to win world titles in three separate weight divisions, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight, also one of the most frightening punchers in boxing history. He carried his incredible knockout power across all three divisions, often knocking out much larger opponents. He maintained high stopping power throughout his career, with a knockout ratio of over 90%. This is the 1890 Mayo's Cut Plug Bob Fitzsimmons.
1902 Ogden’s Cigarettes General Interest Series F - Bob Fitzsimmons. Between 1901-02, Ogden's produced four card of Bob Fitzsimmons, all of them have the same image on the front but different variation back, all of these cards are difficult to find.
This is the 1902 Ogden's Composite Tabs With "Labour" Clause back Bob Fitzsimmons. These cards were issued with a text disclaimer on the reverse side regarding the labor conditions under which the cigarette tabs were made. Very cool card.
1996-98 Japan World Boxing Bob Fitzsimmons.
Bob Fitzsimmons had a few nicknames, "Ruby Robert" and also "The Fighting Blacksmith" because he was actually a blacksmith in his spare time, which probably helped him develop his murderous punching power. He was also nicknamed "The Freckled Wonder" because he was covered in freckles. Here's a cartoon portraying the freckles and also portraying his brutal punching power, in particular his "solar plexus punch". He invented the "solar plexus punch", a punch to the solar plexus part of the body, it was ruthless and devastating, a precise body blow—often described as a half-uppercut, half-hook—that targeted the nerve cluster in the midsection, he took James Corbett out with it in 1897 to win the world heavyweight title. The 1897 blow was so profound it popularized the term "solar plexus" in general society. I have to say, Fitzsimmons was legit intimidating as hell, he was tall and lanky, the freckles gave him an eerie appearance and he just looked like a freak of nature, and knowing how hard he hit, he's not a guy you wanted to see standing across from you in the ring.
Here's a photo of Bob Fitzsimmons admiring his handy work, staring at James Corbett after knocking him out with the "solar plexus punch" on March 17, 1897. Cold as ice.
And the thing is, James Corbett was the first boxer to apply a scientific approach to the sport, a great fighter, he is called the "Father of Modern Boxing" because he revolutionized the sport from a raw, bare-knuckle brawl into a strategic, technical art form. By prioritizing scientific techniques like footwork, jab combinations, and defense over brute strength, he fundamentally changed how boxing was fought in the 1890s. He was out-thinking and out-boxing Fitzsimmons for most of the fight, and then boom, just like that. You were never safe against Fitzsimmons. Great image of Fitz as a blacksmith.
Bob Fitzsimmons with his pet lions, he used to bring his lions traveling with him, and they caused trouble on more than one occasion when they either bit or scratched people trying to get a close look.
What a heavyweight war last night, two big punchers, bombs away. Fabio Wardley's nose was broken and the injury caused heavy bleeding throughout the fight, leaving Wardley's face covered in blood, and he was checked by the ringside doctor multiple times before the stoppage. I have to say, I don't know how Wardley stayed on his feet, the guy has a granite chin.
"The hardest puncher I ever run up against was Bob Fitzsimmons, my goodness! How that man could punch! I caught one wallop in our second match that made me think of home and mother!"
Here is a good shot of Bob Fitzsimmons and look at his damn forearms, raw power.
Ok, back to the cards, this is the 1910 Philadelphia Caramel Bob Fitzsimmons.
1910 T220 Bob Fitzsimmons with Mecca Cigarettes back, the blue background really makes this a beautiful card.
1956 Adventure Gum Bob Fitzsimmons. I love this card because it eludes to his murderous punching power, "KO Specialist", and I also like the Kangaroo looking over his shoulder.
1910 Pet Cigarettes Bob Fitzsimmons and 1910 Kopec Cigarettes Bob Fitzsimmons.
1947 Timaru Milling Co. Bob Fitzsimmons, this is actually my favorite Bob Fitzsimmons card, I really like the look of this card, the design, the artwork, the colors, the image of Fitzsimmons emerging from the orange inferno dressed in white. It's just a cool looking card.
Another nice 1947 Timaru Milling Bob Fitzsimmons. Love this card!
1948 Leaf Gum Bob Fitzsimmons.
1951 Topps Ringside Bob Fitzsimmons.
2011 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Bob Fitzsimmons. Beautiful card.
1935 United Tobacco Co. Bob Fitzsimmons. Really like this card as well, the image of Fitz is simple but cool looking.
1915 Cope Bros and Co. Bob Fitzsimmons, and a beautiful example at that.
1938 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum Bob Fitzsimmons. I apologize for the poor scan of these American Sweets cards, just can't get good scans of them.
1950's Joe Palooka Candy Bob Fitzsimmons.
1997 Brown's Boxing Promo Bob Fitzsimmons.
Starpop Golden Icon Bob Fitzsimmons /20. You know, Starpop is a good name for these cards because they really do pop, beautiful image.
2021 Historic Autographs Famous Americans Bob Fitzsimmons, this is the Aurora parallel numbered 24/25.
Police Gazette Gallery of Champions premiums Bob Fitzsimmons.
Can't find the photo to match up to this, not sure if they used an actual photo, I haven't ever run across a photo of Fitzsimmons where he's posing with his arms folded and wearing a tank-top, but it's a cool collectible, 1960 Anglo American Gum Bob Fitzsimmons.
Great image of Bob Fitzsimmons, gosh, he was just an intimidating looking guy.
Bob Fitzsimmons had an unsettling gaze.
Ok, up next Theodore "Tiger" Flowers, "The Georgia Deacon." He was nicknamed the "Georgia Deacon" because he was a deeply religious man who frequently brought his Bible into the boxing ring and recited Psalm 144 before his fights. Born in Georgia, he was known for his clean living—neither smoking nor drinking—and serving as a deacon at the [Butler Street CME Church] in Atlanta. The first African-American world middleweight champion (1926), he was a converted southpaw known for a fast-paced, "unconventional" and highly aggressive style. He was crafty, slippery, and used superior hand speed, angles, and relentless punching to overwhelm opponents, often described as a "left-handed Harry Greb" due to his high volume of punches. Speaking of Harry Greb, Flowers beat him twice in 1926, both times by decision to win and retain the world middleweight title. Great fighter. We'll start off with the 1926 Spalding Champions Tiger Flowers, his rookie card and a very, very rare card. I'm honestly lucky to find a scan of it.
1929 Tabacalera La Morena Tiger Flowers.