Joe Gans, "The Old Master", When it comes to the greatest lightweight ever, it really comes down to Gans, Duran, and Leonard, and I'm often interchangeable on my choice for greatest lightweight, depending on what day it is, the mood I'm in, the weather, but when you take a hard look at Gans, he's probably the one. He dominated the deepest era in the divisions history, winning the world lightweight title in 1902 and making 14 defenses of his crown. They don't call him "The Old Master" for nothing, he could do it all, a highly cerebral technician with brutal knockout power in both hands, just ask the 101 men he sparked. Let's look at some of his cards. This is the 1910 T218 ATC Champions Joe Gans with Mecca Cigarettes back, this is my absolute favorite Joe Gans card, just beautiful artwork and design. The background setting reminds me a lot of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.
Music break. This song always takes me back to when I was 14 years old, middle school, skateboarding, hanging out with my friends, going on vacations, the early 90s, the best days of my life.
1910 E78 Anonymous Twenty-Five Prize Fighters Joe Gans. Yet another ridiculously rare card. You know, I have to say, Joe Gans some really rare cards, American Sweets, York Caramel, La Salle Hats, Red Sun, E78, that's a brutal gauntlet for a collector.
147-10-16 (101 KO), that was Joe Gans final record. I'll tell you what, Joe Gans against Roberto Duran at lightweight, prime for prime, that's a wet dream of a matchup. Gans' skill, technical brilliance, and power against Duran's sheer aggression, pressure, and work rate. You have to remember, Gans went 42 rounds with a pressure fighter from hell, Battling Nelson, under the scorching hot Nevada sun, I don't think you could throw anything at Gans that he hasn't already seen. And Duran, we all know how great he was, unbeaten at lightweight for roughly seven and a half years as a world champion, maintaining a dominant reign from June 1972 until he vacated the title in early 1979, an absolutely ruthless fighter with a nasty attitude. I'm paying good money to see this one.
If you want to see just how great Joe Gans was and how hard he could punch, this is his knockout of Kid Herman in 1907, watch Gans take Herman out with a lethal right hand counterpunch that quickly ends the story. Gans was famous for being accurate with his punches, his hands were like heat-seeking missiles, and he was one of the smartest and best technical fighters ever, he times Kid Herman perfectly.
Tommy Gibbons was an elite, scientific boxer and one of the premier light-heavyweights of the early 20th century, widely considered a top-10 all-time great in his division. With a career record of approximately 57-4-1 (47 KO), he was known for exceptional defensive skills, rarely losing. In possession of a granite chin, he was only stopped once in 106 bouts, in his very last fight. They have a saying in boxing, that some fighters "fall in love with their power", they discover that they can punch and get into the habit of looking for the knockout, I would say that Tommy Gibbons falls into that category, and I honestly can't blame him, the guy could crack, in 1921-1922 Gibbons went on a rampage, knocking out 28 of 34 opponents. He was a ruthless body puncher and he was famous for throwing a vicious left hook to the liver, he often stopped opponents with this punch and if it didn't stop them outright it sure as hell softened them up. He had an insane 57-0 run early in his career, and was one of the only fighters to decisively beat a prime Harry Greb. One of the very greatest light heavyweights in history. Let's look at some of his cards. This is the 1923 W515 Strip Card Tommy Gibbons.
This is a highlight video of the fight between Tommy Gibbons and Jack Bloomfield in 1924 and you can see just how complete and dangerous a fighter Gibbons was, he could do it all. He boxes circles around Bloomfield using a good jab and then just decides to assassinate him, knocking him down twice before finishing him. I have to say, the knockout is particularly brutal, he puts Bloomfield through the ropes and out hard.
By the way, that fight between Tommy Gibbons and Jack Bloomfield in 1924 was the very first boxing event held at the original Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Harry Greb, "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he needs no introduction, best resume in boxing history, probably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter that ever lived period. This is his true rookie card, 1921 W551 Harry Greb.
1991 Victoria Gallery Boxing Champions Middleweights Blue Back Harry Greb. These cards were issued with three variation backs, letters in blue, black, and red, the red is the most difficult to find.
A few Harry Greb photos, this is a cool sequence that shows Harry Greb in Manhasset, Long Island in August 1923 as he was preparing for his fight with Johnny Wilson. I do not know what order these photos go in, I apologize for that, but it's really neat to see them all together.
Now, this is my all-time favorite photo of Harry Greb and if I could own any original photo of him this would be the one. It's just a wicked image of Greb posing on a soaking wet wooden platform.
How about some entertainment? A man tries to beat Isaac Frost, the final boss of Fight Night Champion, one of the hardest final bosses in gaming history. Not in boxing video games. Video games history. This is just a fun little video to watch, I really enjoyed this.
Comments
2011 Ringside Boxing Round Two - Turkey Red Tiger Flowers.
1951 Topps Ringside Tiger Flowers.
Joe Gans, "The Old Master", When it comes to the greatest lightweight ever, it really comes down to Gans, Duran, and Leonard, and I'm often interchangeable on my choice for greatest lightweight, depending on what day it is, the mood I'm in, the weather, but when you take a hard look at Gans, he's probably the one. He dominated the deepest era in the divisions history, winning the world lightweight title in 1902 and making 14 defenses of his crown. They don't call him "The Old Master" for nothing, he could do it all, a highly cerebral technician with brutal knockout power in both hands, just ask the 101 men he sparked. Let's look at some of his cards. This is the 1910 T218 ATC Champions Joe Gans with Mecca Cigarettes back, this is my absolute favorite Joe Gans card, just beautiful artwork and design. The background setting reminds me a lot of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.
1910 T218 ATC Champions Joe Gans with Hassan Cigarettes back.
1938 American Sweets Joe Gans.
RIP Kevin, you're a warrior and you left it all in the ring.
1910 T220 Champions Joe Gans with Silver border.
1951 Topps Ringside Joe Gans.
1927 York Caramel Joe Gans.
Music break. This song always takes me back to when I was 14 years old, middle school, skateboarding, hanging out with my friends, going on vacations, the early 90s, the best days of my life.
1936 La Salle Hats Joe Gans.
1910 Red Sun Cigarettes Joe Gans.
1910 E78 Anonymous Twenty-Five Prize Fighters Joe Gans. Yet another ridiculously rare card. You know, I have to say, Joe Gans some really rare cards, American Sweets, York Caramel, La Salle Hats, Red Sun, E78, that's a brutal gauntlet for a collector.
2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Joe Gans.
2004 Rockwell Mighty Atoms Joe Gans
147-10-16 (101 KO), that was Joe Gans final record. I'll tell you what, Joe Gans against Roberto Duran at lightweight, prime for prime, that's a wet dream of a matchup. Gans' skill, technical brilliance, and power against Duran's sheer aggression, pressure, and work rate. You have to remember, Gans went 42 rounds with a pressure fighter from hell, Battling Nelson, under the scorching hot Nevada sun, I don't think you could throw anything at Gans that he hasn't already seen. And Duran, we all know how great he was, unbeaten at lightweight for roughly seven and a half years as a world champion, maintaining a dominant reign from June 1972 until he vacated the title in early 1979, an absolutely ruthless fighter with a nasty attitude. I'm paying good money to see this one.
If you want to see just how great Joe Gans was and how hard he could punch, this is his knockout of Kid Herman in 1907, watch Gans take Herman out with a lethal right hand counterpunch that quickly ends the story. Gans was famous for being accurate with his punches, his hands were like heat-seeking missiles, and he was one of the smartest and best technical fighters ever, he times Kid Herman perfectly.
Tommy Gibbons was an elite, scientific boxer and one of the premier light-heavyweights of the early 20th century, widely considered a top-10 all-time great in his division. With a career record of approximately 57-4-1 (47 KO), he was known for exceptional defensive skills, rarely losing. In possession of a granite chin, he was only stopped once in 106 bouts, in his very last fight. They have a saying in boxing, that some fighters "fall in love with their power", they discover that they can punch and get into the habit of looking for the knockout, I would say that Tommy Gibbons falls into that category, and I honestly can't blame him, the guy could crack, in 1921-1922 Gibbons went on a rampage, knocking out 28 of 34 opponents. He was a ruthless body puncher and he was famous for throwing a vicious left hook to the liver, he often stopped opponents with this punch and if it didn't stop them outright it sure as hell softened them up. He had an insane 57-0 run early in his career, and was one of the only fighters to decisively beat a prime Harry Greb. One of the very greatest light heavyweights in history. Let's look at some of his cards. This is the 1923 W515 Strip Card Tommy Gibbons.
1927 E211 York Caramel Tommy Gibbons.
1926 Spalding Champions Tommy Gibbons.
This is a highlight video of the fight between Tommy Gibbons and Jack Bloomfield in 1924 and you can see just how complete and dangerous a fighter Gibbons was, he could do it all. He boxes circles around Bloomfield using a good jab and then just decides to assassinate him, knocking him down twice before finishing him. I have to say, the knockout is particularly brutal, he puts Bloomfield through the ropes and out hard.
By the way, that fight between Tommy Gibbons and Jack Bloomfield in 1924 was the very first boxing event held at the original Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Harry Greb, "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he needs no introduction, best resume in boxing history, probably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter that ever lived period. This is his true rookie card, 1921 W551 Harry Greb.
Check this out, 1921 W551 Harry Greb still attached to a Georges Carpentier.
1923 W515 Harry Greb.
1925-31 W590 Harry Greb.
1948 Leaf Gum Harry Greb.
1991 Kayo Harry Greb, I love this set.
2002 Rockwell The Great Middleweights Harry Greb.
2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Harry Greb. Beautiful card.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One Gold /9 Harry Greb.
1991 Victoria Gallery Boxing Champions Middleweights Blue Back Harry Greb. These cards were issued with three variation backs, letters in blue, black, and red, the red is the most difficult to find.
Got some Helmar Brewing Co. cards here, these are really beautiful cards. This is the Helmar Trolley, card #15 Harry Greb.
Helmar Brewing Co. French Silks Large, card #10 Harry Greb.
Helmar Brewing Co. Famous Athletes, card #32 Harry Greb.
Helmar Brewing Co. All Our Heroes, card #90 Harry Greb.
2002 JF Sporting Collectibles Harry Greb Boxing Card /30.
Police Gazette Gallery of Champions Harry Greb.
2026 Starpop Golden Icons /20 Harry Greb.
2026 Starpop Ring Master /20 Harry Greb.
A few Harry Greb photos, this is a cool sequence that shows Harry Greb in Manhasset, Long Island in August 1923 as he was preparing for his fight with Johnny Wilson. I do not know what order these photos go in, I apologize for that, but it's really neat to see them all together.
Now, this is my all-time favorite photo of Harry Greb and if I could own any original photo of him this would be the one. It's just a wicked image of Greb posing on a soaking wet wooden platform.
Harry Greb chopping a tree.
Harry Greb playing handball.
Really cool photo of Harry Greb with the Coca-Cola sign behind him.
Harry Greb Swedish game card.
2024 Top Trumps Boxing Icons Harry Greb.
Nice Harry Greb fight pose sequence.
Awesome image of Harry Greb training with a heavy bag.
How about some entertainment? A man tries to beat Isaac Frost, the final boss of Fight Night Champion, one of the hardest final bosses in gaming history. Not in boxing video games. Video games history. This is just a fun little video to watch, I really enjoyed this.