Those 1923 Olympia Games LTD. cards are really cool and neat, and very rare. It was a boxing card game, here's the rundown on it.
Pre-War Cards
1923 Olympia Boxing Playing Cards Set and Checklist
It’s in the Details
Title Olympia Boxing Playing Cards
Year 1923
Size 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
Images Black and White
Type Game Cards
Number in Set
55
1923 Olympia Boxing Playing Cards Overview
1923 Olympia Boxing Gene Tunney.jpgThese playing cards were issued by Montreal-based Olympia Games in 1923. As Heritage Auctions points out, they were created for the Canadian marketplace. The series is notably a rare one with not many examples typically seen. Olympia named the set simply, “Boxing” or “The Game of Boxing.”
The cards utilized a simple playing card design with black and white pictures. Unlike standard playing cards, though, suits and denominations were not present. Cards had an ornate blue ink playing card design on the back. While there were no suits, the cards did have color-coded titles.
Some of the cards are actual individual boxers while about 1/3 of the set of the cards had cartoon pictures of generic subjects for various ring terms, such as bell, arena, referee, and timekeeper.
As the cards had standard rounded playing card corners, like other pre-war playing card issues, these are often found in high-grade shape.
Numerous big names are featured in the set, highlighted by Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, and others. Also included are some big name early Black fighters, including Harry Wills and Battling Siki.
Dempsey is the star of the set and was the heavyweight champion at the time of issue of these cards. He is not only included in the set, but is also pictured on the box for these cards.
Color Variations
Technically, this is a matching game of sorts and four colors were featured for the titles.
While the majority of the cards are printed in only one of four colors (black, green, orange, and red), some of the cards with generic boxing images are printed in all four.
Cards with all four of the variations do not feature actual known subjects: These include cards for:
Arena
Bell
Referee
Timekeeper
Shown here is an example of all four cards for the referee.
Rules/Gameplay
A total of three rules cards are included in the set. These cards are sometimes considered to be part of the official checklist while other times they are not.
In addition to a rules and scoring card, there are standard rules cards in English and French. The reason for the French translation is because the series was issued in Canada where both languages are spoken.
The game was similar to Rummy. Per those rules cards, gameplay is as follows:
Cards are to be shuffled with each player receiving seven cards
Remainder of the card to be placed face down in a pile with one card face up Players take turns drawing cards from the pile (or the card face up), the objective is to secure an area card, a bell card, a referee card, a timekeeper card, card of two fighters of the same weight class, and one of the decision cards (decision, draw, foul, knockout) with the same color as one of the fighters. The decision cards are critical to the outcome. As mentioned, there are four of them an their color must match the color of one of the fighters to win. The decision cards and their color orientation is:
Knockout – Black
Decision – Red
Draw – Green
Foul – Orange
1923 Olympia Boxing Playing Cards Checklist
Arena – Black
Arena – Green
Arena – Orange
Arena – Red
Bell – Black
Bell – Green
Bell – Orange
Bell – Red
Soldier Bartfield
Jack Britton
Joe Burman
Georges Carpentier
James Corbett
Eugene Criqui
Johnny Curtin
Decision
Jack Dempsey
Draw
Johnny Dundee
Luis Firpo
Foul
Frankie Genaro
Mike Gibbons
Babe Herman
Pete Herman
Floyd Johnson
Johnny Kilbane
Knockout
Benny Leonard
Referee – Black
Referee – Green
Referee – Orange
Referee – Red
Dave Rozenberg
Rules (English)
Rules (French)
Battling Siki
Jeff Smith
Midget Smith
Bud Taylor
Timekeeper – Black
Timekeeper – Green
Timekeeper – Orange
Timekeeper – Red
Gene Tunney
Benny Valger
Pancho Villa
Mickey Walker
George Ward
Charlie White
Jimmy Wilde
Kid Williams
Harry Wills
Johnny Wilson
Rules and Scoring
Ad Wolgast, nicknamed the "Michigan Wildcat," was the world lightweight champion from 1910 to 1912. Known for his relentless, all-attack brawling style, devastating left hook, and immense durability, he fought in one of the most brutal eras of boxing, an era where the gloves were less padded and bouts could go 40 rounds. Wolgast won the world lightweight championship by knocking out Battling Nelson in the 40th round of a grueling, scheduled 45-round bout, one of the most brutal fights in boxing history. This is my favorite card of his, the 1910 T219 Red Cross Tobacco - Ad Wolgast.
I'm not sure if this documentary was ever released, but sure would like to see it. The documentary is titled Bloodshed: The Story of Battling Nelson v. Ad Wolgast, directed by Jordan Singleton. I'm assuming the documentary is about the blood-soaked, 40-round war of attrition between Ad Wolgast and Battling Nelson on February 22, 1910, in Point Richmond, California.
Let's keep our little museum showcasing the great boxing photos behind the cards going. I'm going to show some cards of a few fighters that I shortchanged when I started this thing. This is a monster card, the 2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Cut Signature 1/1 - Lou Ambers.
Check this out, an E75 error. That's Abe Attell on the front of the Stanley Ketchel card and vice versa. You don't usually see errors like this on cards this old.
I actually own the Magenta Printing Plate 1/1 for the 2025 Historic Autographs - Famous Americans - Abe Attell card. I like the Magenta color, it's one of the most beautiful colors in nature, and I also like the image of Abe Attell posing in front of the pile of wood.
Check this out, this is an original 1910 T225 Khedival/Surbrug production proof sheet that the original project manager for the series owned, it sold at auction a while back.
Let's get Tommy Farr in here, he was a legendary Welsh heavyweight boxer known as "The Tonypandy Terror". Rising from abject poverty and working in the Welsh coal mines, he became the British and Empire heavyweight champion in 1937. He is best remembered for his legendary 1937 world title bout against Joe Louis at Yankee Stadium, where he took a prime Louis the distance, giving him all he could handle in the process. Tommy Farr was an orthodox, come-forward pressure fighter known for his relentless aggression, gritty inside fighting, and jab, Farr had one of the most beautiful jabs in boxing history, fast and sharp as a razor. Coming from a hard background of Welsh coal mining and brutal fairground fighting, he had elite durability and immense heart. He could absorb sickening punishment without breaking. He was a fighter that nobody looked good against. This is the 1938 Churchman's Cigarettes - Boxing Personalities - Tommy Farr.
I'll tell you what, I'm having a rough go at trying to find photos of Tommy Farr that match up with his cards, this is brutal. I'm going to drop a few really cool Tommy Farr cards in here for later in case I ever run across the photos. I love this series, really cool design. 1937 Godfrey Phillips LTD. - Sportsmen - Spot the Winner - Inverted Back - Tommy Farr.
1977-79 Sportscaster - Finnish Printing - Tommy Farr. Bloody hell, it was worth it just to get this card in here, this is my favorite Tommy Farr card, great image of Farr with his hands raised in victory after defeating Max Baer, I love this series, it's a legendary set, and the Finnish printing is my favorite.
I gotta get this photo on the thread, it's one of the funniest boxing photos I've ever seen. This is Max Baer, aka "The Livermore Larupper", World Heavyweight Champion from June 14th, 1934 to June 13th, 1935, one of the most brutal punchers in boxing history, the guy had absolute thunder in his right hand. I don't really need to say anything about the photo, it speaks for itself.
Comments
1955 Fantomen Comics - Masters of the Ring - Battling Siki.
1923 Olympia Games LTD. - Battling Siki.
Those 1923 Olympia Games LTD. cards are really cool and neat, and very rare. It was a boxing card game, here's the rundown on it.
Pre-War Cards
1923 Olympia Boxing Playing Cards Set and Checklist
It’s in the Details
Title Olympia Boxing Playing Cards
Year 1923
Size 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
Images Black and White
Type Game Cards
Number in Set
55
1923 Olympia Boxing Playing Cards Overview
1923 Olympia Boxing Gene Tunney.jpgThese playing cards were issued by Montreal-based Olympia Games in 1923. As Heritage Auctions points out, they were created for the Canadian marketplace. The series is notably a rare one with not many examples typically seen. Olympia named the set simply, “Boxing” or “The Game of Boxing.”
The cards utilized a simple playing card design with black and white pictures. Unlike standard playing cards, though, suits and denominations were not present. Cards had an ornate blue ink playing card design on the back. While there were no suits, the cards did have color-coded titles.
Some of the cards are actual individual boxers while about 1/3 of the set of the cards had cartoon pictures of generic subjects for various ring terms, such as bell, arena, referee, and timekeeper.
As the cards had standard rounded playing card corners, like other pre-war playing card issues, these are often found in high-grade shape.
Numerous big names are featured in the set, highlighted by Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, and others. Also included are some big name early Black fighters, including Harry Wills and Battling Siki.
Dempsey is the star of the set and was the heavyweight champion at the time of issue of these cards. He is not only included in the set, but is also pictured on the box for these cards.
Color Variations
Technically, this is a matching game of sorts and four colors were featured for the titles.
While the majority of the cards are printed in only one of four colors (black, green, orange, and red), some of the cards with generic boxing images are printed in all four.
Cards with all four of the variations do not feature actual known subjects: These include cards for:
Arena
Bell
Referee
Timekeeper
Shown here is an example of all four cards for the referee.
Rules/Gameplay
A total of three rules cards are included in the set. These cards are sometimes considered to be part of the official checklist while other times they are not.
In addition to a rules and scoring card, there are standard rules cards in English and French. The reason for the French translation is because the series was issued in Canada where both languages are spoken.
The game was similar to Rummy. Per those rules cards, gameplay is as follows:
Cards are to be shuffled with each player receiving seven cards
Remainder of the card to be placed face down in a pile with one card face up Players take turns drawing cards from the pile (or the card face up), the objective is to secure an area card, a bell card, a referee card, a timekeeper card, card of two fighters of the same weight class, and one of the decision cards (decision, draw, foul, knockout) with the same color as one of the fighters. The decision cards are critical to the outcome. As mentioned, there are four of them an their color must match the color of one of the fighters to win. The decision cards and their color orientation is:
Knockout – Black
Decision – Red
Draw – Green
Foul – Orange
1923 Olympia Boxing Playing Cards Checklist
Arena – Black
Arena – Green
Arena – Orange
Arena – Red
Bell – Black
Bell – Green
Bell – Orange
Bell – Red
Soldier Bartfield
Jack Britton
Joe Burman
Georges Carpentier
James Corbett
Eugene Criqui
Johnny Curtin
Decision
Jack Dempsey
Draw
Johnny Dundee
Luis Firpo
Foul
Frankie Genaro
Mike Gibbons
Babe Herman
Pete Herman
Floyd Johnson
Johnny Kilbane
Knockout
Benny Leonard
Referee – Black
Referee – Green
Referee – Orange
Referee – Red
Dave Rozenberg
Rules (English)
Rules (French)
Battling Siki
Jeff Smith
Midget Smith
Bud Taylor
Timekeeper – Black
Timekeeper – Green
Timekeeper – Orange
Timekeeper – Red
Gene Tunney
Benny Valger
Pancho Villa
Mickey Walker
George Ward
Charlie White
Jimmy Wilde
Kid Williams
Harry Wills
Johnny Wilson
Rules and Scoring
1926 Siam Champions - Battling Siki.
1940s Kemmel Chocolate - Battling Siki.
Ad Wolgast, nicknamed the "Michigan Wildcat," was the world lightweight champion from 1910 to 1912. Known for his relentless, all-attack brawling style, devastating left hook, and immense durability, he fought in one of the most brutal eras of boxing, an era where the gloves were less padded and bouts could go 40 rounds. Wolgast won the world lightweight championship by knocking out Battling Nelson in the 40th round of a grueling, scheduled 45-round bout, one of the most brutal fights in boxing history. This is my favorite card of his, the 1910 T219 Red Cross Tobacco - Ad Wolgast.
1910 E77 American Caramel - Ad Wolgast.
1911 T9 Turkey Red Cabinets - Offer Back - Ad Wolgast.
1910 E77 American Caramel - Ad Wolgast vs. Battling Nelson.
1910 T229 Pet Cigarettes and 1910 T229 Kopec Cigarettes - Ad Wolgast.
1912 T227 Miner's Extra - Ad Wolgast.
1911 E80 Philadelphia Caramel - "44 Scrappers" - Ad Wolgast.
1908 T226 Red Sun Cigarettes - Ad Wolgast.
1936 La Salle Hats - Ad Wolgast.
I'm not sure if this documentary was ever released, but sure would like to see it. The documentary is titled Bloodshed: The Story of Battling Nelson v. Ad Wolgast, directed by Jordan Singleton. I'm assuming the documentary is about the blood-soaked, 40-round war of attrition between Ad Wolgast and Battling Nelson on February 22, 1910, in Point Richmond, California.
Let's keep our little museum showcasing the great boxing photos behind the cards going. I'm going to show some cards of a few fighters that I shortchanged when I started this thing. This is a monster card, the 2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Cut Signature 1/1 - Lou Ambers.
1938 Churchman's Cigarettes - Boxing Personalities - Lou Ambers.
Another monster card, 2009 Sportkings - Eight Men Out - Cut Autos 1/1 - Abe Attell.
1910 T219 Red Cross Tobacco - Abe Attell.
1910 E79 Philadelphia Caramel - "27 Scrappers" - Abe Attell.
1911 T9 Turkey Red Cabinets - Checklist Back - Abe Attell.
1910 T226 Red Sun Cigarettes - Abe Attell.
1912 T227 Miner's Extra - Abe Attell.
1909 E75 American Caramel - Abe Attell.
Check this out, an E75 error. That's Abe Attell on the front of the Stanley Ketchel card and vice versa. You don't usually see errors like this on cards this old.
1951 Topps Ringside - Abe Attell.
2005 Helmar Brewing Company - All Our Heroes - Abe Attell.
2025 Historic Autographs - Famous Americans - Abe Attell.
I actually own the Magenta Printing Plate 1/1 for the 2025 Historic Autographs - Famous Americans - Abe Attell card. I like the Magenta color, it's one of the most beautiful colors in nature, and I also like the image of Abe Attell posing in front of the pile of wood.
2026 Starpop - Ring Master - Abe Attell.
1991 All World - Abe Attell.
Police Gazette Gallery of Champions - Abe Attell.
1910 T225 Khedival/Surbrug - Prize Fighters Series - Abe Attell.
The Khedival/Surbrug Series is a nightmare to find in good condition, this is a sweet example of the Abe Attell.
Check this out, this is an original 1910 T225 Khedival/Surbrug production proof sheet that the original project manager for the series owned, it sold at auction a while back.
1910 T229 Kopec Cigarettes - Abe Attell.
Let's get Tommy Farr in here, he was a legendary Welsh heavyweight boxer known as "The Tonypandy Terror". Rising from abject poverty and working in the Welsh coal mines, he became the British and Empire heavyweight champion in 1937. He is best remembered for his legendary 1937 world title bout against Joe Louis at Yankee Stadium, where he took a prime Louis the distance, giving him all he could handle in the process. Tommy Farr was an orthodox, come-forward pressure fighter known for his relentless aggression, gritty inside fighting, and jab, Farr had one of the most beautiful jabs in boxing history, fast and sharp as a razor. Coming from a hard background of Welsh coal mining and brutal fairground fighting, he had elite durability and immense heart. He could absorb sickening punishment without breaking. He was a fighter that nobody looked good against. This is the 1938 Churchman's Cigarettes - Boxing Personalities - Tommy Farr.
1940-70 Boxing News Photos - Tommy Farr. I love this series.
I'll tell you what, I'm having a rough go at trying to find photos of Tommy Farr that match up with his cards, this is brutal. I'm going to drop a few really cool Tommy Farr cards in here for later in case I ever run across the photos. I love this series, really cool design. 1937 Godfrey Phillips LTD. - Sportsmen - Spot the Winner - Inverted Back - Tommy Farr.
1939 African Tobacco Co. - World of Sport - Small Variation - Tommy Farr.
1991 Victoria Gallery - Boxing Champions - Red Back - Tommy Farr.
1977-79 Sportscaster - Finnish Printing - Tommy Farr. Bloody hell, it was worth it just to get this card in here, this is my favorite Tommy Farr card, great image of Farr with his hands raised in victory after defeating Max Baer, I love this series, it's a legendary set, and the Finnish printing is my favorite.
1937 Globo Chewing Gum - Tommy Farr.
1947-66 Exhibit Supply Company - Tommy Farr.
1937 Ardath - A Continuous Series of Topical Interest - Tommy Farr.
Man, this thread is banging, time for a music break, a classic from the 90s should suffice.
I gotta get this photo on the thread, it's one of the funniest boxing photos I've ever seen. This is Max Baer, aka "The Livermore Larupper", World Heavyweight Champion from June 14th, 1934 to June 13th, 1935, one of the most brutal punchers in boxing history, the guy had absolute thunder in his right hand. I don't really need to say anything about the photo, it speaks for itself.
Let's get a few of Max Baer, this is the 1935 Muratti Cigarettes - Max Baer. This is one of my favorite photos of Baer.
2014 Smithsonian Hometown Teams - Max Baer. Very hard to find card.
1948 Topps Magic Photos - Number on Side - Max Baer.