1937 Timaru Milling - A Century of Progress - Joe Louis. It sucks that I can't find the whole photo, only half of it, I've poured over countless photos looking for it and I just can't find it. It was used for the 1937 Timaru Milling and the 1937 Globo Chewing Gum Louis card, very crucial photo.
2014 Panini Golden Age - Mini Smith's Mello Mint - Joe Louis. This card can be a serious thorn in the side to find, it took me years to finally snag one, inserted at a rate of 1:48 packs, it's a difficult card to pull.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Base - Joe Louis. Now folks, this is kind of stuff that fascinates me, out of all the Joe Louis photos available on this planet to choose from to put on this card, they chose a photo of Louis from his fight with Johnny Shkor in 1948. I would love to meet the person who chose this photo for the card, buy them a milkshake and shake their hand, absolutely fascinating.
This is a fascinating Joe Louis card that I ran across recently, it's a custom card, it's called the 2025 The Greatest, Great, & Not So Much - 3D lenticular Joe Louis. It's a card showing a photo of boxer Joe "The Sledgehammer" Lipsey Jr. admiring the famous sculpture of Joe Louis inside Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan in 2024. Really cool card.
Speaking of the press, it's a shame that the press isn't what they used to be, they used to be aggressive and really go after a story, especially if the story involved an President that had done wrong. The press has gone soft, they lost their heart, their guts, because if they had any heart, any guts, they would be protecting our children and muckraking the crap out of our current president, demanding answers every day for the accusations against him in the Epstein files. When we don't protect our children, we have truly failed as human beings. Of course you also have to consider the fact that the president is doing everything in his power to avoid releasing all of those files to the public, defying and violating court orders, you name it. I wonder why that is? Nevertheless, this should be the top story in the headlines every day. I also have to say, it's a shame that a lot of the people on this forum support the current president and stand with him, disgraceful.
1985 Selchow & Righter - Life Magazine Remembers Game Cards - Joe Louis. This set is fascinating, the images on the cards are from past articles in LIFE magazine. LIFE magazine featured a major article and photo spread on Joe Louis in their June 21, 1937 issue, and there was a photo of Louis skipping rope in that article. They used that photo from the article for the 1985 card.
LIFE magazine is iconic, it's a great name for a magazine, the universe is teeming with it. Given the sheer size of the observable universe—housing an estimated 100 to 200 billion galaxies and trillions of stars, the statistical probability of life existing elsewhere is beyond overwhelming, it's a guarantee. Anyway, the iconic photojournalism edition of LIFE magazine debuted on November 23, 1936, under the leadership of publisher Henry Luce. While Luce's publication built it's legendary reputation on vivid picture-based storytelling, the LIFE name itself actually originated much earlier. It was originally founded as a weekly humor and general-interest magazine in 1883, which folded during the Great Depression before Luce purchased the name and re-launched it as a photography-focused periodical.
1945-46 Sellos Educativos - Joe Louis. These cut-outs were printed six at a time on the back pages of the Flechas y Pelayos comic in late 1945 and early 1946, one for each of the six different series. The comics were published by Talleres Offset, San Sebastian. Serie C features Figuras del Deporte (Sports Figures) that includes footballers, bull fighters, cyclists and boxers. I'm not sure what photo of Louis they used for the image on this card, it's probably just an artist's rendition.
1940s Wittone Tonic Advertising Card - Joe Louis. This card is legendary and almost mythical, here's an article explaining why.
Pre-War Cards
Blog and database for pre-1948 sports cards
Plenty of Intrigue Surrounds Rare Joe Louis Wittone Trade Card
Posted on July 9, 2021 by Pre-War Cards
There are several questions around a trade card of the former heavyweight world champion
For nearly two decades, the legendary Joe Louis dominated heavyweight boxing. Debuting in 1934, his career stretched to 1951 before he finished with a career 66-3 record. Along the way, Louis was the heavyweight champion from 1937 until the fall of 1950.
The majority of advertising trade cards were issued in the 19th century. But some did spill over into the 1900s and Louis found himself on that was issued for Wittone tonic.
Like many such health tonics, Wittone stated its product was good for the overall health of the body. Specifically, it touted helping with regular function of the liver, kidneys, stomach, blood, and nervous system.
That was nothing new. All sorts of companies made all sorts of claims to improve health — so much so that consumers began to be wary of them, suspecting they were often rooted in alcohol or drugs. But Wittone specifically added that their product contained no alcohol, narcotics, or habit-forming drugs. Fine.
It should be pointed out that some backs of these cards are known to be blank-backed. That has led some to wonder if they were used by a variety of businesses like most trade cards were. However, I’ve never seen them with any other business name. They could have been initially blank-backed issues and then picked up by Wittone. But I am not sure they were used by multiple businesses because, to date, I haven’t seen evidence of that.
The card’s value ranges drastically. While it can sell inexpensively and go under the radar at times because it is not well known or often even well advertised, low-grade copies usually start around $30-$40. But it also is not uncommon to see dealers asking $100 for nicer copies in today’s market.
A mysterious background
A few things make this card interesting. Besides the Wittone name on the back, a different name appears in the top border on the front of the cards — The name, “Sportsman’s Gazette” is printed at the top, along with an indication that this is No. 1 in Volume 1. That seems to allude to this card being the first in what was to be a series of cards but I’ve never seen additional cards with that label. And frankly, I’ve never even found evidence of any publication at that time with that name.
Where’s that leave us? No one can say. But given the blank-backed nature of some of these cards, perhaps they were to be distributed by a publication that never was printed and were instead used by Wittone. There are no clear answers to that.
The card’s date of issue
There’s also not a clear answer to the exact date of this issue.
There are so few ideas on that, that some collectors call this a 1930s issue while others say it’s probably from around 1940. Others even say it could have been issued later in the 1940s.
With no reference to a date on the card, or even to the Sportsman’s Gazette, this has been one of those issues that has been impossible to date thus far. It is most commonly dated as a c1940 issue but even that appears to be somewhat of a shot in the dark.
We can date the card slightly. That’s because the title at the bottom references Louis as the champion. Louis won the championship in 1937 by defeating James Braddock and held onto it until his defeat to Ezzard Charles in 1950.
Another clue is given in that the Louis pictured is relatively young. That rules out a late 1940s date when Louis looked markedly more worn. Louis is so young in the picture, in fact, that calling this a late 1930s issue is a very real possibility.
What do I think?
I’ve looked at hundreds of Louis photos from his early years to his later years. I’ve never found an exact match for this photo but, comparing it against others, this looks like a late 1930s issue to me. Still, I don’t know that you can call it that without more evidence and the c1940 date covers that time period as well as an early 1940s period.
Still, nailing down the exact year isn’t needed to enjoy this card. At the end of the day, it’s an early card of one of the greatest fighters of all time. I’d love to determine the actual date but that’s all still good enough for me.
There are different variations of the 1940s Wittone Tonic Advertising Card - Joe Louis, I've seen three different variations. The version with "Sportsmen's Gazette" at the top and advertising on the back (pictured at top), the version with nothing at the top and advertising on the back ( pictured second), and the version with "Sportsmen's Gazette" at the top and a blank back (pictured last). The version with "Sportsmen's Gazette" at the top and advertising on the back seems to be the rarest, though I'm not an expert. Very mysterious and fascinating card.
The author of the above article about the 1940s Wittone Tonic Advertising Card - Joe Louis, mentioned in the article that he has never been able to locate the photo that matches up with the card, well, it sits on eBay as we speak. The photo is mounted to what appears to be a cardboard frame, the asking price is $749.99 and here is a description from the seller. This is absolutely fascinating.
"Photo appears to be made for a magazine, original hard to find Please see pictures for condition There is a 20% NON REFUNDABLE FEE ON ALL RETURNS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE SELLER. If there are multiple for sale then the one you receive may be different from the one pictured."
Comments
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - In My Corner - Joe Louis.
1937 Timaru Milling - A Century of Progress - Joe Louis. It sucks that I can't find the whole photo, only half of it, I've poured over countless photos looking for it and I just can't find it. It was used for the 1937 Timaru Milling and the 1937 Globo Chewing Gum Louis card, very crucial photo.
1937 Globo Chewing Gum - Joe Louis.
2014 Panini Golden Age - Mini Smith's Mello Mint - Joe Louis. This card can be a serious thorn in the side to find, it took me years to finally snag one, inserted at a rate of 1:48 packs, it's a difficult card to pull.
2014 Panini Golden Age - Newsmakers - Joe Louis.
2014 Panini Golden Age - Darby Chocolate Pennant Box Topper - Jack Johnson/Joe Louis/Jake LaMotta.
2014 Panini Golden Age - Star Stamps - John L. Sullivan/Jack Johnson/Joe Louis/Joe Frazier.
2014 Panini Golden Age - First Fifty #/50 - Joe Louis. These can certainly be a difficult find, considering only 50 were made.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Base - Joe Louis. Now folks, this is kind of stuff that fascinates me, out of all the Joe Louis photos available on this planet to choose from to put on this card, they chose a photo of Louis from his fight with Johnny Shkor in 1948. I would love to meet the person who chose this photo for the card, buy them a milkshake and shake their hand, absolutely fascinating.
This is a fascinating Joe Louis card that I ran across recently, it's a custom card, it's called the 2025 The Greatest, Great, & Not So Much - 3D lenticular Joe Louis. It's a card showing a photo of boxer Joe "The Sledgehammer" Lipsey Jr. admiring the famous sculpture of Joe Louis inside Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan in 2024. Really cool card.
Here's a really cool photo of legendary wrestler George "The Animal" Steele admiring the sculpture of Joe Louis .
1979 United Press International - Great Moments In Sports - Joe Louis. Really like this card, you just don't see cards made by the press.
Speaking of the press, it's a shame that the press isn't what they used to be, they used to be aggressive and really go after a story, especially if the story involved an President that had done wrong. The press has gone soft, they lost their heart, their guts, because if they had any heart, any guts, they would be protecting our children and muckraking the crap out of our current president, demanding answers every day for the accusations against him in the Epstein files. When we don't protect our children, we have truly failed as human beings. Of course you also have to consider the fact that the president is doing everything in his power to avoid releasing all of those files to the public, defying and violating court orders, you name it. I wonder why that is? Nevertheless, this should be the top story in the headlines every day. I also have to say, it's a shame that a lot of the people on this forum support the current president and stand with him, disgraceful.
1985 Selchow & Righter - Life Magazine Remembers Game Cards - Joe Louis. This set is fascinating, the images on the cards are from past articles in LIFE magazine. LIFE magazine featured a major article and photo spread on Joe Louis in their June 21, 1937 issue, and there was a photo of Louis skipping rope in that article. They used that photo from the article for the 1985 card.
LIFE magazine is iconic, it's a great name for a magazine, the universe is teeming with it. Given the sheer size of the observable universe—housing an estimated 100 to 200 billion galaxies and trillions of stars, the statistical probability of life existing elsewhere is beyond overwhelming, it's a guarantee. Anyway, the iconic photojournalism edition of LIFE magazine debuted on November 23, 1936, under the leadership of publisher Henry Luce. While Luce's publication built it's legendary reputation on vivid picture-based storytelling, the LIFE name itself actually originated much earlier. It was originally founded as a weekly humor and general-interest magazine in 1883, which folded during the Great Depression before Luce purchased the name and re-launched it as a photography-focused periodical.
1948 Chicles Tabay - Album Deportivo - Joe Louis. There are three Louis' in this set, this is the best one by far.
1945-46 Sellos Educativos - Joe Louis. These cut-outs were printed six at a time on the back pages of the Flechas y Pelayos comic in late 1945 and early 1946, one for each of the six different series. The comics were published by Talleres Offset, San Sebastian. Serie C features Figuras del Deporte (Sports Figures) that includes footballers, bull fighters, cyclists and boxers. I'm not sure what photo of Louis they used for the image on this card, it's probably just an artist's rendition.
2026 Good Life - Boxing Kings - Joe Louis. Another really cool card, I love the 90' Donruss Diamond Kings design.
1955 Fantomen Comics - Masters of the Ring - Joe Louis.
1987 Motto Game Trivia Card - Joe Louis.
2005 Falcon Games - Picture That? - Joe Louis.
1939 African Tobacco - World of Sport - Small - Joe Louis. The small variation of this card is ridiculously difficult to find.
2010 Sport Kings Gum - Base Retail - Joe Louis, and 2010 Sport Kings Gum - Mini Retail - Joe Louis. Beautiful cards.
1947-48 Castoldi - La Nazionale - Joe Louis.
1942-46 Sportive Parade - Joe Louis. These are very tough to find, they were issued in Canadian newspapers in the mid-1940s.
1940s Wittone Tonic Advertising Card - Joe Louis. This card is legendary and almost mythical, here's an article explaining why.
Pre-War Cards
Blog and database for pre-1948 sports cards
Plenty of Intrigue Surrounds Rare Joe Louis Wittone Trade Card
Posted on July 9, 2021 by Pre-War Cards
There are several questions around a trade card of the former heavyweight world champion
For nearly two decades, the legendary Joe Louis dominated heavyweight boxing. Debuting in 1934, his career stretched to 1951 before he finished with a career 66-3 record. Along the way, Louis was the heavyweight champion from 1937 until the fall of 1950.
The majority of advertising trade cards were issued in the 19th century. But some did spill over into the 1900s and Louis found himself on that was issued for Wittone tonic.
Like many such health tonics, Wittone stated its product was good for the overall health of the body. Specifically, it touted helping with regular function of the liver, kidneys, stomach, blood, and nervous system.
That was nothing new. All sorts of companies made all sorts of claims to improve health — so much so that consumers began to be wary of them, suspecting they were often rooted in alcohol or drugs. But Wittone specifically added that their product contained no alcohol, narcotics, or habit-forming drugs. Fine.
It should be pointed out that some backs of these cards are known to be blank-backed. That has led some to wonder if they were used by a variety of businesses like most trade cards were. However, I’ve never seen them with any other business name. They could have been initially blank-backed issues and then picked up by Wittone. But I am not sure they were used by multiple businesses because, to date, I haven’t seen evidence of that.
The card’s value ranges drastically. While it can sell inexpensively and go under the radar at times because it is not well known or often even well advertised, low-grade copies usually start around $30-$40. But it also is not uncommon to see dealers asking $100 for nicer copies in today’s market.
A mysterious background
A few things make this card interesting. Besides the Wittone name on the back, a different name appears in the top border on the front of the cards — The name, “Sportsman’s Gazette” is printed at the top, along with an indication that this is No. 1 in Volume 1. That seems to allude to this card being the first in what was to be a series of cards but I’ve never seen additional cards with that label. And frankly, I’ve never even found evidence of any publication at that time with that name.
Where’s that leave us? No one can say. But given the blank-backed nature of some of these cards, perhaps they were to be distributed by a publication that never was printed and were instead used by Wittone. There are no clear answers to that.
The card’s date of issue
There’s also not a clear answer to the exact date of this issue.
There are so few ideas on that, that some collectors call this a 1930s issue while others say it’s probably from around 1940. Others even say it could have been issued later in the 1940s.
With no reference to a date on the card, or even to the Sportsman’s Gazette, this has been one of those issues that has been impossible to date thus far. It is most commonly dated as a c1940 issue but even that appears to be somewhat of a shot in the dark.
We can date the card slightly. That’s because the title at the bottom references Louis as the champion. Louis won the championship in 1937 by defeating James Braddock and held onto it until his defeat to Ezzard Charles in 1950.
Another clue is given in that the Louis pictured is relatively young. That rules out a late 1940s date when Louis looked markedly more worn. Louis is so young in the picture, in fact, that calling this a late 1930s issue is a very real possibility.
What do I think?
I’ve looked at hundreds of Louis photos from his early years to his later years. I’ve never found an exact match for this photo but, comparing it against others, this looks like a late 1930s issue to me. Still, I don’t know that you can call it that without more evidence and the c1940 date covers that time period as well as an early 1940s period.
Still, nailing down the exact year isn’t needed to enjoy this card. At the end of the day, it’s an early card of one of the greatest fighters of all time. I’d love to determine the actual date but that’s all still good enough for me.
There are different variations of the 1940s Wittone Tonic Advertising Card - Joe Louis, I've seen three different variations. The version with "Sportsmen's Gazette" at the top and advertising on the back (pictured at top), the version with nothing at the top and advertising on the back ( pictured second), and the version with "Sportsmen's Gazette" at the top and a blank back (pictured last). The version with "Sportsmen's Gazette" at the top and advertising on the back seems to be the rarest, though I'm not an expert. Very mysterious and fascinating card.
The author of the above article about the 1940s Wittone Tonic Advertising Card - Joe Louis, mentioned in the article that he has never been able to locate the photo that matches up with the card, well, it sits on eBay as we speak. The photo is mounted to what appears to be a cardboard frame, the asking price is $749.99 and here is a description from the seller. This is absolutely fascinating.
"Photo appears to be made for a magazine, original hard to find Please see pictures for condition There is a 20% NON REFUNDABLE FEE ON ALL RETURNS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE SELLER. If there are multiple for sale then the one you receive may be different from the one pictured."
1954 C.H. Knorr - Siege -Rekorde-Sensationen - Joe Walcott/Joe Louis.