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Great info Ted - I don't know much about this set but came across the ad while searching through some things this weekend. Have a few other sport-related ads as well, will try to link soon.
Looks like I'm batting 1.000 on guessing the correct cardboard backs. The bright fronts obviously are the clue.
My original Leaf cards from 1948 (all 49 cards) were the White cardboard. Many of them were Ex/Mt and some
near Mint. So, where my original FB cards. I wish my original BB cards were as nice.....I guess I just loved the
BB ones more than the others.
Anyhow, assuming that all (or most) of your Leaf's are in great shape, your collection so far reflects a typical
pattern, in that the Gray cards are more often found in real nice condition. You will find it to be an interesting
challenge....try to acquire this set with both backs. Having done this, it was easier for me since I already had
all the White cards.
Incidently, if you choose to do this, I might be able to help you, as I have quite a few nice extras.
TED Z
This message has been edited by tedzan on Nov 12, 2007 9:46 PM
No one caught it yet but that ad touts over 100 cards; the set has 49 skip numbered. I think perhaps they intended to go into other series but sales tanked and they stopped. Or perhaps they were just crooks all the way and touted 100+ cards and skip numbered them to spur sales. Alas, we will never know...
I think we do know.....and, as you know Jake LaMotta is card #102......so, their advertising is actually true. But, as we all
know LEAF only produced 50 cards. So, they skip-numbered these cards. They did the same for their 1949 BB and FB cards.
No big deal....in 1933 Goudey did a similar marketing ploy with their BB cards when they withheld a dozen Low #s until their
November release of their last series of 24 cards (World Series issue).
And, as a collector of these 1948 Boxing cards, I can tell you that they were very, very popular, Us kids back then spent a
ton of our pennies buying 100's of these Boxing cards. Hey, we were expecting to find at least 102 cards. After a while, I
recall the kids in our neighbor hood comparing cards and we realized that there were no more than 49 to a complete set.
From my original collection of these, I recovered 4 - Joe Louis cards, several Jack Dempsey, Kid Chocolate and Tony
Christoforides cards (besides at least a 100 more of the other Boxers).
And, as I said in a prior post here....these cards were so popular that Leaf Gum printed up more in early 1949. The proof of
this is the availability of these cards on GRAY cardboard. Leaf produced all their sports card using GRAY cardboard in 1949.
So Ted -- Leaf basically duped kids into buying up more cards as they searched for the elusive cards that never existed? Wow -- what a lousy thing to do to a kid.
No big deal, Jeff.....we were pretty smart 8, 9 and 10 year olds growing up in Hillside (NJ).
We figured out their "marketing gimmick" quite quickly. There was one "rich kid" on our block
that had about 500 cards ($5.00 worth); and, he shared his info with the rest of us. So, thats
how we realized there were only 49 Boxing cards to acquire for the complete run.
In the Spring of 1949 it was somewhat tougher for us kids, when the Leaf BB cards were available.
They were skip-numbered to #159 (Mizell Platt).....and, the "rich kid" buddy had moved from our
neighborhood. So, we were on our own to buy a lot of cards.
I became the "rich kid" for a day....when I found a $5 bill in the grass on my way to the store. I
bought two boxes (24-count) of Leaf BB from my candy store. These boxes cost me $1.20 each.
And, my friends and I opened the 48 wax packs, which yielded 288 cards. If I recall correctly, I
had 5-6 cards of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, JRobby, Stan Musial, etc., etc.
Ted, you grew up a few minutes from where I did -- Clark, NJ (not sure it existed back when you were in Hillside; it's connected to Westfield and Rahway).
I remember Clark very well. It was a very small town when we were kids.
By 1981 it was pretty well developed and it was the site of my becoming a BB card dealer. Prior to this BB card show
in Clark, I had dabbled at trading and selling my duplicate BB cards.....I was mainly a collector for years. Then, I pur-
chased a large collection consisting of 1948-1952 Bowmans and a near complete 1953 Topps set. I set-up at a Show
at the Howard Johnson's, just off the Clark circle.
I had a fantastic show that day in Clark and I said this is for me. I followed that success up by getting into the Philly
Show in 1981.
TED Z
This message has been edited by tedzan on Nov 25, 2007 11:34 PM
Ted, I've been to that HoJo's a million times. Many of them drunk. I'm going back to Clark for the first time in years soon...and will be driving back with my kids to show them the house I grew up in, etc.
I'm not sure what kind of "empirical evidence" you are asking me to provide regarding the Gray/White cardboard issue
of these cards ?
Other than my actual experience in collecting them in 1948.....and, an excellent memory of these Boxing cards, along
with the 1948 Leaf FB cards, 1949 Leaf BB cards, and 1949 Leaf FB cards.
TED Z
This message has been edited by tedzan on Nov 25, 2007 11:46 PM
Well, I hope you are not surprised like I was recently. After attending our 50th High School Reunion in Elizabeth,
we went back to the old neighborhood in Hillside. It was very different. The first change that distressed me was
that they cut down most of the huge oak trees that lined both sides of our street. And, finally, our corner house
had been drastically remodeled. I guess that old saying is true....."you can't go back".
However, two blocks away, Phil Rizzuto's ivy covered English Tudor home with its beautiful gardens surrounding it
was still as nice as I remember it.
I'm soon going back to Clark for the first time in about 7 years. Needless to say I wish I could go into my old house but I'd probably be too freaked out.
Jeff Torborg lived not too far you just up the road in Mountainside. Being a Mets fan, I thought you might appreciate that.
A long time friend of mine lived near him and said that Jeff and his family were really great neighbors.
Was Stickball popular in your neighborhood, or Baseball ? In the summer we played Stickball from early morning till our Mom's
called us for dinner. Then, we would go out after dinner and played till nightfall. Occasionally we would get a dozen kids to-
gether and we'd choose sides and play hardball. Little League didn't exist back then.
This auction is going to get plenty of publicity anyway so I doubt I'm telling anybody anything new. Kevin Savage Cards has an auction for the Rocky Graziano on E-bay right now. Is this card from '48 or '49?
This card exists only on WHITE cardboard; and therefore, is a 1948 issue.
It was printed in the very 1st press run of these 1948 Leaf's and was quickly removed.
And most of the Graziano cards that were printed, were dis-carded. So far, it appears
that only a handful were circulated into the marketplace.
