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I was an avid baseball card collector before I sold my collection and turned my attention to boxing cards. For this reason, I tend to compare vintage heavyweight boxing with vintage baseball. I'm not sure if anyone else does this. Just thought I would share this concept with everyone to see your thoughts. The way it works is as follows:
BLANK is to Boxing as BLANK is to Baseball
Here is how I see it. There are no right or wrong answers.
John L. Sullivan - Cap Anson (first 2 true superstars in their respective sports)
Jim Corbett - Mike Kelly (overshadowed by Sullivan and Anson in collectors eyes)
Bob Fitzsimmons - Nap Lajoie (both under-rated)
Jim Jeffries - Honus Wagner (not including the T206)
Jack Johnson - Ty Cobb (keys to any turn of the century set - Cobb would roll over in his grave if he heard this comparison)
Jess Willard - Walter Johnson (both huge men from Kansas)
Jack Dempsey - Babe Ruth (2 most popular athletes of the 20's)
Gene Tunney - Lou Gehrig (overshadowed by Dempsey and Ruth in collectors eyes)
Joe Louis - Jackie Robinson (no explanation necessary)
Rocky Marciano - Joe DiMaggio (popular Italian Americans)
Muhammad Ali - Mickey Mantle (popularity among collectors)
Joe Frazier - Willie Mays (overshadowed by Ali and Mantle in collectors eyes)
That's enough for now. I think you get the picture. Am I the only one who wastes time thinking about this?
This message has been edited by AndyBaran on Oct 13, 2008 4:34 PM
When I first got into collecting boxing it was because I liked older material and I couldn't really afford Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb cards and memorabilia and I wanted to collect an iconic athlete from the early 20th century or so.
Jack Johnson is the boxer I latched on to and it pretty much snowballed from there.
I can't say I've struggled with any of the same comparisons you have. Interesting concept though.
Who's Harry Greb in the baseball world? Died young, fought a ton of fights but not a lot of material on him and extremely popular among collectors.
Babe Ruth: Muhammad Ali. The greatest personalities of the 20th century in their respective sports.
Lou Gehrig: Gene Tunney. In the shadows of their predecessors.
Nolan Ryan: George Foreman. Who wants to play forever?
Mickey Mantle: Max Baer. Playboys who pissed away the chance to be the greatest of them all.
Pete Rose: Jake La Motta. Doomed by their own personalities.
Rafael Palmiero: Fernando Vargas. They both got caught.
Barry Bonds: Shane Moseley. Same script, different sports. In an interview with ESPN.com Moseley said: "Unknowingly, yes, some of the substances they are talking about, were being used as part of the workouts. I didn't know what the hell it was." Riiighhhttt....
