When it comes to early boxing card sets, few are as collectible as the 1908-09 Ogden Pugilists and Wrestlers set.
No, these aren’t the earliest cards depicting the sport. There are several 19th century boxing sets that hold more prestige and value. Other sets, too, were released around the same time as this one. In particular, the T219 Champions, T220 Prizefighters, and T225 Prize Fight series’ were all distributed just afterwards and are popular targets. But there are several reasons why this foreign set is a landmark release that is attainable to collectors.
About the 1908-09 Ogden Pugilists and Wrestlers Set
While the majority of UK cigarette cards didn’t hit the market until the 1920s and 1930s, there are still a large number of sets available before that time. The 1908-09 Ogden Pugilists and Wrestlers set is one of those.
Ogden’s, a famous cigarette brand in the UK, actually distributed several boxing series’, starting in 1901 and lasting into the 1920s. However, their 1908-09 Pugilists and Wrestlers set might be the most popular of those releases.
The set is broken up into two series’. The first series was issued in 1908 and features cards No. 1-50. A shorter (and rarer) second series was distributed in 1909 for cards No. 51-75.
It is worth pointing out that part of the reason the first series cards are seen more often is that some were actually reprinted in 1909 as well. While cards No. 1-25 are only believed to have been printed in 1908, cards No. 26-50 were also printed into 1909 (these have a strong white back as opposed to ones more off-white in color).
The cards’ appearance is almost Allen & Ginter Champions-like in nature. Fronts feature color lithographs of subjects against all white backgrounds, similar to those popular American-issued N28 and N29 multi-sport cards that preceded them by about 30 years.
Significant Appeal
There are three things in particular that make these cards highly collectible, even in addition to the outstanding artwork.
First, the cards are somewhat easy to find. While American collectors were probably not too familiar with them in the pre-internet days, they are now found online quite easily. eBay is a great starting point for these cards, yes. But vintage dealers online from the UK, or even America, are good places to look, too. You are not too likely to stumble upon them at your local card shop. These are, after all, boxing cards more than a century year old. Still, online shopping makes finding them much easier. eBay often has a few hundred listings available.
The cards, too, are pretty affordable. I’ll cover cost a bit later, but the majority of this set can be built quite reasonably.
Finally, the checklist includes fighters from many years up until that point. Ogden didn’t just include current boxers. The roster goes all the way back to the days of bare knuckle fighters in the 19th century. The set is headlined by plenty of Hall of Famers and stars, including John Sullivan, James Jeffries, Joe Gans, Sam Langford, and more.
And in addition to those, true to the name of the set, cards of early wrestlers are included, too. The highlights there are early cards of Hall of Famers and early champions Frank Gotch and Georges Hackenschmidt. If you’re building the set, don’t underestimate the wrestling subset. Several of those cards are desirable and Gotch’s card is one of the most valuable in either series.
As if all of that isn’t enough, the set also includes a pair of key rookie cards.
Key Rookie Cards
Baseball card collectors have been drawn to the set in recent years by the presence of Abe Attell. Attell was famously a conspirator in the 1919 World Series scandal involving the Chicago White Sox. While Attell has plenty of other boxing cards, this one is important as it is viewed as his rookie.
The real headliner, however, is the card of Hall of Famer Jack Johnson. Similar to Attell’s, while other Johnson cards command interest, this one has the added benefit of being a rookie card.
Johnson, for the record, does have at least one other rookie. That one is found in James Jeffries’ 1909 playing card set, as I wrote a while back. But this one not only pictures Johnson on his own, it also comes in a more traditional card set. Of the two, his Ogden card is by more desirable to most collectors.
1915 Dopplegangers
A final note here is that the cards bear a strong resemblance to another boxing set that Ogden released a few years later in 1915. While the checklist is different, the cards can easily appear to be in the same set.
The 1915 Ogden Boxers cards have similar fronts and even feature the same sorts of images — boxer headshots. The have the same Ogden’s Cigarettes title at the top and the same capital letter font for the names at the bottom. They could easily be mistaken for a third series of sorts.
However, they are easily separated by the backs. Even though the backs also have a similar style, the 1915 cards are titled ‘Boxers’ instead of ‘Pugilists and Wrestlers.’ That set is also not nearly as heavily traded as it contains fewer stars than the earlier Pugilists and Wrestlers issue.
Prices and Rarity
As mentioned earlier, the cards aren’t too difficult to find if you know where to look online. However, finding them out ‘in the wild’ in person is a much more difficult task. While they are not scarce, they can be tricky to find at shops or even card shows.
Prices, however, are often collector friendly. If interested in acquiring a set, a collector’s best bet is to buy the cards in lots. While individual commons from the first series often are sold in the $5-$10 range, in lots, it is possible to find them at times for closer to $2-$3 a card in lesser condition.
The stars, of course, are a bit more. Cards, too, in the higher-numbered second series usually often are closer to $10-$15. But even the most expensive cards can fit into many collector budgets. Attell’s aforementioned card is still a relative bargain, usually starting around $25. The card of Gotch the wrestler is typically the second most valuable card, starting around $50-$100. Johnson’s rookie, of course, is the most valuable. And while nicer examples are not cheap, low-grade raw examples can be found for as little as $150-$250.
Complete sets, particularly with both series’, are rare. However, on occasion you can find them available. Complete first series’ are more readily seen than the second series with Johnson’s rookie and the high-numbered Gotch card often pulled out and sold separately.
There are usually a few hundred listings for the 1908-09 Ogden Pugilists and Wrestlers on eBay.
