1901 Ogden Heroes of the Ring Set and Checklist

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Ogden Heroes of the Ring
Year	1901
Size	1 1/2″ x 2 3/8″
Images	Black and White
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	17

1901 Ogden Heroes of the Ring Set Overview

James Jeffries 1901 Ogden Tabs Boxing Rookie Card

This relatively short boxing set was distributed in packs of Ogden Cigarettes. Despite it being a small release, it is not often seen completed.

The cards feature black and white images of boxers and have a black border around them. The Ogden’s Cigarettes name is at the bottom. Backs of the cards mention they were an insert of those cigarette packs and give us the name of the title – Heroes of the Ring. The backs also have a short biography of the fighter and claim the product is ‘British Made by British Labour.’

The set is known for producing a few rookie cards, including that of Hall of Famer James Jeffries. Jeffries’ name is misspelled on his card as ‘Jefferies.’

Almost all of the poses in the set are the same. On most cards, the fighter is presented facing the right with his arms up with fists and in a fighting stance. Only one, a card for Peter Maher, has a different look as he is shown with a half-body pose and his arms crossed. Additionally, most cards have fighters against a scenic outdoors backdrop. A few, however, have only a blank studio background.

Like other tobacco cards, you can often find these trimmed. Many collectors, apparently wanting to distance the cards from the tobacco company, removed the Ogden’s Cigarettes name from them.

Confusion with Ogden General Interest Set

Of considerable importance is that the cards look like other Ogden’s cards. Specifically, the same design is used for their massive General Interest set, which was a large set spread out over six series’ with nearly 1,300 cards in 1901 and/or 1902.

One thing that can be confusing to collectors is that most of (if not all of) the boxers that appear in that General Interest set use their same pictures as found here. As a result, it can be difficult to tell them apart just by looking at the fronts. Backs of the cards are different, though. Heroes of the Ring cards have that title on the back while General Interest cards use that name.

The Heroes of the Ring cards are pretty rare and much more difficult than the General Interest cards.