1938 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum Set and Checklist (NX5)

‘It’s In The Details’

Title American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum (NX5)
Year 1938
Size 2 1/2″ x 3″
Images Color
Type Gum
Number in Set
40 (?)

1938 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum Overview

NX5 American Sweets KnockOut Gum Boxing CardThese cards were issued by American Sweets, Inc. out of the Philippines. According to this Net54 post, only 40 cards are known.

More, however, were supposed to be printed. The exact number seems to be up for debate, though. As stated on the cards themselves, 250 were to be printed. Wrappers, however, say only 140 cards. Whatever the number, that does not appear to have happened as the Japanese invasion of 1938 is cited as the culprit for it not being completed.

The cards themselves are extremely rare. Today, most of the cards have only one known copy. The cards are roughly 2 1/2″ x 3″ but typically vary in size a bit.

Cards feature crude color cartoon pictures of boxers that are similar to what you would find on a strip card. The boxer’s name is printed in different parts of the background area, varying by card, along with a card number.

Backs of the cards include the American Sweets name as well as a biography of the subject. In addition to boxers, the set includes wrestlers and weightlifters. But because the entire series was not likely finished, how many of those subjects that were printed is unclear.

The categorization of the set is worth noting. The cards have an N-Card designation from Jefferson Burdick in the American Card Catalog. While N-Cards are recognized as 19th Century issues today, at the time of Burdick’s book, it simply was used for Central American cards. Specifically, these cards have an NX designation – the ‘X’ denoted that the cards were in the miscellaneous category.

1938 American Sweets Knockout Bubble Gum Set Checklist

This checklist is obviously far from complete. I have documented the known cards I have seen to date.

  1. Joe Walcott
  2. Warming Up Exercise
  3. Bob Fitzsimmons
  4. TBD
  5. TBD
  6. TBD
  7. Benny Leonard
  8. TBD
  9. Al Brown
  10. TBD
  11. Kid McCoy
  12. TBD
  13. Abe Attell
  14. TBD
  15. Max Baer
  16. TBD
  17. Johnny Kilbane
  18. Jefferson Lift
  19. TBD
  20. TBD
  21. TBD
  22. TBD
  23. Jim Londos
  24. Dumb-bell Swing
  25. Primo Carnera
  26. Alternate Press
  27. Kid Chocolate
  28. Alternate Curl to Shoulder/Press Overhead
  29. Jackie Fields
  30. TBD
  31. Tony Canzoneri
  32. TBD
  33. Gene Tunney
  34. TBD
  35. Mickey Walker
  36. TBD
  37. Joe Louis
  38. Jack Sharkey
  39. Man Mountain Dean
  40. Joe Gans

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