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Lot # 491: 1896 Fitzsimmons vs. Maher Police Gazette Print

Starting Bid: $100.00

Bids: 4 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2019 Spring Classic",
which ran from 5/7/2019 10:00 AM to
6/7/2019 10:00 PM



This is not a supplement, but a small poster on typical stock to advertise the fight. The fight was technically not for the World Heavyweight title vacated by Gentleman Jim Corbett, but it was for World title in effect. Colorful lithograph. Framed at 19x23". Bottom of poster reads "Peter Maher and Robert Fitzsimmons Matched to fight Feb. 14, 1896 for $10,000 and the Police Gazette Belt." Prizefighting, the name for boxing at the time, was illegal in Texas, so one of the organizers of the fight, the famous Judge Roy Bean, staged the fight on a sandbar in the middle of the Rio Grande River so that the fight was out of jurisdiction of Texas and the the United States. Fitzsimmons knocked out Maher in the first round. Fitzsimmons became famous for holding three simultaneous championships - Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight. Poster has some small staining near the bottom, but is otherwise in good condition.

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