This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/10/2001.
Robert Fitzsimmons' real calling card was the "solar plexus" punch he made famous in becoming boxing's first "triple champion." But if "Ruby Robert"wanted to make the point more civilly, he would hand out one of his personal calling cards like this one; something he had occasion to do as a man about town and also as an actor who appeared on the Broadway stage. The very rare 2-1/4" x 333/4" card boasts the fabled champ's near-perfect signature and dates back to the early 1890s when the English-born, New Zealand-raised Fitz came to America and won the middleweight crown by KOing Nonpareil Jack Dempsey on January 14, 1891 in New Orleans. This was six years before he won the heavyweight crown from Jim Corbett. (He later added the light-heavyweight title.) The card has a facsimile Fitzsimmons signature engraved on the front and the words "Middle Weight Champion of the World" on the lower left, while on the back is his actual signature written with a flamboyant stroke in black fountain pen and rating a near-perfect 10. There are handwritten pencil markings on the front reading "1866-1917" (his life span), "Heavyweight Boxing Champ" and "1212," as well as some light adhesive stains at the corners, but the back, including the signature, is nearly pristine. The card is beautifully in a thick plexiglass holder.