FALL 2012 Auction

Here's an instance where the autographs of the protagonists are a good deal more real than the "fantasy fight" that they are ostensibly linked to. America's emerging fascination with all things computer-related was in its infancy in the late 1960s when a radio producer decided it would be a good idea to create a fantasy boxing tournament involving time-travel match-ups like John L. Sullivan vs. James Braddock or Muhammad Ali vs. Max Schmeling. After a radio version of the computer's determination was released, a more ambitious project involving computers and film recreations between Rocky Marciano and Ali was devised. Both fighters participated in dozens of hours of filmed "sparring," with Marciano losing more than 50 lbs. and donning a hairpiece in an attempt to look more like he did in his prime nearly two decades earlier. The computer-generated (supervised?) fight was shown on closed-circuit television on Jan. 20, 1970, and the prints supposedly destroyed afterward, though many movie houses were known to have fudged on the date. The Superfight has been shown a couple of times on network television in the intervening 40 years and later released on DVD. This nifty piece of memorabilia is a heavy piece of textured gray cardboard that boasts enormous ballpoint pen autographs from Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano, with each adding personalizations to Jimmy Dundee, Angelo Dundee's son, Jimmy, who would have been about 6 years old at the time. The 9-by-12-inch board is then nicely matted in black and framed to an overall 12-by-16 inches, all still in roughly the original condition from four decades ago. No spoiler alert needed here in case you want to rent the DVD.

Comes with an LOA from the Dundee Family.