BURNS, TOMMY & BILLY SQUIRES REAL PHOTO POSTCARD (1907)

HISTORY: On July 4,1907 Tommy Burns fought Billy Squires for the Heavyweight Title. Burns would KO Squires in the first round. The heavily hyped Squires—some reported he was undefeated and had knocked out 32 men—was the betting favorite. The San Francisco Call reported that "the betting was 10 to 7 and 10 to 3 in favor of the Australian" and "there was a considerable quantity of Squires money at odds of 2 to 1 on him." Burns floored Squires three times. Squires wore bandages on his hands but Burns wore a pair of light kid gloves under his boxing gloves. The arena had been built to hold 10,000 people and the paid crowd was over 9,000. A panoramic photo of the crowd shows few empty seats. The gate receipts, according to the Los Angeles Herald, were $27,000. Burns earned a total of $18,000—the $10,000 side bet and his $8,000 guarantee. Squires made $4,960.24. The referee was Jim Jeffries, who retired as the undefeated World Heavyweight Champion in 1905. He was paid $1,000 for officiating. This was the first of three fights between Burns and Squires. The other two took place in 1908, with Burns winning both by knockout. Post-Fight Quotes-Tommy Burns: "I saw the pictures of Squires in training the other night and I said, 'If I cannot beat this fellow, I will never fight again.' I did not expect the bout to go 10 rounds."-Jim Jeffries: "Burns is a wise boxer and never overlooked an opportunity. He should be given all credit for winning. At that, Squires is not a stiff, like many now believe. As for me, I am still the retired champion. I will not meet Burns. So long as the belt remains in America, I am satisfied. Had Squires won, I would certainly have re-entered the ring just once more to defend my title."-Barney Reynolds, Squires' manager: "I guess we must have a pretty poor lot of fighters in Australia because Squires was the best we had." Offered here is an original, real photo postcard which features Tommy Burns posing with his team and his wife along with an insert photo of challenger Bill Squires.

FULL DESCRIPTION: This is an original, unused, real photo postcard. Bold color and print and bold, clear image. Minor soiling. Edge and corner wear. Crease in lower right corner. 3 1/2" x 5." Exceedingly rare and the only example we have seen.