Front:
29
RTIMORE
JUN
11
1992
1992 Olympics Q 1233
MD
BAL
Back:
BOXING
First Day of Issue: June 11, 1992
First Issue Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Boxing made its Olympic debut at the Games held in 688
B.C. Competitors fought with leather straps wound around
their fists, and later they added metal rings or knuckles to
the straps. But there were no “rounds," no referees or
“TKOs." The match continued until one of the two com-
petitors signaled defeat. In 648 B.C., pancration was
added to the roster of events. A brutal combination of
boxing and wrestling, the contest was indeed a free-for-all
which again continued until one of the contenders yielded
or died — the rules of the game permitted strangulation.
Emperor Theodosius I abolished the Games in 393 A.D.,
but they were reinstituted in 1896 largely through the
efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Boxing was not
reinstated until the 1904 Olympic Games held in St. Louis,
Missouri. Only 12 countries participated, and the U.S.
dominated the competitions. During the 20th century, the
sport has introduced gifted athletes; Argentina's Carmelo
Robledo; Hungary's Lásló Papp; Cuba's Téofilo
Stevenson; America's Cassius Clay and George Foreman.
No. 92-17
First Day of Issue Postcard Collection™
©1992 Fleetwood® Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001
Original painting for the First Day of Issue Postcard by Tom McNeely
Fleetwood
