BOXING 1940-FIDEL ARCINIEGO ARCADE card Excellent ORIGINAL VINTAGE

Description

FIDEL ARCINIEGO-1940-BOXING EXHIBIT CARD G.
This original 1940s Arcade Card is 3 3/8”x5 3/8”. The card was found in the center of a 1940s HS annual that was donated to the McCleary, WA Museum. The annual was on the de-accession list, and the cards were discovered inside. The cards were manufactured by the Exhibit Supply Co. of Chicago. The cards were called arcade cards because they were purchased from penny arcade machines located on the various seaside boardwalks of North America. The McCleary museum sells duplicate and un needed items that were donated if the donor does not wish to have the item back. The museum is a non profit organization that runs on donations.
“It appears that, for some unknown reason, Fidel Arciniega fought as Jose Ochea, the Basque Bull of Boise, during 1950 and into early 1951 in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, primarily in Idaho. (Boise has one of the largest Basque communities in the United States.) He may have over-stayed his visa, so decided to continue boxing under another name during that time.
he Idaho Statesman newspaper archives at Genealogy Bank reported that Ochea was a Spanish boxer of Basque ethnicity who had prior experience in New York rings, and once lost to Tommy Gomez at Madison Square Garden. He was also reported to be in his late 20s to early 30s. He turned to wrestling for a brief spell in Boise in 1952, and disappears from the Idaho Statesman after that. (Wrestling was a popular sport of the Basque people.)” (BOXREC)Further, photos of Arciniega and Ochea seem to depict the same person.Neither one is mentioned in Spain's Mundo Deportivo for the 1950-1951 period.
This card is in excellent condition for a card that was manufactured and dispensed over 80 years ago. Boxers were Heroes in the 1940s and kids collected cards because they could only dream of watching a match. This is a scarce card, as most Arcade Cards, as many other Arcade items, were destroyed years ago. Shipped with USPS First Class