Issued in 1888 by New York-based Goodwin & Co the "Champions" set featured 50 cards of various sportsmen along with Wild West star Buffalo Bill Cody. The fifty cards were inserted into packages of Old Judge and Gypsy Queen cigarettes. The colorful lithographs are often cited as the most beautiful cards of the 19th Century each boasting a vivid detailed design set against a colorful background. The issue includes eight baseball players including iconic cards of both King Kelly and Cap Anson as well as the earliest-known football card of Yale's Harry Beecher. Also notable are cards of Cody boxers Jem Smith and John L Sullivan and the extremely noteworthy presence of an African-American athlete on a mainstream trading card that of three-time Kentucky Derby winner jockey Isaac Murphy. Presented here is an extraordinary complete set of 50 a mixed-grade set with a wonderful consistent appearance throughout. All but eight of the cards have been graded by SGC with the remaining cards graded by PSA. A complete breakdown by condition is as follows: SGC EX/NM 80 (1 card): Captain Boardus; SGC EX+ 70 (1 card): Myers; PSA EX 5 (2 cards): Steinitz Zukertort; SGC EX 60 (5 cards): James Albert Ed Andrews Pat Fitzgerald Jake Gaudaur Hanlan; PSA VG-EX 4 (5 cards): Daly Dwight Jake Kilrain Muldoon Sexton; SGC VG/EX 50 (8 cards): D'Oro Charlie Mitchell Prince Rowe Rowell Slosson Stevens Charles Wood SGC VG 40 (8 cards): Beach Beeckman Bob Caruthers Buffalo Bill Cody Sure Shot Dunlap Jack Glasscock Taylor Wood; SGC GOOD+ 35 (1 card): Tim Keefe (HOF); PSA GOOD 2 (2 cards): Cap Anson (HOF) King Kelly (HOF); SGC GOOD 30 (6 cards): Dan Brouthers (HOF) Jack Dempsey Capt/ MacKenzie McLaughlin Teemer Vignaux; SGC FAIR 20 (6 cards): Joe Acton Isaac Murphy Byrd Page Duncan Ross Schaefer Emil Voss; SGC POOR 10 (4 cards): "Snapper" Carrison Sears Jem Smith John L. Sullivan; SGC A (1 card): Harry Beecher. This is an extraordinary set. Even the cards of lower technical grade present consistently higher the cards mostly evenly matched as the set was assembled card-by-card by a dedicated collector of 19th Century material with a strong eye for colorful attractive cards. Of the group the Tim Keefe does exhibit moderate paper loss on the front of the card and the Isaac Murphy does exhibit corners worn more severely than the rest of the set. The Beecher card presents as a VG/EX example with what appears to be a very slight trim along the right edge. Despite all this the cards look wonderful