Yep, not a lot of information on the older Champion tips. I wish I had saved it, but I know I read an old article in one of the pool magazines that the French guy who did them buried them in his back yard to do part or all of the tanning. Maybe an urban legend, I can't confirm it or deny it.Not a lot of history out there about the original man behind these, but I have gathered that there are two types of Champion tips. The Chandivert (that came later) and those before Chandivert (the much better of the two). I have played a lot with both.
Chandivert
Older tips below. I have searched and secured 3 boxes of these over the years, as I love them that muchBest tips I have ever used. Once I install them on my shafts, I use some black fiebings dye on the burnished sidewall. This makes them black (obviously) and completely alleviates any mushrooming while not effecting the tip/hit at all. They do have a distinct hit and sound to them. I can understand why these had much love by players of the time, not so for the Chandivert. They last a VERY long time on a shaft as they never get any glazing/hardness and hold chalk without tools grinding them down.
The original poster asked what was on the cues of the old timers back then, it was these.
The older Champions you reference were way better than the later Chandivert brand. I didn't think much of the later Chandiverts, whether Champion, Crown, or Match. However, their Rocky tips, their hardest, were actually good.
The older Champion tips had two distinct periods. One, a gray box, and two, a white box with staples on the corners. The earlier ones in the gray box were a bit softer but broke in well. The ones in the white box with stapes started out harder. Both were good. They will never be made again.