The Old-Timer
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The Old-Timer produced by www.prewarboxing.co.uk Number 1. August 2007 Sid Shields (Glasgow) – active 1911-22 This is the first issue of magazine will concentrate draw equally heavily on this The Old-Timer and it is my instead upon the lesser material in The Old-Timer. intention to produce three lights, the fighters who or four such issues per year. were idols and heroes My prewarboxing website The main purpose of the within the towns and cities was launched in 2003 and magazine is to present that produced them and who since that date I have historical information about were the backbone of the directly helped over one the many thousands of sport but who are now hundred families to learn professional boxers who almost completely more about their boxing were active between 1900 forgotten. There are many ancestors and frequently and 1950. The great thousands of these men and they have helped me to majority of these boxers are if I can do something to learn a lot more about the now dead and I would like preserve the memory of a personal lives of these to do something to ensure few of them then this boxers. One of the most that they, and their magazine will be useful aspects of this exploits, are not forgotten. worthwhile. magazine will be to I hope that in doing so I amalgamate boxing history will produce an interesting By far the most valuable with family history so that and informative magazine. resource available to the the articles and features The Old-Timer will draw modern boxing historian is contained within are made heavily on the many Boxing News magazine more interesting. There are thousands of fight records which was first published in some examples in this first that I have produced and 1909 and for which weekly issue. will be unashamedly copies have been produced statistical in content. The ever since. Between 1909 Some readers may be career stats for most of the and 1940 the magazine was disappointed in the lack of boxers referred to will be known simply as 'Boxing' material in the Old Timer recorded within each article and I have in my collection on post war boxers. I will and a number of detailed virtually every copy during say that the magazine will fight records for some of this period. The Old-Timer always concern itself the more interesting boxers will pay homage to primarily with the pre war will be regularly included. I ‘Boxing’ and I will draw boxing scene as that is the also intend to reproduce a considerably upon period that I am most considerable number of information from it. In an interested in. However as high quality photographs attempt to recreate my research expands and images in each issue to something of the feel of the beyond 1950 I will start to illustrate the stories and early copies of this write more about boxing in boxers about whom I write. wonderful publication I the period between 1940 have commandeered some and 1970 and future articles There were many great of the very striking will reflect this. boxers during the first fifty headings that were used in years of the twentieth the very early copies and I I am particularly open to century including Jimmy will occasionally use them. suggestions about potential Wilde, Len Harvey, Freddie The ‘Editor’s Ideas’ is just stories to be included Mills, Benny Lynch, Teddy one example of this. especially if anyone can Baldock and Jock McAvoy. contribute new and Athough I will obviously There is a huge amount of interesting information refer to men such as these it boxing material that never about a long forgotten is not my intention to dwell made the pages of ‘Boxing’ boxer or contest. on them. Their stories have however. Much of this I been told before, often very have located in the endless My email address is : regularly, and many of them visits that I make to have had specific books libraries up and down the [email protected] published about them. This United Kingdom. I will 2 Wembley 1924 – Britain’s most enterprising boxing promoter suffers financial ruin In 1913, after Frenchman Georges Carpentier had with Carpentier and ‘on last Wednesday’s clubbed British Heavyweight Champion Bombardier performance Goddard might conceivably last longer Billy Wells to the canvas at the National Sporting than fifteen seconds in front of the Frenchman, but Club in 73 seconds, writer F Hurdman Lucas opined who would bet that he would last a full round ?”. ‘Weep, oh ye Britishers, e’en as we all must, for this blow is the greatest of all’. He explained that at no At the same time as these contests were taking place time in its illustrious past had British Heavyweight the American Jack Dempsey looked invincible as boxing been at such a low ebb. World Heavyweight Champion. The gulf between British and French Heavyweight boxing looked bad After the tremendous conflagration that spread across enough, but Dempsey versus Goddard was an Europe between 1914 and 1918 had concluded, utterly inconceivable notion. Many people still British boxing fans were optimistic that a new thought that Britain, the place where boxing was champion might redeem national pride and step born, still occupied a premier place on the world forward to reclaim national honour. Carpentier stage and that it could compete against the likes of returned to London in 1919 to put paid to these hopes, Tex Rickard for the really big contests. One of crushing the new British Champion, Joe Beckett, in these men was Major Arnold Wilson. 75 seconds. Did these extra two seconds represent an improvement in British fortunes since 1913, or had Wilson was a first world war hero. He had won the things got even worse? In 1920 Beckett defeated ex Military Cross and had twice been mentioned in World Champion Tommy Burns, then aged 39, in despatches. He had crawled out into no mans land seven rounds but was then slaughtered by American under fire in order to save the lives of two wounded Frank Moran in 2 rounds. Beckett managed to beat soldiers. Before the war he was part of the Moran in a return in 1922 and this re-ignited hope that Liverpool consortium that opened the Stadium on a British Heavyweight Champion might eventually July 6th 1911. This venue, situated in Pudsey beat Carpentier. They fought again at Olympia, Street, became world famous and was known as the London on Oct 1 1923 and the report of the contest ‘graveyard of champions’. After the war Wilson taken from ‘Boxing’ stated that “The M.C. waited worked closely with promoter C.B. Cochrane on until the men retired to their corners before he some of the major London shows before he shouted his final speech through the megaphone. branched out on his own as a big-time promoter in And then the gong went. Inside three seconds the metropolis. He promoted the farcical match Beckett was on the floor. Inside ten seconds the between Carpentier and Beckett at Olympia in 1923. towel had come in from his corner. It is true that the Frenchman delivered at least two punches. Some In 1923 Wembley Stadium opened its doors for the spectators asserted that he sent in four or five. The first time. Primarily a football stadium, Wembley first looked like a left tap to the point of the chin. was also used for the 1924 British Empire The second was that poisonous right – and a peach of Exhibition and it was during the summer of 1924 a punch at that. Beckett went down like – well, like that Wilson leased the premises to stage an Beckett”. Surely British Heavyweight boxing had international heavyweight contest that, he hoped, now reached its true nadir. would fill the stadium to capacity and make himself a fortune. The stadium was designed to seat more Or had it? Beckett immediately retired, although than 100,000 people and Wilson thought that a despite his relatively disappointing career boxing had heavyweight contest between a top-flight American made him a rich man. The vacant title was contested and Jack Bloomfield would arouse sufficient by Frank Goddard, a previous Beckett victim, and interest to fulfil his plan. The Exhibition was Jack Bloomfield, a blown up Light-Heavyweight. drawing in crowds from all over the country, many The two met at the Royal Albert Hall on Nov 21 1923 of whom were being brought to London by special and Bloomfield had Goddard on the canvas twice in trains, and Wilson sought to capitalise on this the second round. Goddard was nailed by Bloomfield captive audience. Wilson had greatly overestimated a third time whilst he was still on the floor from the public interest in the contest and the promotion second knockdown. Referee Joe Palmer had no finished him as a major promoter, ruined him both option but to disqualify Bloomfield, who by this time financially and took considerable toll on his health. was a certain winner. The new champion was What were the reasons for this ? described by the editor of ‘Boxing’ as “far worse than he has ever been in his life, worse even than it was Firstly Bloomfield was really only a Light- possible to believe that any man with the faintest Heavyweight. In 1921 he contested the British pretensions to boxing could be”. Unfortunately, the Middleweight Title and when he fought Goddard winner of this contest had been guaranteed a match For the Heavyweight Title in 1923 he was 3 supposedly outweighed by 35lbs.