Welcome to boxinghistory.org.uk

British boxing history brought to life

 : http://www.boxinghistory.org.uk/

This website tells the story of British boxing, from its 18th-century roots through to the more familiar era of televised fights. You'll find stories of the most obscure and long-forgotten journeymen as well as Britain's most famous stars.

Learn about the lost customs of the ring and the history of the sport in your area. Discover where and how boxers trained, how often they fought, the conditions they fought under and what drove men to fight for money. You'll learn about British boxing's greatest triumphs, its saddest tragedies, and everything in between.

The Gardner brothers

I am trying to assist Mark O’Toole in the project detailed below, and would be obliged if you would assist in this please.

 Rob Snell

 My primary aims at the moment aside from general information would be:

 1. As many contemporary reports of the brothers (George, Billy and Jimmy) as possible. I can't emphasize how important contemporary reports of them would be as I'm finding it hard to source some online or in the Irish libraries as their archives are restricted to Irish newspapers of the early 20th century and not American ones.

 2. Any information or reports regarding George's manager Tom O'Rourke.

 3. Details regarding later life - especially Jimmy and Billy who have appeared to disappear off the radar completely. Given Jimmy was recognized by some as a former Welterweight world champion I find this quite interesting.

 4. Anything regarding the brother-in-law relationship between Billy Gardner and Joe Thomas is also an interesting tangent in the story.

 Basically I would see this project as being an examination of the Irish-American emigration experience through the personal story of the Gardner brothers in a very colorful, pioneering period for boxing. Thusly I would require as much minutiae of their personal lives as possible.  

 I would also hopefully be able to raise awareness in Ireland of the extraordinary achievements of George and Jimmy in Ireland. I'm guessing due to post-Gaelic Revival historiography of Irish sport, the Gardner brothers and Irish Olympians who competed for Britain has been somewhat loss in favour of stories of Irish sport that enhance a positive national identity for Eire.

 Mark O'Toole

 Name: Jimmy Gardner
Born: 1885-12-25
Birthplace:
Nationality: Irish
Hometown: Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Height: 5′ 7½″   /   171cm
Boxing Record: click

• Brother of George Gardner (light heavyweight champion), and Billy Gardner
• Brother-in-law to Joe Thomas, hard-hitting middleweight of the early twentieth century

Mountain Fighters

Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing

By Lawrence Davies 

Book Recommendation

Rob Snell

I hope you will join me in supporting the sales of this truly remarkable and extensively researched book by Lawrence Davies. It is, as Lawrence aptly states -

“A must-buy for any boxing fan who wants to re-discover the forgotten origins of Welsh boxing”.

Mountain Fighters

Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing

Wales has a long and proud history of fist fighting. While many boxing fans may be familiar with the stories of such fistic royalty as Jimmy Wilde and Jim Driscoll from the early days of the boxing ring, the lives of the men who fought bare-fist on the mountains of South Wales or in the fairground boxing booths for a handful of coins have been far less well documented.

These are the forgotten fighting histories of some of the good, the bad and the ugly from the days of the bare-knuckle outlaws known as the ‘mountain fighters’. This fascinating book charts the early history of pugilism in South Wales, from the days of some of the earliest bare fist champions of distinction.  These are the stories of a fighting tradition previously shrouded in myth and legend that paved the way for a country’s future champions.

For the first time, the deeds and exploits of many of these men are recorded here in full. The product of countless hours of original research on the part of the author, there are many rare illustrations and photographs, many of which have never been printed in any book previously, this is a must-buy for any boxing fan who wants to re-discover the forgotten origins of Welsh boxing. 
This is the first  book on Welsh bare knuckle fighting to be released by Peerless Press, and will be available from November 2011 from gwales.com and directly from Peerless Press. 

 

http://www.gwales.com/latest/?tsid=6

 £12.99 Author: Lawrence Davies  Paperback  Available ISBN: 9780957034204 (0957034202) Publication Date December 2011 Publisher: Peerless Press

the book is very chunky, its 356 pages, soft cover, over 60 pictures, mostly unseen in any book previously.
 

The Ghost

The Ghost was a tiny pale speck of a man with fists of steel who had climbed out of the bowels of the earth, and fought his way through hundreds of men, some nearly twice his size, before finally claiming the World Flyweight Championship. So light was the little Welshman who stands as the greatest fighter that Wales has ever produced that he was known to weigh in with lead weights concealed in his pockets in order to make weight.  The ring-names never quite stretched far enough to explain the almost superhuman skills of this tiny ex-miner.   The Indian Famine, the Mighty Atom, the Human Hairpin, the Tetrarch of the Ring, and perhaps the greatest of them all,

The Ghost with the Hammer in his hand. 

Who can fail to be drawn into a story so compelling ?.  Photographs fail to capture the enigma that was Jimmy Wilde, an explosive force of nature.  A man that was less than 7stone dripping wet, and yet also one of the hardest punchers the ring has ever seen.  But even before Jimmy's time Merthyr had been creating Iron men, back in the days of the mountain fighters, when a fight on the mountain at dawn was the quickest and easiest way to settle a dispute that had started in the pub the night before. 

Even after taking the flyweight championship of the world, Wilde had marveled at the strength and stamina of his father-in-law, Dai Davies who had once fought eighty four rounds on the mountains above Tylorstown.

‘Tomorrow, on the mountain’ -  that was the way a pub argument usually ended and would be settled the next morning at sunrise, high up on the mountain with lookouts stretched out on the grass keeping a keen eye on the valley below.  Only after the men in the know had climbed the mountain, using the cover of darkness to conceal their activities from the ever watchful police, would the men unroll the ropes and stakes, take off their shirts and warm up in preparation for the knuckle fight. 

  Many of the miners preferred it that way, with the ‘raw ‘uns’ as the knuckles were called back then, where the strength and stamina built up in the coal mine and iron foundry, and the ability to ‘take it’ mattered more than anything else.  Knuckles were often dipped in pickling vinegar and pickled faces often being the badge of the battle scarred veterans who had fought countless rounds for little more than a jug of ale. 

This was the way of the old timers, the Welsh fighting men known as the mountain fighters who would fight for twenty, forty, even sixty rounds and more.  A round in those times only ended when a man went down, and even then there would be plenty of men telling him to get up. 

Book description: "Billy Miske: The St. Paul Thunderbolt is Clay Moyle's second biography and a worthy successor to his critically acclaimed tome concerning the life and career of Sam Langford. Hall of fame boxer Billy Miske was arguably the most courageous and inspirational figure in boxing history, and his story is long overdue. During a career that was impeded and cut short as a result of his ongoing battle with a terminal illness, Billy fought a number of the greatest fighters who ever lived, including the likes of Jack Dillon, Harry Greb and Jack Dempsey. The thrilling details and stories surrounding those fights and those of many other ring legends are all here, brought back to life for the reader to enjoy. The books goes far beyond simply chronicling Miske's career, but provides the reader with an in-depth view of a number of the sport's greatest contests and one of the more remarkable periods in boxing history. Miske's courage and perseverance in the face of his impending death, and his personal sacrifice to provide his family with one last Christmas to remember him by, will tug at your heartstrings and leave you with an indellible image of the man."

Clay Moyle’s second biography will be available in a few

weeks and he is trying to determine how

many copies he should order from the printer for anyone who would like to purchase a signed or

inscribed copy. Please reply to Clay directly

  This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to let him know if you have any

interest.

In the Ring With Tommy Burns

Book is now available via amazon.com

In the Ring With Tommy Burns is the sixth book in Adam J. Pollack’s heavyweight boxing champion series. It thoroughly and meticulously describes Tommy Burns’ boxing career, using multiple local next-day primary sources to give the book an unparalleled accuracy and authenticity that has been the hallmark of the series. As always, Pollack offers round by round descriptions, pre- and post-fight analysis, bout preparation and negotiations, and provides context for the period, discussing opponents and what other contenders were doing at the time. By reviewing and experiencing Burns’ career from the perspective of those who saw him box, one obtains far greater appreciation and respect for the skills and accomplishments of this underrated champion. The book includes 378 pages, over 100 photos, Burns’ record, over 650 footnotes, and an index.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/robertsnell/9780979982231-CaseCREMEfinalaug24forposter.jpg

Iron Men of Merthyr

This project is fascinating and urge all our visitors to visit this site and hopefully contribute to it with your stories etc

The Project

Iron Men of Merthyr is a fun and exciting project funded by the Heritage Lottery, where local people will take part in making a film about the history of boxing in Merthyr Tydfil.

http://www.ironmenofmerthyr.org/

PLEASE VISIT OUR PARENT SITE

http://worldboxingforums.com

A great site for all boxing fans who we will be working closely with in future.

British Boxers website cover the boxing news in the UK past, current and upcoming fixtures.
Latest articles, blogs, interviews and other boxing related features including links
to other boxing sites and and relevant content.

                                                                                      www.britishboxers.co.uk


 

I highly recommend this book

Rob Snell

Wonderboy Nipper Pat Daly

A biography of my grandfather, '20s and '30s boxing Wonderboy Nipper Pat Daly, is now available to buy for an online price of £15.99 + £3 postage & packaging to a UK address or + £5 p&p to an overseas (non-UK address).

The price may seem a little high, however the product is a high-quality 330-page sewn hardback book (with photo plates), and so the production costs for a short run were sizeable. 

The book can be purchased securely online via credit/debit card or PayPal by visiting:

http://nipperpatdaly.co.uk/nipperboxingbook.html

Alternatively, if you'd like to place an order and prefer to pay by cheque, please email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it for details of where to send it. Book orders will be dispatched once cheques have cleared.

I've attached a sample PDF file of the book's Introduction and opening chapter. If you have trouble opening the file, you may need to visit http://www.adobe.com and install Adobe Reader. The file can also be read at: http://nipperpatdaly.co.uk/nipperbooksample.pdf

Also attached are the jacket cover image and a brief synopsis and release info for the book.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.   

Please feel free to forward this email on to anyone who you think may be interested. 

Best wishes,

Alex Daley

Nipper: The Amazing Story of Boxing's Wonderboy

A biography of boxing Wonderboy Nipper Pat Daly, exploring his ring career and life, as well as the times in which he boxed.

With rare photos, detailed fight analysis, and extracts from Nipper Pat's personal (previously unpublished) memoirs, the book resurrects the extraordinary times of an extraordinary boxer, and offers a great insight into the boxing world of the 1920s and '30s.

• Hardback, 330 pages

• First published: 2011

• Author: Alex Daley

• ISBN: 978-0956749406

• £15.99 (online price)

• + £3 p&p to a UK address or

• + £5 p&p to an Overseas (non-UK) address

• Available exclusively from: http://nipperpatdaly.co.uk/

• A PDF sample of the Introduction and first chapter can be read at: http://nipperpatdaly.co.uk/nipperbooksample.pdf

Contact

Email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

UK phone: 07982 713 112

About the author

Alex Daley is a grandson of Nipper Pat Daly. This, his first book, is the result of eight years of research into the Nipper’s life and career and the times in which he boxed.

Synopsis

They called him brilliant – the greatest since Driscoll and Wilde; an assured future world champion and a potential all-time great. Nipper Pat Daly, who made his professional debut aged just nine, was a boxing prodigy so precociously gifted that he beat the cream of Europe's boxing talent while still in his mid-teens.

Fans across Britain clamoured to see him fight and sat agog at his uncanny skill, dazzling speed and boundless courage. He topped bills nationwide week-in and week-out, conceding age and strength to full-grown men yet outclassing everyone put before him. By 16 he had beaten several champions, was ranked in the world's top 10 and seemed on the brink of a world title. But incredibly, at 17 he reluctantly retired from the sport he loved, leaving sportswriters and fans to ponder just how great he would have been if he had reached his full potential.

Diligently researched and retold in vivid style, this book resurrects the career and life of one of boxing's most amazing performers, piecing together his unique career in order to understand how such a great talent could vanish so suddenly. Taking us on a journey through a lost world of smoky fight halls, colourful characters and courageous men, this is the story of an incredible boxer and his incredible times.