By Miles Templeton

John Vail, a very generous man, recently contacted me. He had manually in the color of a photograph of a long -term warrior, Gammy Smith from Cambridge, whom he wanted to go to a good home. Gammy was an venerable friend of Father John, and when Gammy died in 1988, he did not leave his family to convey a photo, so John wanted to give it to me.

For a long time I think that there should be a national boxing museum in the area, just like in football, and if there was such a place, it turns out to be a natural location for a attractive song that you can go to. When I get time, I’m going to check if you can do something in these lines.

Hand -colored photos were also very popular. Colorful photography, when Gammy was in 1920, was practically non -existent and only in the 1960s. This process became normal in the case of personal photographs. That is why all photos of venerable great ones, such as Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and even Rocky Marciano, are in black and white. For a adolescent boxer from Cambridge in 1927, to ask the artist to hand the colors of his black and white photo, it was quite unusual, but that’s what Gammy did, and the created portrait is quite attractive. Although I knew the name of Gammy Smith and examined his struggle record, I didn’t know much about him or the details of his ring career. I think it is right now to decorate this color, so uncommon, with a miniature look at its exploits.

Gammy was in medium weight and a great member of time. In the 1920s, most adolescent boys were all shorter than today, and the stones were lighter. Times were hard and the diet was not good, especially for boys from the working class. Most professionals in Great Britain in 1927, when Gammy was taken, weighed no more than nine and a half stone, and most of them ran between the fly and lightweight.

This made Gammy stand out and did not have to fight next to countless little boys to bet. He was part of the so -called “Cambridge School”, a group of fighters from the city who all emerged at the same time and who all trained together at the boxing school. Gammy together with Archie Allen and Brothers Ed and Gilbert Stubbings were the spine of the “school” and completed the bills for the exchange of corn in their hometown in the 1920s. He had 20 professional competitions, of which only eleven were reported on the pages Bn.

There was so much boxing around, and BN, grabbing most of them, still skipped a huge amount. That is why boxers’ careers from this period are so hard to examine. At the beginning of his career, Gammy suffered two losses in Bedford, going down to Johnny Seamarks, a very good warrior and Harold Bass by knockout. Then he packed several times in Ipswich, winning one and losing, then restored with a long series of victories to exchange corn.

His first 15-runder took place there in 1928 against Londonian Mick Harris. It was a return because Gammy beat him six months earlier within 12 rounds. Harris was dissatisfied with the sentence during the first meeting, and Gammy was too content to meet him again. They both fought in front of the packed house and Bn The report states that Gammy has clearly won this competition. In his next competition, Gammy knocked out a Canadian in five rounds, and then followed this good victories over the Canons Bert and Bill Softley.

Gammy Boxled at the Blackfrires a few time before the Głębocie in 1930, with a record 11-9. He is forgotten now, but this picture is proud. Thanks, John!

By Miles Templeton

Ordinary readers will know that I like to remember the ring career of some of the less known British champions since past days. This week it is Dave Crowley’s turn of Clerkenwell.

In the seventies, Dave was still a very well-known former Boxer, regular in London Ex-Boxers Association, a slightly partial actor in the main films with Tony Curtis and Errola Flynna, and a beloved and popular character with some stories to tell.

Dave changed professionals aged 18 in 1929. His father died during the last stages of the Great War, and Dave had to bring money to his family home. Like many others, he began in six runes in petite rooms of London, boxing at the bottom of the bill. Another kid among thousands, boxing for peanuts. But Dave stood out and in two years, after losing only four out of 47 competitions, he completed up to 15 rounds of competitions at the summit.

In 1932 he won the title of Bantamweight in the southern area and for the first time passed the title of British featherweight in 1934 Bn Called “a great battle for the brains”. He drifted in 1935 and early 1936, winning most of his competitions before he decided that the United States was a place for him. I am waiting for another crack in the British title was not for Dave, why simply not go straight to the title of world champion?

In 1936, the World Penal Scale Championships were a hotch-jotion of the confusion, and the Recent York Sports Commission would recognize Mike Belloise as a master, as well as Petey Sarron Association of Boxing. Many masters of the same weight are not only a current invention, but it was.

When Crowley came to the States, he was unknown there. Both Benny Sharkey from Newcastle and Dick Corbett from Bethnal Green were evaluated in the top ten world by the ring, but without even a place for the British master, Tarleton, Dave Crowley was nobody. He had to fight to bet and had to win. In April, he defeated the journeyman, Al Gilette, in Star Casino in Recent York, which brought him an early chance to Belloise in the 10-order on Long Island.

How Crowley managed to get this chance, against the master, is a mystery, but he certainly did not win him. Under the headline “How Dave Crowley created a rating” BN announced that “Crowley made a good impression with fans with his skillful boxing and the desire to transfer the fight to the up-to-date title holder. From the very beginning he took Belloise. “Two men drew, and along with Crowley now installed on the seventh in the ranking, the rematch for the title was natural, and only three months later Dave was counted in ninth place, claiming that he was fouled after exhibiting a huge performance against Belloise in Madison Square Garden.

After returning to these banks, Dave defeated both George Tzelewl and Harry Mizler in the British delicate title of eliminators before convincingly defeated Jimmy Walsh at Anfield Football Ground to win the British title. His reign was low because he had a misfortune to be against Eric Boon, one of the best British masters with this weight. They fought twice and Crowley was knocked out every time.

When the war broke out in 1939, maybe it was the perfect time to cross Crowley, but fought until 1946, taking into account 57 subsequent competitions and winning a delicate title along the way in the southern area. Dave died in 1974, and Eric Boon, paying tribute, said that “Dave was one of the greatest characters in the fighting game.” Leba paid his own tribute using Dave’s image on his ties and blisters.

By Miles Templeton

Greg Evans was a particularly colorful warrior from Liverpool in the seventies. Lively in 1976–1982, Greg won 10 and lost 10 with massive weight. The division was of course dominated by a colleague from Liverpudlian and WBC master, John Conteh, as well as Pat Thompson and Francis Hands also from the city and boxing of the same weight, Merseyside certainly contributed to massive weight at that time.

Greg was the champion of ABA ABA in 1976, which he achieved only 22 amateur competitions at the back. When he changed the professional in September 1976, he did it in a substantial concert at Empire Pool in Wembley. Joe Bugner destroyed Richard Dunn in one round at the summit of the bill, and Dave Boy Green, Jim Watt, Vernon Sollas and John L Gardner can also be seen, Greg had many investigations. You should surpass the experienced veteran Manchester, Terry Armstrong, over six rounds to start your professional career.

Greg has ever banned only one man with a loss of record throughout his entire career, far from the situation for future perspectives today. In his third duel he was surprised by Bob Pollard, losing in a tight eight round, but soon he showed a completely different approach when he blew up Warley Tough Man Brian Huckfield in one round at the Liverpool stadium, his first competition in his native city and, which is surprising for the five -foot novice In such a prestigious place, at the top of the bill.

He followed this with eight rounds of the decision about Roy Gumbs in Wembley, and Dave Boy Green lost his challenge in the title of the world in Carlos Palomino as the main star. What were the great cards in this era, with most of the huge ones that take place on Tuesday evening, [i].[i] Night to boxing in those days.

In November 1977, Evans was surprisingly beaten by Vernon Scott, and the loss was bad, a five -curing knockout. After defeating Harry White, the 11th assessed pretender, Greg was then chosen to fight Rab Affleck in the British eliminator of the title. I remember Raba as a banger well and he showed it very clearly in September 1978, when he undressed Evans, stopping him in just two minutes and nine seconds of the first round.

With three losses with only 10 matches and Evans hanging around the lower orders of the British top ten, it seemed to be at a crossroads. He did not meet expectations and needed a lot of win. Under the headline “Billy Blitzed”, Bn He informed exactly about this, the biggest win in his career just seven weeks later, when he took Billy Knight, one hell of a warrior, in less than three minutes. The report states that “for two minutes Knight easily poured Evans, showing his undoubted skills. Then Evans grabbed the knight with his left hook in his head and quickly followed his right to the jaw. Knight knocked down on canvas and could only float at six. “Then Evans ripped off in it, and judge Frank Parkes entered the knight with vitreous eyes and spinning.

Greg’s rollercoaster career then turned down to finish the year. After Harry White’s arrest in the return competition, he did not refrain from Roy Gumbs. Boxing for the first time in the style of Peek-a-Boo traded freely with Willlesden Fighter, with one and then the other, winning Acendoman, before Evans ran out of couple. He was finally detained in a defenseless state in the sixth state. Bad losses for Johnny Waldron and Tom Collins, in the central title of massive lightweight, were to occur, and things did not improve after his final victory in 1981 on Rupert Christie. Greg lost the last three, and then leaned after a miniature but very fun career, in which he mixed with challenging men while there were no straightforward rides.