By Miles Templeton

In 1912, when the cosmopolitan gymnasium in Plymouth was one of the most significant places of fighting in Great Britain, a juvenile boy who approached the name “Rabbitts”, entered the ring to fight the last professional competition.

Such names of the rings were not unusual in the days before licensing and “Rabbitts”, along with “Black Bob”, “Student of Jagi” and “Duffin’s Nipper” fought there many times, although today it would be very hard to identify them positively. These are the joys of running records, and “Rabbitts” is only partially mentioned in Boxrec. From 1908 I traced 32 competitions, and he won only six of them. He was the bottom of the fighter Bill, who gave himself everything in six runes. His last fight was against a decent boy from nearby Stonehouse, and “Rabbitts” fell to the inevitable loss of points.

That same night, much higher, Tom McCormick had his second competition in the city. Dundalk, McCormick came to England in his youth and served in the Manchester regiment as a private. After a decent boxing career in the army, Tom began to treat things more seriously in 1912, winning all five competitions before arriving in Plymouth. After throwing Jacek Marx in one round in June 1912 in his debut Plymouth, he was adapted to the fight with Taylor from South Africa, over 15 rounds, on the night where “Rabbitts” bowed.

I like to think that Tom and “Rabbitts” could mention a few words in the cloakroom that night. Tom was a former soldier, and “Rabbitts” planned to join the army.

Bn The editor, John Murray, opened his editorial article on July 19, 1916 with the following words: “Tom McCormick was the first of our first professional boxers who went to the shooting line, and now he was the first to appear on the roll of the roll of the roll of the roll honor . “Tom was killed during the Battle of Somme in July 1916. His good buddy and colleague Boxer, Corporal Jim Winspear, was with him when he died and told about the details of his last moments: “He was of the last one to last. He is commemorated in Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Tom had a great career, winning the title of British welterweight in 1914 under the 20-round decision about Johnny Summers, from all places, Rushcutters Bay Stadium in Sydney, Australia. It was the same place where Jacek Johnson V Tommy Burns World Heavyweight hosted the title six years earlier. McCormick became the first warrior who won the British title abroad and repeated the feat in the same ring five weeks later, this time knocking out years, which was a great warrior, in the first round.

Five weeks later, Tom lost the title of Matt Wells of Lambeth, again in the same ring. In just 10 weeks Tom Won, he defended and then lost the British title, and each competition took place on the other side of the world.

McCormick returned to Great Britain later the same year and fought six more times. He registered again immediately after the war, joining his aged regiment, and as Murray put him in his editorial article: “He not only joined, but also asked to send to the front as soon as possible.”

To sum up his tribute to McCormick, Murray ended with the following words: “McCormick was the Idol of the Boxing World Plymouth, who lost another aged favorite in the private place of Ah Wilson with 3^Rd The shooters brigade, better known in Plymouth circles as “rabbitts”. Wilson was killed in action, but not earlier than the Distinguished Conduct medal won for his bravery at the Battle of Armmentieres in October 1914. “

By Miles Templeton

There is all a lot of global rating of boxers who died juvenile.

Harry Greb, Pancho Villa and Tiger Flowers are three that are cheerful to come, and it is in the 1920s. There are others who died in suspicious circumstances; Randolph Turpin, Oscar Bonven and Arturo Gatti are significant examples. Sometimes these deaths are so mysterious that they advise against conspiracy theories, as in the case of Freddie Mills and Sonny Poston. Another warrior, Zora Folley, marks all three fields.

Folley was an outstanding warrior from the golden age of heavyweight boxing. It is best to remember your title today in 1967 against Muhammad Ali in Madison Square Garden. He was far away when he got on the ring with the “largest”, and after a decent start he was knocked out in seventh place. Ali was at the time at that time and is a man that everyone remembers, but Folley himself had an intriguing life. A veteran of the Korean war, he was involved in terrifying fights with weapons and grenades before he was notable for its gloves. When he was written as a 22-year-old in 1953, he won five battle stars. He would fight British opponents four times in his 96-year-old 17-year career.

After learning to box in the army, Zora did not waste time to start her professional career. Within five years he won the 41-2-2-2-2-2– and came to Great Britain, fighting for his first British opponent, Henry Cooper. Two men met at Empire Pool, Wembley in October 1958 and, as the accompanying photo shows, Henry still had a full head! Cooper’s form has been not uniform in the last two years, winning only two out of eight, and Folley, rated in the second place in the world by the Ring magazine, was to beat him and do it clearly.

A week earlier, Brian London detained Willie Pastrano in five rounds at the Harringay Arena, and Pastrano assessed just behind Folley as the third best massive weight in the world, Cooper’s victory turned the rankings up.

It was a bad night for Zory when our “Energy rejected their ears. Folley himself was a stylist with a perfect stab, so Cooper’s performance was in my opinion one of the best in his career. . Bn This week, the cover had the “Classic’s Win” headline, and the accompanying report said that “the margin of ten rounds was convincing, was stimulating and completely unexpected. In the last round, the crowd set up a constant roar of encouragement with feet pressing and shouts when they sensed that Cooper won safely within its reach. The victory, which must take the success of Tommy Farr over Max Baer. “

Zora remained in Great Britain long enough to defeat Joe Bygraves at Halls Granby in Leicester just six weeks later. When he then came to Great Britain, four years later to fight Cooper again, we saw another warrior. In December 1961, Folley seemed tender, and the recent losses of detention for Alejandro Lairteante and Sonny Liston. On the other hand, Cooper was on the wave. How Bn Place this “the American has nothing to lose, Cooper has everything.” After raising the cut in the first round, Cooper was chewed in the right cross in the second and did not get up. It was a sensational Folley performance.

Six years later, Folley came here again to abandon the 10-round decision to Brian London at the Liverpool stadium and retired three years later. In 1972, Folley died after diving in a hotel pool and hitting his head. To this day, some still say he was murdered.

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.