By Miles Templeton

One thing that boxes have many characters. Promoters, trainers and managers are often greater than life, and boxers often more. One of such characters was Eddie McGorta from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Eddie would fight anyone, wherever he wondered all over the world. Australians even recognized him as a world -high -medium world champion.

I chose him to this column because of his intriguing record against British warriors, both here as in the United States, and because of the caliber of men he fought in a 20-year career, which ended in 1922.

His most renowned opponent is undoubtedly the great Harry Greb. They both clashed in 1918, and McGoorta came out at the wrong end of the 10-round decision. It seems that Greb has currently acquired a almost mythical status among boxing fans, many of which are teenage contextual. At a time when there is little respect of great boxers from the past, it seems that Greb has exceeded this prejudice, and many called him the greatest boxer he has ever lived. This cannot be proved, because there is no recording of a great man in the ring, which I think is extraordinary.

The McGorty was first crossed by the Atlantic in 1909, when he defeated Nutty Curran in 20-Rundy in Dublin. He stayed in Ireland for four months, winning four out of five competitions. His only loss was against Tom Lancaster with Spennyneoor, a real difficult nut, who won the Medium Pitmen weight championship in 1909 under 10^th Winning in the round over Tom Stokes with Mexborough. Stokes was thrown into a butting, but it didn’t bother Lancaster, who was as difficult as it happened. The victory over McORTY was undoubtedly the best victory for Tom in the 56-host career with just nine losses.

McGorta noted three more wins in England, and then, in 1912, to be flattened by Jacek Harrison, a master of British medium weight, in one round in Madison Square Garden.

In 1918, McGorta represented the United States in the victory tournament, which took place at Royal Albert Hall. This event took place to celebrate the allied victory in the First World War, and people from the entire community and the United States, including Harry Greb, took part. McGorty lost to the final winner of Bombardier Billy Wells, in the heavyweight semi -final.

In 1919 and 1920, McGorta met most of our leading weights and featherlight many times in Great Britain. Among those he defeated were Tom Gummer, Harry Reeve and Bandsman Rice. Then he was adapted to the fight with Joe Beckett, the British heavyweight champion in the 20-round competition at Olympia. About a week before the McGorta competition, he was to be “drunk and unable” at Tottenham Court Road, behind which he was fined in 10 shillings at Bow Street Magistrates Court. Realizing that he upset the promoter, Charles B cochran, and that his behavior could have been affected by the interest of the competition, McGorta tried to fix the press: “I had to be a victim of a wave of heat. I knew I wasn’t drunk. I pleaded guilty in court because I wanted to escape from the advertisement, but I was unlucky. Not concerned, Mr. Cochran, I will be able to fight the fight of my life against Beckett. “

McGorta took a decent performance against Beckett, falling in the 17th round of a ponderous duel. Among the many other great fighters with whom McGorty he laughed in his career, which began in 1902, were George Chip, fighting Levinsky, Mike Gibbons, Les Darcy, Jeff Smith, Frank Klaus and Jack Dillon. His last fight in Great Britain took place at Windsor Conservative Club from all places when he detained Jacek Stanley in three rounds.

He died in 1929, at the age of 40, due to throat ailments. He was a difficult -living, difficult -fighting scrap of Irish origin, which is so rarely seen in American rings.

By Miles Templeton

It is demanding to believe now, but in 1942 a competition for the British and the Empire of titles in which both boxers, judge and supervisor served the members of the Royal Air Force. Of course, the war continued, but many boxers were in reserved competitions and therefore were released from service, and most of those who registered were about the army or navy.

Len Harvey pilot officer successfully defended his title against Jock McVoy in the summer of 1939, and the day after the outbreak of the war in September 1939 he enlisted to Raf. In addition to the fact that he was a champion in ponderous weight, he was also a master of British heavyweight, defeating Eddie Phillips in Harringay in 1938.

Sergeant Freddie Mills joined RAF at the beginning of 1940 after he lit the trail through the leading British in the middle and featherlight. Freddie was able to continue his professional boxing career for the period in 1940–1942, when he took part in 18 competitions, winning 16 years, because many programs he bothering were supporting war efforts. On the other hand, Harvey did not fight for three years when he crossed the gloves with Mills in June 1942.

When the war was announced, the government forbade the general population of gathering in vast crowds, fearing what kind of goal it could create for Luftwaffe. Therefore, the number of boxing promotions, especially vast, has decreased dramatically. After Raf won the Battle of Great Britain in 1940 and stopped in the worst Blitz by the end of 1941, these rules were slightly relaxed.

John Muldoon, a serving plane himself, promoted the shows at Royal Albert Hall and was encouraged to get closer to two fighters to see if they could agree on the conditions for the competition to take place at White Hart Lane, the Tottenham Hotspur house. Harvey willingly agreed, provided that the tournament brought benefits to the Red Cross and Mills fund, which would fight anyone, would be more satisfied with this opportunity.

Mills received two weeks of vacation from his unit to prepare for a fight and trained in a properly named Airman hotel in Feltham. He was a real tear in the ring, and his style can be best described as a “blow and hit.” He would be cheerful to take two good shots to land three. Harvey was a much more stylist and 35 years elderly saw his best days. In the 1930s he had a reputation of an elegant boxer with a compact left hand. Initially, he competed for the British welterweight title in 1926, when Mills was only six years elderly, attracting with Alex Ireland. Then he won British titles with three weights, middle, featherlight and ponderous. Everyone in the country knew him by name because he was probably the most eminent boxer. Unfortunately, it was more tough to get a vacation and was relatively badly prepared to fight.

The judge of the competition was Eugene Henderson, Sergeant Raf, a very experienced third man and exefter himself. When he called two men in the first round, there were about 42,000 around the earth, representing the greatest attendance in the war in Great Britain. Mills did not waste time, tearing from Harvey from off, and Aged Len tried to stop him. In the second round Mills managed to land on the left hook, which he went to his man to count nine and then the huge upper upper, who completely threw Harvey from the compact ring. He did not return in time and Mills became a champion. Harvey never fought again and remained in Raf until 1946, like Mills, who became the world champion in 1948.

By Miles Templeton

Before the First World War, Wales was a real force in international boxing. The game was of course dominated by America, but together with Great Britain, France and Australia also producing world -class fighters, Wales more than they had their own.

The first three owners of Lonsdale belts came from Wales, and Freddie Welsh won the first, Tom Thomas Second and Jim Driscoll Third. Jimmy Wilde, certainly the best Flyweight created by Great Britain, began his career in 1911. In a half -year scale, Johnny Basham won the British title in 1914 and the title Empire five years later. In the valleys and coal mines in southern Wales there were many arduous men who would eventually convey their skills to the next generation, leading to people like Frank Moody, Tommy Farr and Cuthbert Taylor in the 1920s and 1930s.

The first belt owner, Freddie Welsh, was born in Pontipridd, but went to the States as a very adolescent man to continue his professional career. He had his first competition in 1905 in Philadelphia, in a city where he resisted most of his career. Finally, he won the world title in 1914, deciding by Willie Ritchie in 20 rounds in Olympia, Kensington. After learning trading in America, he returned to Wales for the first time in 1907, remaining for 10 months and winning all 10 of his competitions. He also devoted time to Jim Driscoll in six -curing without a decision in St. Hill Horse Fayre, north of Cowbridge. This year there were two stands at Fayre, and they both met in one belonging to Frank Gess, and their boxing was perfectly received by those who are lucky to be witnesses.

Welsh returned to Great Britain in 1909, raised European and then British titles, and then defeated the Great Packey McFarland at the National Sporting Club. Driscoll traveled in the opposite direction in 1908, crossing the Atlantic to take a very successful trip around America, which ended in the 10-rounds of the competition without decision-making with the great Abe Attell. Driscoll left American, and the decision in the newspaper went on his way. He returned to Great Britain, twice defended his British featherweight title, winning the Lonsdale belt, and then the whole conversation was a legitimate competition that will take place in Wales, between Welsh and Driscoll. It was a huge fight, perhaps the most significant and most evenly adapted to every British fight in the years preceding 1914.

It was natural that Cardiff, the Welsh capital and the hometown of Driscoll should visit this event. At that time, regular places in the city were Badminton Club and Palace Theater, but no place was gigantic enough, so the American ice rink, built just two years earlier and located on Westgate Street in the heart of the city, was chosen.

Ten thousand people appeared in the competition, a huge crowd for an internal party at that time, and the chances were very Welsh. Weighing took place that day, just like at that time, but they could not agree. Driscoll wanted it about the first, and Freddie an hour later. In the event that Driscoll won this little Spar, and Welsh decided to enter the ring an hour overdue to regain the advantage. Love was not lost between them.

The competition turned out to be unsatisfactory Bn Describing the matter as “wild, cruel, disappointing, catastrophic duel.” After 10 rounds of gritty tactics, Driscoll, whose “lips rose with wild anger, his eyes burned with fire, and the jaws rotted with powerless anger.” This is a tragedy that they both never fought again. Driscoll contracted tuberculosis and died in 1925. Freddie died just two years later, in extreme poverty.