Currently, I combine and index my results in 1904 before they are introduced into my database, and I came across several captivating entries that show how much the game has changed in the last 120 years.

By far the best sources for boxing results during this period are Sports life and Mirror of Lifeboth of which are available via the excellent British Library website.

On April 4, 1904, Flying Flying Liverpool, Ike Bradley, met Arthur Grimshaw from Stratford, at East End in London, in 20-rounds in Albert Hall, Modern Brighton, on the other side of Mersey from his hometown.

Grimshaw fought in his first competition north, as well as his first fight over eight rounds. He had some courage to face Bradley, who, although he was a professional for just a few years, was an experienced 15-round specialist. Later, in his career, Bradley decorated himself with many vast and characteristic tattoos, and it was quite unusual during this period, when it was usually only navy boxers.

According to Mirror of Life The report that the fight was good, fought for a bag of 50 pounds, and while “Grimshaw was very clever on his legs and used a great judgment with good basic leftists,” he was nailed in the seventh round with blows, before he was dressed three times, the last time for the full number.

Today, such a loss would cause a minimal suspension of 28 days. If the knockout was bad, the suspension may be longer. This principle applies to every internal defeat, be it by KO, TKO or in retirement. However, in 1904, things were completely different.

Apparently, dissatisfied by nature, his defeat, Grimshaw asked for a rematch, and he got him the next day! Because, on April 5, 1904, two men met again, this time in Circus, Warrington, just a few kilometers down the road from Modern Brighton. The promoter was the same man who organized the first competition and was very elated that he founded it again, especially when Bradley’s contract opponent, a youthful Ward from Liverpool, did not appear.

Once again, the fight was recorded by Mirror of Life And this time Bradley won faster, again with a knockout after three rounds of boxing. “Two boys began to work at maximum speed and there was nothing between them for the first two rounds. In the third Bradley, Grimshaw caught a great blow to the chin and eliminated him. “

Two knockout palsy within 24 hours could not happen today in Great Britain and probably send alarm bells calling anywhere in the world, but not phase Grimshaw and his team, because he returned to the ring nine days later in Liverpool, when he came up with Youthful Yates in 10 rounds.

Grimshaw withdrew from the ring, after an eight -year career, in 1908, with a lost record that included a certain opposition of high caliber. Bradley went to great things, including a US trip in 1906, many competitions that were settled for the world, European or British title, and was at the top of the bill during the opening of the aged Liverpool stadium at Pudsey Street. He was one of the best of the first fighters who left Liverpool, a city steeped in a boxing tradition.

In 1938, the Management Board issued a regulation, which meant that no boxer could engage in two competitions of 10 rounds or more, within five days, and eventually forbade any boxer of participation in two competitions within six clear days from the date of their last competition, and this rule still applies. I wonder what Arthur Grimshaw would do with it.

Max Baer was one of the most colorful heavyweight masters. He was a destructive blow, and his escalate in the title in 1930–1934 showed him at its best. In 1935 he lost to Jimmy Braddock in great nervousness in the title defense, before three months later he was destroyed by Joe Louis.

In 1936 he was almost published, but still a gigantic enough name to earn decent money, so in 1937 he ventured to Great Britain to face Tommy Farrem in the Fararra competition before his title challenge with Louis. Farr defeated the American over 15 on the Harringay Arena, thus adding another nails to Baer’s coffin. Then he knocked out Walter Neusel in three to set up a title with Louis.

Among the Baer resignation from sparring partners in this competition was his younger brother Buddha, who at the age of 21 was six years younger than his brother. Buddy changed the professional in 1934 and before he came to Great Britain in April 1937, he had 48 professional competitions with only three losses. Forty -one of them ended with KO, so Buddy was a blow.

After his brother lost to Farr, Buddy remained in Great Britain throughout May and took part in two competitions against the developing British heavyweight prospects, and this very excited our press. As is well known, Baer finally challenged Louis in 1941 and managed to lose her grand master on the canvas in the first round. Finally, Baer ran out of couple and was disqualified after he was raised three times in the sixth. In the rematch the next year he survived only one round and never fought again.

His two British competitions took place in 18 days in May 1937. The first was against Jim Wilde of Swansea and took place at the Harringay Arena, and the fight was a common affair with Petey Sarron against Dave Crowley. Many people confuse Swansea warrior with the World Flyight Flyight Jimmy Wilde from Tylorstown. Despite the same name, two men could not be more different. Jim would greatly surpass Jimmy, even if there were two versions of Jimmy standing on the same scales.

Bn He informed that “if Buddy Baer can definitely overcome Wilde, he would achieve what was out of the power of most British heavyweight, and will take a decisive step towards the competition with the best men available in England. The bulky weight of very shy enter as a sparring of Buddha’s partners, whose reputation of a struck criminal was obviously spread. “

In this event, Baer wore a Welsh and finally stopped him in the fourth round after he implemented him twice. It was the beginning he needed in British rings, and soon he was matched with Jacek London of West Hartlepool in a duel, which took place on the pitch, the home of the Swansea football club. It seems strange that he fought London in this place, not Wilde from the city.

The turnout was huge, even though there was no Welsh at the top of the bill and once again Baer began clearly, dropping London with a bulky right hand almost as soon as the first round. The breaking up, upper right miner soon led him to the floor and seemed unlikely to survive the round. However, Jack was made of raw things and, despite the re -floor in the second, survived the full 10 rounds and was transported to his wardrobe by the appreciated crowd. Buddy learned that Great Britain has good, challenging bulky scales, and then returned to the States to resume her career.

In the 1980s, there was a very popular advertisement on British television for yellow BT pages, in which the elderly gentleman finally follows his beloved book “Fly Fishing by Jr Hartley”. Well, boxing has its own bibliophile named Hartley and was a special man.

I communicated sporadically with Ra Hartley many years ago, because he bought and sold books and magazines, but he is best known for his work, The Life’s Work, The the History and bibliography of boxing books. Bob tried to write a full compendium of every boxing book ever published, both in Great Britain and abroad, and he managed to find and detail, over 2,100 of them. For anyone who is seriously interested in building a collection of boxing books, and there are many of you, Bob’s book is an indispensable source of reference.

Bob has always turned out to be quite a scholar and scientific gentleman, and many were a complete surprise to say that he had a broad career as a professional boxer in the 1930s. I did it something like a personal mission to follow as many Bob duels as possible, and with it in boxing in one of the boxing backwaters at that time, Lincolnshire and East England, it did not turn out to be an straightforward task. A glance at his record shows how extensive professional it was at the moment, with many diminutive towns and villages that had not had a PRO program for over 80 years.

Bob was born in Billingborough in the southern Lincolnshire and was the best of a diminutive group of about eight other boxers who came from the village, and even today his population is only about 1000. He defeated as an average weight and could hit. His plate is decorated with pure knockout against a lot of men who, like him, boxed above all to put food on the family table.

With attendance in some rooms, in which he regularly entertained, carrying only two or three hundred, no one will ever get luxurious in boxing. The first competition, which I can trace for Bob, took place in Forester’s Hall in his own village, six -handed against a boy from nearby Bourne, on the bill promoted by the Boston boxing syndicat, and Bob threw his man in two rounds. Then a week later with a boy from Kirton from one round in Grantham.

Most of Bob’s early duels took place in Boston, Grantham, Spalding and Billingborough, where he was a naturally great favorite, and won his first 14 in a row. His first defeat occurred in March 1934, when he was knocked out from the ring in Grantham in the fight against Arthur “Knocker” Freestone. Despite the brave test, Bob could not return to the ring on time. After this Bob continued to connect mainly eight and 10-rounds throughout Lincs and East England, boxing in Holbeach, Bourne, Skegness, Lincoln, Melton Mowbray and Woodhall SPA.

In 1936 he conducted a campaign in Suffolk and Essex, and then, in October 1937, he showed in the Empress cinema, Chatteris in the act crowned by the local hero Eric Boon, whose meteor’s career was just beginning to achieve. This brought Bob the first and only competition in London. He pulled over eight rounds with George Thurcel in Canning Town Marina, and the BN report for the fight tells us about the style of Bob’s fight “Real Sizzler and Slam finger to the fingers with Hartley fighting.”

In his last competition, Bob kept the great Dick Turpin at the next draw of eight rounds in rugby. After a 56 career, with only 11 losses, Bob left the ring for the convenience of his research to create a final boxing bibliography. What a man.