After retiring, there is a long tradition of boxers after retiring. Being a third man in the ring is not a position that would match everyone, but former fighters, being there alone, especially at the championship level, they have more than most to offer when it comes to experience and competences in what is often a challenging role.

Jack Hart, Johnny Summers and Jim Kenrick are good examples of this in the 1920s, and Jimmy Wilde was a talented and very popular judge ten years later. Tradition lasted after the war, when Tommy Little, Benny Caplan, Ike Powell and Eugene Henderson wore a flag. In 2019, I developed an article for Wally Thom, a very good judge in the seventies and a British welterweight master in the 1950s, and now I would like to pay tribute to others from the same era that followed this path, Mark Hart Croydon.

Mark was part of a group of boxers from Croydon, which had a real influence on the national stage in the early 1950s, the others were Pat Stribling, Ron Pajney and Albert Finch. All four boxed in medium weight or airy and undoubtedly would often pair each other. Stribling was managed by Tom Fisher, Croydon Man, whose stable was full of local boys. Both Pajney and Finch went with Jacek Burns, and Mark was managed by John Harding, a former manager of the National Sports Club.

A very good amateur, Mark won the heavyweight title of ABA from 1944, and in the following year he became a professional. After starting as massive weight, his trainer, Jack Hyams, decided to make a better medium weight and slowly reduce his size. This made him become a powerful and powerful pretender with a modern weight. In 1947 he was a champion of the south-eastern area and was good enough to share the ring with both Dick and Randolphem Turpin (with which he shared a six-time draw), Albert Finch and Don Cockell.

In 1949, after switching weights, he was the first challenge to the British title of Library, he earlier gained the same position in medium weight, and after winning 36 of 47 competitions he was adapted to Reg Spring with Southall in the south-eastern part of the heavyweight title.

This fight took place in the Royal Albert Hall, and Mark hit a clear victory of 12-round points. After a stuffy start until 1950, when he won only two of his first four competitions, he overtook Dennis Powell in the British title Eliminator, which ensured him the right to meet Don Cockell, this time for the British title. In a great fight at Harringay Arena, Mark was knocked out in the 14th round. Because at that time the printer hit, Bn Unfortunately, he did not have a report from this competition. Mark had five more competitions with three wins before he disconnected gloves in 1953.

For most of the 1950s and 1960s Bn He did not routinely give the name of the judge for the competitions he submitted. This is a standard practice today and has been in over 50 years. That is why it is quite challenging to provide a lot of detailed information about Marek’s early career as a judge, but he certainly acted as a third man in the mid -1960s and was regular in the entire southern area in the seventies.

He never achieved the status of “stars”, but he was good enough to referee 12-runder between Charlie Nash and Jimmy Revie at the World Sporting Club in 1976. I also remember Mark responsible for Randy Neumann and Billy Aird in 1975, nine rounds between Paddy Maguire and John Kellie the following year, and Jimmy Batten in 1977 in 1977. 1979, and then became a popular member of the very lively ex-boxers association, where he is still remembered. He died in 2004.

At the end of 1929, the British delicate title was owned by Fred Webster of Kentish Town. There were many good contenders for his title, and two of them were tailored to the box at the Club stage at High Holborn in London, November 13, 1929.

Steward himself was a former champion that was defeated by Webster about six months earlier. His opponent, Johnny Mann from St George’s, in London East End, had only 21 professional competitions, from which he won 16 and lost five. He was a former amateur of the highest level, which has a box for Limehouse and Poplar BC, for which he claimed that he took part in over 400 amateur competitions.

All his losses were against good warriors, and because she was lost at the time a very part of the game, especially when he studied, his chances of a flight attendant were considered high. Two men weighed about the second on the day of the competition, as did the standard practice, and both men achieved a agreed limit, 9. 10 pounds, and Mann found two pounds under weight.

Johnny lost his sister Eva, a few weeks before the competition and it bother him very much. Because the death of a youthful man was much more common at the time, he was encouraged to do it both through his family and the manager. After weighing, he returned home, where he told his parents that he was retreating to bed for some rest. They woke him up at the fifth, and then they went to the place when they were to watch the fight. Johnny told them that he was going to walk and that he would later get to the club. He never arrived.

Top of the Bill Contest, between Jackie Brown, the British Flyweight Master, and Phineas John of Wales, he made satisfactorily, with the victory of Brown, but the promoters were worried about the place of mann’s stay. In the end they canceled the competition, and Harry Fenn, a local warrior, applied with a very brief notification to take the flight attendant to a close 15-round decision.

When Mann completely disappeared from Scotland, it was informed and the youthful warrior was treated as a missing person. Finally, he was found, lying unconscious, on the sidewalk immediately before the oval wetland cricket at the second in the morning. He was taken to the hospital by an ambulance, whose well -spare passers -by, whose identity has never been established. Harry Stone, an amateur boxer and friend Johnny, recognized him there and alerted his parents. That’s why Harry was in the hospital, he is unknown.

Johnny remained in a stunned and tiring state, and his parents were asked not to communicate with him until he recovered. His mother admitted that on the day of the competition she found him in his room, sobbing bitterly about her sister and asking where she was. He was unable to take part in the 15-rounds, but, according to time, his mother told him to “gather and wash cool water.”

His manager, Billy Palmer, had to spend some time to convince the press that Johnny not only left the competition, and not wanting to feel like it. Regardless of this, he stands Johnny among administrators and promoters they destroyed their nose.

He did not bother again until December 1931, over two years later, and had 15 more competitions, losing only one of them. He was a warrior with the highest rated, considered certainty that he became a British champion, but his mental aberration, or whatever it was, was enough to isolate him from the championship to the end of his career.

In later life, Johnny became a respected coach in Stepney and St George’s BC, where he was responsible for the development of the great Sammy McCarthy.

When Jim Watt defeated Howard Davis at Ibrox Park in Glasgow, under the title WBC Lightweight on June 7, 1980, he continued the long tradition of great Scottish boxing masters in many immense football stages in the country. Promoters counted on a crowd of 20,000 people tonight, but much less than this appeared in goals, because the persistent rain tried to ruin this opportunity.

Twenty years earlier, almost exactly until the day, the elegant Calderwood defeated this great Tong, Johnny Halafihi, for the title of community of the community community at Firhill Park, Particka Thistle FC. It was the 12th time in which significant boxing events were placed.

In 1931, 11,000 people appeared to see Jim Maharg defeated Jim Campbell for the title of Scottish Flying. The again expected turnout was about 30,000-it seems that the promoters consistently overstated enthusiasm for immense boots in the city. There are many other similar cases. The remaining 10 promotions exhibited at Firhill Park took place in the 1950s, and eight of them contained wonderful miniature Bantamweight, Peter Keenan. They believe that despite his size Piotr would be the choice of most people on your side in street fight, he was really as challenging as nails. He had three British title battles on the spot, and also won, lost, and then regained the European title.

Cathkin Park, a house of a long -free professional side, Third Lanark FC, was another football field that regularly hosted boxing. The land, located in Croshill, staged the nine finals of the Scottish Cup in the second half of the 19th century, and his first boxing tournament in 1934, when Benny Lynch was another one, who defeated Jim Campbell for the title of Scottish Flyight. 16,000 were present and they saw another master class when Benny completely outclassed his man in full 15 years.

In the 1930s, six further events took place in the 1930s. Peter Keenan defeated Jake Tula in the title of Wweca Empire Bantamweight in 1955, and then, in 1958, Charlie Hill defeated Chic Brogan for the title of British fertile weight on the Act, once again, Peter Keenan, who overtook the American, Billy Peacock. This time over 25,000 appeared to see a great night of sport. The earth still exists, although very ruined.

Shawfield Park was another often used place. Clyde FC was in this area and was used 15 times in boxing between 1930 and 1941. It is best to remember Benny Lynch, who defeated Peter Kane there in 1937 in the epic competition for the title of World Flyweight. Lynch was 24 years elderly at the time, and Kane only 19 years elderly, but they issued a battle forever before over 40,000. Lynch had previously defended his British and world title of Flyight’s weight in the same place against Palad Palmer from Batterse a year earlier. The competition was for the first time when the world championship title was issued north of the border, and 31 565 paid for it.

Lynch also in Celtic Park in 1937, surprising that he lost points with Jimmy Warnock about Belfast, and this place was also used in 1949, when Billy Thompson defeated the local idol of Harry Hughes from Wishaw to keep his British featherlight title. Once again, teenage Peter Keenan also appeared on this bill.

Of course, the largest of all football areas in Scotland was Hampden Park. I remember listening to radio relations when Celtic played against Leeds United in the semi -final of the European Cup in 1970. It is challenging to believe now, but there were 136,000. In the years 1941–1949 there were seven boxing tournaments, and the great favorite was Jackie Paterson, who won and defended its title World Flyweight. About 40,000 saw him defeating Peter Kane in 1943, and 50,000 watched his victory over Joe Curran three years later.

Great competitions, great masters and great places.