Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about professional boxing from 1890 to 1930.
Johnny Reagan was an important fighter in the St. Louis boxing scene during the first decade of the 20th Century. Originally from Brooklyn, Reagan moved to St. Louis to train under Jack McKenna. McKenna based his operation out of St. Louis, where his fighter primarily fought at St. Louis’ West End Club. Reagan was a rising bantamweight at the time
On Monday, May 30, 1892, the great Peter Jackson boxed a gloved bout with former protégé Frank Slavin. Both men lived and fought in Australia, although fan interest led Jackson to tour the world to take advantage of the financial opportunities in the United States and England. As in Australia, Jackson often found white boxers unwilling to fight him. Few
St. Louis, at the beginning of the 20th Century, had a prominent professional boxing scene. Abe Attell, although born in San Francisco, was based in St. Louis. On February 1, 1904, Attell defended his World Featherweight Boxing Championship against frequent rival Harry Forbes. Forbes was also a regular on the St. Louis boxing scene. Forbes defeated Danny Dougherty for the
Sam Langford is considered one of the greatest pound for pound fighters of all time. Born on March 4, 1883 in Weymouth Falls, Nova Scotia, he is considered the greatest Canadian boxer of all time. His fighting career stretched from 1900 to 1926. Langford only stood 5 feet six and half inches tall and weighed 185 pounds at his heaviest. He
Oliver Leonard Kirk has the distinction of being the only Olympic boxer to win a gold medal in two separate weight classes in the same Olympic Games. Oliver Kirk accomplished this feat at his hometown Olympics in 1904. St. Louis hosted the third Olympiad during the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition. Like the Paris Games four years before, St. Louis gave
In December 1920, robbers killed Patrolman Charles Daly at the entrance to his home in the 4000 block of Forest Park Boulevard. St. Louis Police aggressively investigated the murder but it was never solved. Prior to his death, the Daly name was already well-known in St. Louis. Charles Daly was the son of professional prizefighter Dan Daly, who fought in
As I have written in several posts, the best heavyweight boxers between 1900 and 1919 were the African-American boxers forced to fight each other for the “Colored Championship”. Even after the great Jack Johnson finally broke the color line and won the World Heavyweight Championship, he would only defend the title against white contenders. As a result, the toughest challengers
Sam McVey would win the World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Championship in an era where the three best fighters were black and frozen out of the title picture. He started 1903 out so well, he would put pressure on World Heavyweight Boxing Champion James J. Jeffries to give him a match. Jeffries refused to break the “color line” by giving a
“Terrible” Terry McGovern proved to be a rare fighter at the turn of the Twentieth Century. While smaller boxers packed no power in their punches, McGovern, who scaled between 110 and 126 pounds, possessed tremendous knockout power. “Terrible” Terry often finished his opponents in the first four rounds. On July 1, 1899, Brooklyn based McGovern met Chicago’s Johnny Richie at
In the 1910s, American professional wrestling permanently moved from legitimate wrestling contests to prearranged exhibitions. Fan interest, promoter control and less wear and tear on the wrestlers all played a role in this transition. Another less talked about pressure was outside of the sport itself. Prior to the 20th Century, professional boxing was illegal in the United States. Bare knuckle