OT: 19thC Boxing. Popular with the Upper Class?

[vintagesportscollector]

Thanks Paul. That's good information. Here's an engraving from a publication much earlier in the 19thC depicting the aristocrats indulging on boxing.

Boxing1828.jpg

[jbsports33]

Boxing has some incredible history and it was defiantly popular in the England during the 1840s and 1850s with the upper class. When many people started coming to the U.S. from Europe that popularity carried over to the upper class and lower class. Joe is right boxing was illegal in many areas, but New England and some cities like New York and Philly found ways around that – especially paying off police. By the 1880s-1890s many of the larger cities in the East Coast had some form of legalized boxing and just like baseball, ads started to show up in Newspapers, Magazines and books. In some areas of the country – Boxing was just as popular as baseball through the 1930s. I think someone named Babe Ruth changed all that and by that time baseball was America’s pastime anyways, but boxing was still very popular for many years after that. I really think as boxing moved through the United States past those years and beyond it was more popular with the lower class. I just think in some cases ads are going to get around no matter the audience. There is no question they must have been targeting a fan base that was expecting to be at this event – cool info.

[D. Bergin]

Any names listed on the tournament program? You'd be surprised at some of the boxers that turned up in some of these nondescript looking Athletic Club programs.

I once picked up a small program & ticket stub from a club in Massachusetts on a whim at an antique paper show, and when I got home and did a little research, found out it contained two of the earliest fights in the career of Hall of Famer "Barbados" Joe Walcott.

He was identified only as "Walcott" in the program.

[springpin]

Many fighters also had a "ring name" Heavyweight Max Baer killed a boxer in the ring. The boxer went by the name "Frankie Campbell." In fact, he was the brother of Dolph Camili of the Dodgers.

[vintagesportscollector]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Any names listed on the tournament program? You'd be surprised at some of the boxers that turned up in some of these nondescript looking Athletic Club programs.

I once picked up a small program & ticket stub from a club in Massachusetts on a whim at an antique paper show, and when I got home and did a little research, found out it contained two of the earliest fights in the career of Hall of Famer "Barbados" Joe Walcott.

He was identified only as "Walcott" in the program.

Dave, there are about 70 names listed across all the weight classes. I'll post a few pics in case you or anyone else recognize any names. Here is the first pic and Ill put others in another post. Thanks.

image.jpg

[vintagesportscollector]

image.jpg

[vintagesportscollector]

image.jpg

[D. Bergin]

Interesting. Thanks for posting that.

No big names from what I can see, but Tim Murphy and Mike Leonard had decent pro careers with some very good opponents. Jack Van Houten fought Frank "The Coffee Cooler" Craig at one time also.