Provenance
Jimmy Wilde and thence by family decent.
Bibliography:
Jimmy Wilde, 'Hitting and Stopping' (1914);
Jimmy Wilde, 'The Art of Boxing' (1923);
Jimmy Wilde, 'Fighting was my Business' (1938)
This extremely rare picture depicts the momentous occasion on 31st. March 1919 when Jimmy Wilde outpointed Joe Lynch of America after a brilliant battle over 15 rounds. At the end, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), in military uniform, stepped into the ring and congratulated the tiny Welshman on his victory. This was the first time Royalty officially entered the ring and thereby had given their official patronage to boxing, a sport which had been illegal in the days of bare knuckle fighting and was still looking for acceptance.
The individuals shown in the ring are (from the left), Arthur Gutteridge, Jimmy Driscoll, Jimmy Wilde, H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Eddie Mc.Goorty, Joe Lynch, Arthur Frederick Bettinson, Dan Williams (kneeling) and The Earl of Lonsdale (President of the National Sporting Club).
Using the key as reference:-
Arthur Gutteridge (no.8) was Jimmy's cornerman and grandfather of the famous boxing commentator, Reg Gutteridge.
'Peerless' Jimmy Driscoll (no. 6) was another great Welsh fighter who was born into poverty in the docks area of Cardiff in 1880. He became British, Empire and European featherweight champion but despite never winning a world title, it is testimony to his boxing ability that he has achieved legendary status. It is said that he would challenge anyone to hit him on the nose while he stood on a handkerchief with his hands behind his back !! He lost only 3 contests in a ring career of 71 bouts, an amazing statistic, considering that he fought in an era when hunger and poverty produced boxers of rare quality. He was a great friend of Jimmy Wilde and such was his popularity that 100,000 people lined the streets of Cardiff for his funeral in 1925.
Eddie Mc.Goorty (no. 7) was Lynch's principal advisor and had been a heavyweight boxer, losing twice to Billy Wells, in 1918 and 1920.
Joe Lynch (no.5) was an outstanding bantamweight in an era of outstanding bantamweights. He only fought twice outside the United States, once on the 3rd. Feb. 1919 against Tommy Noble (won 20 rounds) and then this bout on the 31st. March 1919, which he lost in 15. He was never knocked out or stopped in his career.
A.F. Bettinson (no.3) was A.B.A. lightweight champion in 1882 and founder of the famous Belsize Club. He went on to found the National Sporting Club, which opened its doors on the 5th. March 1891.
The Earl of Lonsdale (no. 2) was a keen boxing fan who supported the sport for many years and gave his name to the famous Lonsdale Belt, the oldest championship belt in boxing, its origins starting in London in 1909. Made of gold, with an enamelled central plaque , they were valued at £350 at the time. It was originally presented to the champion in each British weight division and the holder could keep the belt if it was won and then defended twice. The first belt to be won was awarded to Freddie Welsh in 1909 for winning the British lightweight title and heavyweight Henry Cooper was the first boxer to win three Lonsdale belts outright, in his seventeen year professional career.
In the crowd for this bout were many famous people of the time, including:-
H.R.H. The Duke of York (later King George VI)(no.10).
Augie Ratner (no. 12) an American welterweight.
John H. Douglas (no.57), a Director of the National Sporting Club.
Tom Webster (no. 78), the famous Daily Mail sporting cartoonist.
'Bombardier' Billy Wells (no. 129). Billy (William Thomas) Wells was born in Mile End in 1889 and served as a bombardier in the First World War. He was a tall, rangy fighter and was British Heavyweight Champion from 1911-1919, becoming the first British heavyweight boxer to win the Lonsdale Belt, in 1911. He defended the title thirteen times, a record that stood for many years and his Lonsdale belt is kept at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, South-East London. He became the first man to beat the famous trademark gong at the beginning of films produced by the Rank Organisation and he played bit-parts in various films in the late 1930's/early 1940's. 'Bombardier' beer, produced by the Charles Wells brewery, is named after him.
Joe Beckett (no. 130) was a heavyweight who twice lost to Billy Wells, in 1918 and 1920.
Tommy Burns (no. 133) was a Canadian middleweight who fought in the United States, England, France, Australia and Canada between 1900 and 1920. Between fights in July/August 1904, he went up to the the Yukon to see a mine he had won in a poker game. While there he met and fought the legendary Klondike Mike Mahoney to a draw.
Johnny Basham (no. 134) was born in Newport, South Wales in 1890 and was British, Commonwealth and European welterweight champion between 1914 and 1920 and middleweight champion in 1921.
Johnny Summers (no. 145) was a lightweight who fought Jimmy Britt three times in 1908 and 1909.
Jem Smith (no. 157) was the last of the English bare-knuckle champions.
William Howard Robinson was a portrait and figure painter who was born in Invernesshire and studied at the Slade School and under Solomon Joseph Soloman. He exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, The New Gallery, The Royal Society of Portrait Painters and The Royal Academy (all London).
It has been reported that this picture was bought by Wilde at an auction in 1943 for 100 guineas (see 'Masters of Boxing', Harry Carpenter, Heinemann, 1964). It seems probable that it was originally commissioned by the N.S.C. to commemorate the first occasion that Royalty entered a boxing ring.
Prints of Robinson's painting, which includes a key to the identity of many of those depicted are owned by the British Boxing Board of Control and by former boxing writers Sydney Hulls (his father and grandfather are shown in the audience) and Harry Carpenter.
The motifs on the tabernacle frame are interesting, as family repute has it that Jimmy was a Grandmaster of a Masonic Lodge.
Jimmy Wilde was born on the 15th. May, 1892 in Quaker's Yard, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, the son of a coal miner. In 1904 his family moved to Taylorstown, Rhondda where he began working in the coal mines as a pit boy, aged 12, cutting coal from seams too narrow for a grown man. It was this very hard manual labour at such an early age that built up Jimmy's amazing strength. At the age of 16, in 1908, Jimmy began fighting all-comers in boxing booths and miners' clubs, weighing just 74lbs. Although many of these fights remain unrecorded, he is believed to have fought between 500 and 1,000 bouts when these matches are added to his professional contests. It was these boxing booth fights that were to give Jimmy a great apprenticeship and laid the foundations of his legendary status. Most of his opponents in these early days were several stones heavier than himself and he would sometimes fight as many as 25 in one day. For a day in the boxing booths Jimmy could earn the equivalent of a week's wages in the coal mines. He was 5ft. 2 1/2 in. in height and although rarely weighing in at more than 7st. 2lb., his punching was amazing. His nicknames were 'The Mighty Atom'; 'The Taylorstown Terror' and the 'Ghost with a Hammer in his Hand'.
He officially turned pro in 1910 and after building a fantastic reputation for himself in the boxing booths, Jimmy had his first professional contest against Les Williams in a three round no decision. Four months later, in April 1911, he fought Billy Papke, a former world middleweight champion in Pontypridd. Despite weighing some 60 pounds lighter, Jimmy knocked out his opponent in the third round. He then embarked on a series of wins that would later establish him as a legend in his own lifetime. In August 1912 he destroyed Joe Gans in five rounds and other notable victories included an eighteenth round knockout of Billy Padden to take the British 98lb. Championship on 1st. January 1913 in Glasgow. The beginning of 1914 saw him beat the wonderfully named Kid Nutter in 15 rounds at Tonypandy. He then claimed a 6 round knockout of Frenchman Eugene Husson in London and wins over world title claimants Sid Smith in Liverpool and Joe Symonds in London (all 1914). Boxers in these days fought very frequently and bouts did not have the modern limitation on the number of rounds fought. In Jimmy's case, he had 29 fights in 1911, 19 in 1912, 33 in 1913 and 20 in 1914. Although Jimmy often beat his opponents within 10 rounds in the 1911/1912 period, he had to go to 20 rounds against Young Dando in 1913 and against Alf Mansfield in 1914. Jimmy Wilde remained unbeaten for four years in a total of 101 fights.
Challenging for the British and European flyweight titles in his 102nd. contest, Jimmy Wilde tasted defeat for the first time against the Scot Tancy Lee. Wilde had been ill just before the fight and was exhausted when his corner threw in the towel to stop the contest in the 17th. round. Afterwards Jimmy instructed his corner never to throw the towel in again, no matter what. Jimmy did not fight again for four months after this defeat, a long time by his standards.
Once back in the ring he returned to his previous form, winning 19 out of 19 contests before he finally got Tancy Lee to meet him again. The Welshman scored repeatedly with devastating body punches to end the fight in 11 rounds, thereby avenging his earlier defeat and taking the British and European flyweight titles. During this run of 19 wins, Jimmy had met and beaten Joe Symonds for a second time, by way of a 12th. round knockout. At the time Symonds was regarded in Britain as the World Flyweight Champion. Another claimant to the World Flyweight title was Johnny Rosner, but he too succumbed to the power of the 'Mighty Atom' and was defeated in 11 rounds. Jimmy, however, was still not universally recognised as World Champion.
Jimmy was by now unstoppable and his destiny was finally fulfilled when, on the 18th. December, 1916, he became the first officially recognised World Flyweight (8 stone) Champion by defeating Young Zulu Kid, of the U.S.A. in 11 rounds and won his Lonsdale Belt. It is said that he immediately went back to the boxing booths and on one occasion knocked out 19 opponents of various sizes in three and a half hours before stopping for a cup of tea and went back, knocking out a further four men in half an hour.
During the latter part of World War I, Jimmy Wilde served as a Sergeant Instructor, fighting professionally only twice in 1917 and three times in 1918. His first contest after the Great War was against Joe Lynch. At this time the National Sporting Club still stood in Covent Garden and despite the boxing theatre having been redecorated and slightly enlarged in 1911, it could still only hold 1,400 sitting and standing. For this event, 2,000 men packed the place. Outside the Club, in the Covent Garden piazza, a crowd of many thousands stood in the drizzling rain to hear the result and squadrons of policemen ringed the building.
In his autobiography, 'Fighting was my Business', Jimmy wrote: 'The boxing world suffered as any other during the War. For some time it was almost melancholy to enter the doors, knowing who would not be there, and sad when one entered the ring, to see at the ringside scarred faces of men who had suffered badly.
Well, now for Joe Lynch.
The Irish-American had the reputation of being one of the finest fighters America had ever produced - ...and his weight of eight and a half stone was well over a stone more than my own.'
A ringside critic opined : 'It was one of the most wonderful battles ever decided in the historic Club, and undoubtedly the greatest seen between the little men....Eddie Mc.Goorty, who was Lynch's principal advisor, kept shouting to Lynch : 'Be careful of that right,' and Joe was extremely careful....When you come to think of it, Jimmy's performance in lasting the 15 rounds was astonishing. He was more than a stone the lighter man, and yet he compelled Lynch to box on a constant retreat for 13 consecutive rounds. And the New Yorker was the recognised bantamweight champion of the world....Jimmy exercised his brains the whole time like a chess-player. He made most of the winning moves: Lynch was generally in a crouching position. He tried every artifice to draw Jimmy into making a mistake, but he failed to disturb the little man's calmly calculated mind.
From every point of view the fight was a classic from the first punch to the last, and the smart manoeuvring of the pair was eloquent testimony that there were two thoroughbred fighters. Wilde's victory enhanced his reputation. He had, I have stated, won his most memorable match.'
Jimmy continued, 'On the night of the contest, after I had gone upstairs to my bedroom at the N.S.C., there was a tap on the door; and in walked the Prince of Wales, without any kind of preliminary announcement or warning. It is remarkable how some men can make themselves at home so quickly, without causing the slightest embarrassment. I have never known a moment's awkwardness with the Prince, and I have met him several times. On this occasion he shook hands, smiling.
'Good work, Jimmy, very well done. How do you feel?'
'First rate,' I assured him.
And he leaned against the dressing-table and chatted for a while, that persuasively friendly manner of his making me forget who he was. He had a genius for friendly 'bonhomie' which is surely unrivalled.'
Jimmy went to America in 1919, and for almost a year, toured the United States with great success, beating an assortment of mainly much heavier opponents. In 1920 he fought a no-decision bout with future World Heavyweight Champion James Sharkey. The Americans took Wilde to their hearts, and to this day he is revered by fight fans in the U.S.A. The American World Heavyweight Champion, Gene Tunney said of Jimmy Wilde, 'He is the greatest fighter I ever saw'.
In 1921, Jimmy was 28 years old and had held his world title for four years. He was now to taste defeat when matched in a non-title fight against Pete Herman, who weighed in at 121 lbs., 3 lbs. over the limit (when Teddy Lewis, Wilde's manager found out, he declared all bets were off ). Wilde weighed in at 108lbs. and the fight only went ahead after the Earl of Lonsdale persuaded Jimmy to go ahead with the contest because the Prince of Wales was in the audience. Jimmy beat Young Jennings for the third time in the following month but now the accumulation of so many fights were taking their toll on the brilliant Welshman who semi-retired from the ring. With the prospect of a big purse (£13,000), Wilde returned to the ring in 1923 to defend his world title at the Polo Grounds in New York before a crowd of 40,000 against Pancho Villa of the Philippines, despite the protests of family and friends. Wilde was now 31 years old and had been world champion for six years. He w
