Death under the Spotlight: The Manuel Velasquez Boxing Fatality Collection
The Data

Survivor

Day/Mo

Year

Res

Rd

Deceased

Age

Town

County/State

Country

Weight

Sources/Remarks

William Emerson

ND

1732

KO

Andrew Reed

Great Yarmouth

Norfolk

England

ND

Charles John Palmer, The Perlustration of Great Yarmouth,with Goreston and Southtown, (Great Yarmouth: George Nall, 1872), 89. This probably is not the first boxing death in England. For example, a John Smith reportedly died of blows in 1730 and in July 1736, the Northampton Mercury reported two anonymous deaths due to blows. In those days, the English associated boxing with butchers' guilds and Maisters of Defence, and contests often took place at fairs.

John "Jack" Broughton

24-Apr

1741

KO

3

George Stevenson

London

London

England

Heavy

Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing..., (London: J. Grant, 1906), 23; Bob Mee, Bare Fists: The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting (Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 13-17. The fight probably took place at Broughton's booth in Hanway Street. The bout lasted about 35-40 minutes, and it ended with Broughton pinning Stevenson against a ring stake and then hitting him hard above the heart. The blows broke several ribs, and Stevenson died of injuries the following month. The death is commemorated in Paul Whitehead's mock-heroic poem entitled The Gymnasiad, or Boxing Match. "Down dropp'd the Hero [Stevenson], welt'ring in his Gore," said Whitehead, "And his stretch'd Limbs lay quiv'ring on the Floor." Stevenson's death also directly contributed to the introduction of Broughton's Rules in 1743, which became one of the fundamental bases of modern international boxing. Summarized, Broughton's Rules prohibited hitting below the waist or after the opponent was down, introduced rounds and rest periods, and designated the starting mark as "a square of a yard chalked in the middle of a stage." Broughton also introduced "mufflers," meaning leather gloves padded with several ounces of horsehair or lamb's wool, to pugilism. Here, the motivation was Broughton's establishment of a boxing school for wealthy amateurs. (An advertisement in the Daily Advertiser for February 1, 1747 claimed that gloves would "effectually secure [students] from the inconveniency of black eyes, broken jaws, and bloody noses.") Weight classes also developed during this period. This innovation came from cockfighting and horseracing, and was intended to simplify the problems of setting odds for fights between men of mismatched size and weight.

Thomas Faulkner

5-Aug

1758

KO

George Taylor

St. Albans

Hertfordshire

England

Heavy

Bob Mee, Bare Fists: The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting (Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 20; H.B. Wheatley, Hogarth's London, Pictures of the Manners of the Eighteenth Century (London: Constable and Company Ltd., 1909), 149. Taylor, who was blind in one eye prior to the fight, lost sight in his good eye during the fight, and he died of injuries in December 1758.

John "Jack" Warren

9-Apr

1765

KO

Phillip Juchau

Moorfields

London

England

Heavy

Pierce Egan, Boxiana, London, 1812, 79; Pancratia, or a History of Pugilism, London, Hildyard, 1812, 56; Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 265; Mee, 2001, 24; London Encyclopaedia, edited by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (Bethesda, Maryland: Adler & Adler, 1986), 526. Juchau was thrown by a cross-buttock. He struck his head on a paving stone, and he died.

William Tower

22-Nov

1784

KO

Bill Day

Barnet

London

England

ND

Pierce Egan, Boxiana, London, 1812, 488-489; Pancratia, or a History of Pugilism, London, Hildyard, 1812, 68-69. Day was dancing about, said Egan, "till at length TOWERS caught him in one corner of the stage, and held him fast by one hand, while with the other he nearly annihilated DAY." The bout lasted 33 minutes, and Day died shortly afterward of his injuries.

Thomas Tyne

6-Aug

1788

KO

George Earl

Brighton

East Sussex

England

Heavy

Pancratia, or a History of Pugilism, London, Hildyard, 1812, 81; Leslie A. Marchand, Lord Byron: Letters and Journals, volume 3, "Alas the Love of Women" (London: John Murray, 1974), 133. Struck a solid blow against the temple, Earl fell back and struck his head against a solid rail. The Prince of Wales was present at the bout, and to avoid further scandal, he awarded an annuity to Earl's widow and children.

William Ward (Bill Warr)

5-May

1789

KO

Edwin Swaine

Enfield

London

England

Heavy

Pierce Egan, Boxiana, London, 1812, 118; “William Ward, a boxer, convicted of manslaughter for killing his opponent," http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng370.htm; Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org), "William Ward, Killing: Murder, 3rd June, 1789," Ref: t17890603-17. Swaine was a blacksmith who challenged Ward, a professional, to a fight, for a prize of a guinea. Swaine took Ward by the hair, and began punching him in the face. They then went to the ground, and the first round ended. They got back up, and Ward began striking back. Swaine said he wanted to stop, and began walking away. Ward followed Swaine, and struck him again, once in the stomach and a second time to the head. Swaine went down, and was dead on the spot. The surgeon did not do an autopsy, but said that the cause of death was a blow to the temple. Ward was arrested, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to three months imprisonment, plus a one-shilling fine. An artist's depiction of the mill appears in Andrew Knapp and William Baldwin, The Newgate Calendar, vol. 3 (London: J. Robins and Co., 1825), 145.

Thomas Kniblett

12-Mar

1798

KO

William Turner

Mile-End

London

England

ND

London Times, July 7, 1798. This was a grudge match that was fought as a prizefight. Turner was thrown with a cross-buttock. He struck his head on a rock, and he died soon after. Kniblett was convicted of manslaughter.

ND

14-May

1800

KO

Collins

Newington

London

England

ND

Anonymous, Sporting Magazine, v. 16 (Apr.-Sept. 1800), London, Rogerson & Tuxford, 1800, p. 89. Collins was a construction worker, and his opponent was an Irish fisherman. The two men had a dispute, so they decided to settle it with a prizefight at noon. The bout took place outside the Elephant and Castle, and it lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes. Finally, Collins was struck on the jugular and he died almost instantly. The Irishman died soon after.

Collins

14-May

1800

WKO

ND

Newington

London

England

ND

Anonymous, Sporting Magazine, v. 16 (Apr.-Sept. 1800), London, Rogerson & Tuxford, 1800, p. 89. Collins was a construction worker, and his opponent was an Irish fisherman. The two men had a dispute, so they decided to settle it with a prizefight at noon. The bout took place outside the Elephant and Castle, and it lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes. Finally, Collins was struck on the jugular and he died almost instantly. The Irishman died soon after.

S. Houghton

20-Oct

1801

KO

B. Dickenson

Great Ponton

Lincolnshire

England

ND

Edinburgh Advertiser, November 13, 1801. Houghton was a horse breaker, and Dickinson was a tailor. This was probably a grudge match fought under prize ring rules, as Houghton was said to be about 70 years of age.

James Ayres

30-Jun

1809

KO

13

William Dormer

Hackney

London

England

ND

Bob Mee, Bare Fists: The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting (Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 76. Struck below the left ear, Dormer fell down. He stood up, and then collapsed. Ayres and his second were convicted of manslaughter and branded on the arm.

Haynes

11-Dec

1809

KO

Holmes

Sallowfield

Hampshire

England

ND

Edinburgh Annual Register for 1809, Vol. 2 (London: James Ballantyne and Co., 1811), 311-312. Holmes was knocked down by a blow below the right ear, and he did not get up.

Stringer Tonk

16-Dec

1810

KO

31

Charles Beale

Rollestone

Wiltshire

England

ND

Plattsburgh (New York) Republican, May 31, 1811, cited at http://esf.uvm.edu/vtbox/Historical.html. Although fought for a purse, this was also a grudge match.

ND

12-Dec

1812

KO

White

Wickwar

South Gloucestershire

England

ND

The Sporting Magazine, Volume 39, 1812, p. 242. The wager was 3s, and the fight lasted about an hour. White walked home after the fight, a distance of about three miles, and that night, he became unconscious. He died the following Saturday. Cause of death was a burst blood vessel in the brain.

Edward "Ned" Turner

22-Oct

1816

KO

68

John "Jack" Curtis

Moulsey Hurst

Surrey

England

ND

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org), "Edward Turner: Killing: Murder, 30th October, 1816," Ref: t18161030-8; Edinburgh Advertiser, November 5, 1816; London Times, November 1, 1816; Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 248; Henry Ripley, The History and Topography of Hampton-on-Thames, London: Wyman and Sons, 1884, 115. The mill lasted 1 hour, 28 minutes. At the conclusion, Curtis was knocked out. After getting up, he started vomiting, so he was taken to a nearby inn. Surgeons were called, and he was bled, but he died nonetheless. After two minutes deliberation, the jury convicted Turner of manslaughter. The sentence was three months imprisonment and a one-shilling fine.

William Batts

28-Apr

1817

KO

27

Thomas Clayton

Oxford

Oxfordshire

England

ND

Personal correspondence with Ollie Batts (a descendent). The location of the mill was either Radley Common, or a riverside meadow on the Berkshire bank of the Thames, and the purse was 20 guineas. After being knocked out by a blow to the side of the head, Clayton was taken to King's Arms Public House in Sandford, where he died at about 7 p.m. Batts was arrested, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to six months imprisonment. See also Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, May 1817, where the pugilists are described as Clayton and Whitney.

Charles "Pug" McKay (or McGee)

15-Jun

1819

KO

Samuel Eades

Birmingham (Rotten Park)

West Midlands

England

ND

London Times, June 28, 1819; Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 226. Said the London Times: "After fighting nearly 40 minutes, the latter had received so much injury that he died."

Dogherty

Dec/

1820

KO

45

Michael White

Bristol

Bristol

England

ND

The Cottager's Monthly Visitor, Volume 1, London: F.C. & J. Rivington, 1821. The two men had a quarrel that they decided to settle with a prize fight. The bout took place on a Tuesday, and lasted one hour, ten minutes. White was carried home, and died about 6 p.m.

Edward "Ned" Horner

16-Jul

1821

KO

John Wilson

24

London

London

England

ND

Edinburgh Advertiser, October 19, 1821. The men had a quarrel that they decided to settle as a prizefight, with side bets and a purse. The bout took place on a Sunday morning, near Milbank Penitentiary.

Jack Cooper (Slashing Gypsy)

7-Aug

1821

KO

38

Dan O'Leary

Epsom (Walton Down)

Surrey

England

Welter

Edinburgh Advertiser, September 14, 1821; Edinburgh Advertiser, September 18, 1821; Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 217. O'Leary was hit several times under his ear, and went down. He was carried off the field, and soon died. Cooper was found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to six months imprisonment.

Daniel Watts

4-Apr

1823

KO

Jim Smith

Brighton

East Sussex

England

ND

Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing (London, J. Grant, 1906), 17. Cause of death was attributed to congestion of the brain. Around this time, pugilism began falling out of favor with the British aristocracy. One reason was a scandal over betting that caused the retirement of Gentleman John Jackson, a man widely viewed as an honest broker. Another was the well-publicized trial and execution of a homicidal boxing promoter named John Thurtell. And a third was the spread of middle-class Christian evangelicalism. To the Christian reformers, pugilism gave crude pleasure to the rich and the working classes. Moreover, it was associated with homoeroticism, which was an even graver sin. (During the Regency, heroic nudity had been an artistic vogue, and Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, was notorious for paying pugilists to pose nude amidst his Greek marbles.) Thus, new laws were passed -- and more importantly, enforced. The first major fight to be stopped under the new anti-prizefight laws was one between Ned Neale and Jem Burns in 1824. Going to America was one of the ways that fighters avoided such strictures, and in July 1823, the New York Evening Post described a bout between an 18-year old butcher and "a man they called the champion of Hickory Street." The stakes in the latter fight were $200, an amount roughly equal to a working man’s annual income. Better known were the battles between Ned Hammond of Dublin and George Kensett of Liverpool in 1824 and 1826. Such battles had strong ethnic overtones, and the practice of tying gang colors to the ropes dates to this era. At the same time, journalists such as Pierce Egan, author of Boxiana, or Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism, began promoting the heroics of the old days, and newspapers such as the New York Herald began routinely reporting prizefights. Other, less famous, popular boxing texts of 1820s and 1830s included William Sharples's The Complete Art of Boxing (1829), Samuel O’Rourke’s The Art of Pugilism (1837), and Owen Swift’s Hand-Book to Boxing (1840). The American edition of the latter book was called Boxing without a Master.

John Hargreaves

30-May

1823

KO

Ralph Croft

Kirby Lonsdale

Cumbria

England

ND

London Times, August 14, 1823. This was a grudge match fought as a prize fight. Croft was struck below the left ear. He fell, and died three days later without regaining consciousness. Death was due to bleeding in the brain. Hargreaves was convicted of manslaughter.

James Bostick

9-Jul

1824

KO

Thomas Smith

Islington (Copenhagen Fields)

London

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 239.

Ned Brown

9-Nov

1824

KO

21

Harry Scott

Colnbrook

Berkshire

England

Bantam

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 134. Scott stood up at the start of the twentieth round, then collapsed.

Miller

3-Jan

1825

KO

Ezra Coizer

Cheltenham

Gloucestershire

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 211.

Jack Ford

26-Feb

1825

KO

Joseph Ebbs

Rickmansworth

Hertfordshire

England

ND

London Times, March 4, 1826; Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 161, 168. This was a grudge match fought as a prizefight, for five shillings a side. Ford did much headbutting throughout the fight. Ebbs died of ruptured blood vessels in the brain. Ford was convicted of manslaughter.

George Alexander Wood

28-Feb

1825

KO

60

F. Ashley Cooper

14

Eton

Berkshire

England

ND

Edinburgh (Scotland) Advertiser, March 8, 1825; Edinburgh (Scotland) Advertiser, March 11, 1825; The Cottager's Monthly Visitor, vol. 5 (London: C. & J. Rivington, 1825), 179; Andrew Knapp and William Baldwin, The Newgate Calendar, vol. 3 (London: J. Robins and Co., 1825), 394-396; William Pitt Lennox, Celebrities I Have Known (London: Hurst and Blackett, 1876), 52; (Bristol, Pennsylvania) Bucks County Gazette, July 21, 1892; Newgate Calendar, http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng595.htm. Cooper was the fifth son of the Earl of Shaftsbury. Meanwhile, Wood, who was aged about 16 years, was the son of an army colonel and the nephew of Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquis of Londonderry. Wood and Cooper had an argument about seating, and they agreed to settle it using prize ring rules. After boxing for about two hours, Cooper was knocked down by a blow to the temple, and he did not get up. His friend James Morrell carried him to his bed. A servant looked in on him every hour, and after about four hours, the surgeon was called. By the time the doctor arrived, Cooper was dead. The coroner's jury found for manslaughter. The criminal case was tried March 9, 1825. Cooper's family refused to allow his brothers, who had served as his seconds in the match, to testify against Wood. Consequently, since there were no witnesses to the contrary, a verdict of not guilty was returned.

Joseph Parker

16-Jun

1825

KO

John Stone

Chalkfarm

London

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 220.

Al Henderson

28-Nov

1825

KO

Jerry Halton (Runner)

Hungerford

Berkshire

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 178. The fight lasted two hours.

Joe Hayes

Mar/

1826

KO

Pat Driscoll

Eel Pie Island

London

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 159.

Hawkeswell (Coachman)

25-Oct

1826

KO

Buxton

Kingston

West Sussex

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 181. The bout lasted 60 minutes.

Albert Frankhorn

15-May

1827

KO

43

Al Seeley

Bath (Lansdown)

Somerset

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 168.

Jack Yates

21-May

1827

KO

90

Bob Clough

Eccles

Greater Manchester

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 144.

Samuel Beard

1-Oct

1827

KO

John Kemp Crow

Westminster (Old Oak Common)

London

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 126; London Times, October 31, 1827; Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org), "Samuel Beard, Alexander Reed, Michael Kirton, Patrick Flinn: killing : murder, 25th October, 1827," Ref: t18271025-89. This was a grudge match fought by prize-ring rules. The fight lasted about half an hour, and during the fight, several of Crow's ribs were broken. One of the rib fragments punctured Crow's spleen, and he died of the internal injury. Beard and the seconds were convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to serve seven to fourteen days.

William Davis

26-Jul

1829

KO

55

Thomas Winkworth

Hampstead

London

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 154, 255; Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org), "William Davis, Patrick Flynn, Michael Driscoll, killing : manslaughter, 10th September, 1829," Ref: t18290910-51. This was a grudge match fought according to prize-ring rules. The fight lasted about an hour and a quarter, and for the last half hour, Davis was clearly leading. Winkworth was heard to say, "So help me God, I am not able to fight any longer," but his seconds kept pushing him to the mark. He was knocked down again and again, and finally the fight was stopped. Cause of death was bleeding on the right side of the brain. Davis and the seconds were convicted of manslaughter. Davis was confined for a year, and the seconds were transported for life.

Simon Byrne

2-Jun

1830

KO

47

Alexander "Sandy" McKay

26

Salcey Forest

Northhamptonshire

England

Heavy

London Times, July 24, 1830; John Johnstone, The Schoolmaster and Edinburgh Weekly Magazine, v. 1-2 (1832-1833) (Edinburgh: John Anderson, 1833), 97. "Match between Simon Byrne and Sandy M'Kay, Oriental Sporting Magazine: From June 1828 to June 1833, Vol. II (London: Henry S. King & Co., 1873), 44-45; Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, (London, J. Grant, 1906), 226; Peter Radford, The Celebrated Captain Barclay: Sport, Money and Fame in Regency Britain (London: Headline, 2001), 255-264; "The fight at Salcey Green," http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/hdhs/fight.html; "The death of Simon Byrne, the pugilist," National Gazette and Literary Register," August 1, 1833, No. 1928, XII, at http://www.boxinggyms.com/news/simon/death_simon1.htm; "Broadside entitled 'S. Byrne &c.'," National Library of Scotland, http://www.nls.uk/broadsides/broadside.cfm/id/15559/transcript/1; "Broadside entitled 'MacKay poisoned!" http://www.nls.uk/broadsides/broadside.cfm/id/14570, "Simon Byrne," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Giano/Sand_box_2. McKay was a strongman rather than a pugilist, and despite the billing that this was a championship bout, it was only McKay's fourth prizefight. (He had two wins over an Irish boxer, Paul Spencer, and a loss to Simon Byrne 2-1/2 years earlier.) The blow that ended the fight was a left to the throat that didn't seem to anyone to be that powerful. Nonetheless, McKay was carried to his corner. When he regained consciousness, he complained of severe headache. The surgeon bled him and gave him laudanum, but he died nonetheless. Cause of death was listed as "considerable effusion of blood, three or four tablespoons full," on the left side of the brain. In other words, he had an acute left subdural hematoma. At the subsequent manslaughter trial, witnesses were found to say that McKay had struck his head while falling on some stones several hours before the fight, and so no convictions were obtained.

Isaacs

23-Aug

1831

KO

Samuel Gilpin

Newscastle

Staffordshire

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 173.

Richard Dodd

Aug/

1831

KO

James Cox

25

Isle of Dogs

London

England

ND

London Times, September 1, 1831. Dodd was charged with manslaughter, but released; he died in a separate fight with James Hargrave in December 1831.

James Hargrave

8-Dec

1831

KO

Richard Dodd

Isle of Dogs

London

England

ND

R. v. Hargrave, 1831, 5 C&P 170, King's Bench, "Reports of Cases Argued and Ruled at Nisi Prius..." (London: W. McDowall, 1833), 170-171; see also Charles F. Williams and David S. Garland, American and English Encyclopaedia of Law, Vol. 28 (Northport, New York: Edward Thompson Co., 1895), 203. The fight started at Islington (then part of Middlesex), but the police interfered. The fighters then moved to the Isle of Dogs (Kent), where they resumed the mill. Dodd lost, and and he died soon after in hospital. The court's ruling was that if the fatal blow occurred in one county, but death occurred in another, then the county in which the blow was struck had jurisdiction. Hargrave was convicted, and sentenced to fourteen years' transportation.

James Barber

26-Feb

1833

KO

44

James Startin

Walsall

West Midlands

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 241.

Charles Jackson

26-Apr

1833

KO

29

Edward Bower

Sheffield (Shiregreen)

South Yorkshire

England

ND

London Times, April 29, 1833; (Glasgow) Scotsman, May 11, 1833. Bower was carried to his home, where he died within a few hours. Jackson and the seconds were charged with manslaughter.

James Burke (Deaf 'Un)

30-May

1833

KO

99

Simon Byrne

32

St. Albans

Hertfordshire

England

Heavy

(Glasgow) Scotsman, July 24, 1833; John Epps, Consumption (London: Sanderson, 1859), 103; Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing (London, J. Grant, 1906), 126; John Gilbert Bohun Lynch, Knuckles and Gloves (London: W. Collins Sons, 1922), 80-83. Byrne had gained a lot of weight over the past few years, so during his training for this fight, he lost about 25 pounds. By the 43rd round, both men were clearly exhausted, but the seconds and the referee kept pushing them to their marks, as they had their bets to consider. Finally, by the 99th round, Byrne's hands were too damaged to go on, and the fight was stopped. Two days later, Byrne died. The official cause of death was congestion of blood on the left side of the brain. The scandal surrounding the seconds pushing exhausted fighters to their mark contributed to the development of London Prize Ring Rules, which, among other things, prohibited seconds from carrying a nearly unconscious man to the mark. Meanwhile, although Burke avoided prison, he was unable to get another fight in England. Therefore, in 1836, he went to the USA, where he fought in both New York and New Orleans

Welsh Ned

12-Jun

1833

KO

Samuel Oakey

Cheltenham

Gloucestershire

England

ND

London Times, June 18, 1833. The two men had quarreled, and agreed to a prize fight to resolve their differences. The bout lasted about three-quarters of an hour. Oakey was carried unconscious from the field, and died three days later. Welsh Ned fled, and the coroner's jury charged him with manslaughter.

Michael Murphy

2-Jul

1833

KO

Edward "Ned" Thompson (Paddington Pet)

Friern Barnet

London

England

ND

London Times, July 13, 1833; Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 211; Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org), "Edward Murphy, killing: murder, 28th November, 1833," Ref: t18331128-45; Jack Anderson, "Pugilistic prosecutions: Prize fighting and the courts in nineteenth century Britain," The Sports Historian, November 2001, http://www.umist.ac.uk/sport/SPORTS%20HISTORY/BSSH/The%20Sports%20Historian/TSH%2021-2/Art3-Anderson.htm. Thompson died of concussion of the brain, but his being bled of four pints (two liters) of blood probably didn't help. A faction fight, complete with bludgeons, had broken out during the middle of the bout, and this led to Murphy and his seconds being charged with death during riotous assembly. The case law is R. v. Murphy, 6 C&P 103. Murphy was sent to prison, where he soon died, but the true importance of this case is that in it, the court determined that seconds could be charged with aiding and abetting manslaughter.

Hackney Bill

30-Oct

1833

KO

69

John Brown (Northampton Baker)

Kingston upon Hull

Yorkshire

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 135. Brown died that night, and Hackney left England for Holland. The jury returned a verdict of murder.

Owen Swift

24-Jun

1834

KO

74

Anthony Noon

Andover

Hampshire

England

Feather

Eau Claire (Wisconsin) Argus, July 24, 1879. Swift served six months for manslaughter.

James Dukes

20-Apr

1835

KO

13

Bob Skinner

Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield)

West Midlands

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 159, 238.

Austin

4-May

1835

KO

Lupton

Mapperley Plains

Nottinghamshire

England

ND

John Frost Sutton, The Date-Book of Remarkable & Memorable Events connected with Nottingham... (Nottingham: H. Field, 1880), 449. The two men were competing for the attentions of a young woman. They decided to settle the matter according to prize ring rules. They fought for about two hours. Lupton was knocked out, and died soon after.

George Gaudry

24-Aug

1835

KO

James "Stringy-bark" Bishop

Windsor

Berkshire

Australia

ND

R. v. Gaudry and others [1836], NSWSupC 70, 10 November 1836 Sydney (Australia) Gazette, November 12, 1836. The bet was £10, and the fight lasted about an hour. Gaudry threw Bishop several times, and finally Bishop stayed down. The surgeon bled Bishop, and then he was taken to a nearby pub, where he died. Cause of death was listed as compression of the brain, occasioned by a profusion of blood on the brain. The mechanism was attributed to the falls rather than the blows. The survivor, seconds, and bottle holders were convicted of prizefighting, and sentenced to prison sentences ranging from three months to two years.

Owen Swift

19-Dec

1837

KO

85

William Phelps (Brighton Bill)

20

Royston (Melbourne Heath)

Hertfordshire

England

Feather

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 222; London Times, March 20, 1838; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 24, 1838; Edmond Burke, The Annual Register, v. 80 (London: Rivingtons, 1839), 40-41; Eau Claire (Wisconsin) Argus, July 24, 1879; Alfred Kingston, Fragments of Two Centuries: Glimpses of Country Life when George III was King (Royson: Warren Brothers, 1893); "Famous pupils -- William Phelps -- Brighton Bill," http://www.middlestreet.org/mshistory/brightonbill.htm. The fight was well-planned (it took place at the border of three counties, but on a main road), lasted about 1-1/2 hours, and throughout, no one called "shame." Phelps collapsed after the fight. Cause of death was given as brain hemorrhage, primarily on the left side, and a punctured left lung. Swift was charged with manslaughter, but acquitted. Nonetheless, the scandal following this death led to the Pugilistic Club of London replacing Broughton's Rules with London Prize Ring Rules. The new rules introduced a 24-foot square roped ring, eliminated seizing below the waist, and prohibited seconds from pushing a a semi-conscious fighter to his mark.

Robert Forbister

22-May

1838

KO

37

John Brown

Ryton (Hedley Common)

Durham

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 135, 167; Thomas Fordyce, John Sykes, Local Records: or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events… (Newcastle upon Tyne: T. Fordyce, 1867), 91. The bout lasted 1 hour, 25 minutes. The local clergyman refused to allow Brown to be buried in the churchyard, and Rorbister was sentenced to four months at hard labor.

George Terry

Feb/

1839

KO

33

Edward "Ned" Marshall (Screw)

28

Tipton

Staffordshire

England

ND

Editors of Bell's Life, Fistiana: Or, The Oracle of the Ring, London, 1841, 205, 245; London Times, March 9, 1839. Marshall fell or was knocked down. The witnesses said he must have struck his head on a stone. Anyway, he died of brain injury. The coroner's jury ruled it was manslaughter.

Cain

7-Jan

1840

ND

6

Richard Cricknell

Norwich

Norfolk

England

ND

Charles Mackie, Norfolk Annals, Vol. I (Norwich: Norfolk Chronicle, 1901), 391, 415.The police stopped the bout in the sixth round, but on February 5, 1842, Cricknell died. Said the Norfolk paper: 'He had never been well since he fought with Cain (on January 7th, 1840, q.v.); the injury which he received to his head deprived him of his reason, and he had since been in the Bethel.'"

Robert Middleton

7-Jul

1840

KO

61

Henry Isaac Cutts

Bollingford

London

England

ND

London Times, August 22, 1840. This was a grudge match, fought as a prize fight. Middleton was convicted of manslaughter.

Presdee

18-Sep

1840

KO

23

Thomas Barkes

25

St. Pancras

London

England

ND

London Times, September 30, 1840. Cause of death was bleeding in the brain. The coroner's jury ruled death by misadventure.

Harry Bell

12-Apr

1841

KO

5

Henry Marshall

21

Stonyford

Derbyshire

England

ND

London Times, May 27, 1841; Alfred Swaine Taylor, ed. Thomas Stevenson, The Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1883), 601. The jury found that Marshall died of the effects of a blow received during the prizefight. Specifically, his kidney was ruptured. The prisoners were convicted. The case law is Regina v. Bell (Notts Aut. Ass. 1841).

Philip Inkin

6-Jun

1841

KO

75

William "Maggot" Brown

27

Gloucester

Gloucestershire

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, June 12, 1841. The two men had a quarrel that they decided to settle with a prize fight. After the fifteenth round, a City policeman asked if they would stop. They said no. After 45, the same policeman asked again, this time with a baton. A local squire told the policeman to stand back, saying that he had seen thirty rounds, and he wanted to see the end. At the end of 75 rounds, Brown collapsed and the fight was ended. Inkin was convicted of manslaughter, and the local squire was officially reprimanded. "Inkin," said the paper, "from injuries, is in a dangerous state. He is unmarried, and about twenty-one."

Harry Broome

Apr/

1842

KO

John Gorrick (Bungaree)

Newmarket

Suffolk

England

Heavy

Henry Downes Miles, Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing..., (London: J. Grant, 1906), 308; Joseph Irving, The Annals of Our Time: A Diurnal of Events (London: Macmillan and Co., 1880), 107.

Christopher Lilly

13-Sep

1842

KO

120

Thomas McCoy

Hastings

New York

USA

ND

Wellsboro (Pennsylvania) Tioga Eagle, September 21, 1842; Elliott Gorn, The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1986), 73-76; Joan Levy, "Chris Lilly in the middle of history," (San Mateo, California) Daily Journal, March 16, 2006, http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=55616. McCoy's corner would not throw in the towel and he ended up literally drowning in his own blood. Lilly went to England to avoid prosecution, but 18 others were arrested and convicted of fourth-degree manslaughter. Lilly later returned to the USA via New Orleans, and during the early 1850s, he was promoting boxing and cockfighting in San Francisco. In August 1856, a vigilance committee suggested that Lilly leave California for his health. So, he went to Honduras, where he was executed in February 1857. NOTE: This is not the first US ring fatality. For example, according to Plattsburgh (New York) Republican, December 6, 1817, cited at http://esf.uvm.edu/vtbox/Historical.html, "A young man was killed the other day in New York (City), in a boxing match." There is also indication of a death in New Orleans in 1834. However, there is no additional documentation, so these deaths are not listed here.

Thomas Smith (Chequer Lad)

11-Jul

1842

KO

53

James "Jemmy" Russell

23

(Outside Manchester)

Derbyshire

England

ND

Willaim E.A. Axon, The Annals of Manchester (London: J. Heywood, Deansgate and Ridgefield, 1886), 218.

Matt Rusk

15-Apr

1843

KO

169

Gilbert Freeland

Goosetown

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Wellsboro (Pennsylvania) Tioga Eagle, April 26, 1843. Freeland was an English pugilist,and Rusk was a Philadelphia bricklayer. Rusk was almost blinded by the many blows to his eyes. Nonetheless, in the 169th round, he managed to strike Freeland hard in the chest. Freeland went down, and stayed down. Seconds included men associated with the Lilly fight of 1842.

Henry Ball

5-Dec

1843

KO

21

George Gray

22

Gravesend Marsh

Kent

England

ND

London Times, December 11, 1843; London Times, December 12, 1843. This was a grudge match fought as a prizefight. Gray was knocked down and did not get up. Cause of death was bleeding in the brain. Ball was convicted of manslaughter.

Michael Manning

6-Oct

1845

KO

12

John Woodley

Saffron Walden

Essex