Journal of Combative Sport, Nov 2007
 

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


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Death under the Spotlight: The Data


By Joseph R. Svinth
Copyright © EJMAS 2000-2007. All rights reserved.
First posted: July 2000. Latest update: November 2007

 

Introduction

This series of tabulations supports my article, “Death under the Spotlight: The Manuel Velazquez Boxing Fatality Collection.” If your search engine brought you here directly, please refer to the main article itself, located at http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_svinth_a_0700.htm, for background and statistical analysis.


You are welcome to print these tables for private use, but please be aware that a printed version of the complete document may run more than a hundred pages in length. Check formatting, too – you will want landscape rather than portrait.



 
Reporting Errors and Providing Additional Information

Names may be misspelled, or the date may reflect the date of death rather than the date of the fatal event. If you find errors, have photographs or additional information to share, or simply want a copy of the most current Excel spreadsheet, please contact me at jsvinth@ejmas.com


 
Key

Deaths are sorted by type (professional, amateur, Toughman, training, or before 1890), and then by year. To search alphabetically, use the CTRL-F search function of your browser.


SURVIVOR: When known, birth names appear first, followed by ring name in parentheses (like this).

DAY/MO/YEAR: These fields show the date of the fatal event.

RES: The result of the fight. Although the default is knockout (KO), the actual outcome may have been different unless a round (RD) is also listed.

DECEASED: When known, birth names appear first, followed by ring name in parentheses (like this).

AGE: This refers to the age of the deceased.

COUNTY/STATE: This column lists English counties, US and Australian states, and Canadian provinces.

SOURCES/REMARKS: Most of the newspaper citations listed here can be viewed online, generally on a pay-per-view basis. Some newspapers can be searched directly; see, for example, Brooklyn Daily Eagle and The New York Times. Others (mostly American) can be found online at NewspaperArchive.com. Many out-of-copyright texts listed here can be viewed online using Google Book Search or Microsoft Live Search. For access to back issues of boxing magazines, consider visiting the Winkler Collection at Notre Dame University. To find career summaries of professional boxers listed here, try Boxrec.com. For photos of professional boxers, sources include http://www.antekprizering.com/photoarchive.html, Corbis, and http://www.picturehistory.com.




Table 1: Ring deaths before 1890


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

England

ND

London Times, Doctober 9, 1845. The two men were railway workers. This was a grudge match fought as a prizefight. Woodley was struck over the heart and he died. Cause of death was attributed to heart disease.

William Cleghorn

10-Mar

1846

KO

48

Michael Reilly


Blyth Links

Northumberland

England

ND

John Latimer, Local Records; or the Historical Register of Remarkable Events (Newcastle: Chronicle Office, 1857), 210. The fight lasted 2 hours, 21 minutes. Reilly died the following morning. Cleghorn was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to six months.

James Johnson

27-May

1847

KO


William Edwards


ND

Missouri

USA

ND

Brooklyn Eagle, June 5, 1847. The original citation was the St. Louis Union.

Campbell

ND

1849

KO


Robert Owens


Liverpool

Merseyside

England

ND

Racine (Wisconsin) Advocate, February 14, 1849.

William "Paddy" Gill

23-Jul

1850

KO

53

Thomas Griffiths

28

Frimley Green

Surrey

England

Bantam

London Times, August 3, 1850; Bob Mee, Bare Fists: The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting (Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 111. The fight lasted about 1-3/4 hours, and at the end, Griffiths was unconscious. According to one theory, a second doped Griffiths using nicotine. Gill was charged with manslaughter, but acquitted of the doping charges.

Thomas Welsh (Tiny Tom)

7-Dec

1852

KO

78

George "Hammer" Wilson


Woodhead

Derbyshire

England

ND

London Times, December 9, 1852. Wilson fell, and apparently struck his head. Cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel in the brain. He had been unconscious for some time subsequent to a fight a few months earlier and reported feeling dizzy before the fight.

ND

Mar/

1853

Sparring


Rivington Duyckinck

21

New York

New York

USA

ND

New York Times, March 28, 1853. Duyckink enjoyed sparring with gloves, and did so regularly. One night during the middle of March, he came home, complaining of pain in his head. He was put to bed, and seen by the doctor. Nonetheless, he died on Friday, March 25, 1853. The cause of death was attributed to congestion of the brain, superinduced by over-exercise in sparring.

Frank Donnelly

10-Nov

1853

KO


James "Rory" Gill


Formby Beach (Liverpool)

Merseyside

England

ND

London Times, November 17, 1853. Cause of death was a fractured left lower jaw, which in turn led to a blocked windpipe.

Richardson

5-Sep

1854

KO


Thomas Crick

19

Wilmington

Ohio

USA

ND

Brooklyn Eagle, September 12, 1854. Crick was struck above the heart, and he died within minutes. It's not directly related to this death, but "a contusion of the heart muscle [can result in]… abnormal electrocardiographic changes." A.D. Dennison, Jr., "Cardiovascular situations related to athletic injures," Journal of the Indiana State Medical Asociation, January 1958, 39. In addition, writes Barry D. Jordan in Medical Aspects of Boxing (Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 1993), 262: "Athletes in whom the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is established should not participate in professional or recreational boxing." Meanwhile, in New York City, Frank Queen's New York Clipper becomes the first newspaper to specialize in covering sports (Queen especially liked boxing), theater, and other popular entertainment.

Charles Lynch

18-Sep

1856

KO

85

Andy Kelly


Palisades

New Jersey

USA

Bantam

Janesville (Wisconsin) Gazette, October 4, 1856; Viroqua (Wisconsin) Western Times, October 11, 1856. Kelly was carried unconscious to the hospital, where he died. Around this same time, an anonymous notice in London's Saturday Review coined the phrase "Muscular Christianity." The phrase described the philosophy that a perfect Christian gentleman should fear God, play sports, and doctor a horse with equal facility. ("The object of education," said an editorial in Spirit of the Times, "is to make men out of boys. Real live men, not bookworms, not smart fellows, but manly fellows.") This in turn began changing the interpretation of the English word "sport," which previously had referred mostly to betting on boxing matches and horse races.

James Morris (Brighton Pet)

20-May

1858

KO


Philip Redwood

26

Gravesend Marsh

Kent

England

ND

London Times, May 28, 1858; London Review, August 7, 1858, cited in Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 11, 1858. The fight lasted about an hour. Morris was sentenced to three months imprisonment.

Mike Fagin

15-Jun

1862

KO

35

Andrew Love

17

Illinoistown

Missouri

USA

ND

Whitewater (Wisconsin) Register, June 20, 1862. Love's injuries included two broken ribs. He died the following day. See also Recollections of Corporal Marcus S. Pratt, Company G, 12th Wisconsin Infantry, http://www.russscott.com/~rscott/12thwis/marcprat.htm -- the Union general Francis P. Blair reportedly refused to move his 8,000 men to take part in the ongoing battle at Pittsburg Landing until this fight ended.

John Young

9-Oct

1866

KO

6

Edward Wilmot


Westminster (Carlton Gardens)

London

England

ND

London Times, October 30, 1866; London Times, November 3, 1866; Charles Dickens, All the Year Round, Vol. 20 (London: Chapman and Hall, 1868), 379; Montagu Stephen, Leaves of A Life; Being the Reminiscences of Montague Williams, Q.C. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1890), 220-223; 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. The fight was with gloves. Because prizefighting was illegal, the match was advertised as a "protracted sparring match." The two men fought for about an hour. In the end, Young was knocked down. He struck his head against a ring post. He said did not feel well, and his second stopped the fight. Young went to the hospital, where he died five hours later. Cause of death was a rupture of an artery on the right side of the brain. The subsequent court case, R. v. Young, (1866) 10 Cox 371, established the legal precedent that death "caused by an injury received in a friendly sparring match, which is not a thing likely to cause death... is not manslaughter, unless the parties fight on until the sport becomes dangerous." (Henry Roscoe, Roscoe's Digest of the Law of Evidence in Criminal Cases, Eighth American Edition, volume II, Philadelphia, 1888, p. 912.) Another important distinction of this fight is that it took place in private rooms, and so did not cause a public nuisance. There had been cases of fence-breaking and illegal timber removal in earlier outdoor prizefights, and after 1860, most British railway companies refused to hire special trains for prizefight excursions. Indeed, the practice of hiring special prizefight trains was specifically prohibited by the Regulation of Railways Act of 1868: "Any railway company that shall knowingly let for hire any special train for the purpose of conveying parties to be present at any prize fight... shall be liable to a penalty ... of such sum not exceeding five hundred pounds, and not less than two hundred pounds." Henry Godefroi and John Shortt, The Law of Railway Companies, Comprising the Companies Clauses (London: Stevens and Haynes, 1869), 526.

Duffy

26-Jul

1868

KO

185

Jack


Albuquerque

New Mexico

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Daily Gazette, July 30, 1868; Dubuque (Iowa) Daily Herald, September 19, 1868; both citing the Denver News. The fight took 6 hours, 19 minutes. Duffy's left eye was closed, two ribs were broken, and his left arm was broken. Jack, who had lost three teeth and had a broken nose, was essentially blind for the last two rounds, and he died ten minutes after the fight. The report said it was the best fight ever witnessed.

Donnelly

19-Jun

1869

KO

9

Jimmy McGuire


Ogden's Lock

New York

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, June 19, 1869. McGuire weighed about thirty pounds less than Donnelly. Nonetheless, Donnelly was the one being thrashed throughout the first eight rounds. Then, in the ninth, Donnelly struck McGuire in the temple. "McGuire dropped to the ground like a bar of lead, gasping twice, and died." Donnelly left the scene, reportedly going to Canada.

ND

3-Jul

1869

ND


Michael Ryan


Nashville

Tennessee

USA

ND

US Army, A Report of Surgical Cases Treated in the Army of the United States from 1865 to 1871 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1871), 107. Ryan was a private in Company C, 45th US Infantry. He and another soldier were boxing. Ryan was struck, but not especially hard, in the abdomen. Ryan stopped boxing, walked away, and then collapsed. Within ten minutes, the surgeon was on hand, but death occurred less than five minutes after that. Autopsy revealed a ruptured spleen.

Patrick Malone

17-Oct

1871

KO


Tom Connor

21

New York

New York

USA

ND

Elyria (Ohio) Independent Democrat, October 25, 1871. Both men were hod carriers. They had a dispute, and they decided to settle it with a prize fight. During the fight, they grappled (which was fair, under London Prize Ring Rules), and Connor was thrown. Connor reported that his neck hurt, so the fight was stopped. It turned out his neck was broken, and he died soon thereafter.

George Robinson

13-Mar

1872

KO


Robert Taylor


Sandhurst

Victoria

Australia

ND

Melbourne (Australia) Argus, March 14, 1872.

John Connor

15-Mar

1872

KO


Thomas Callis


Long Reach

Cambridge

England

ND

London Times, March 27, 1872; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 28, 1872; Dennis Brailsford, Bareknuckles: A Social History of the Prize Ring (Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 1988), 158. Callis died on March 16, 1872. Cause of death was attributed to apoplexy, the result of injuries received in the fight. Connor and the seconds were convicted of manslaughter.

Charles Miller

7-Nov

1873

KO


John Lynch


Portsmouth

Hampshire

England

ND

London Times, November 11, 1873. The pugilists were soldiers, and promoters charged in the death included Captain Sir George Malcolm Fox (1843-1918). There were no convictions, and Fox's future billets included Inspector of Army Physical Training (1890-1897). As inspetor of training, Fox wrote rules for Army and amateur boxing that were widely influential in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. One of Fox's rules was that knockouts did not count any more than any other clean blow. (One lost by not coming up for time, but not by the knockout per se.) The idea was to reduce the boxers' incentive to try for knockout punches. Arthur Frederick Bettinson and William Outram Tristam, The National Sporting Club Past and Present (London: Sands & Co., 1902), 190.

Jim Rogers

19-Nov

1873

KO

36

Jack Lewis


Ottawa

Illinois

USA

ND

United States Central Publishing Co., Important Events of the Century, Philadelphia: United States Central Publishing Co, 186.

Jimmy Weeden

31-Aug

1876

KO

76

Philip Kosta (Billy Walker)


Pennsville

New Jersey

USA

Light

Chicago Daily Tribune, September 3, 1876; Chicago Daily Tribune, September 6, 1876; New York Times, November 4, 1876; National Police Gazette, September 18, 1880, 15; Walter Campbell, "Going back in the fight game," Veteran Boxer Magazine, January-March 1945. This was a rematch, as in November 1875, the two men had fought a 41-round contest that went to Weeden. After this fight, Weeden was convicted on manslaughter charges. His second, Martin "Fiddler" Neary, and several others were also imprisoned. After getting out of prison, Weeden was shot to death (Salem, Ohio, Daily News, September 9, 1890).

Patrick "Paddy" McDermott

28-Dec

1876

Ldec

24

Daniel Davidson

24

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Boston Daily Globe, December 29, 1876; New York Times, December 31, 1876. The men were professionals, and fighting with "the ordinary stuffed boxing-gloves with which it is impossible to inflict serious injury." There was no referee, but there was a time-keeper. Witnesses included several police officers in uniform. Davidson quit from exhaustion, and died about an hour later. Although both men were carried to their marks for the last couple of rounds, "neither man was bruised to any extent" (New York Times), and death was attributed to cardiac trouble.

Taylor

12-Aug

1877

KO


William Scully


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

ND

Melbourne (Australia) Argus, August 14, 1877; Melbourne (Australia) Argus, August 15, 1877; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, August 20, 1877; Melbourne (Australia) Argus, September 19, 1877.

William Henry Booth

18-Jun

1881

KO

8

Denis Kellcher

25

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, August 25, 1881. The fight was in the eighth round when the police arrived to break it up. Kellcher ran with everyone else, but collapsed and died. Booth and his second were arrested.

James "Jem" Carney

7-Oct

1881

Draw

43

James Highland


Middleton

Warwickshire

England

Light

(Dublin) Irish Times, October 17, 1881; Billy Edwards, Gladiators of the Prize Ring: Heroes of All Nations (Philadelphia: Pugilistic Publishing, 1894), 123; Syracuse (New York) Post Standard, October 27, 1956. The police stopped the fight after the fight had gone on for an hour and 45 minutes. Highland had his ribs broken, and died four days later. Cause of death was given as inflammation of the lungs. Carney was acquitted of manslaughter but convicted of prizefighting, and sentenced to six months imprisonment. Upon getting out of jail, Carney resumed boxing, and he was the English lightweight champion from December 1884 to May 1891.

ND

Apr/

1882

KO


Daniel Keller


Celina

Ohio

USA

ND

Cambridge (Ohio) Jeffersonian, May 4, 1882; Athens (Ohio) Messenger, May 4, 1882. Gloves were worn. Keller was struck on the right temple, and died. (NOTE: There was a 31-year-old farmer by the name of Daniel Keller living in Mercer County, Ohio, in 1880; this is possibly him.)

John Shea

11-Mar

1883

KO


Bernard Carr

23

South Boston

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Newport (Rhode Island) Mercury, March 17, 1883. The contest was with gloves. Carr fell or was knocked down, and did not get up. He died the following day. Cause of death was attributed to a burst blood vessel in the head.

Mike McLaughlin

2-Apr

1883

KO

20

Martin Linskey

18

Dubois

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Davenport (Iowa) Daily Gazette, April 4, 1883; Reno Evening Gazette, April 4, 1883; Pennsylvania (Indiana) Indiana Democrat, April 12, 1883. The bout was fought by London Prize Ring rules. At the start of the last round, men clinched, and Linskey was thrown. He hit the ground face first, and he died almost instantly. Cause of death was listed as broken neck.

Robert B. Williams

8-Mar

1884

KO

1

Oliver Dyer Jr.

21

New Haven

Connecticut

USA

ND

Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, March 11, 1884; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Daily Gazette, March 13, 1884; New York Times, March 15, 1884; New York Times, March 17, 1884 (Letters to the Editor); Yale University Class of 1886, Vicennial Record. Both boxers were students at Yale College. Dyer was reportedly feeling dizzy before the bout, and some onlookers attributed this to drinking. During the bout, Dyer was not very active, and he was knocked down by a blow to the chin. During the fall, his head may have hit the floor. Death was attributed to apoplexy brought on by excitement.

"Kilrain"

5-Apr

1884

KO

58

Nickvest


Hyndman

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

New York Times, April 6, 1884; Albert Lea (Minnesota) Freeborn County Standard, April 16, 1884. The bout was fought according to London Prize Rules. Both boxers were in bad shape by the 24th round, but the crowd refused to let the fight stop. Finally, in the 58th round, Nickvest collapsed, and the cry went up, "Foul!" The referees and seconds drew their guns, and by the time the shooting stopped, Nickvest was dead of a broken head, one man in the crowd had been shot dead, three other members of the crowd shot, and others injured.

Jimmy Lawson

17-Apr

1885

KO

15

Alec Agar


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Middle

Australian Encyclopaedia, 1926, 346; Collins Australian Encyclopedia, 1984, 90. Lawson was African American and Agar was white European, and this death led to a prohibition on mixed race boxing in Melbourne.

Frank McGonigle

3-Mar

1886

KO

43

James Sheady


Fayetteville

West Virginia

USA

Middle

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 5, 1886; Chester (Pennsylavania) Times, March 5, 1886. Although fought for a purse of $50, this was also a grudge match. As for rules, well, McGonigle's little finger was bitten off, and his right ear was torn away. Meanwhile, McGonigle's techniques included kicking Sheady while the latter was down. Sheady died at his home, and McGonigle and his seconds left the county.

James

31-Jul

1886

KO

32

Evans


Rhondda


Wales

ND

Reno Evening Gazette, August 2, 1886; Bradford (Pennsylvania) Daily Era, August 2, 1886. Evans was carried from the ring and put into a carriage, but died before reaching his home.

Thomas Wagner (Fred Behringer)

12-Apr

1887

KO

1

Elijah Watters (Lije Walker)


Napa

California

USA

ND

Coshocton (Ohio) Semi Weekly Age, April 15, 1887; (Reno) Weekly State Journal, August 27, 1887. The fight was a grudge match, and the cause of death was listed as broken neck. Behringer was smaller, and the jury acquitted him.

Simon Besser (Swipes the Newsboy; aka Tom White)

22-Jan

1888

KO


William Dempsey

22

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Light

Chicago Daily Tribune, January 23, 1888; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 25, 1888; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 26, 1888; Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, December 21, 1891; Syracuse (New York) Herald, December 3, 1911. Although Dempsey fought lightweight, he weighed about 114 pounds. The bout took place in a back room of Red Leary's Live Oak Hotel. Two-ounce gloves were worn, and it was a finish fight fought according to Queensberry Rules. Dempsey was hit in the temple. He collapsed, and did not get up. The promoter said he didn't know the names of anyone who was there, and the seconds said that death was due either to the fall or to Dempsey being unfit for boxing. Besser was about 18, and he remained a professional boxer for several years. Besser's wife Minnie also boxed professionally (Chicago Daily Tribune, November 2, 1892).

ND

4-Mar

1888

KO


ND


Albert Park


New Zealand

ND

Otago (New Zealand) Witness, March 9, 1888. "A young man, married and with a small family, has died as the result of a prize fight… He fought till he slipped off his second's knee in a faint. The doctors declare he was simply beaten to death." This was a grudge match, fought according to London Prize Ring rules, with side bets.

ND

2-Apr

1888

KO

50

William Drury


Nottinghamshire

East Midlands

England

ND

London Times, May 24, 1888. Drury failed to make the mark for the fifty-first round. Cause of death was attributed to brain disease.

Furhman

8-May

1888

KO


Fred Winkler


Greenfield Park

Wisconsin

USA

ND

Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, May 8, 1888; New Philadelphia (Ohio) Democrat, May 17, 1888. Winkler was knocked down by a blow to the left side.

Tom Bannon (Young Barrett, Boston Casey)

23-Sep

1888

KO

1

George Fulljames

30

Grand Forks

Dakota Territory

USA

Middle

Mitchell (Dakota Territory) Daily Republican, September 25, 1888; Plattsburgh (New York) Republican, October 6, 1888, cited at http://esf.uvm.edu/vtbox/Historical.html. Although a one-round knockout, remember that under London Prize Ring Rules, rounds lasted until there was a knockdown or fall. Anyway, Bannon reportedly held Fulljames' hand, and then struck him repeatedly in the temple. However, the coroner's inquest ruled that it was a slung shot that struck Fulljames in the temple, causing his death, rather than a blow from a fist. Either way, the bettors didn't want Fulljames winning. As for Bannon, he was murdered about a week later. See Salem (Ohio) Daily News, April 22, 1889 and Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 20, 1889.

Barker

8-Oct

1888

KO


John Dallas


Lilydale

Victoria

Australia

ND

Otago (New Zealand) Witness, October 26, 1888; Te Aroha (New Zealand) News, November 28, 1888,

Jerry Flower

12-Mar

1889

KO

4

John Kendall


Couer D'Alene

Idaho

USA

ND

Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, March 13, 1889. Kendall was black and Flower was white.

Ed Cuffe

26-Apr

1889

KO

4

Tom Avery


San Francisco

California

USA

ND

Reno Evening Gazette, April 27, 1889. The bout was with gloves, and was scheduled for 6 rounds. During the fourth, Cuffe fell to the floor and died. Cause of death was attributed to heart failure.

Edward Herron (Ed Ahearn)

16-Sep

1889

KO

11

Thomas E. Jackson (Jack King)

18

St. Louis

Missouri

USA

Feather

Reno Evening Gazette, September 17, 1889; Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Post, September 18, 1889; New York Times, September 18, 1889; Decatur (Illinois) Daily Despatch, September 18, 1889; Decatur (Illinois) Saturday Herald, September 21, 1889; Albert Lea (Minnesota) Freeborn County Standard, October 3, 1889. The venue was a saloon on Seventh Street in St. Louis, between Market and Chestnut, that was owned by by Dan, Charlie, and Johnny Daly. The purse was $30. Two-ounce gloves were worn, and the fight started at midnight. Within the first couple rounds, both the boxers and the ring floor were slick with blood. At the start of the twelfth, Jackson stood up, then fell backwards, and the fight was stopped. After Jackson died, Herron and the seconds were arrested on charges of murder in the second degree. Herron told the police that Jackson must have had heart disease, because he had not been hit hard enough to cause death. Newspaper coverage of this bout was extensive, in part because the referee, Joe Murphy, was the former sporting editor of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Tom Branch

27-Sep

1889

KO


Ernest Willingham


Allatoona

Georgia

USA

ND

Indiana (Pennsylvania) Progress, October 2, 1889; New Philadelphia (Ohio) Democrat, October 3, 1889. Willingham was "negro," while Branch was white.

John Gallagher

17-Dec

1889

KO

105

George W. Ward

30

Butte

Montana

USA

Heavy

Helena (Montana) Independent, December 17, 1889, in the boxing file at Montana Historical Society; Dunkirk (New York) Evening Observer, December 18, 1889; Butte (Montana) Anaconda Standard, April 10, 1903; Frank Bell, Gladiators of the Glittering Gulches (Helena, Montana: Western Horizons Books, 1985), 63-66. The two men decided to settle a dispute via a prizefight. Gallagher's arm was injured in the 48th round. Moreover, his body had a lot of bruises and his face was badly swollen. Nonetheless, the fight went on, and in the 98th round, Gallagher caught Ward with a blow under the chin that knocked Ward down. Ward's seconds pushed him out for round 99 while he was just half conscious. Gallagher knocked Ward down eleven times more times, and at the end of the 105th round, Gallagher was declared the winner. Ward died the following day, and Gallagher left the territory ahead of the manslaughter warrant.

James Farrell

26-Dec

1889

KO

5

James Burns


Plymouth

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Mitchell (South Dakota) Daily Republican, December 26, 1889.


Table 2: Toughman deaths, 1979 to present


Name

Day/Mo

Year

Res

Rd

Deceased

Age

City

State

Weight

Original/Not Original Toughman

Source/Remarks

ND

22-Mar

1981

KO


Ronald Miller

23

Johnstown

Pennsylvania

ND

Original Toughman

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 25, 1981; Detroit News, March 5, 2003, “Toughman bouts with danger,” www.jameshoyer.com/news_toughman_din.pdf; CBS Evening News, May 8, 1981. Desperate for the prize money, Miller fought three bouts in two nights, despite headaches after the first round. After the third fight, during which he was knocked down several times, he was taken to the hospital, where he died the following morning. Early Toughman bouts were two minutes in length, with no headgear, but after this death headgear began to be required. As noted above, Original Toughman dates to 1979, and this is its first known fatality.

J.J.

10-Mar

1981

TKO

2

Viken “Vic” Ayvazian

21

Laverne

California

Middle (150-lb)

Not Original Toughman

Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1981; Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1981; Los Angeles Times, March 18, 1981; Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1981; Los Angeles Times, April 28, 1981; CBS Evening News, May 8, 1981. Ayvazian fought in an unregulated “Tough Guy” contest. His opponent was about 40 pounds heavier. Ayvazian complained of a headache after the fight. He was admitted to the hospital, where surgery was done to try to repair a blood clot on the brain. He died on April 26, 1981. NOTE: Tough Guy was based on Original Toughman. Men’s Original Toughman, promoted by Art Dore, dates to 1979; women’s events were added in 1996. See Greg Fagan, “Stupid Fun,” Maxim Online, June 1998, http://www.maximonline.com/stupid_fun/articles/article_584.html.

ND

11-Jul

1987

Wdec

3

Robert Rollins

33

Montgomery

Alabama

Heavy

Not Original Toughman

Detroit News, March 5, 2003, “Toughman bouts with danger,” www.jameshoyer.com/news_toughman_din.pdf. Immediately after the fight, Rollins complained of being dizzy. Soon after, he died. Death was attributed to a heart attack. Rollins, who stood 6 feet tall and weighed 280 pounds, had been taking medicine for high blood pressure for months before the fight.

ND

Mar/

1992

KO


Ricky Sanders

27

Scottsboro

Alabama

ND

Not Original Toughman

Detroit News, March 5, 2003, “Toughman bouts with danger,” www.jameshoyer.com/news_toughman_din.pdf.

Terry Vermaelen

11-Jun

1994

TKO

2

Bobby Troy DePue

26

Lafayette

Louisiana

ND

Original Toughman

Keith O’Brien, “Ultimate fighting,” New Orleans Times-Picayune, October 23, 2003, http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/106689292994050.xml; Detroit News, March 5, 2003, “Toughman bouts with danger,” www.jameshoyer.com/news_toughman_din.pdf. DePue quit in the second round, and the crowd booed. He collapsed soon after, saying he couldn’t breathe, and he died in hospital the following day. The cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma exacerbating a pre-existing heart condition.

ND

9-Apr

1995

KO


Zinious Haynes

38

Fayetteville

North Carolina

ND

Original Toughman

Detroit News, March 5, 2003, “Toughman bouts with danger,” www.jameshoyer.com/news_toughman_din.pdf. The morning after the fight, Haynes woke his mother to say his head hurt. An ambulance took him to the hospital, where he died three hours later. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

ND

14-Dec

1995

KO


Eric Crow

23

Kansas City

Kansas

ND

Original Toughman

Kansas City Star, December 15, 1995; James A. Fussell, “The mom who got tough on a deadly sport,” Good Housekeeping, July 1997; Detroit News, March 5, 2003, “Toughman bouts with danger,” www.jameshoyer.com/news_toughman_din.pdf; http://cctr.umkc.edu/~tjthompson/pap1.htm. After the fight, Crow was dazed, and the next day, he couldn’t get out of bed. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was heavy bleeding inside the brain.

Harold Brashear

19-Jul

1996

KO

3

Donald L. Lewis

23

Hazard

Kentucky

ND

Not Original Toughman

Warrendale (Pennsylvania) North Hills News Record, July 30, 1996; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, July 30, 1996. The event was called Iron Man. After the fight, Lewis rested, talked to the doctor, and walked down the road to a convenience store to get Gatorade. He collapsed at the counter. An ambulance was called. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

The Ironman

14-Sep

2002

KO

1

Art Liggins

44

Meridian

Idaho

ND

Original Toughman

Match that killed Meridian boxer banned in some states,” Idaho Statesman, September 17, 2002, http://204.228.236.37/News/story.asp?ID=20580; Holden Parrish, “Suing for some peace of mind,” Idaho State Journal, January 11, 2004, http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2004/01/11/news/local/news02.txt. Liggins was a former National Junior Olympics champion, and he had been training hard. However, he had not boxed competitively in 18 years. He had won a fight the previous night, and two more that day. During his last fight, he was struck once on the cheek. The blow did not appear especially hard. Nonetheless, Liggins fell unconscious, and he died in hospital the following day. The autopsy revealed blood clots in his head, probably from one or more of the three previous bouts.

Jim Sluder

14-Sep

2002

KO

2

Michael Kuhn

26

College Station

Texas

ND

Original Toughman

Jeremiah Nichols, "Full of fight," Bryan-College Station Eagle, September 22, 2003, http://www.theeagle.com/brazossunday/092202toughman.htm; “Injuries claim life of College Station boxer,” Corpus Christi Caller-Times, September 23, 2002, http://www.caller.com/ccct/texas_sports/article/0,1641,CCCT_993_1434513,00.html; Texas A&M BattalionOnline, September 26, 2002, http://www.thebatt.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/09/23/3d8ecbec89b6b. Kuhn was recruited for this fight in a bar. He had no prior boxing experience. He won a fight on Friday night, and so he fought again on Saturday. Between the second and third rounds, he went to his corner, said, “I feel sick,” and then passed out. He subsequently died in hospital. The autopsy found that blood vessels connecting the brain and the skull were severed. This was said to be the eighth Toughman death in the USA, and the first in Texas. See also Doug J. Swanson, “Gib Lewis was Toughman ally,” Dallas Morning News, November 25, 2003.

ND

3-May

2002

KO

3

Nelson Land

23

Jacksonville

Florida

ND

Not Original Toughman

Man dies of ‘Fight Night’ injuries, News4Jax.com, May 7, 2002, http://www.news4jax.com/jax/news/stories/news-143888120020507-060542.html; “No charges to be filed in Jacksonville nightclub boxing death,” AP, May 29, 2002, http://www.wtlv.com/news/2002-05-29/local_boxing.asp. Land was participating in a nightclub’s open fights. He was struck on the chin. He stumbled backwards, lost consciousness, and died in hospital three days later. He had been drinking prior to the fight, but his blood alcohol level was within legal limits.

Jason “Piledriver” Pyles

3-Jan

2003

Wdec

3

Scott Wood

31

Mount Pleasant

Michigan

ND

Original Toughman

Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune, June 29, 2003; Associated Press, “Texas boxer dies after suffering injuries in Toughman bout,” News8Austin, http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=59217&SecID=2; Andy Grimm, “Death of a toughman,” Saginaw News, February 23, 2003, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1045999316311060.xml?sanews; “Toughman fighter’s death ruled homicide,” Gambling Magazine, February 2, 2003, http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/managearticle.asp?c=380&a=1837. Wood was reluctant during the fight, and afterwards complained of head pain and blurred vision. He lost consciousness, and he died in hospital three weeks later. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. The coroner ruled the death a homicide, but no charges were filed.

Josh Snow

26-Jan

2005

KO

2

Steven Burress

27

Dayton

Ohio

Heavy

Original Toughman

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, February 1, 2005; Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, January 27, 2006; “Ohio man dies in fight promoted by local businessman,” Bay City (Michigan) Times, February 3, 2005, http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1107449124310990.xml. Burress had won on fight the night before, plus two fights earlier that night, and so advanced to the finals. However, he was tired, and after two knockdowns, the referee stopped the fight in the second. Burress collapsed again, outside the ring, and he died the following day in the hospital. Cause of death was subdural hemorrhage.


Table 3: Training deaths, 1890 to present


Survivor

Day/Mo

Year

Deceased

Age

City

County/State

Country

Weight

Pro/Amateur

Source/Remarks

ND

ND

1892

William Sheriff (The Prussian)

45

London

London

England

Light heavy

Professional

Billy Edwards, Gladiators of the Prize Ring: Heroes of All Nations (Philadelphia: Pugilistic Publishing, 1894), 65. During a fight in the USA, Sheriff injured his leg. He returned to England, the injury became gangrenous, and the infection proved fatal. Date of death was June 4, 1893.

Arthur Foster

13-Feb

1894

Alfred Hosmer Linder

19

Cambridge

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Professional

New York Times, February 19, 1894; Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Journal, February 24, 1894; Secretary's Report, No. 1, Harvard College Class of 1895, 60, 176; "Alfred Hosmer Linder '95," http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=316563. The boxers were college students. Seven ounce gloves were worn. Linder was struck on the jaw. He congratulated Foster on the blow, and then fell to the floor. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain. A scholarship was subsequently established in Linder's name at Harvard College.

Ed Turner

7-Oct

1894

John A. Gerharty

14

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

ND

Amateur

Los Angeles Times, October 8, 1894. The youths were sparring, and Gerharty dropped dead following a blow to the heart.

ND

Jan/

1895

Michael Nugent


Springfield

Ohio

USA

ND

Professional

Cumberland (Maryland) Evening Times, January 8, 1895. A few days prior to his death on January 8, Nugent had been boxing with a friend. He was punched in the nose. Cause of death was a clot on the brain.

William Gollie

13-Mar

1897

Peter O'Shay


Cheyenne

Wyoming

USA

ND

Amateur

Marble Rock (Iowa) Weekly, March 18, 1897. Both boxers were privates in the 8th US Infantry assigned to Fort D.A. Russell (modern Warren Air Force Base).

Peter Langtry

24-Apr

1897

Rudolph Babst

48

Brooklyn

New York

USA

ND

Amateur

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 25, 1897; New York Times, April 25, 1897. Babst, a recently retired Army recruiting sergeant, was sparring with a 17-year-old man. The two sparred for about 2 minutes, during which time Babst was struck repeatedly in the face and torso. Babst staggered backwards, saying, "I guess I've got enough." He sat down in a chair, and died. Babst had been diagnosed earlier with a heart condition.

Frank Shoemaker

27-Apr

1897

Daniel Thomas

14

Lima

Ohio

USA

ND

Amateur

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, April 28, 1897; Marble Rock (Iowa) Weekly, May 6, 1897. This does not appear to have been an organized bout. Thomas, a newsboy, was knocked down by a blow over the heart. He staggered home, and died soon after. Shoemaker, who was 21 years old, left town.

ND

Oct/

1901

Charles Northeast


Gosport

Hampshire

England

ND

Professional

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, October 29, 1901. Northeast was a private in the Royal Marines, and he died in hospital following a boxing match with a fellow Marine.

Jerome Wood

Jun/

1901

Charles Varney

18

Gallipolis

Ohio

USA

ND

Professional

Coshocton (Ohio) Daily Age, June 11, 1901. Varney died "by being hit over the heart while playfully boxing with a companion."

George R. Ainsworth

26-Jan

1901

Curtis L. Crane


Cambridge

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Amateur

Davenport (Iowa) Daily Republican, January 27, 1901; Syracuse (New York) Sunday Herald, January 27, 1901; Anaconda (Montana) Standard, January 28, 1901; New York Times, January 28, 1901. The two men were college students, Crane at Harvard University and Ainsworth at Lawrence Scientific School (the latter did not become part of Harvard University until 1906). Ainsworth was acting as boxing instructor. The men had been sparring about three minutes when Crane was struck in the face. Crane collapsed backwards, and within eight minutes, he was dead. Cause of death was said to be heart disease.

Thomas West

23-Sep

1901

George Johnson

37

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Welter

Amateur

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 25, 1901; Washington Post, September 26, 1901. Johnson was an amateur who enjoyed sparring with professionals in the gym. After being hit hard in the head, Johnson went home saying that he had a headache. He died two days later of a brain injury. West was arrested.

G. F. Paff and R.M. Nickelson

24-Oct

1905

Grover Muldoon

19

Indianapolis

Indiana

USA

ND

Amateur

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Weekly Sentinel, November 1, 1905. After sparring with his roommates for about half an hour, Muldoon, a college student, began vomiting. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was said to be cerebral hemorrhage.

Robert Moore

17-Sep

1908

Adolph Bach


Milwaukee

Wisconsin

USA

ND

Professional

Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette, September 19, 1908. The two men were sparring, using one-minute rounds. After the round, Bach asked for water, then fell unconscious to the floor. Cause of death was attributed to a fractured skull.

Bud Class

7-Feb

1909

Ernest Free

18

Edge (Brazos County)

Texas

USA

ND

Amateur

Galveston (Texas) Daily News, February 9, 1909. Free was hit over the heart. He collapsed, and died two hours later.

John Scanlon

13-Feb

1909

Frank Crossland

15

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Amateur

Washington Post, February 19, 1909. The youths were boxing after school. Crossland was knocked down, and died fifteen minutes later. The school principal said it was not a fight, but a sparring match. During this period, boxing was being emphasized as a good bodybuilder, and boxing was recommended for inclusion in public school physical fitness programs. Proponents included Dr. Philip O'Hanlon of the New York Coroner's office. "Post-mortem examinations on bodies of small boys have impressed upon Dr. O'Hanlon... the great lack of chest development these lads must have had in life. As the best means of safely attaining lung development in the physically formative years, he urges the effectiveness of boxing, properly conducted. He mentions President Roosevelt as an example of the efficacy of the 'manly sport' in chest building" (Syracuse, New York, Herald, January 25, 1909).

Private Weston

Mar/

1910

Private A. Tindall


Aldershot Barracks

Hampshire

England

ND

Amateur

London Times, March 11, 1910; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 11, 1910. During sparring at the Army base, Tindall was struck on the jaw. He collapsed, and did not get up. Cause of death was originally attributed to heart failure, but the autopsy showed a ruptured artery in the brain.

ND

4-Aug

1912

W. Furness

18

Greymouth


New Zealand

ND

Amateur

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, August 5, 1912. While training for a tournament, Furness complained of being tired, then died.

ND

20-May

1913

Frank Carbone

18

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Heavy

Professional

Boston Daily Globe, May 26, 1913; Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, May 26, 1913. Cause of death was attributed to shock caused by a blow to the abdomen.

ND

Feb/

1916

Arthur Cote

38

Augusta

Maine

USA

Light

Professional

New York Times, February 11, 1916; Augusta (Maine) Daily Kennebec Journal, May 1, 1916. Cote was a former lightweight champion. He fell while training for a fight, and death was formally attributed to this fall. However, the family maintained the cause of death was injuries received during a fist fight near Government Reservation. In any event, cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Willie Gould

ND

1917

Federico Lefrancois


ND


Argentina

Feather

Professional

Manuel Velazquez collection. Gould's last scheduled fight was in March 1915.

Andrew Lockett

11-Mar

1920

Milton Sternfeld


New York

New York

USA

ND

Amateur

New York Times, March 13, 1920; Syracuse (New York) Herald, March 12, 1920; Kansas City (Missouri) Star, March 12, 1920; New York Times, March 20, 1920. The boxers were students at Columbia University, and the university treasurer posted Lockett's $2,000 bail. Sternfeld was a former Army lieutenant and current post-graduate student, while Lockett was a sophomore.

ND

31-Jan

1921

Irving Gray Anderson

18

Annapolis

Maryland

USA

ND

Amateur

New York Times, February 6, 1921; 1920; Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Annapolis Ward 1, Anne Arundel, Maryland; Roll: T625_654; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 6; Image: 53. Anderson, a midshipman at the Naval Academy, had been sparring with his roommate for several weeks. He knew he had been hit hard in the nose, but it was several days before he decided to go on sick call. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Sam McVea

19-Jun

1922

Donald "Kid" Kelly


Kingston


Jamaica

Light

Professional

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, June 21, 1922. Kelly had a major contest scheduled for July 5, 1922, and McVea was his sparring partner. After three rounds of sparring, Kelly complained of not feeling well, so he was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Elmer Cross

4-Sep

1922

Louis Barrese

18

Easton

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Professional

New York Times, September 22, 1922; Oakland Tribune, September 4, 1922. Five minutes after being knocked down, Barrese died. Cause of death was given as over-exertion.

ND

ND

1923

Mick Rutherford


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Light

Professional

Manuel Velazquez collection. Rutherford twisted his right ankle during a bout. The injury became infected, and doctors amputated the foot. He died of surgical complications.

"Big Joe" Harnick

3-Apr

1924

Earnest "Count" Loske

32

Kansas City

Missouri

USA

Middle

Professional

Port Arthur (Texas) News, April 4, 1924; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, April 5, 1924. Loske was sparring with his trainer.

ND

May/

1924

Joe Minehan

19

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Amateur

New York Times, June 26, 1924. Minehan was from Boston College, and he was expected to make the 1924 Olympics team. However, he collapsed during a training bout, and he died June 25, 1924. Cause of death was listed as anemia.

Nina Roundtree

Jun/

1925

George Schofield

50

Heaven City

Illinois

USA

ND

Amateur

Olean (New York) Times, June 16, 1925; Syracuse (New York) Herald, July 26, 1925. Heaven City was a commune outside Harvard, Illinois, and Roundtree was Schofield's 15-year-old girlfriend. Schofield boasted that he was a boxer, and to prove it, he sparred a male member of the commune. However, he fared badly against the man. Roundtree was upset at this, and put on the gloves herself. She then proceeded to box, while Schofield proceeded to have a heart attack.

Irving Selder

14-Feb

1926

Walter Jones

19

Tacoma

Washington

USA

Welter

Professional

Fresno (California) Bee, February 15, 1926; Seattle Times, February 15, 1926; New York Times, February 16, 1926; Helena (Montana) Independent, February 15, 1926; Merle A. Reinikka, "Death certificates of Finns in Pierce County, Washington," http://www.genealogia.fi/emi/emi3d20p3e.htm. During training, Jones sparred two rounds with Selder, who was a middleweight. After time was called, he slumped to the floor, where he died before medical aid could be obtained. Death certificate reads "acute dilatation of right auricle from over-exercise while training as a boxer. Single. Boxer-pugilist."

Ernest Taylor

10-Dec

1926

Fred Canady

29

Chicago

Illinois

USA

ND

Professional

Chicago Daily Tribune, December 16, 1926. Canady was knocked out during a sparring match at Ferrell's gym. He was taken home unconscious, and he died there five days later. His sparring partner may have been the Toronto flyweight Ernie Taylor.

Clayton "Big Boy" Peterson

11-Jan

1926

Preston "Prince" Brown

28

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

Heavy

Professional

Olean (New York) Evening Times, January 12, 1926. Cause of death was brain injury. Both boxers were black.

ND

29-Nov

1926

Emrys Bishop

20

Caerphilly


Wales

ND

Amateur

(Dublin) Irish Times, November 30, 1926. Bishop and his friend were sparring. Bishop was hit near the heart. He stepped back, and fell down. He died at the scene.

ND

4-May

1927

Frank Rea (Frankie Ray)

22

San Antonio

Texas

USA

Light

Professional

Dallas Morning News, May 6, 1927. Cause of death was attributed to a broken artery in the head. Rea had fought professionally in California and Arizona, but had only sparred in Texas.

ND

27-Jul

1927

Antone Corriera (Kid Peters)

33

Fall River

Massachusetts

USA

Light

Professional

New York Times, July 30, 1927. Corriera, a former professional, was teaching a boxing class. A student struck him hard, and he died two days later of intestinal perforation.

ND

6-Apr

1928

Jess Stringham

25

Salt Lake City

Utah

USA

Middle

Professional

San Francisco Chronicle, April 6, 1928; Danville (Virginia) Bee, April 7, 1928. At the gym, Stringer complained that he did not feel well. Then he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was attributed to internal hemorrhage.

Philip Bromley

20-Mar

1928

Michael Carnakis

20

Los Angeles

California

USA

Welter

Amateur

Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, March 21, 1928; Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, March 21, 1928. Both men were students sparring at the university gym, and both fell during an exchange of blows. Bromley, age 19, was unconscious for 1 hour, 45 minutes, and Carnakis died. Carnakis had a history of basal skull fracture and cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage.

Les Marriner

14-Apr

1928

Fred Bobzin

21

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Heavy

Amateur

Dallas Morning News, April 15, 1928; Chicago Daily Tribune, April 15, 1928; Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, April 16, 1928. Bobzin, a sophomore at the University of Illinois, was sparring with Marriner, who was a professional boxer. Sixteen-ounce gloves were being worn, and the sparring was supervised by Paul Prehn, chairman of the state boxing commission. After a few minutes, Bobzin said he didn't feel well, so the sparring was stopped. "I hope you don't think I'm yellow," he said, and then went to the dressing room, where, ten minutes later, he was found unconscious. He was then taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was attributed to hemorrhage of the brain.

ND

12-Nov

1929

Johnny O'Keefe

25

Columbus

Ohio

USA

Light

Professional

Lima (Ohio) News, November 12, 1929. In May 1929, O'Keefe had retired from the ring following four straight losses, but he subsequently decided to try a comeback. His first comeback bout was scheduled for the next Friday night.

Marvin Williams

Apr/

1929

Willie Rizutto

23

La Junta

Colorado

USA

ND

Professional

New York Times, April 18, 1929; Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, April 17, 1929; Danville (Virginia) Bee, April 17, 1929. The fatal sparring match occurred about a week before. Rizutto died without regaining consciousness on April 16, 1929. Cause of death was brain injury.

ND

27-Sep

1929

Johnny Hill

23

Glasgow


Scotland

Fly

Professional

"Johnny Hill, Scotland's first boxing world champion 1928," bbc.co.uk, http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0082/print.shtml. Hill died of a broken blood vessel in his lung. The origin of this condition was attributed to a chill caught while training.

ND

30-Nov

1929

Carl Howell

19

Chicago

Illinois

USA

ND

Amateur

Chicago Daily Tribune, December 4, 1929; Oakland Tribune, December 4, 1929. Howell had been boxing at the South Chicago YMCA. He reported no ill effects at the time, but the next day, he reported severe headaches. Death was attributed to concussion of the brain.

Duane Duncan

25-Jan

1930

John "Red" Wilford

21

Kalamazoo

Michigan

USA

Light Heavy

Professional

Helena (Montana) Independent, January 25, 1930; Port Arthur (Texas) News, January 26, 1930. Knocked down during sparring, Wilford's head struck an unpadded turn-buckle. He died of cerebral hemorrhage.

David Maier

29-Aug

1930

Dean Spaulding

28

Oconomowoc

Wisconsin

USA

Middle

Professional

Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, August 30, 1930; Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, August 30, 1930; Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, August 30, 1930; Lima (Ohio) News, August 31, 1930. Spaulding was training for a bout with Ben Danske, a Milwaukee middleweight. Maier was a light heavyweight. While sparring, Spaulding was knocked down by a blow to the jaw. Cause of death was attributed to skull fracture secondary to Spaulding striking his head on the floor.

ND

7-Apr

1930

Gordon L. Saunders

23

Ballston Spa

New York

USA

ND

Professional

New York Times, April 9, 1930. Cause of death listed as enlargement of the thymus gland in the throat.

Al Stillman

21-Apr

1931

William Kardinski

19

Belleville

Illinois

USA

Heavy

Amateur

Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer, April 24, 1931; New York Times, May 16, 1931; Zanesville (Ohio) Signal, April 24, 1931. The men were training for a charity program when Kardinski collapsed. He died in hospital two days later. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

10-Feb

1932

Arthur Vincent

19

Hollywood

California

USA

ND

Amateur

Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, February 10, 1932. Vincent was trying out for a junior college boxing team. He collapsed while sparring another student, and he was pronounced dead an hour later. Cause of death was attributed to heart failure.

ND

29-Aug

1932

Thomas Swan

24

Invercargill


New Zealand

ND

Amateur

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Thomas McGillivary

10-Sep

1932

Gilbert Ernest Ellery


Oamaru


New Zealand

ND

Amateur

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Joseph Robert

4-Dec

1932

William Lafroy

43

Sturgeon Falls

Ontario

Canada

ND

Amateur

Canandaigua (New York) Daily Messenger, December 5, 1932. The men were sparring. Lefroy said, "Wait a minute," then collapsed.

John Fitzgerald

3-Dec

1935

John Sheridan


Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

ND

Professional

Manuel Velazquez collection. Sheridan was struck in solar plexus, but autopsy revealed no cause of death.

Lorenzo "Pete" Pedro

13-Feb

1935

Eddie Kimm

24

San Francisco

California

USA

Light Heavy

Professional

Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, Feburary 14, 1935. This was Dr. Werkgartner's 1935 case described in Jokl's book.

ND

20-Feb

1935

Adolf Wolfson

19

College Park

Maryland

USA

ND

Amateur

Frederick (Maryland) Post, February 22, 1935. Wolfson collapsed following a sparring match at the University of Maryland. He died the following day.

ND

23-Jan

1936

James Sallus

24

Peoria

Illinois

USA

ND

Amateur

Chicago Daily Tribune, January 24, 1936; Hammond (Indiana) Times, January 25, 1936. Sallus collapsed after a workout. The coroner was not sure if death was due to a blow or a heart condition. Sallus was known as "Slaughterhouse," because his training methods included punching on steer carcasses hanging in the Peoria stockyards.

Daniel Sheehan

6-Jan

1938

Tim Sheehan

21

Merthyr


Wales

Welter

Professional

"Merthyr boxers," http://www.merthyrhistory.150m.com/boxers.htm. The deceased, who was training for the middleweight championship of Wales, was in the gym, sparring with his brother. "I'm beat," he said, just before collapsing.

Gene Fowler

3-Aug

1938

Nethro Hendson

28

Pleasantville

New Jersey

USA

ND

Professional

New York Times, August 4, 1938. Cause of death was attributed to a heart condition.

Alvin Johnson

Nov/

1938

Victor Morgheim


Cheyenne

Wyoming

USA

ND

Professional

(Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, November 23, 1938. Both men were soldiers of Company F, 8th US Infantry, at Fort Warren (now Warren Air Force Base).

Babe Richie

31-Jul

1939

Herman Tankersley

20

Dallas

Texas

USA

ND

Professional

El Paso (Texas) Herald Post, August 1, 1939. After sparring, Tankersley said he didn't feel well. He went to the showers, where he collapsed. Cause of death was attributed to a blood clot on the brain.

Samuel Fox

29-Nov

1940

William J. Armstrong

20

Enniskillen


Northern Ireland

ND

Amateur

(Dublin) Irish Times, November 30, 1940. The two men were constables in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and they were sparring under supervision with 16-ounce gloves. Fox struck Armstrong in the face with a straight left, and Armstrong fell straight back into the arms of the referee, Sergeant Ashfield. Armstrong was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was extensive hemorrhage of the brain. The jury returned a verdict of accident.

Leroy Smith

23-Aug

1944

Thomas Schenck

34

ND

New Jersey

USA

Heavy

Professional

Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, August 28, 1944. Schenck had been a sparring partner for Joe Louis and Two-Ton Tony Galento. Cause of death was brain injury. The death was remarked in the press mostly because it was the second professional boxing death in a month. Otherwise, said New York sportswriter Lawton Carver, Schenck's death "was more of an erasure than an obituary; he was wiped off the slate, and few in the boxing game mourn his loss. He was, you see, unknown."

Lundy

26-Mar

1944

John Claude Lundy

16

Joplin

Missouri

USA

ND

Amateur

Joplin (Missouri) Globe, March 29, 1944. Lundy was sparring with an older brother when he collapsed. Cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage and gastric perforation.

ND

ND

1946

Annare Baisagale


ND


Australia

ND

Professional

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

Jun/

1948

Leon "Ken" Kennedy


New York

New York

USA

Middle

Professional

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, June 8, 1948, http://www.boxrec.com. Kennedy, a middleweight, was training in preparation for a job as a sparring partner for Joe Louis, who was then preparing for his defense against Jersey Joe Walcott. Several days before reporting to Louis's camp, Kennedy collapsed and died while jogging. Cause of death was listed as heart attack. Kennedy's last known match was in November 1946. During his career, he lost 25 out of 32 fights, 5 by knockout, and one of his wins was due his opponent being penalized for low blows.

Joseph Malone

8-Jun

1949

Evangelist Ramos

28

New York

New York

USA

Feather

Professional

New York Times, June 9, 1949. Ramos fell during a sparring session. He stood up, said he was all right, and then collapsed.

Bob "Bud" Goldstein

30-Dec

1949

Arthur Almeida

23

Providence

Rhode Island

USA

Feather

Professional

Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, December 31, 1949. Cause of death was brain injury.

Harold Marlette

13-Nov

1949

Eugene Potter

23

Ann Arbor

Michigan

USA

ND

Amateur

Traverse City (Michigan) Record Eagle, November 15, 1949. Potter fell as he left the ring, and did not get up. He had sparred less than one round with Marlette, who was the boxing instructor.

ND

28-Nov

1949

Donald F. Eberhardt

22

Tucson

Arizona

USA

ND

Amateur

Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Berkshire Evening Eagle, December 1, 1949. Eberhardt was sparring at the University of Arizona's gym. Twelve-ounce gloves were being worn. He was knocked down. He failed to regain consciousness, and he died in hospital on December 1, 1949.

ND

23-Nov

1950

Abdul Djiniz


Paris


France

ND

Amateur

Manuel Velazquez collection

Wesley Morgan

22-Jan

1951

Neleigh Walker

27

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Light

Amateur

Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, January 23, 1951; Chicago Daily Tribune, January 23, 1951; (Madison) Wisconsin State Journal, January 23, 1951. Walker was sparring with Morgan, who was aged 16. Afterwards, Walker walked to his corner, where he collapsed. A doctor was called, but Walker as pronounced dead at the scene. Walker's last bout had been as an amateur in Kansas City in 1942.

ND

5-Mar

1951

Richard Sinclair

23

San Francisco

California

USA

Middle

Amateur

Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News, March 6, 1951; Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, March 6, 1951; San Mateo (California) Times, March 6, 1951; Hayward (California) Daily Review, March 9, 1951. Sinclair had lost two fights in the past month to an opponent named Benito Rodriguez. Several days after his second fight with Rodriguez, Sinclair was in the gym, sparring. He stopped, saying that he didn't feel well, and then he collapsed. He died in St. Luke's Hospital six days later. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

ND

12-Mar

1951

Robert Marquebielle

22

ND


France

Welter

Amateur

Manuel Velazquez collection

Clifford Williams

10-Mar

1953

James Jones

22

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Light

Amateur

Ring Record Book 1953. Jones was sparring with a professional.

ND

27-Sep

1953

Johnson Hicks

21

Pendleton

Indiana

USA

ND

Amateur

Kokomo (Indiana) Tribune, September 29, 1953; Anderson (Indiana) Herald, September 30, 1953. This was a supervised match in a prison. Cause of death was ruptured spleen.

Fosi Schmidt

15-Feb

1954

Vaipou Ainu'u

35

ND

American Samoa

USA

Heavy

Amateur

Austin (Minnesota) Daily Herald, December 27, 1954. Ainu'u suffered head injuries when his head hit the ring floor.

ND

2-Apr

1954

Lawrence Crump Jr.

19

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island

South Carolina

USA

ND

Amateur

Reno Evening Gazette, December 15, 1954. Crump complained of a headache after a boxing match at the Marine recruit training depot.

Johnny Summerlin

21-Jan

1956

Eddie Lee Walker

24

Detroit

Michigan

USA

Heavy

Professional

Philadelphia Inquirer, January 26, 1956; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, January 26, 1956; Troy (New York) Record, January 26, 1956. Walker collapsed at the end of three rounds of sparring. He died four days later without regaining consciousness.

Oliver L. "Ollie" Wilson

26-Oct

1956

Larry Branham

22

Hartford

Connecticut

USA

Heavy

Amateur

New York Times, October 28, 1956; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, November 30, 1956. Branham was a soldier stationed at the Army's Nike missile site HA-36, which was located near Portland, Connecticut. Wilson, who was 23 at the time of Branham's death, was a professional boxer whose eventual career record of 20-43-0 suggests that during the rest of his boxing career, he was brought in mostly to build younger fighters' knockout records. This is almost certainly the case at the end of his career, because his last two fights, in 1971 and 1972, were against George Foreman and Jimmy Ellis.

Ildelmaro Farias

26-Dec

1957

Andres Dominguez


Havana


Cuba

ND

Professional

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

22-Feb

1957

Al-Yunes Elalfi


Alexandria


Egypt

Middle

Amateur

New York Times, February 24, 1957; Panama City (Florida) News-Herald, February 24, 1957.

ND

7-Jan

1958

Walter Sanders

23

Cleveland

Ohio

USA

Heavy

Amateur

Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, January 8, 1958. Several years earlier, Sanders had boxed in Golden Gloves competition. He then went into the Army. Following his discharge, he resumed training. He had been working out for about 45 minutes when he suddenly collapsed and died.

ND

Feb/

1960

Terence Francis Sanders

17

Barnstaple

Devon

England

ND

Professional

London Times, February 20, 1960. Sanders had never participated in a tournament, only in sparring. Headgear and gloves had always been worn. He collapsed, and was taken to hospital. He died. Cause of death was swelling of the brain.

Bruno Spartaro

6-Jan

1960

Mohamed Beziane

20

Oran

Algeria

France

Light

Amateur

(Dublin) Irish Times, January 8, 1960. Beziane was training for the French amateur championships, the quarterfinals of which were scheduled for later that week in Tolouse. He was knocked down during some sparring. He got up, sparred one more round, and then collapsed. Brain surgery was done, but he died anyway. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

ND

20-Feb

1962

David Ross Buzzell

22

Arlington

Texas

USA

Welter

Professional

Dallas Morning News, February 24, 1962; Stroudsburg (Pennsyvlania) Daily Record, February 27, 1962. Although a former amateur champion, Buzzell had not boxed for several years. He decided to resume training. He was knocked down during a sparring match. He never regained consciousness. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

ND

29-Apr

1962

Douglas Klosterhuber

22

Green Bay

Wisconsin

USA

Light Heavy

Amateur

Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, April 30, 1962; Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, April 30, 1962. Klosterhuber was participating in supervised boxing at the Wisconsin State Reformatory, which had organized formal boxing tournaments. Headgear and 16-ounce gloves were worn. After sparring, Klosterhuber said he did not feel well, so he was sent to the infirmary. He was dead within half an hour. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage, perhaps associated with congenital aneurysm. This was the second boxing fatality at the Wisconsin State Reformatory (Golubiff being the first), and it led to Wisconsin prison officials discontinuing boxing tournaments.

Tim Fish

6-Feb

1963

Omar Olive

18

Toledo

Ohio

USA

ND

Amateur

New York Times, April 8, 1963; Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, February 8, 1963. Cause of death was brain injury. He was practicing for the Golden Gloves.

ND

11-Oct

1963

Carroll J. Belt

23

Camp Sukiran

Okinawa

USA

Welter (Lt Welter)

Amateur

Pacific Stars and Stripes, October 13, 1963; Pacific Stars and Stripes, October 18, 1963; Frederick (Maryland) Post, October 18, 1963; Washington Post, October 18, 1963. In early October 1963, Bill Champion and Emanuel Rivera organized a 19-member Marine Corps boxing team at Camp Sukiran, Okinawa. The idea was to start holding weekly contests with the Army. "Many of our fighters are fairly short on experience," Champion was quoted in Pacific Stars and Stripes as saying. "But where they lack experience they conceal it with willingness and guts." On October 11, 1963, Corporal Belt was knocked unconscious, and soon after, he died in hospital. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Marika Naivalu

6-May

1964

Anare Baisagale

24

Suva

Fiji

Australia

Heavy

Amateur

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, May 7, 1964; Fresno (California) Bee Republican, May 7, 1964. The two boxers were cousins. Baisagale was knocked down by a right to the head. The death is attributed to Australia because Fiji did not become independent until 1970.

ND

20-Mar

1966

Dolphin Candelario

30

Wailuku

Hawaii

USA

ND

Professional

Honolulu Advertiser, March 21, 1966. After sparring with some young amateurs, Candelario felt dizzy, so he went home and went to bed. The next morning, he was admitted to the hospital, where he subsequently died.

ND

26-May

1966

Alejandro "Chico" Torres


Maracaibo


Venezuela

ND

Amateur

New York Times, May 29, 1966; Oakland Tribune, May 29, 1966. Cause of death listed as concussion.

ND

6-Nov

1969

Seiichi Ninomiya

20

Osaka


Japan

Middle

Professional

Manuel Velazquez collection. Ninomiya's last known bout was in Sapporo on March 30, 1969.

ND

22-Apr

1969

Mitsuya Oshiro

17

Naha

Okinawa

USA

ND

Amateur

Pacific Stars and Stripes, April 24, 1969. Headgear was not worn, and the coach was not present.

Pierre Fourie

1-Jun

1970

Winston Nkoyane

21

Johannesburg


South Africa

Middle

Professional

New York Times, July 3, 1970. Fourie was the South African middleweight champion. Nkoyane was a Fourie's sparring partner. One evening, after two hard rounds, Nkoyanea went home, looking fine. Next morning, he was dead. In 1973, Fourie became the first white South African to fight a black (Bob Foster) in front of a mixed race South African audience.

Gil King

19-Jan

1971

Eddie L. Pace

30

Los Angeles

California

USA

Welter

Professional

Oakland (California) Tribune, January 24, 1971; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, January 27, 1971. Pace, the former California welterweight champion, was sparring with the current state champion. He stepped back, looked at his manager in the corner, and then collapsed in the ring. Cause of death was thought to be cardiac.

ND

30-Apr

1971

Al Robinson

23

Oakland

California

USA

Light

Professional

Oakland (California) Tribune, May 4, 1971; Lima (Ohio) News, January 27, 1974; Oakland (California) Tribune, May 6, 1971; Oakland (California) Tribune, February 18, 1974. Robinson, an Olympic silver medalist in 1968, turned pro in June 1969. One day, after a 6-round sparring session, he said, "My head hurts," and then he collapsed. He remained in a coma until his death 33 months later. Surgery revealed an old blood clot that had recently resumed bleeding.

ND

31-Mar

1971

George Kennedy

45

Fresno

California

USA

Heavy

Professional

Fresno (California) Bee Republican, April 1, 1971. Kennedy had boxed professionally from 1946-1961, and after retiring from the ring, he had continued training for exercise. On this night, after sparring five rounds at the gym, he collapsed. He said he did not want to go to the hospital, so he was taken home. His wife promptly called an ambulance, and he was taken to the hospital, where he was dead on arrival. Cause of death was a heart attack.

ND

5-Aug

1971

William Markley

18

Portland

Maine

USA

ND

Professional

Oakland Tribune, August 6, 1971; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, August 10, 1971. Markley had turned pro just two months before. During sparring, he took a hard shot to the left ear. His right side began to shake. He sat down, and began having convulsions. He lost consciousness, and he died in hospital two days later.

ND

Oct/

1972

Frank Barry

20

Syracuse

New York

USA

Heavy

Amateur

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, January 29, 1973. Barry collapsed at the gym in October 1972, and died in 1973. His most recent match had been against Tom Stewart on October 7. His amateur record was 14 wins, 11 losses. Cause of death was a blood clot in the brain.

ND

9-Mar

1976

Johnnie Harp

32

Syracuse

New York

USA

Welter

Professional

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, March 10, 1976; Social Security Death Index. Harp left the gym about 5 p.m. About 7:30 p.m., he began to complain of pain, and an ambulance was called. Harp was taken to the hospital, where he died about an hour later. Cause of death was a heart problem. Harp was reportedly aware of the problem, but told his friends "not to tell anyone, because maybe they won't let me fight."

ND

17-Mar

1976

Willie Ray Booker

28

Tucson

Arizona

USA

ND

Professional

Flagstaff (Arizona) Daily Sun, March 17, 1976. Booker had boxed under supervision during 1973 and 1974, and had recently returned to it. He collapsed at the start of the second round of a sparring session. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

ND

17-May

1977

Richard C. Mull

19

US Military Academy West Point

New York

USA

Welter (145-lbs)

Amateur

Lima (Ohio) News, May 20, 1977; New York Times, May 21, 1977; "Taps," http://www.west-point.org/class/usma1980/taps.htm; R.W. Enzenauer, J.S. Montrey, R.J. Enzenauer, and W.M. Mauldin, "Boxing-related injuries in the US Army, 1980 through 1985," Journal of American Medical Association, March 10, 1989, 261:10, 1463-1466. Headgear was used, and 16-ounce gloves were being worn. Mull was knocked down twice in two rounds, so the intramural match was stopped. Fifteen minutes later, Mull collapsed and went into convulsions. He died three days later. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage. The Army's defense was cited in Military Medical Ethics, vol. 1, ed. by Thomas E. Beam, et al. (Falls Church, Virginia: Office of The Surgeon General, 2003), 253: "Before cadets get to the Academy, they know that they must take boxing. Because they are free to leave without penalty in their first year, they implicitly risk whatever physical injury may result. Thus, though boxers frequently hurt each others, such activities need not be stopped according to the harm principle" (as espoused by John Stuart Mill).

Gerald Herrera

18-Aug

1980

Victor "Vito" Romero

20

Albuquerque

New Mexico

USA

Feather

Professional

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, August 22, 1980; Pacific Stars and Stripes, August 24, 1980; Frank Deford, "An encounter to last an eternity," Sports Illustrated, 58:15 (April 11, 1983), 70. Romero was a professional boxer who was training for a contest scheduled for September 1980. Shortly after finishing sparring with Herrera, an amateur boxer, Romero went into a coma and began convulsing. The clot that killed him was attributed to a previous injury.

ND

20-Aug

1981

Rick Craney

36

Portland

Maine

USA

Welter

Professional

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, August 21, 1990; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, August 28, 1990. Craney collapsed on a bench after sparring three rounds each with two separate training partners. The medical examiner attributed death to severe stenosing coronary artery arthrosclerosis.

ND

24-Sep

1984

John Kevin Gordon

18

Prince George

Maryland

USA

ND

Amateur

Washington Post, September 25, 1984; Washington Post, October 1, 1984; Washington Post, October 18, 1984; Washington Post, December 27, 1985. Gordon had a pre-existing heart murmur, but had received medical approval to box. Cause of death was cardiac.

Kenny Styles

29-Sep

1985

David "The Hammer" Harris

25

New York

New York

USA

Light heavy

Professional

Frederick (Maryland) Post, October 2, 1985. While sparring, Harris stepped backwards out of a clinch, fell through the ropes, and slid down the wall to the floor. An ambulance was called, and he was taken to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead in the emergency room. His most recent bout had been on April 25, 1985, and he was scheduled for another match later that week.

ND

23-Dec

1985

Hayes Singletary Jr.

19

Prince George

Maryland

USA

ND

Amateur

Silver Springs (Maryland) Journal, December 27, 1985; Washington Post, December 27, 1985. Singletary stepped from the ring after five rounds of sparring, talked with his trainer, and then collapsed. For about two weeks prior to his death, Singletary had been complaining of headaches. In addition, his employer reported that Singletary had been vomiting. His coaches, however, said that Singletary never told them about this -- his goal was to become a professional boxer, and he knew that his coaches wouldn't let him spar if they knew about his headaches. Cause of death was acute subdural hematoma.

Jeff Franklin

7-Jul

1988

Harold Watts

24

Reno

Nevada

USA

ND

Amateur

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, July 11, 1988; Steve Kanigher, "Can boxing be made safer," Las Vegas Sun, October 23, 2005, http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sports/2005/oct/23/519549564.html. Watts, an amateur, was sparring with Franklin, a professional featherweight. During the second round, Watts took a sharp hit to the chin. He was asked if he was okay. He said he was, so the sparring continued. At the end of the third round, Watts walked toward his corner, turned around, and collapsed. He died in hospital. Cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

ND

22-Feb

1990

Tyrone Smith

23

Fort Carson

Colorado

USA

Welter (147-lb)

Amateur

Pacific Stars and Stripes, February 25, 1990; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, February 26, 1990; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, February 27, 1990. Smith was preparing for the USA National amateur boxing championships to be held in Colorado Springs later in the week. He was sitting on the ring surface getting his left glove removed, when he suddenly fell over unto the ring apron. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain. "I cannot emphasize enough that [this incident] is not related to boxing," said Dr. Robert Voy, director of sports medicine for USA Boxing.

ND

24-Feb

1990

Sean Lee

18

Colorado Springs

Colorado

USA

Welter (139-lb)

Amateur

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, February 26, 1990; Waterloo (Iowa) Courier, February 26, 1990; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, February 27, 1990. The venue was the USA National amateur boxing championships. The actual bouts did not begin until that evening. After attending (and passing) the pre-fight physical, Lee went to run some slow laps with another Louisiana boxer, Kenneth Pratt. During the run, Lee complained of chest pain, and then he collapsed. Cause of death was given as congenital coronary insufficiency (e.g., a difficult to detect, but comparatively common, cause of sudden death in young athletes).

ND

3-Sep

1991

Anthony McWilliams

20

Fort Huachuca

Arizona

USA

Fly

Amateur

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, September 24, 1991; Annapolis (Maryland) Capital, September 24, 1991. McWilliams, a member of an Army boxing team, was sparring with a lighter boxer. Both men were wearing headgear. McWilliams was in a coma 17 days before dying.

ND

1-Oct

1993

Nunu Puafisi

19

Reno

Nevada

USA

ND

Professional

Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, October 7, 1993. Puafisi went into a coma after sparring, and died October 2, 1993.

ND

21-Jan

1993

Michael J. Butler

21

Kelly Air Force Base

Texas

USA

ND

Amateur

Chicago Daily Herald, January 26, 1993; Annapolis (Maryland) Capital, January 26, 1993. Kelly was a member of an Eglin Air Force Base boxing team visiting Kelly Air Force Base for a tournament. After sparring, Kelly complained of dizziness and then collapsed. Cause of death was a blood clot.

ND

Dec/

1994

Jimmy Rodriguez

16

Waco

Texas

USA

ND

Amateur

"Good Morning," KWTX.com, Waco (Texas), December 18, 2006, http://www.kwtx.com/breakingnews/4939987.html. Rodriguez collapsed during sparring, and died on December 18, 1994. Cause of death was listed as repeated head trauma.

Chris King and Patrick Harris

19-Jan

1995

Nathan Wigfall

21

Washington

District of Columbia

USA

Heavy (180-lbs)

Amateur

Washington Post, January 24, 1995; Washington Post, February 17, 1995. Wigfall sat down after some 3-round sparring sessions with different opponents. He rolled over unconscious. He died the following day. Cause of death was a burst blood vessel in the brain.

ND

Mar/

1995

Marek Michalczuk


Varsovia


Poland

ND

Amateur

http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=391601

Anthony Pagan

30-Mar

1995

Jeffrey Foronda

25

Hilo

Hawaii

USA

ND

Amateur

Foronda v. Hawaii International Boxing Club, Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii, Civil No. 96-5123, http://www.hawaii.gov/jud/ica21703.htm; 96 Hawai'i, 25 P.3d 826. According to the court records, "Decedent was hit, sat temporarily on the second rope from the bottom, some 27 inches from the padded mat, sagged toward the floor, and leaned sideways, hitting his head, while wearing regulation protective headgear, on the padded apron just outside the rope." The court ruled that the risk of falling was an inherent risk of sport, and that, while the gym did not have all the latest safety equipment, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate defective equipment, supervision, or coaching.

Carlos

28-Jul

1996

Reginaldo Tavares da Silva

18

San Goncalo


Brazil

ND

Amateur

New Bedford (Massachusetts) Standard Times, July 1996, http://www.standardtimes.com/daily/07-96/07-30-96/d05sp147.htm; Warrendale (Pennsylvania) North Hills News Record, July 30, 1996. After the fight, da Silva said his stomach hurt. He went to the hospital, where he died during surgery. Cause of death was severe internal bleeding.

ND

7-Feb

1997

Michael J. Cecil

19

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island

South Carolina

USA

ND

Amateur

Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) Sun, May 21, 1997, http://www.healthwatcher.net/Boxing/mb970521marine.html. See also R. T. Ross and M.G. Ochsner, Jr., "Acute intracranial boxing-related injuries in U.S. Marine Corps recruits: report of two cases," Military Medicine, January 1999, 164:1, 68-70. Cecil died during "combat hitting training," the first (and reportedly only) of approximately 120,000 recruits to do so. Nonetheless, "combat hitting training" was stopped as a result.

ND

20-Feb

1999

K. Karunakaran


Imphal


India

ND

Amateur

Tribune of India, February 21, 1999, http://www.tribuneindia.com/99feb21/sports.htm#12. Karanukaran died of cardiac arrest while jogging. He was scheduled for a bout that afternoon.

Robert Alaniz

9-May

2000

Sergio Ariel Soto

26

Buenos Aires


Argentina

ND

Professional

"Murio el Pugilista Sergio Soto," La Nacionline, October 19, 2000, http://www.lanacion.com.ar/00/10/19/d32.htm

Emiliano Valdez

11-Jan

2000

Elijah Fenwick

18

Pahokee

Florida

USA

Welter

Amateur

"Fighting to the death," Palm Beach Post, April 16, 2000, http://www.coxnews.com/boc/metro/sports.html#. Fenwick was an amateur sparring with a pro (Valdez) and another fighter. Twelve days later, Valdez was knocked unconscious and subsequently died of injuries. Neither Valdez nor Fenwick had life or medical insurance, because under Florida boxing law, boxers were not required to have insurance.

ND

23-Apr

2002

Justin Chino

11

Milan

New Mexico

USA

ND

Amateur

Albuquerque Journal, April 25, 2002; Albuquerque Journal, April 26, 2002. Chino was running with his coach when he collapsed and died. He had been training for about a month, and his first match was scheduled to take place the following Saturday.

ND

2-Jul

2003

Brandon Nicholes Reeves

20

Longview

Texas

USA

Middle

Amateur

John Lynch, "Father of two dies after boxing practice," Longview (Texas) News-Journal, July 15, 2003; personal communication with Josephine Bray. The date given is date of death. While training some weeks before his death, Reeves took a heavy blow to his head. Afterwards, he began complaining of blurred vision and an inability to concentrate. At the time, this was attributed to allergies, but the cause of death was brain hemorrhage. The autopsy revealed that Reeves was genetically disposed toward aneurism. Weight is approximate, as it varied between 150 and 170 pounds.

Munyagwa

10-Sep

2003

Godfrey Sekabira

22

Kampala


Uganda

Middle (Jr Middle)

Amateur

Nicholas Kajoba, "Scoul boxer dies," New Vision, September 12, 2003, http://allafrica.com/stories/200309120166.html; Moses Mugalu, "Malaria hits six Bombers," New Vision, September 17, 2003, http://allafrica.com/stories/200309170078.html. The deceased was the brother of professional boxer James Lubwama. Cause of death was not known, but brain injury was suspected.

ND

22-Jan

2004

Kenichi Hashimoto

16

Higashimatsuyama


Japan

ND

Amateur

"Schoolboy boxer killed in ring," Mainichi Shimbun, January 25, 2004, http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/archive/200401/25/20040125p2a00m0dm007002c.html. Following three 3-minute rounds of sparring, Hashimoto bowed to his opponent, and then collapsed. He subsequently died of brain injuries.

ND

2-Feb

2006

Richard Hermance Jr.

28

Saratoga Springs

New York

USA

ND

Amateur

Jim Kinney, "Boxer dies while sparring," (Saratoga, New York) Saratogian http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16065254&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=17708&rfi=6 February 4, 2006; Matt Leon, "Coroner: Boxer's death linked to blow to head," Glens Falls (New York) Post Star, http://www.poststar.com/story.asp?storyid=209670, February 6, 2006; Curtis Schick, "Boxer died from brain hemorrhage," Capital News 9, http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/your_news/saratoga/default.asp?ArID=167577, February 7, 2006. Hermance was training for his first amateur bout, scheduled for March 5, 2006. He complained of dizziness, collapsed in the locker room, and died in hospital. Cause of death was subarachnoid hemorrhage.

ND

16-Feb

2006

Shawn Benjamin

30

Fort Benning

Georgia

USA

ND

Amateur

Michelle Tan, "Fall while boxing kills Benning soldier," Army Times, February 22, 2006, http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1550629.php; FirstCoastNews, "Warrant officer dies from boxing injury," Firstcoastnews.com, February 21, 2006, http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/georgia/news-article.aspx?storyid=52250; "Shawn R. Benjamin," Dothan (Alabama) Eagle, http://www.legacy.com/DothanEagle/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=16822427. While participating in a hand-to-hand instructor training course, Benjamin was struck in the head. He fell, and he died in the hospital two days later. Headgear and boxing gloves were being worn. This was reportedly the first death in the US Army's hand-to-hand instructor's course, which to date had trained about 11,000 students.


Table 4: Amateur ring deaths, 1890 to present


Survivor

Day/Mo

Year

Res

Rd

Deceased

Age

City

Counth/State

Country

Weight

Source/Remarks

Thomas Levitt

4-Feb

1890

KO

3

John William Williams

20

London

London

England

Bantam (8 stone 6)

London Times, February 10, 1890; (Glasgow) Scotsman, February 10, 1890. Williams was a member of the Stanhope Amateur Athletic Club, and 8-ounce gloves were being worn. During this fight, Williams was hit repeatedly, but according to the papers, not especially hard. In any case, he stepped back, and then collapsed unconscious. He was rubbed down with vinegar and left to wake up on his own. After about an hour, he still was not conscious. Consequently, he was wrapped in blankets and taken to the hospital, where he died several hours later. Cause of death was due to the rupture of small blood vessels in the brain. Williams had been knocked unconscious during December 1899.

Frank W. McConnico

25-Sep

1890

WKO

13

Warren Taliaferro

15

Lexington

Virginia

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, September 26, 1890; Dallas Morning News, September 26, 1890. The pugilists were cadets at Virginia Military Academy. They had a dispute, and they decided to settle it with a prize fight. The fight lasted about half an hour. McConnico was unconscious at the end of the fight, and Taliferro went to his room with his nose bleeding. He went to sleep and never awoke. McConnico afterwards attempted suicide, so was placed in jail for his own protection.

William Kemper

31-Mar

1896

KO

1

John Lipke

40

Otis

Indiana

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1896; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Weekly Sentinel, April 8, 1896; Ancestry.com. Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920 [database on-line]. Kemper struck Lipke in the abdomen. Lipke collapsed and he died the following day.

Arthur Bradley

4-Apr

1896

KO


Richard Ingram


Haverhill

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1896. Both men were factory workers. They decided to see who was the better boxer. After about 30 minutes, Ingram was struck on the right jaw and collapsed. He subsequently died at his brother’s house.

Willie Glantz

2-Feb

1898

KO

4

Carl Lindback

18

West Bend

Wisconsin

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, February 4, 1898; Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Reporter, February 5, 1898; Albert Lea (Minnesota) Freeborn County Standard, February 9, 1898. The two youths were in high school, and decided to settle a quarrel with a gloved match consisting of ten 2-minute rounds. In the fourth round, Lindback was knocked down by a blow to the face. He did not get up, and was dead within minutes. Cause of death was listed as the effects of a blow to the heart.

Carl Conner

25-Mar

1899

KO


Charles McCoy

17

Kokomo

Indiana

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, March 27, 1899; Mansfield (Ohio) News, March 27, 1899; New York Sun, April 2, 1899; National Police Gazette, April 15, 1899. The youths were boxing bareknuckle in front of McCoy’s father’s store. McCoy was struck over the heart, and his heart literally burst. Explained the always-colorful Police Gazette, the blow “caused all the blood from the vital organ to pour out into the abdominal cavity. Death was almost instantaneous.” Autopsy revealed that McCoy had an enlarged heart.

Bert Whidden

18-Mar

1900

KO

8

Frank Cass

18

Santa Cruz

California

USA

Middle

San Francisco Chronicle, March 19, 1900. The pair fought three rounds at the YMCA in the morning, and then went to Twin Lakes for a finish match. Cass, the deceased, weighed about 170, while Whidden weighed about 150. Cass was ahead the first three rounds. After that, Whidden started getting the better of Cass. In the eighth round, Whidden knocked Cass down. When Cass stood up, Whidden knocked him down again, and this time, he did not get up. A physician was called, but Cass died before he arrived. Whidden was arrested, then released on his own recognizance.

Thomas Nelson

30-Mar

1900

KO

2

Thomas McGregor

16

New York

New York

USA

ND

New York Times, April 1, 1900. McGregor took a heavy blow to the face. He fell to the ground, blood streaming from his nose. The bleeding would not stop, so after about an hour, he was taken home and put to bed. A doctor was called, and after about four hours, the bleeding stopped. McGregor died the following morning.

Neil McCallum

15-May

1900

KO


Will Stowe

17

Batesville

Indiana

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, May 17, 1900; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, May 17, 1900. According to the Chicago paper, “While engaged in a friendly sparring match… Will Stowe, aged 17, received a blow near the heart. He stepped back, and while in the act of raising his hands to strike, fell dead.”

ND

17-May

1900

KO


Isaac C. Thomas

41

Lexington

Kentucky

USA

ND

(Rockcastle County, Kentucky) Mount Vernon Signal, May 25, 1900, http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/ky-footsteps/1999a/v01-497.txt; Ancestry.com. Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953 [database on-line]. Thomas, a married African American man, was sparring with a friend. He was hit in the jaw, and lay comatose two days before dying. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Joseph Kelly (Young Kelly)

12-Dec

1900

KO

2

Edward Sanford (Frank Barr)

19

New York

New York

USA

ND

New York World, December 24, 1900; Frederick (Maryland) News, December 24, 1900; North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, December 24, 1900. On the first night of the tournament, Sanford was knocked out. Then it was determined that his opponent was a professional, so he advanced to the quarter-finals. Sanford won a 4-round decision, and so advanced to the finals. He was knocked down in the first round, and was so clearly overmatched in the second round that the fight was stopped. Sanford was sent to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was listed as skull fracture.

Charles Johnson

8-Jul

1905

KO

8

Raphael Cohen


USS Yankee

Off Monte Christi

USA (At sea)

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, August 16, 1905; Van Wert (Ohio) Daily Bulletin, August 16, 1905; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, August 19, 1905; Letter dated July 15, 1905, from sailor Frank Hoster of USS Olympia to his mother, advertised on E-bay on October 20, 2005. Cohen was a coal passer from USS Yankee, while Johnson was a coal passer on USS Olympia. Cohen died in sick bay early the next morning. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage on the left side of the brain. The following passage comes from Hoster’s letter: “We have been holding prize fights aboard this Ship but I don’t think we will have any more on account of one of the Yankee’s crew getting killed. The fellows name was Cohen and lived near the Bowery in New York City. The fight was for a knock out and winner take all the money. The lad who killed him is a negro and is one of this ship’s crew. The fight was about even untill the eighth round when Johnson the negro gave him a left-swing and sent him to the mat and just about the finishing of the count Cohen got on his feet and Johnson caught him another with his right and knocked him to the mat never to rise any more. He was carried to the sick bay and died at 12 O’clock that night. We are making a purse for his Mother and have got about One Thousand Dollars so far. Johnson is getting a General Court Martial but it will not amount to anything.” Hoster was correct about the court-martial, whose verdict was that Cohen died in line of duty. According to the Daily News article, “There is hardly a ship in the navy with a sufficiently large crew which does not witness two or three of these bouts each week... They are usually held on the forward deck, and the commissioned officers, if they are present, are there more as tacitly invited guests than in any other capacity.”

Minor Meriweather Jr.

7-Nov

1905

KO


James R. Branch

23

Annapolis

Maryland

USA

ND

Oakland Tribune, November 7, 1905; Dallas Morning News, November 9, 1905; Washington Post, November 9, 1905; Phoenix (Arizona) Republican, December 13, 1905. The boxers were midshipmen at the US Naval Academy. Although run like a prizefight, it was not an officially sanctioned bout, so the cadet officers who participated were reduced in grade.

Charles Smith

9-Sep

1906

KO


Con Griffin


Little Rock

Arkansas

USA

ND

Washington Post, December 23, 1906; Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times, January 4, 1907.

John McGrath

30-Oct

1906

KO


John Bergin


New York

New York

USA

ND

Washington Post, December 23, 1906; Oakland Tribune, January 27, 1907

Robert Lander

29-Mar

1906

TKO

2

Shenstone Wyer

20

Toronto

Ontario

Canada

Bantam

Toronto Globe, March 30, 1906; Toronto Globe, April 4, 1906. Wyer had just arrived in Canada from England, and had never boxed in a tournament before. Although he weighed about 105 pounds, he was fighting in the bantamweight division. He collapsed in the dressing room after the fight. An ambulance came to take him to the hospital, but because the injury occurred during the first bout of the night, few people in the audience were aware of it. Wyer died in hospital about four hours later. Autopsy revealed no brain injury, so the coroner’s jury ruled cause of death to be apoplexy caused by excitement.

Brown

23-Jan

1907

KO


John Mason


Indianapolis

Indiana

USA

ND

Hammond (Indiana) Lake County Times, February 7, 1907. The venue was St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church; Mason was from a boxing club associated with St. Bartholomew’s, while Brown was from a club associated with St. George’s Episcopal Church. Mason died in hospital, and his death led to restrictions on boxing in church athletic leagues. (New York Times, May 5, 1907.)

Charles Wolf

17-Mar

1908

KO

1

Willis Robinson

19

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Oakland Tribune, March 18, 1908; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, March 18, 1908; Van Wert (Ohio) Daily Bulletin, March 18, 1908. Less than a minute into the match, Robinson was struck over the heart. He collapsed in the ring, and he died while in the police vehicle transporting him to the hospital.

Johnny Hogan

17-Jun

1908

KO

3

Peter Hagen


Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal Gazette, June 18, 1908; Chicago Daily Tribune, June 18, 1908; Washington Post, June 19, 1908. Hagen was a Marine stationed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, while Hogan was a professional from the city. The bout took place on board the battleship Mississippi. Hagen was hit hard, and died within a few minutes of being counted out. Death was attributed to heart failure.

Benjamin Barnett (Fred Stewart)

18-Dec

1908

KO

2

James Curran (Mickey Henry)

18

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Washington Post, December 19, 1908; Titusville (Pennsylvania) Morning Herald, December 22, 1908. Barnett dominated the second round, and in the third, Curran was knocked down by a right to the chin. Curran died while en route to the hospital. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain. No physical exam was conducted prior to the fight.

Britton Stacey

15-Jul

1909

KO


Earl Terry

20

Hillsboro

Texas

USA

ND

Galveston (Texas) Daily News, July 16, 1909. The two men were boxing in a neighbor’s yard. Terry was struck on the left side of the body. He collapsed, and died.

David W. Williams

31-Jul

1909

KO

6

Harrison H. Foster


Provincetown

Massachusetts

USA

ND

New York Times, August 2, 1909; Boston Daily Globe, August 2, 1909; Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, August 19, 1909; Washington Post, August 22, 1909; Washington Post, August 26, 1909. The boxers were African American messmen serving aboard USS Vermont. The two men had a grudge, so upon reaching port, they were allowed to box one another during a scheduled shipboard smoker. The morning after the bout, Foster complained of pain, so he was taken to sick bay, where he died. After a court-martial cleared Williams of manslaughter charges, he was turned over to Georgia civil authorities, who wanted him on charges of aggravated assault pre-existing his enlistment in the Navy.

Happy Brown

16-Jan

1910

KO


Joseph Myers


Chillicothe

Ohio

USA

ND

Van Wert (Ohio) Daily Bulletin, January 17, 1910. The two men were soldiers in the Ohio National Guard, sparring at the Armory.

Willis Elder

10-Mar

1910

KO

2

John V. Heflin

23

Presidio of Monterey

California

USA

ND

Oelwein (Iowa) Daily Register. Both men were privates in the Coast Artillery, and Heflin died at the Presidio hospital on March 21. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

Frank Keizer

5-Apr

1910

KO

7

Gilbert Trehou

18

Passaic

New Jersey

USA

ND

Washington Post, April 9, 1910; Boston Globe, April 9, 1910; New York Times, May 1, 1910. The bout was a grudge match supervised by the high school principal. Ropes were strung and a referee and timekeeper were used. Trehou was struck in solar plexus but died of brain injuries.

Thomas Holmes

19-Nov

1912

KO

1

Frederick Merten

16

New York

New York

USA

ND

Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, November 21, 1912; Oakland Tribune, November 21, 1912. The boxers were walking to the center of the ring to shake hands (an innovation formally introduced around 1908), when Merten collapsed. Cause of death was listed as heart failure induced by excitement.

Clarence Salmon

14-Feb

1915

KO


A. V. Brown


Navy Yard Puget Sound, Bremerton

Washington

USA

ND

Reno Evening Gazette, February 13, 1915; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, February 16, 1915. Brown collapsed after being struck on the left ear. Both boxers were sailors, and the match took place on board USS West Virginia.

Arthur Stebbins

13-Apr

1915

KO


George Brogan

22

Brooklyn

New York

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, April 16, 1915; Newark (Ohio) April 16, 1915; New York Times, April 17, 1915. Brogan was knocked down by a blow to the heart. He did not get up, and he died in hospital two days later. Cause of death listed as hemorrhage of the brain.

R. N. Lewis

12-Feb

1915

TKO

1

Archibald Leonard Foreman

16

Gisborne


New Zealand

Middle

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, February 13, 1915; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, February 16, 1915; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, February 18, 1915. Foreman quit in the first round. While walking to the dressing room, he collapsed. Earlier in the evening, he had won the middleweight contest, and now, a little later, he was fighting in the heavyweight division. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

ND

28-May

1917

KO

2

Hugh Barrie


Southampton

Hampshire

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, June 1, 1917. Barrie was participating in a military tournament. He was knocked down, and the back of his head reportedly hit the flooring. Death was due to a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

ND

6-Nov

1917

KO


Neal Deaton

19

Submarine Base San Pedro

California

USA

ND

U.S. Navy, Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Navy Who Lost Their Lives during the World War, from April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1920), 222. “Died after having engaged in bout of boxing.”

Neil Mackinnon

16-Mar

1918

KO


Frank Ward

19

Minneapolis

Minnesota

USA

ND

Racine (Wisconsin) Journal-News, March 18, 1918. The venue was a Knights of Columbus hall. Cause of death was attributed to dilation of the heart.

ND

3-Aug

1918

KO

1

Gerald Yowdall


London

London

England

ND

News of the World, August 8, 1918, http://www.uk.olivesoftware.com/archive/skins/bl/navigator.asp. Yowdall, of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, received a blow on the mouth. He collapsed and subsequently died. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Private Garland

4-Nov

1918

KO


Gunner Hennessey


London

London

England

ND

Daily News, November 4, 1918, http://www.uk.olivesoftware.com/archive/skins/bl/navigator.asp. Following the knockout, Hennessey never regained consciousness, and he died the following day in hospital.

James McDonald

4-Aug

1919

KO

3

James Keay


Dunedin


New Zealand

ND

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

George S. Lewis

25-Nov

1919

KO

3

Alfred Jerome Katz

17

Boonville

Missouri

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, November 26, 1919; (Lincoln, Nebraska) Evening State Journal and Lincoln Daily News, November 28, 1919. The youths were students at Kemper Military School (closed 2002). The match was sanctioned (and supervised) by school officials, for the purpose of resolving a grudge; evidently, Lewis, aged 16, had called the older youth “Pussy” Katz. Katz was larger, and did well enough during the first two rounds that Lewis wanted to stop at the end of the second. However, Katz wanted to continue, so the match was allowed to continue into the third round specified for amateur bouts. At the start of the third, before any blows were struck, Katz suddenly fell to the ground. He was pronounced dead 12 minutes later. Cause of death was attributed to acute dilation of the right ventricle of the heart.

ND

20-Nov

1920

KO


Donald R. Hendrick

23

Burlington

Vermont

USA

ND

Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, November 22, 1920. Hendrick was a freshman at the University of Vermont. He was boxing in the University gym. He died of injuries the following morning.

Harold Myers

4-Aug

1921

KO


Earl Welch

20

Columbus

Ohio

USA

ND

Indianapolis Star, August 6, 1921; Lima (Ohio) News, August 6, 1921; Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times, August 8, 1921. Welsh was knocked to the floor and did not get up. He died two days later. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull.

Manny Stosh

ND

1921

KO


Karl Rayle


ND


New Zealand

ND

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Joe Ritchie

5-Jan

1922

KO


George Bliss

24

Wilkes-Barre

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal-Gazette, January 13, 1922; Chicago Daily Tribune, January 7, 1922, Chicago Daily Tribune, January 13, 1922; Titusville (Pennsylvania) Herald, January 13, 1922. Cause of death was a kidney punch. The coroner’s jury, which included two women, recommended that physicians examine all boxers before they entered the ring.

Whitten Windham

ND

1922

KO


William Curtis McAdams

35

Jasper

Alabama

USA

ND

Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]; McAdams v. Windham, 208. Ala. 492. The two men were sparring bare-knuckle, as they had often done in the past. McAdams was struck hard over the heart. He staggered back, and was caught by a spectator, a man named Waltrop. He was then laid on the floor, where he died within minutes. Cause of death was ruled to be the blow over the heart. The widow charged the survivor with assault, and the case ended up in the state supreme court. The case is McAdams v. Windham, 208 Ala. 492, 94 So. 742, 30 A.L.R. 194, Nov. 30, 1922. In its finding on behalf of Windham, the Alabama Supreme Court noted that “it is a general rule of law that a blow thus inflicted in a friendly, mutual combat -- a mere sporting contest -- is not unlawfully inflicted.” Instead, so long as no one was guilty of reckless or negligent conduct, “participants in a violent game have assumed the risk ordinarily incident to their sport.”

ND

Sep/

1923

KO


John T. Holly

27

Newport

Rhode Island

USA

ND

Boston Post, September 24, 1923; 1920; Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Newport Ward 2, Newport, Rhode Island; Roll: T625_1670; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 45; Image: 663. Holly, a Marine sergeant stationed at the Naval Torpedo Station, died after being punched above the heart.

Harald Nielsen

Nov/

1923

KO


W. V. Evans


Copenhagen


Denmark

Light

(Glasgow) Scotsman, November 7, 1923. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

H.B. Fetzer

30-Jan

1923

KO

3

Billy C. Zelley

18

Montgomery

Alabama

USA

ND

Bellingham (Washington) Herald, January 31, 1923. Cause of death listed as acute dilation of heart.

Michael Molinari

22-Apr

1924

KO

1

Jimmy Picardi

21

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Bantam

New York Times, April 21, 1924; Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, April 24, 1924; Port Arthur (Ontario) Daily News-Chronicle, April 23, 1924; Syracuse (New York) Herald, April 24, 1924. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain. Piccardi had been knocked down once already in the match.

Joe Falks

ND

1924

KO


Joe Stevenson


ND


New Zealand

ND

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Carl Hansen

5-Feb

1925

KO

2

Stanton R. Stever

19

Syracuse

New York

USA

Welter

Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 6, 1925; Olean (New York) Evening Herald, February 6, 1925; New York Times, February 6, 1925. Stever, a sophomore, was participating in a match at the Syracuse University gym to determine who would represent Syracuse during a forthcoming varsity contest with US Naval Academy. Twelve-ounce gloves were being worn. During the second round, Stever appeared winded, and Hansen knocked him down with a solid blow to the head. Stever did not get up, and he did not regain consciousness. Cause of death was listed as hemorrhage on the surface of the brain imposed upon an abscess of the sinus. Stever had a history of surgeries for sinus conditions, and it was the second time in two weeks that Hansen had knocked him out.

Carlo Johnston

23-Nov

1926

KO

1

Jens Sorensen

33

New York

New York

USA

Welter

New York Times, November 24, 1926. Sorenson collapsed in the ring before any blows were struck. Cause of death was listed as heart attack.

Joe Iovano

24-Jan

1927

KO


Leo Maham

17

Braddock

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Oakland Tribune, January 25, 1927; New York Times, January 26, 1927. Maham was knocked down by a blow to the stomach. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull, probably sustained during the fall.

Earl Dunlap

9-May

1927

KO


John Wilson

17

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

New York Times, May 10, 1927. Wilson was knocked down by a blow to the chin and failed to get up.

Kenneth O’Ben

27-Apr

1927

TKO


Donald Hallenbeck

19

Lansing

Michigan

USA

Feather

Syracuse (New York) Herald, April 28, 1927. Hallenbeck had won a semi-final match earlier that night. During the finals, he was hit hard, and the referee stopped the fight. Hallenbeck died in hospital a few hours later.

Joseph Michallick

11-Apr

1928

KO

3

Julius Rubin (Julius Yale)

19

Brooklyn

New York

USA

ND

New York Times, April 13, 1928, 16. Rubin, a former Golden Gloves champion, was ahead on points when he was knocked down by a blow to the jaw. He was carried to the dressing room. He did not recover, so he was taken to hospital, where he died the following morning. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

ND

1928

KO


Anonymous soldier


Pretoria


South Africa

ND

Ernst Jokl, Medical Aspect of Boxing, 1941. The fight took place at the barracks at Roberts Heights (later Voortrekkerhoogte, today Thaba-Tswane).

Tommy Carroll

21-Mar

1928

Ldec

4

Horace Aliff Ferguson

17

Bridgeport

Connecticut

USA

ND

New York Times, March 25, 1928; New York Times, March 26, 1928; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, March 29, 1928. Between the third and fourth rounds, Ferguson complained of feeling stiff on one side. He did not do well in the fourth, and right after the fight, he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he soon died. The fight took place at a Redmen’s hall. An investigation revealed that “amateur” boxers usually were paid about a dollar per round, and the subsequent notoriety caused the Elks, Redmen, and similar fraternal organizations to lose AAU sanctions for their bouts.

Chuck Agnew

19-Jan

1929

KO


William Paul


Ottawa

Ontario

Canada

ND

Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, January 21, 1929. The bout took place at the Ottawa YMCA. Paul was knocked down, and struck his head. He was taken to hospital, where he died.

Myron Chenburg

3-Feb

1930

KO


Parnell Ballinger

19

Denver

Colorado

USA

ND

Decatur (Illinois) Herald, February 6, 1930.

William Struble

22-Mar

1930

KO

3

Oliver Horne

22

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Middle

New York Times, March 30, 1930; Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, March 31, 1930; Dallas Morning News, April 1, 1930; Chicago Daily Tribune, April 3, 1930; Pete Ehrmann, “Boxing’s Knute Rockne,” The Sweet Science, October 26, 2005, http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/2787/boxing-knute-rockne. While falling, Horne’s head struck Struble’s knee. Horne died five days later. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage complicated by pneumonia. Horne was the former captain of the University of Pennsylvania boxing team.

Jack Williams

10-Apr

1930

KO

3

David Norway

18

Everett

Washington

USA

Middle (165-lb)

San Francisco Chronicle, April 11, 1930; Ames (Iowa) Daily Tribune-Times, April 11, 1930; Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin) Daily Tribune, April 11, 1930; Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Everett, Snohomish, Washington; Roll: T625_1938; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 159; Image: 1049. The venue was the National Guard armory. Both boxers were high school students, and rounds were two minutes in duration. While sitting in his corner between the second and third rounds, Norway slid off his stool unto the floor, where he died. Cause of death was attributed to heart attack.

Jimmy Sloan

2-Aug

1930

KO


Percy Rush


Palmerston North


New Zealand

ND

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Walter Thomas

7-Nov

1930

KO

3

George Nelson Bizzard (Billy Nelson)

20

Brockton

Massachusetts

USA

Welter (147-lb)

Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, November 8, 1930; Olean (New York) Evening Times, November 8, 1930; Syracuse (New York) Herald, November 9, 1930. Although Bizzard had won his two previous bouts by knockout, he was losing this one on points when he collapsed in the ring. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

11-Nov

1931

KO


Harry Schwartz

19

Milwaukee

Wisconsin

USA

Middle

Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, November 13, 1931. Cause of death was intercranial hemorrhage.

Jack Richards

14-May

1931

Wdec

4

Johnny Paladin

17

St. Louis

Missouri

USA

Light

New York Times, May 16, 1931; Syracuse (New York) Herald, May 16, 1931. The bout was part of a benefit for Kardinski. On the way home, Paladin complained of a headache. During the night, his mother woke to hear him moaning, so she called an ambulance. He died before the ambulance arrived.

Jerry White

30-Sep

1931

WTKO

3

Clyde Kaufman

20

Hollister

California

USA

ND

Oakland Tribune, October 3, 1931. Kaufman was easily winning the bout, so the referee stopped it in the third. In the dressing room, Kaufman complained of feeling faint, so he went outside to get some air. Ten minutes later, he was found unconscious, next to his car. He was taken home, and then to the hospital. He was diagnosed with concussion of the brain, and he died the following morning.

ND

29-Jan

1932

KO

3

Innis R. Calman

21

Atlanta

Georgia

USA

ND

Dothan (Alabama) Eagle, January 29, 1932; Salt Lake City (Utah) Tribune, January 30, 1932. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Robert E. Crockett

29-Feb

1932

KO

3

Emil Dawson

21

Bangor

Maine

USA

ND

Chester (Pennsylvania) Times, March 1, 1932; Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, March 2, 1932; Portsmouth (Maine) Herald, March 2, 1932. Dawson was participating in an intramural boxing match at the University of Maine. After being hit, he fell face first. He died in hospital the following day. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull.

Al Carey

4-Sep

1932

KO

3

Albert M. Potter


Folsom Prison

California

USA

ND

Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, September 5, 1932; Salt Lake City (Utah) Tribune, September 6, 1932. The boxers were convicts participating in a Labor Day boxing show. Rounds were two minutes in length. Potter was knocked out by a blow to the chin. He died two hours later.

Toby Allen

11-Oct

1932

KO


Gen Wilson


Wellington


New Zealand

ND

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Paul Byrne

18-Jan

1932

Ldec

3

Casey Millsaps

18

Chico

California

USA

Heavy (181-lb)

Washington Post, January 21, 1932; Modesto (California) News-Herald, January 21, 1932; Chico State Teacher’s College Wildcat, January 22, 1932. After the fight, during which there were no knockdowns or visibly hard blows, Millsaps walked to the dressing room, where he collapsed. He died the following morning without ever regaining consciousness. Cause of death was a ruptured artery on the left side of his brain. Millsaps had a history of basal skull fracture, in 1921. Said the student paper: “According to Dr. [D.H.] Moulton it would take considerable time for the blood from this small artery to ooze out enough blood to press against the brain and cause death. He stated that there was little or no chance that the artery was ruptured in football but stated that there was a chance of such a thing happening in almost any sport activity.”

William Laurence

11-Mar

1932

Ndec

3

David C. May

21

Portland

Oregon

USA

ND

Portland Oregonian, March 12, 1932. May was the heavier (and older) of the two boxers; Laurence was just 15 years of age. May received several heavy blows during the course of the fight, but it was not realized that he was hurt until after the fight, when he collapsed in his chair. He was taken to hospital, where he pronounced dead on arrival. Cause of death listed as ruptured artery in brain.

George Scott

3-Feb

1932

TKO

2

Wilbur Russell

29

Kokomo

Indiana

USA

ND

Fresno Bee, February 9, 1932; Modesto (California) News-Herald, February 9, 1932; Woodland (California) Daily Democrat, February 9, 1932; Logansport (Indiana) Press, February 9, 1932. Russell fell just before the end of the first round. He walked to his corner, but the fight was stopped when he did not answer the bell. He died five days later. Cause of death was cerebral edema.

Frankie Lavagnilo

13-Sep

1932

TKO

3

Eugene Clark

14

Elkhart

Indiana

USA

ND

Winnepeg (Manitoba) Free Press, September 15, 1932; Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, September 15, 1932. The referee stopped the bout in the third. Clark left the ring, but collapsed in the dressing room, and subsequently died.

Jackie Austin

11-Feb

1932

Wdec

3

Gail Christian Ulrich

20

New Haven

Connecticut

USA

Light

Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Herald, February 18, 1932; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 18, 1932. Ulrich was the grandson of the wealthy New York dairyman Gail Borden. He was hit hard during an amateur bout, which he won. He entered the hospital two days later, and died February 17, 1932. Cause of death was a brain injury, which the coroner attributed to meningitis or pneumonia rather than a blow.

ND

24-Jan

1933

KO


Guy Ream

17

Lafayette

Indiana

USA

ND

Hammond (Indiana) Times, May 9, 1933; Tippecanoe County Historical Society, “A Day in the Life of Tippecanoe County,” http://tcha.ecn.purdue.edu:8080/?q=1933. The venue was the local Golden Gloves tournament. Ream was winning when he dropped dead in the ring. Cause of death was a heart attack.

Joe De Lavera

24-Aug

1933

KO

2

Ralph Sanchez

17

Los Angeles

California

USA

ND

San Mateo (California) Times and Daily News Leader, August 26, 1933. Cause of death was brain injury.

Peter Butterworth

5-Sep

1933

KO


Andrew Reeves Charlesworth

20

Wallasey

Merseyside

England

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, September 6, 1933. The youths were boxing, with gloves, in a field, with friends. During a break between rounds, Charlesworth collapsed. He stood up, said he was fine, then collapsed again. A policeman provided artificial respiration all the way to the hospital, where Charlesworth was pronounced dead. Death was attributed to a heavy meal.

Al Berg

13-Feb

1933

TKO

2

Henry Zuziak

21

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Light (135-lb)

Chicago Daily Tribune, February 14, 1933. After the fight, a friend took Zuziak home. Zuziak told his father that he had lost, and went to bed. Soon after, his father found him dead.

Ben Melzer

8-Mar

1934

KO


Martin Vajdich Jr.

19

Rensselaer

Indiana

USA

Light

Hammond (Indiana) Times, March 8, 1934; Port Arthur (Texas) News, March 9, 1934. While breaking from a clinch, Melzer landed an uppercut that lifted Valdich off his feet. The back of Valdich’s head was the first part of his body to hit the floor. He was taken to the hospital, still unconscious, and he died 45 minutes later. Cause of death was skull fracture.

ND

21-Sep

1934

KO


Roy Carpenter


Adelaide

South Australia

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Mark Schafer

20-Jun

1935

KO

3

Leon Quesnell

30

Langdon

North Dakota

USA

ND

Ironwood (Michigan) Daily Globe, June 21, 1935. Death was attributed to heart attack.

Billy Koerlin

26-Nov

1935

KO

4

John Wolinsky

19

Cleveland

Ohio

USA

Light Heavy

Helena (Montana) Independent, November 27, 1935; Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal, November 27, 1935; New York Times, November 28, 1935. This was a five-round bout, so may have professional rather than strictly amateur. Anyway, during the fourth, Wolinsky was knocked down by a left hook to the head. He never regained consciousness. Cause of death was listed as accidental death from cerebral hemorrhage. Koerlin himself died at the age of 26, in November 1938, after swallowing his dental plate. See Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal, November 11, 1938.

Eddie Deweese

28-Jan

1935

TKO

1

Frank De Young

21

Jackson

Michigan

USA

Welter

New York Times, January 30, 1935. The morning after the fight, De Young complained of a headache. That afternoon, he fell unconscious, and he died in the hospital.

Rex Smith

11-Mar

1936

KO

2

Walter Herts

19

Punxsutawney

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Clearfield (Pennsylvania) Progress, March 13, 1936; New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, March 14, 1936; San Antonio (Texas) Light, March 14, 1936; Uniontown (Pennsylvania) Morning Herald, March 14, 1936; New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, April 3, 1936. The venue was the Elks club. It was Herts’ second fight and Smith’s first; Smith had been brought in as a substitute. Herts was knocked down two times in the first round and once in the second. The referee did not stop the fight, so Smith hit Herts with a left hook, and this time, Herts stayed down. Cause of death was subdural hemorrhage and fracture at the base of the skull on the right side, near the ear. The death was attributed to the fall rather than the blow.

Robert Bates

21-Mar

1936

KO


Judson Hobart

19

Sacramento

California

USA

Welter

Woodland (California) Daily Democrat, March 23, 1936; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, March 23, 1936; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, June 30, 1936. Hobart, who was the only boxer in the tournament to fight four times in two days, was knocked down. He got up, and was knocked down again. This time, he did not get up. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Cause of death was attributed to the fall rather than blows.

Red Reynolds

28-Feb

1936

Ldec

3

William J. Radford

21

Lake Charles

Louisiana

USA

ND

San Antonio (Texas) Light, March 1, 1936. Radford was knocked down in the second, but finished the fight. He collapsed in the shower room, and died. The coroner attributed the death to the fall in the shower on the grounds that Radford had not been hit hard enough to be hurt by the blows.

ND

Feb/

1936

TKO


Cecil Lewis Willing Mole

13

Rochester

Medway

England

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, February 27, 1936. The bout was taking place as part of a varsity meet between schools. The doctor who did the autopsy said that cause of death was injury to the intestines, due to congenital abnormality of the spine. The jury censured the school for not having a physician present during the tournament.

Steve Dempko

3-Feb

1936

Wdec

3

John Kours

22

Gary

Indiana

USA

ND

Hammond (Indiana) Times, February 4, 1936; Hammond (Indiana) Times, February 5, 1936; Hammond (Indiana) Times, February 12, 1936. After winning the bout, Kours fell off a bench on which he was seated. The coroner’s verdict failed to determine whether the brain injury was owed to the fall from the bench or blows during the bout.

ND

Jul/

1937

KO


Theodore Thomas

24

Clarksville

Iowa

USA

ND

(Greene) Iowa Recorder, July 7, 1937. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

Mike Lombardo

30-Jan

1937

TKO

2

William Eastman

18

College Park

Maryland

USA

Middle (155-lb)

New York Times, February 1, 1937; Washington Post, February 1, 1937. Burlington (North Carolina) Daily Times-News, February 1, 1937; Frederick (Maryland) Post, February 2, 1937. Eastman was knocked down once in the first round. After being floored again in the second, his corner threw in the towel. Eastham walked out of the ring. He sat down, visibly disappointed, and then collapsed in his chair. He was taken to hospital, where he died the following day without regaining consciousness. Cause of death listed as broken neck.

Ray Maher

27-Jun

1938

KO

3

Peter Cribari

17

Chicago

Illinois

USA

ND

Freeport (Illinois) Journal-Standard, June 28, 1938; Chicago Daily Tribune, June 29, 1938; Chicago Southtown Economist, June 30, 1938. The bout took place at a city recreation center. Cribari was ahead on points going into the third round, when he was hit hard. He collapsed into the arms of the referee, and the fight was stopped. City firemen were on the scene within 15 minutes, but he still died. Cause of death was unknown.

Bud Hilger

31-Mar

1938

TKO

3

Keith Blakeman

18

Columbus

Nebraska

USA

ND

Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening State Journal, March 31, 1938; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening State Journal, April 1, 1938. Blakeman fell from the ring. On the way down, he may have struck his head on the edge of the platform. He stood up, and then collapsed. He died in hospital two hours later. Cause of death was acute brain injury.

Willie Tapp

9-Mar

1939

Ldec

3

James O. Lofflin (Orville Lyons)

19

Washington

District of Columbia

USA

Feather

Washington Post, March 10, 1939; Washington Post, December 22, 1950. Lofflin was a soldier at Fort Belvoir. At the end of the fight, he had a bloody nose that wouldn’t stop. He went to the dressing room and took a shower. He sat down on a bench, and then collapsed. He was taken to the hospital. Cause of death was intercranial bleeding. The bout was part of the District of Columbia Golden Glove tournament, and Tapp went on to become the 1939 National Golden Glove champion.

Hoichi Kanazawa

13-Nov

1940

KO


Kiei Ryu


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Japan Times, November 16, 1940.

Leo Tanel

17-Dec

1940

KO

2

Richard Henry

20

Denver

Colorado

USA

Heavy

Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, December 18, 1940; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, December 18, 1940. After knocking Taney down, Henry staggered to his corner and collapsed. Cause of death was listed as heart attack.

Jim Foust

8-Feb

1941

KO

2

Henry Marshall Long

25

Amarillo

Texas

USA

Light Heavy

Amarillo (Texas) Daily News, February 8, 1941; Amarillo (Texas) News-Globe, February 9, 1941; Amarillo (Texas) News-Globe, February 16, 1941; Dallas Morning News, February 16, 1941. Long was knocked down by a right to the jaw and never regained consciousness. Cause of death was brain contusion compounded by pneumonia. The family subsequently reported that he had once been unconscious for several hours after being thrown from a horse, and another time following a football injury. Long’s brother Loyd was also knocked out during the same tournament.

Fred North

6-Feb

1942

KO

1

Frank J. Burroughs Jr.

20

Chattanooga

Tennessee

USA

Welter

New York Times, February 8, 1942; Anniston (Alabama) Star, February 8, 1942. Although this was the finals, the fight ended in 15 seconds. Boroughs died the following day. Cause of death listed as brain concussion.

Otto Dutton

26-Mar

1942

KO

4

John Franklin Barringer

21

Salinas

California

USA

Heavy

Oakland Tribune, March 27, 1942; Huron (South Dakota) Evening Huronite, March 26, 1942. Barringer died in the dressing room after the fight. Both boxers were in the service, Barringer in the Air Corps and Dutton in the Army. The bout was part of a Catholic Youth Organization charity card.

ND

9-Aug

1943

KO

3

Chester Cusano

16

Stowe Township

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Charleroi (Pennsylvania) Mail, August 10, 1943; New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, August 10, 1943. The venue was the local high school, and the audience was high school boys registering for the draft. At the start of the third, Cusano stood to answer the bell and then collapsed. He died just over an hour later.

ND

24-Feb

1943

Ldec

3

James R. “Tex” Webster Jr.

22

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Feather

(Pittsfield, Massachusetts) Berkshire Evening Herald, February 25, 1943; Chicago Daily Tribune, February 26, 1943. Webster, the Indiana Golden Gloves champion lost in the nationals. He went back to his hotel, and was found dead next morning, fully clothed and face up in his bathtub. Cause of death was attributed to epilepsy.

Francis Kaopua

5-Mar

1944

KO

2

Tamio Ikeda

24

Honolulu

Hawaii

USA

ND

Honolulu Advertiser, July 3, 1944. During the first round, Ikeda was knocked down, but got up quickly. Then, in the second round, he fell to the floor without being touched. He was carried to the dressing room, where he was pronounced dead.

ND

Oct/

1944

KO


Pepe Chavez


Barcelona


Spain

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection

Bob Lee

10-Jan

1945

KO

1

William Krutzig

20

Minneapolis

Minnesota

USA

ND

Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, January 12, 1945; Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, January 12, 1945. Krutzig was knocked down, and his head reportedly struck the unpadded floor.

Armand Correnti

16-Mar

1945

KO

3

Forrey Jones Jr.

15

Newark

New Jersey

USA

ND

New York Times, March 18, 1945

Benny Ona

16-Jun

1945

KO


Manuel Acev do Sergio-Rivera


Havana


Cuba

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection

Leroy Norton

5-Nov

1945

KO

2

Arthur Walker

18

Jamaica

New York

USA

ND

Port Arthur (Texas) News, November 6, 1945. Walker collapsed in the ring. A police first aid squad responded. He was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later.

Eugene Ciunnrhini

26-Apr

1945

TKO


George Adams

15

San Jose

California

USA

Feather

Fresno Bee Republican, April 28, 1945. The contest was between two high school teams. The referee stopped the fight over Adams’ protests, and sent him to his corner. Soon afterwards, Adams collapsed. Cause of death was believed to be coronary.

Vasco Angelini

14-Aug

1945

TKO

4

Eugene Mastrey

17

Erie

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

New York Times, August 16, 1945. Between the third and fourth rounds, Mastrey said his back hurt, so he did not answer the bell for the fourth. He was taken to the hospital, where he went into a coma. He died the following day.

Howard Schwan

19-Feb

1946

KO

2

Willie Lee Perry

21

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Light Heavy

Waukesha (Wisconsin) Daily Freeman, February 19, 1946; Chicago Daily Tribune, February 19, 1946; Oelwein (Iowa) Daily Register, February 19, 1946. Knocked down in the first round, Perry was saved by the bell. He was knocked down again in the second. He did not get up. An aid car was summoned. When it arrived, the responders pronounced him dead on the scene.

Gus Gerson

3-Mar

1946

KO

1

Dixon Walker

20

Washington

District of Columbia

USA

Light Heavy (165-lb)

Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder, March 5, 1946; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 4, 1946; Washington Post, December 22, 1950; Anne Cassidy, “Eddie’s boys remembering the heyday of collegiate boxing,” CUA Magazine, March 2005, http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/cuamag/spr05/features/eddiesboys.htm. Walker, a University of Maryland boxer, was in his third amateur fight. He was knocked out in 50 seconds. He got up, and walked out of the ring. He collapsed in the dressing room and was taken to the hospital. Cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage.

Art Swider

17-Aug

1946

KO


Don George

21

Ebensburg

Pennsylvania

USA

Light Heavy

Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, August 19, 1946; Philadelphia Inquirer, August 17, 1946; Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Times, August 21, 1946. George collapsed after being hit with two blows to the temples, one on each side, that were delivered almost simultaneously.

Jim Mitchell

11-Mar

1946

TKO

2

Rodney Earlywine

18

Logan

Iowa

USA

Welter (147-lb)

Mount Pleasant (Iowa) News, March 12, 1946; Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, March 12, 1946. The match was between Logan High School and Boys Town. Loganwine was not doing well throughout the fight, and he was hit hard in the abdomen at the end of the second. So, between rounds, the Logan coach and the referee decided to stop the fight. At that point, the Boys Town coach started helping Loganwine from the ring. Loganwine said he could walk, so the coach let go. Loganwine collapsed, and he subsequently died in the dressing room. Cause of death was a ruptured spleen.

ND

29-Jan

1947

KO


Anthony Sconzo

16

Brooklyn

New York

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, January 30, 1947. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Robert De Bouchelle

26-Mar

1947

KO


J T Horton

23

Long Beach

California

USA

Heavy

Walla Walla (Washington) Union Bulletin, March 27, 1947; Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Ryans Cross Roads, Morgan, Alabama; Roll: 45; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 505.0. Horton died within an hour of the knockout.

ND

15-Apr

1947

KO


Gunnar Melkie

19

Helsinki


Finland

ND

New York Times, April 17, 1947.

Robert Harris

29-Oct

1947

KO

4

James Wilander

27

Pasadena

California

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, October 30, 1947; San Antonio (Texas) Light, October 30, 1947. Wilander was knocked down in the first round. However, he stood back up and continued normally until the fourth, when he suddenly collapsed without being struck. Cause of death was attributed to heart attack.

Sherwood Townsend

3-Jan

1947

TKO

2

Travis Hudson

17

Shreveport

Louisiana

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, January 30, 1947; Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, January 4, 1947. Hudson’s corner threw in the towel. Hudson and his handlers then walked to dressing room, where Hudson collapsed.

Art Rabonza

13-Feb

1948

KO


Joe Nunez

17

Santa Ana

California

USA

Middle

(Reno) Nevada State Journal, February 14, 1948. Nunez was knocked down several times. He collapsed in the ring, and died later that day.

Gilbert Acevedo

18-Mar

1948

KO

2

Christoper Iacona

13

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Fly (70-lb)

New York Times, March 19, 1948; New York Times, March 20, 1948. Iacona collapsed in the ring during a bout held in the gym of Public School 29 in Brooklyn. The contests were informal, and consisted of three two-minute rounds, with 1-1/2 minute rest periods. Sixteen ounce gloves were worn. Cause of death was attributed to meningitis and thymico-lymphaticus. (The latter is medical jargon that is no longer used, but in those days, it referred to an unexplained death in a youth with an enlarged thymus.) Iacona’s parents took the case to court, arguing that the city was negligent because no physical examinations were required and that no training had been provided. The jury found for the parents, but in 1955, when the case finally reached the appeals court, the court ruled that the city was not “under a duty to examine physically every participant in an athletic activity.” The case law is Iacona v. Board of Education of City of New York, 285 A.D. 1168, 140 N.Y.S. 2d 539.

Lupe Quintana

8-Jun

1948

KO

3

Lloyd Martinez

19

Salida

Colorado

USA

Light

Ironwood (Michigan) Daily Globe, June 9, 1948; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, June 9, 1948; Long Beach (California) Press-Telegram, June 9, 1948. Martinez had been knocked down earlier in the fight, but as he came out for the start of the third round, he did not appear to be in bad shape. Then he spun around and fell unconscious to the floor. He died in hospital an hour later. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain.

J. Erasmus

4-Jul

1948

KO

3

Elias Karasellos

27

Salisbury


Rhodesia

Light Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection

Basil Tsendze

28-Oct

1948

KO


Moses Poto

23

Port Elizabeth


South Africa

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Manuel Perez Parrado

29-Mar

1948

Wdec

3

Gerardo Hernandez Loyola

23

Caibarien


Cuba

ND

New York Times, March 30, 1948; Chicago Daily Tribune, March 30, 1948. Reportedly, Loyola was barely touched during the match. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

William Holmes

27-Jan

1949

KO


Charles Byas

20

Moberly

Missouri

USA

Light Heavy (175-lb)

New York Times, January 28, 1949; (Pasco, Washington) Tri-City Herald, January 28, 1949; Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, January 28, 1949. Byas was carried from the ring unconscious, and he died en route to the hospital. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Carlos Ramirez

1-Apr

1949

KO


Alfred John Cavanaugh

19

Memphis Naval Air Station

Tennessee

USA

Middle

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 2, 1949. Cavanaugh, a US Marine private, died of injuries received while participating in a boxing tournament at the naval station.

ND

26-Jul

1949

KO


Herman Fleissner

29

Frankfurt


Germany

ND

New York Times, July 28, 1949.

ND

30-Oct

1949

KO


Rino Bettolo

20

Milan


Italy

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection

Peter Brander

10-Mar

1949

TKO

3

Andre Le Floch

19

London

London

England

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection. Le Floch walked out of the ring. He collapsed, and died 32 hours later. He had previously complained of headaches.

ND

10-Mar

1950

KO

4

Francisco Nunez

19

Mexico City


Mexico

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Rudy Glen Paders

21-May

1950

KO

3

William Humphries

25

Rhondda


Wales

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, May 22, 1950; personal communication with Kim Paders-Ball, August 2, 2006.

Jack Trimble

5-Jun

1950

KO

3

Aubrey Bell

18

Belfast


Northern Ireland

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, June 6, 1950. Bell entered the tournament because another boxer was ill. He was knocked to the ground in the third. He did not get up. A doctor was brought to the outdoor stadium, but Bell was dead by the time the doctor arrived. Death was attributed to the fall rather than the blow.

Max Haynes

25-Jun

1950

KO


Raymond L. Grandy Jr.

19

Aboard SS Brazil, in the Atlantic


USA (At sea)

ND

New York Times, June 27, 1950. SS Brazil was a Moore-McCormack liner, originally known as SS Virginia. Both boxers were members of the ship’s company.

Noel Trigg

25-Oct

1950

KO


Gordon Avery

18

Newport


Wales

ND

Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, November 11, 1950.

ND

3-Jan

1951

KO


Mario Storti


Buenos Aires


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Hans Heidinger

7-Jan

1951

KO

3

Franz Mayr

17

Linz


Austria

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

D.J. Mobedji

9-Jan

1951

KO

1

Krishnakumar Satgare

18

Bombay


India

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection. The name is also shown as S. Kumar and K.V. Satghare.

ND

26-Mar

1951

KO

3

Kurt Kosell

19

Bamberg


Germany

Welter

Chicago Daily Tribune, March 27, 1951. Kosell collapsed in the ring and died.

Ray Terrell

4-Jul

1951

KO

3

Michael Chandler

17

Charlotte

North Carolina

USA

ND

New York Times, July 5, 1951; Zanesville (Ohio) Signal, July 5, 1951; Burlington (North Carolina) Daily Times-News, July 5, 1951. Physical examinations had not been given to the fighters prior to the matches, which were sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans and sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union. During the third round, Chandler turned glassy-eyed, then collapsed backwards without being hit. Cause of death was suspected to be heart failure.

ND

16-Nov

1951

KO


Orvaldo Ricci

17

Genoa


Italy

ND

New York Times, November 22, 1951.

Peter Prinsloo

1-Dec

1951

KO

2

J.F. (Dotsei) Velleman

20

Harrismith


South Africa

Heavy

Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, December 4, 1951; Washington Post, December 4, 1951.

ND

30-Dec

1951

KO


Charles Taylor

17

Chillicothe

Ohio

USA

ND

Zanesville (Ohio) Signal, December 31, 1951. Taylor was an inmate at the reformatory at Chillicothe, participating in a supervised match. He was knocked out and died. The warden attributed the death to Taylor striking his head on the floor.

Dale Colland

8-Feb

1951

TKO

1

John Shoddy

16

Fort Wayne

Indiana

USA

Light

Monessen (Pennsylvania) Daily Independent, February 9, 1951; Harrisburg (Illinois) Daily Register, February 9, 1951. After the referee stopped fight, Shoddy walked to the dressing room, where he collapsed. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

Mar/

1951

TKO

3

Gaston Mann

18

ND


Trinidad and Tobago

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection. Mann stood up, collapsed in the ring, and died in hospital.

ND

14-Jun

1952

KO


Arthur Naidos


Johannesburg


South Africa

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection

Peter Schmidt

30-Jul

1952

KO

2

John McLean

22

Rotorua


New Zealand

Heavy

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Josip Pavelich

27-Aug

1952

KO


Nicholas Vamvakas

22

Athens


Greece

ND

Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, August 31, 1952.

Jesus Ponce de Leon

20-Sep

1952

KO

2

Salvador Cerda


Mexico City


Mexico

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection. Cerda collapsed in the ring and died.

ND

20-Nov

1952

KO

2

Stephen Flerchinger

21

Colorado Springs

Colorado

USA

ND

New York Times, November 22, 1952. Flerchinger fell backward after taking several punches to the body. The autopsy did not reveal cause of death.

Casildo Montero

22-Nov

1952

KO

2

Remo Anibal Charra

23

Bolivar


Argentina

Middle

New York Times, November 24, 1952; Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Gazette and Bulletin, November 25, 1952. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

4-Dec

1952

KO


Leonard Davidson

30

London

London

England

Feather

Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, December 9, 1952.

Lionel Wickard

10-Dec

1952

Ldec

3

Donald A. Millard

22

Golden

Colorado

USA

ND

New York Times, December 12, 1952. Lionell was boxing in an intramural tournament at the Colorado School of Mines. He collapsed soon after the bout, and he died the following morning. Cause of death was listed as brain hemorrhage.

ND

7-Mar

1952

TKO

2

Jack Engleman

15

LaCrosse

Washington

USA

ND

Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bulletin, March 9, 1952; Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, March 12, 1953. This was a supervised match in a high school. There were no knockdowns or seemingly hard blows. Engleman seemed to be getting very tired, so the match was stopped. Engleman went to the dressing room, where he collapsed and then died. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

C. Burns

24-May

1952

WKO

3

Billy Wilkins

19

Newbridge


Wales

ND

Salisbury (Maryland) Times, May 27, 1952. Twenty minutes after the fight, Wilkins complained of dizziness and then collapsed. He died the following day. A coal miner, Wilkins had been hit in the head by a large stone three weeks earlier.

John Vernon

23-Jan

1953

KO

1

Len Lorier

30

Guernsey


Channel Islands

Light Heavy

Ring Record Book 1953. Lorier fell against ropes and his head hit the ring canvas. He died next day. Cause of death listed as double fracture of base of skull. An eccentric New Zealander ran the local boxing club. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/walks/05.shtml)

Billy Taylor Jr

29-Jan

1953

KO

3

Eugene Zajcew

18

Westerly

Rhode Island

USA

Light

Bedford (Pennsylvania) Gazette, January 31, 1953. Zajcew collapsed in the ring and he died the following day.

ND

25-Feb

1953

KO

1

Harold Tony Adams

19

Royal Air Force Station Coningsby

Lincolnshire

England

ND

New York Times, February 27, 1953; “Boxing: On the ropes?” http://www.pro.gov.uk/inthenews/boxing/1965RAFreport3500.jpg. It was Adams’ second fight of the tournament. The fight was stopped in the first after Adams had taken an eight-count and then fallen. The autopsy reported cause of death as cerebral hemorrhage, pulmonary edema, and cardiac failure. Both boxers were members of the Royal Air Force.

Charles Cator

24-Mar

1953

KO

3

Clifton Johnson

17

Lancaster

Pennsylvania

USA

Welter (147-lbs)

New York Times, March 24, 1953; Chicago Daily Tribune, March 24, 1953; Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil, March 24, 1953. Johnson took a nine-count in the first round, and was counted out in the third. He left the ring, then collapsed before reaching the dressing room. He died a few hours later. It was his fourth fight.

Andrew Mooney

25-Mar

1953

KO


Merrill Silverstein

18

Cleveland

Ohio

USA

Welter (147-lbs)

Oakland Tribune, March 25, 1953; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 30, 1953. The match was during the finals of an intramural contest held at Case Western Reserve University. Cause of death was massive intracranial hemorrhage.

Nagle

29-Jan

1953

Ldec

3

John Lanham

24

Honiton

Devon

England

Light

New York Times, January 30, 1953; Oakland Tribune, January 30, 1953. After the bout, Lanham collapsed in the dressing room and he died in hospital. Both boxers were soldiers.

Joe Ortiz

27-Jan

1953

TKO

1

James W. Nelson

20

Brooks Air Force Base

Texas

USA

Middle

Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Gazette and Bulletin, January 29, 1953; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, January 30, 1953. Nelson protested the referee’s decision to stop the fight. He then left the ring. Soon after, he collapsed. Death was attributed to a blood clot on the brain.

ND

17-Mar

1953

TKO

3

Cloyd Hughes Jr.

16

Hotchkiss

Colorado

USA

Welter (147-lbs)

Fresno (California) Bee Republican, May 20, 1953. Hughes attended school for two days after the bout, then became unconscious. He was transported to a hospital in Denver, where he died. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

ND

26-Feb

1954

KO

3

Jesse James Hylton

22

Parks Air Force Base

California

USA

Light Heavy

Reno Evening Gazette, December 15, 1954; Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Hylton’s headgear became dislodged and while trying to straighten it, he was hit about twenty times. Professional boxers began to wear headgear during training ca. 1920, mostly as a way to reduce cuts during training. The modern foam-and-cloth headgear date the early 1930s. See, for example, W.D. Hamby’s US Patent No. 1,887,636, “Boxing Mask,” which was filed August 6, 1931.

Joe Gregioni

30-Aug

1954

KO

3

M.G. Byrd

22

Naval Auxiliary Air Station Saufley Field

Florida

USA

ND

Reno Evening Gazette, December 15, 1954; Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder, September 10, 1954.

Gustav Engleman

18-Apr

1955

Exh


Josef Janoch

24

Vienna


Austria

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection. A former national champion, Janoch had been warned not to box due to a diagnosed brain hemorrhage.

ND

3-Apr

1955

KO


Werner Bopp

17

Obernburg


Germany

Light Heavy

Long Beach (California) Independent, April 4, 1955; New York Times, April 4, 1955; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, April 4, 1955. Bopp was not struck before he collapsed, so the ring physician said the cause of death was probably cardiac. LIKELY SOURCE: F. Pampus and N. Muller, “A Case of Death after Boxing Match,” (in German), Dtsch Z Nervenheilkd. 1956; 174(2): 177-88.

John Spence

26-Jan

1956

KO

5

Willie McStay

19

Glasgow


Scotland

Middle (Light Middle)

(Dublin) Irish Times, January 30, 1956. McStay died in hospital on January 29.

Oswaldo Sciffert

30-Apr

1956

KO


Aurelino Fournier

20

Sao Paulo


Brazil

Welter

New York Times, May 1, 1956; Pasadena (California) Independent, May 1, 1956. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

ND

21-Jun

1956

KO

1

Raymond Perera

20

Colombo


Sri Lanka

Bantam

Milroy Paul, “A fatal injury at boxing (traumatic decerebrate rigidity),” British Medical Journal, February 16, 1957, 364-366. Perera had been scoring with jabs, but then was hit solidly with a right to the chin. Perera slumped to the floor, and then rolled over to one side. The fight was stopped, and Perera was transported to the hospital. His brain was trephined, but he still died on June 22. Cause of death was concussion of the mid-brain and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

ND

24-Jul

1956

KO


Juan Perez Diaz

18

Valencia


Spain

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Oris Tenorio

10-Oct

1956

KO

2

Clifton Thompson

24

Pueblo

Colorado

USA

Fly (111-lb)

New York Times, October 13, 1956; Lincoln (Nebraska) Star, October 13, 1956. Thompson, an Army boxer, was struck in the stomach. He fell down and did not get up. He died in hospital. He was not wearing headgear.

ND

27-Oct

1956

KO


Ephraim Mokheseng

25

ND


South Africa

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

Oct/

1956

KO


Frederick Lucas


Johannesburg


South Africa

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Eduardo Perez

26-Mar

1956

Wdec

3

Alejo Tucares

24

Valparaiso


Chile

ND

New York Times, March 28, 1956.

Heinz Amrain

21-Jul

1957

Draw

3

Ferdinand May

26

Constanz


Germany

Bantam

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, July 22, 1957. After the fight, May complained of a headache. A half hour later, he fell unconscious. He died in hospital. Cause of death listed as brain injuries. A few months previously, May received a concussion during a motorcycle accident.

ND

1-Jan

1957

KO


Eduardo de la Cruz


Baguio


Philippines

ND

Philippine Jurisprudence, G.R. No. L-21574, June 30, 1966, SIMON DE LA CRUZ vs. CAPITAL INSURANCE and SURETY CO., INC., http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1966/jun1966/gr_l-21574_1966.html. “On January 1, 1957, in connection with the celebration of the New Year, the Itogon-Suyoc Mines, Inc. sponsored a boxing contest for general entertainment wherein the insured Eduardo de la Cruz, a non-professional boxer participated. In the course of his bout with another person, likewise a non-professional, of the same height, weight, and size, Eduardo slipped and was hit by his opponent on the left part of the back of the head, causing Eduardo to fall, with his head hitting the rope of the ring. He was brought to the Baguio General Hospital the following day. The cause of death was reported as hemorrhage, intracranial, left.” As in Gustafson v. New York Life, the court ruled that unless boxing was specifically excluded from coverage, survivors of deceased boxers were entitled to life insurance benefits.

Arlington Stillwell

22-Feb

1957

KO

2

William H. Carter

23

Bindlich


Germany

Middle

Panama City (Florida) News, December 28, 1957; The Ring.

Joe Lorette

23-Aug

1957

KO


Salvador R. Cangelosi Jr

16

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

ND

Fresno (California) Bee Republican, August 28, 1957. Cangelosi was hit hard during a flurry, and fell down. He died in hospital after surgery. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

Florencio Olguin

9-Feb

1957

TKO

3

James Anthony Lopez

19

Roswell

New Mexico

USA

Feather

New York Times, February 11, 1957; Oakland Tribune, February 11, 1957. Lopez walked out of the ring. He collapsed in the dressing room. He died the next day.

Joe Becerra

12-Feb

1958

KO

1

Melvin Young

17

Springfield

Illinois

USA

Feather (126-lb)

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, February 13, 1958; Troy (New York) Times Record, February 14, 1958. Young was an inmate at the Sheridan, Illinois, School for Boys, and this was his second bout of the evening; he had won the first by knockout. The autopsy found a severed artery in the brain, which was attributed to his hitting his head on a rope on the way down. The opponent was not the eponymous world champion Jose Becerra.

Ray Pryor

6-Dec

1958

KO

2

Eshmon Thomas

22

Akron

Ohio

USA

Heavy

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, December 8, 1958. The card was sponsored by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for its employees, and it was Thomas’ first fight. He won the first round, but quit in the middle of the second round, saying he was too tired to continue. He went to the dressing room to lay down, but after laying down, he rolled off the bench. The doctor was called, and Thomas died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Cause of death was attributed to a cardiac condition.

William Payne

15-Mar

1958

TKO

3

James Poirer

21

Glens Falls

New York

USA

ND

New York Times, March 18, 1958; Bennington (Vermont) Evening Banner, March 21, 1958; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, April 30, 1958. Poirer, who had been boxing since 1954, was knocked down by a blow to the chin. He died in hospital. Cause of death was a blood clot in the brain.

George Ford

21-Mar

1959

KO

2

Laymon Graveley

17

Roanoke

Virginia

USA

Middle (160-lb)

Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder, March 23, 1959. Cause of death was subdural hemorrhage.

Darryl Leard

Mar/

1959

KO


Ronald McKay

18

Alpha

Queensland

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Fred White

16-Apr

1959

KO


Raymond Curtis Lyons

19

Houston

Texas

USA

ND

Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, April 29, 1960; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, May 6, 1959. Sam Houston State University, “The Caballero years, 1958-1959,” http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/history/1958-59.html. Lyons was a Texas A&M sophomore. According to the Sam Houston student paper, Recall, Spring 1959, “After all attempts to revive him had failed just after the bout, he was rushed to a Houston hospital where the doctors said it was only a mild brain concussion. After he died an examination was performed to determine ‘whether or not the fatality was a direct result of the fight.’ It was not.”

Keith Ross

10-May

1959

KO

2

Leslie High

19

Bracknell

Berkshire

England

Welter

New York Times, May 10, 1959; Lethbridge (Alberta), May 12, 1959. High knocked down Ross. Ross stood up, and knocked High down. High did not get up. He died following day in hospital.

James Noelthe

21-Nov

1959

KO

3

John Stickel

20

Wahpeton

North Dakota

USA

Feather (120-lb)

Oakland Tribune, November 23, 1959.

ND

24-Nov

1959

KO


Mohamad Ali bin Bakar

23

Singapore


Singapore

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Billy Strothers

17-Jan

1959

TKO

2

Lynn Davis

22

Houston

Texas

USA

Welter

Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Journal, January 19, 1959; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, January 19, 1959; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, January 24, 1959. After the fight, Davis went to the dressing room, telling his wife, “I feel great.” He showered, got dressed, and then went to watch the final bouts. He said he didn’t feel well, and then he collapsed. An ambulance was called and artificial respiration was begun, but he was dead on arrival.

ND

7-Dec

1959

Wdec

3

John Jardine Kean

18

Royal Air Force Station Martlesham Heath

Suffolk

England

Welter

(Dublin) Irish Times, December 8, 1959; London Times, December 8, 1959; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, December 8, 1959; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, December 8, 1959; “Boxing: On the ropes?” http://www.pro.gov.uk/inthenews/boxing/1965RAFreport3500.jpg.The bout took place during tryouts for a Royal Air Force Fighter Command team. Kean took a straight left between the eyes. He got back up, and then the final bell rang. Kean was awarded the fight on points. About an hour later, he complained of a headache. He was taken to hospital, where he died. Cause of death was listed as “laceration of the brain.”

Stuart Bartell

9-Apr

1960

KO

2

Charles Mohr

22

Madison

Wisconsin

USA

Middle

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 18, 1960; Jim Doherty, “Requiem for a middleweight,” Smithsonian, April 2000, 122-141; see also http://www.thecapitaltimes.com/2001/03/16/opinion/lit_moe.php. The bout took place during the NCAA championship finals. Mohr collapsed in the dressing room a few minutes after the bout. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where he died eight days later. Cause of death was massive hemorrhage of the brain. Mohr was NCAA champion in his weight in 1959, and his death led to the NCAA banning boxing as a varsity sport.

ND

27-Apr

1960

TKO

2

Michael Golubiff

18

Green Bay

Wisconsin

USA

Welter

Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, April 29, 1960.This was a supervised fight in a prison. After Golubiff was knocked down, the fight was stopped. After protesting the stoppage, he went to the dressing room, where he collapsed. Cause of death was listed as congenital aneurysm.

Ben Hurst

16-Nov

1961

KO


Cookie Ronan

19

New York

New York

USA

Bantam

New York Times, April 3, 1962. Cause of death was listed as subdural hematoma.

John Carmichaels

11-Jan

1961

TKO

2

Sherman Walker

18

Wheeling

West Virginia

USA

Middle

Great Bend (Kansas) Daily Tribune, June 4, 1961; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, January 12, 1961. Walker was knocked down twice, so the referee stopped the fight. Cause of death listed as pulmonary edema with blow to head contributing.

Wolfgang Giessman

22-Jul

1962

KO


Emil Braun

18

Allendorf


Germany

Middle

New York Times, July 23, 1962; Chicago Daily Tribune, July 23, 1962; Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, July 23, 1962. Braun died the day after the bout; it was his 19th birthday. Cause of death was listed as brain concussion. During this same tournament, a welterweight boxer named Friedrich Neutzel was hospitalized for concussion.

ND

26-Dec

1962

ND


Delson Marin


ND


Chile

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

5-Nov

1962

TKO


Alexander Lesniak

18

Warsaw


Poland

Welter

Chicago Daily Tribune, November 7, 1962. Lesniak walked out of the ring. He collapsed in the dressing room. He died six hours later.

Dean Clark

24-Jan

1963

KO

1

Emedino Nunez

26

Odessa

Ohio

USA

ND

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, February 7, 1964. Cause of death listed as skull fracture.

Antun Novakovic

16-Jun

1963

KO

1

Josip Madjar

23

Slavonski Brod


Yugoslavia (Croatia)

Welter

Kansas City (Missouri) Star, June 17, 1963. Madjar was knocked down, and he died in hospital without regaining consciousness.

ND

6-Oct

1963

KO


Ganija Munadzerija

25

Sarajevo


Yugoslavia (Bosnia)

Fly

New York Times, October 7, 1963; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, October 7, 1963. The boxer died about half an hour after the fight.

Earl Johnson

6-Apr

1963

TKO

2

Francisco Velasquez

20

Carbondale

Pennsylvania

USA

Middle

(Dublin) Irish Times, April 8, 1963; New York Times, April 7, 1963; New York Times, April 8, 1963; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 557. Cause of death was listed as “massive intra-cranial hemorrhage.” Ten-ounce gloves were being worn, and Velasquez was the only boxer in the tournament who was wearing headgear. The bout was staged as a charity event for the Kiwanis Club.

ND

2-Apr

1963

WTKO


Enzio Barelli

18

Ayr

Queensland

Australia

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, April 6, 1963; New York Times, April 8, 1963. The fight was stopped because Barelli was overpowering his opponent. However, after the fight, Barelli complained of headaches, and he died the next day.

Louis Pulliam

18-Jan

1964

KO

3

Forrest Wright

17

Flint

Michigan

USA

Light

(Pasco, Washington) Tri-City Herald, January 20, 1964. Cause of death was massive brain hemorrhage.

Victor Arguellas

19-Jan

1964

KO

3

Jose Godoy Lopez


Oruro


Bolivia

Fly

Holland (Michigan) Evening Sentinel, January 21, 1964; Bettman/Corbis Archive, image 42-15854751, http://pro.corbis.com/search/searchFrame.aspx. Cause of death given as pneumonia.

ND

24-Jul

1964

ND


Anon. Soldier


Kapsovar


Hungary

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

ND

1964

ND


Leopoldo Guajardo


ND


Chile

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

11-Jun

1964

TKO

2

Henry Stephens

18

Parramatta

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Modesto (California) Bee and News Herald, June 17, 1964; (Dublin) Irish Times, June 18, 1964; Pacific Stars and Stripes, June 19, 1964. Stephens participated in the tournament in place of his brother. He was hit twice in the head in the second round, and he collapsed in the ring. He died five days later. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

Paul Jacobs

12-Sep

1964

TKO

3

Nicky Erasmus

22

Germiston


South Africa

Bantam

El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post, September 18, 1964; (Madison) Wisconsin State Journal, September 19, 1964; Peter Bernard Harris, Interest Groups in South African Politics (Salisbury: University College of Rhodesia, 1968), 85. Erasmus collapsed at the end of the second round. He got up, walked to the corner, hung on to the ropes, and collapsed. He died in hospital five days later.

ND

10-Jan

1965

KO


Said Brahimi

18

Algiers


Algeria

Light

New York Times, January 13, 1965; Pacific Stars and Stripes, January 15, 1965; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, January 17, 1965. Cause of death was brain injury.

ND

9-Aug

1965

KO

4

Jairo de Jesus Gutierrez

19

Medellin


Colombia

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, August 12, 1965. Gutierrez collapsed in the dressing room. He died three days later.

ND

14-Aug

1965

KO


Arturo Avila

18

Puerto Montt


Chile

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Following the fight, Avila complained of severe headaches. He was hospitalized, and he died.

Joseph Batello

2-Nov

1965

KO

1

Ronald E. Alexander

25

Fort Madison

Iowa

USA

ND

Kansas City (Missouri) Times, November 5, 1965. This was a supervised grudge match between two inmates at the state prison, with eight-ounce gloves and three-minute rounds. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

ND

14-Dec

1965

KO


Romeo Hayohoywo

24

Cebu City


Philippines

ND

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, December 14, 1965.

ND

17-Dec

1965

KO

3

Louis E. Hand

25

Bad Kreuznach


Germany

Light

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, December 19, 1965. Hand, a soldier participating in a US Army tournament. It was his first tournament. He collapsed in the ring and died the next day. Cause of death was brain injury.

ND

5-Nov

1965

Ldec

3

Clive Buckton

33

Cape Town


South Africa

Heavy

Oakland Tribune, November 6, 1965; Pasadena (California) Independent, November 6, 1965. Upon arriving home after the fight, Buckton complained of chest pains. He then died. Cause of death was listed as heart attack.

ND

5-Nov

1965

Ldec

3

Stanislav Patocka

25

Brattislava


Czechoslovakia (Slovakia)

Light Heavy

Frederick (Maryland) Post, November 17, 1965. The former national champion complained of severe headaches and dizziness and became unconscious the following morning.

Harvey Christian

14-Jan

1965

TKO

2

Jerry Como Jr.

17

Youngstown

Ohio

USA

Light

New York Times, January 15, 1965; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, January 15, 1965; Appleton (Wisconsin) Post Crescent, January 15, 1965. While crouching, Como was hit by a left to the side and he went down. He did not get up. The crowd booed. Como died two days later, without regaining consciousness. Death was attributed to a pre-existing but previously undiagnosed heart condition.

Anibal Martinez

Jan/

1966

KO

1

Carlos Bazan Martinez

21

Fatucen


Chile

Welter

New York Times, January 11, 1966; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, January 12, 1966; Charleston (West Virginia) Sunday Gazette-Mail, January 16, 1966. Cause of death listed as brain damage.

Nadenicek

13-Feb

1966

KO

2

Frantisek Marecek


Karlovy


Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic)

ND

New York Times, February 20, 1966.

Kloesges

4-Sep

1966

KO

3

Willi Lampert

36

Neuwied


Germany

Light Heavy

New York Times, September 5, 1966; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, September 5, 1966; Ring Record Book, 1966, 734. Lampert collapsed in the ring and died.

ND

29-Oct

1966

KO


Stephen Aremu

15

Kampala


Uganda

ND

Oakland Tribune, November 1, 1966.

ND

6-Dec

1966

TKO

3

Fritz Regber

16

Repelen


Germany

Light (Jr Light)

(Dublin) Irish Times, December 7, 1966. It was Regber’s first tournament. Midway through the third round, Regber signaled he wanted to stop, so the fight was stopped. On his way back to his corner, he collapsed. After CPR failed to revive him, a ringside doctor cut open Regber’s chest with a pocketknife, and began direct massage. Regber died on the way to the hospital.

ND

6-Oct

1966

Wdec

3

Felics Kierula

21

Warsaw


Poland

ND

New York Times, October 12, 1966; Long Beach (California) Independent, October 12, 1966; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, October 12, 1966. Kierula won the fight, but collapsed in the dressing room and died in hospital. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

John Farrell

19-Jan

1967

KO

3

Gerard O’Brien

19

Dublin


Ireland

ND

New York Times, January 22, 1967; (Dublin) Irish Times, January 23, 1967; (Dublin) Irish Times, April 29, 1967. O’Brien had entered the novice division of a county league tournament; although he was an athlete, this was only his second contest. In the first round, O’Brien took a standing eight count, and in the third, about ten seconds before the round ended, he took a right to the jaw. He went down, hard, and this time, he did not get up. He was taken to hospital, where he died four days later. The coroner attributed the death entirely to the fall, saying that Farrell was “completely blameless.”

John Roberts

21-Jan

1967

Ldec

3

Stanley Mervyn Bell

18

Dapto

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, January 23, 1964. Bell came out of the crowd to accept the booth boxer’s challenge.

Su Si Watanabe

27-Aug

1967

Ldec

3

Isamu Nakatasuchi

18

Tokyo


Japan

Light

Appleton (Wisconsin) Post Crescent, August 24, 1967. Nakatasuchi took an eight count in the third round, but got up and lasted to the bell. After the referee declared the winner, he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery. He died anyway. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

ND

19-Sep

1967

Wdec


Otto Dhlamini

31

ND


South Africa

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection. Dhlamini collapsed after winning and soon died.

Jose Izquierdo

3-Jul

1968

KO

3

Jose Lojan Diaz

21

Loja


Ecuador

ND

Pacific Stars and Stripes, July 6, 1968. Diaz collapsed in the ring, bleeding from the mouth and nose. Cause of death was given as ruptured lungs. This was said to be the first boxing fatality in Ecuador.

ND

1-Jan

1968

Ldec

3

John Humphrey

21

London

London

England

Light Heavy

Pacific Stars and Stripes, February 8, 1968. Humphrey went to the hospital with a broken jaw. He died.

Filo Guzman

20-Sep

1969

KO


Juan “Chiquito” Garcia

23

San Pedro de Macoris


Dominican Republic

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

5-Mar

1970

KO


Osamu Oyama

17

Tokyo


Japan

ND

Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, March 9, 1970; Dallas Morning News, March 10, 1970. Oyama was applying for a professional boxing license, and this process involved a test bout. During the test bout, Oyama was knocked down by a right hook to the jaw, and he did not get up. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

20-May

1970

KO


Waldemar Robak

17

Warsaw


Poland

Welter

Oxnard (California) Press-Courier, May 22, 1970. Cause of death was attributed to a blow to the temple.

Vincenzo Pone

24-Nov

1970

KO

3

Umberto Torcolacci

20

Piombino


Italy

Middle

Chicago Daily Tribune, November 26, 1970; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, November 26, 1970. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

18-Dec

1971

KO

3

Peter Parker

24

Kleve


Germany

Light Heavy

London Times, December 1971. Parker, from the Channel Islands, had been boxing since age 12, and was a member of a British international team. During this tournament, he was fighting an opponent from East Germany when he collapsed. He died in a Dutch hospital on December 23. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

27-Mar

1971

ND


Zbigniew Kopanski

17

Warsaw


Poland

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Louis Lebas

11-Dec

1971

TKO

2

Antoine Gramatico

29

Caen


France

Feather

New York Times, March 10, 1972; Oakland Tribune, March 10, 1972. Gramatico collapsed in the dressing room after the fight, and he died in March 1972, after three months in a coma.

Mickey Doherty

8-Jan

1971

TKO

3

Martin Harkin

20

Ballymena


Northern Ireland

Welter

(Dublin) Irish Times, January 12, 1972. The referee stopped the bout in the third because it was thought Harkin had a broken jaw. Harkin was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Dave Packer

4-Jun

1971

Wdec

4

Nicholas Spruitt

22

Grand Rapids

Michigan

USA

ND

High profile Southeastern MMA fighters to meet in kickboxing match,” IKF Ringside News, February 2002, http://www.ikfkickboxing.com/News02Feb.htm. After the bout, Spruitt complained of a broken nose. He first sought medical attention six days later. He was hospitalized. He lapsed into a coma, and he died June 22, 1971. Cause of death was listed as a sinus cavity blood clot.

Julio Meterano

12-Jun

1972

KO

1

Carlos Alberto Perez

19

Valera


Venezuela

ND

Bucks County (Pennsylvania) Courier Times, June 14, 1972.

ND

11-Aug

1972

KO


Bujang Mohamad Nor

26

Sibu


Malaysia

ND

New York Times, August 13, 1972; Billings (Montana) Gazette, August 13, 1972. Cause of death listed as subdural hematoma.

Silvino Cornago

20-Aug

1972

KO


Rinaldo Cozzani


Buenos Aires


Argentina

Bantam

The Ring

ND

11-Nov

1972

KO

1

Humberto Quiros

22

Calama


Chile

ND

Ring Record Book 1972. Quiros had been knocked out on November 5, and came in as last-minute substitute. Knocked out in the first round, he vomited on leaving the ring. Then he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he died six days later.

Javier Hernandes

25-May

1972

Ldec

3

Graciano Bautista

25

Tijuana


Mexico

ND

Dallas Morning News, May 28, 1972. Bautista complained of headache following the fight and he died after brain surgery.

ND

ND

1973

KO


Lizarraga


Caborca


Mexico

ND

Historia Boxeo Sonorense

Alberto Sandoval

11-May

1973

TKO

1

Mike Britton

15

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Fly (Jr Fly)

New York Times, June 22, 1973; Chicago Tribune, June 22, 1973. Britton was participating in the US National AAU championships. The fight was stopped in the first round. Afterwards, he was hospitalized for five days in Boston and then another two weeks in Texas. Forty days after the match, he fell unconscious while sitting on a park bench with his girlfriend and he died the next morning. Cause of death was given as a blood clot on the brain.

ND

7-Dec

1974

KO


Paolo Garioni

19

Pavia


Italy

Middle

Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder, December 9, 1974. Garioni collapsed in ring and died. He had 80 prior fights.

ND

12-Mar

1974

ND


Fabrizio Avincola


Rome


Italy

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection. Avincola’s head struck the ring floor.

ND

Nov/

1974

Ndec

3

Phillip Maher

18

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

ND

Ring Record Book 1974. Maher fought in a sideshow bout for a $4 prize.

ND

26-Nov

1975

Wdec

3

Nader Haghigin

18

Tehran


Iran

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Haghigin collapsed after leaving the ring. He remained unconscious until his death 26 hours later.

ND

30-Mar

1976

KO


Fernando Arcellas


Bago


Philippines

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection

Robert Colley

10-Jul

1976

KO

2

Peter Gilbert

25

Noumea


New Zealand

Welter

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm. Gilbert had been knocked out twice in recent fights, and his official book said he was not to fight. However, the annotation was ignored.

William LeCesse

14-Mar

1977

KO

1

Patrick Melendez

21

Lowell

Massachusetts

USA

Light Heavy

Washington Star, April 7, 1977; Annapolis (Maryland) Capital, March 25, 1977; Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News, March 25, 1977. Melendez struck his head on the floor.

Joe Rivers

23-Feb

1978

KO

3

Michael Flynn

16

Memphis

Tennessee

USA

Welter (139-lb)

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, February 24, 1978; Oakland Tribune, February 24, 1978; Marysville (Ohio) Journal-Tribune, February 24, 1978. Flynn was ahead on points. Then he dropped his arms to his side and fell backwards. Rivers was across the ring at the time. Flynn was pronounced dead at the hospital. Cause of death was said to be cardiac.

Juan Torres

14-Jul

1978

TKO

3

Salvador Pons Tormo

19

Alcira


Spain

Light Heavy

(Dublin) Irish Times, July 21, 1978; Los Angeles Times, July 22, 1978; David Frisancho Pineda, “El Box: Camion a la Muerte,” Acta Medica Peruana, 13:3 (Sep-Dec 2001); http://sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe/BVRevistas/acta_medica/VOLXVIII_N3_2001_SET_DIC/box_cami_muerte.htm. Pons was knocked down twice, and the fight was stopped in the third round. Pos died in hospital six days later. Cause of death was brain injury.

ND

5-Oct

1979

KO


Manuel Salazar


Puquio


Peru

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Francis Ricotilli

30-Jan

1979

TKO

2

Francisco Rodriguez

25

New York

New York

USA

Heavy

Tony Kornheiser, “Golden Glove heavyweight, 25, dies after losing fight,” New York Times, February 1, 1979; Michael Baden, “Undetected heart flaw was major contributor,” New York Times, April 22, 1979; Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, “Afterthoughts on the death of an amateur fighter,” New York Times, April 22, 1979. Cause of death was attributed to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) and sickle cell disease. It was Rodriguez’s first fight.

Johnny Bumphus

15-Mar

1979

TKO

3

Arnaldo Maura

19

Knoxville

Kentucky

USA

Light (132-lb)

Ironwood (Michigan) Daily Globe, March 24, 1979; Pacific Stars and Stripes, March 24, 1979. The referee stopped the fight in the third round. Maura, a soldier assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, went to the dressing room, showered, and then collapsed. He was taken to hospital, where he died. Cause of death was given as brain injury. Bumphus went on to become a member of the 1980 USA Olympic team and a professional junior welterweight champion.

ND

11-Jan

1979

Wdec


Jacob Seiersen

28

Varde


Denmark

Light Heavy

(Dublin) Irish Times, January 13, 1979; Chicago Tribune, January 15, 1979. Seiersen, who was also a division one soccer player, had a career record of 16-4 going into this bout, which he won. Afterwards, he complained of a leg cramp, which then spread. He was taken to the hospital, where he died of brain injury the following day.

ND

12-Jan

1980

Wdec

3

Harlan Hoosier

13

Lenore

West Virginia

USA

ND

Washington Post, January 21, 1980; New York Times, January 22, 1980. The tournament was sanctioned by the West Virginia Boxing Commission rather than the AAU, so Hoosier was not required to wear protective headgear during his bouts. Hoosier had three bouts over three days. He won all three without so much as a nosebleed, but after his third victory, he complained of headaches. He was taken to a local emergency room, and then transported to a hospital with neurological facilities. He underwent brain surgery, but died.

J.C. Johnson

1-Mar

1981

KO

2

Bruce Fitzgerald

24

Easton

Pennsylvania

USA

Light Heavy (178-lb)

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 3, 1981; Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Times, March 3, 1981. It was Fitzgerald’s second fight of the day. After the fight was stopped in the second round, Fitzgerald, the Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion in 1979, walked from the ring unassisted. An hour later, he collapsed into a coma. He was taken to the hospital, where he died a few hours later. Cause of death was listed as massive contusion of the brain. Francis Walker, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission, told reporters this was the first death of a Pennsylvania amateur boxer of ring injuries. Actually, there had been at least nine previous amateur boxing deaths in Pennsylvania. These were Bliss (1922), Maham (1927), Wilson (1927), Horne (1930), Cusano (1943), Mastrey (1945), George (1946), Johnson (1953), and Velazquez (1963).

Enrique Duran

31-May

1981

KO

1

Enrique Quintero


ND


Venezuela

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Quintero fell down after being hit in the face and he didn’t get back up.

Rafael Arteaga

6-Jun

1981

KO


Carlos Lopez Arocha


ND


Venezuela

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Lewis Wade

12-Feb

1982

KO

2

Benjamin Davis

22

Albuquerque

New Mexico

USA

Light (132-lb)

New York Times, February 18, 1982; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, February 18, 1982, B-6; Frank Deford, “An encounter to last an eternity,” Sports Illustrated, 58:15 (April 11, 1983), 68-72. Davis was a Navajo Indian, and this was his first boxing tournament. During his second fight in the tournament, he collapsed, and he died in hospital five days later. Cause of death was a head injury. The case law arising from this death is Martinez v. U.S. Olympic Committee C.A. 10 (N.M.), 1986, 802 F. 2d 1275, 55 USLW 2216, 5 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1253. The court’s decision in this case was that it lacked jurisdiction. At the same time, however, the court opined that the personal representative of an amateur boxer who died from injuries received in a tournament had no claim against the US Olympic Committee.

Darryl Stitch

9-Oct

1982

TKO

2

Charles Love

19

Louisville

Kentucky

USA

Welter

Frederick (Maryland) Post, November 19, 1982; New York Times, October 17, 1982; Frank Deford, “An encounter to last an eternity,” Sports Illustrated, 58:15 (April 11, 1983), 68-72. The fight was stopped when Love was given his third standing 8-count. Love walked to his corner, sat down, and then fell over unconscious. Brain surgery was done. Love died a week later without regaining consciousness.

Chris Naidoo

11-Nov

1982

TKO

3

Maxwell Myaica


Umlazi


South Africa

Light (62 kg)

South Africa Daily News Reporter, November 11, 1982

ND

26-Mar

1983

KO

1

Deon Minnaar


Phalaborwa


South Africa

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Glen Morris

6-Feb

1983

TKO

2

Michael Pitzer

17

Charleston

South Carolina

USA

Feather

New York Times, February 9, 1983; New York Times, February 17, 1983. Pitzer had struck his head against a windshield during a car accident earlier that day, and prior to the match, he reported headaches and vomiting. He quit during the second match of the day, and then lapsed into a coma. Surgery was done to remove blood clots on the brain, but he still died ten days later.

Ramon Negron

23-Sep

1983

TKO

3

Jeremiah Richardson

25

Miami

Florida

USA

Middle (Jr Middle)

Syracuse (New York) Herald-Journal, September 30, 1983; Miami (Florida) News-Reporter, September 30, 1983. The injury was a clot on the right side of the brain.

Hank Williams

28-Feb

1985

KO

3

Howard Brooks

24

Miami

Florida

USA

Heavy (Super Heavy)

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, March 2, 1985; Miami (Florida) Herald, March 3, 1985; Miami (Florida) News, March 4, 1985; Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Times, March 7, 1985. Brooks, in his fourteenth fight as an amateur, won the first round. He was knocked down in the second, but got up. He was knocked down again in the third round. He stood up for the mandatory standing 8-count, and then fell forward on his face. Cause of death was believed to be a burst blood vessel in the brain.

ND

29-Nov

1985

ND


Wade Bisher

18

Billings

Montana

USA

ND

Washington Post, December 1, 1985; European Stars and Stripes, December 2, 1985. Bisher fell through the ropes, and struck his head on the timer’s table. He died the following morning in hospital. Cause of death was brain injury.

ND

28-Mar

1987

KO

1

Joseph Sticklen

15

Saddleworth

Oldham

England

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, April 1, 1987. It was Sticklan’s second fight, and the bout was just 52 seconds old when the referee stopped it. The referee asked the doctor to look at Sticklan. Sticklan collapsed within another minute, and he died in hospital four days later.

ND

13-Dec

1988

KO

3

Roy Hodgson

21

Lemgo


Germany

Heavy

(Dublin) Irish Times, December 17, 1988. Hodgson was a soldier in the Second Royal Irish Rangers, stationed in West Germany, and he was participating in a regimental boxing tournament. He was knocked down by a blow to the head, and he died within the hour.

Per Malmsten

May/

1989

KO


Arthur Hendler


ND


Sweden

ND

Boxning har skördat över 500 dödsoffer,” Aftonbladet, December 7, 1999, http://www.aftonbladet.se/sport/9912/07/boxning.html; http://teddystenmark.com

ND

24-Mar

1989

Ldec

3

Guydell Williams

18

Myrtle Beach

South Carolina

USA

Welter (139-lb)

Doylestown (Pennsylvania) Intelligencer, March 27, 1989; Washington Post, March 27, 1989; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 29, 1989. Williams suffered a stroke after fighting twice in one day. NOTE: This is a possible PFO death, because in people under age 50, patent foramen ovale, PFO is the cause of 25-50% of all strokes. PFO is the name given to a small hole in the heart that everyone has at birth, and that usually closes up within a few years. If it does not close up, it usually causes no problems. However, in rare instances, PFO can allow small clots to pass through, and these clots can in turn lead to strokes. Although symptoms of PFO include blurred vision and flashes of light, the condition cannot be diagnosed without special tests.

ND

28-Nov

1991

KO


Julio Malca


Ilo


Peru

ND

De Peru

ND

16-May

1992

KO

2

Kenzo Kawamoto

16

Yokohama


Japan

Fly (Mosquito)

USA Today, June 3, 1992. Kawamoto was participating in a high school varsity tournament. He collapsed in his corner at the end of the round. He died of brain injury.

ND

Nov/

1992

KO


Sergio Luis Brito


ND


Mexico

ND

R. Yalen

Jose Longoria

18-Jan

1992

Ldec

3

Roman Gomez

19

Phoenix

Arizona

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, January 20, 1992; Washington Post, July 4, 2001, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16040-2001Jul3.html; personal communication with Karl Gruse, March 9, 2005. This was Gomez’s first contest. He collapsed after the fight, and he died about 18 hours later. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

ND

25-Apr

1993

KO

3

Alexander Kostadinov

18

Sliven


Bulgaria

Bantam

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, April 28, 1993

Tom McLeod

16-Feb

1994

KO

3

Donell Lindsey

28

St. Paul

Minnesota

USA

Middle (156-lb)

St Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press, February 16, 1994; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, February 16, 1994. During a tournament, Lindsey took a glancing blow off his headgear. He collapsed, and died. It was his second fight of the tournament, and his eleventh career bout.

Robert Adams

21-Jun

1996

TKO

3

Dale Foreman

24

Richmond

Kentucky

USA

Heavy

Ironwood (Michigan) Daily Globe, July 2, 1996; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, July 2, 1996; Washington Post, July 2, 1996. Going into the third round, Foreman was leading on points. Then, in the third, he dropped his hands and looked dazed, so the referee stopped the fight. Foreman went to his corner and said that he felt dizzy and that he couldn’t hear. An ambulance was called, and he died in hospital several hours later. Cause of death was given as head injuries.

Hugo Ortiz

4-Jan

1997

KO

3

Jacob Greenwalt

15

Little Rock

Arkansas

USA

Fly (106-lb)

George Schroeder, “Greenwalts make way to ring again,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 17, 1998, http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/arena/boxingfoloa.asp; George Schroeder, “Fighting spirit endures,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 18, 1998, http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/arena/boxingfolob.asp. Cause of death was re-injury to a pre-existing blood clot on the brain. The family approved organ donation.

Victor Mendoza

1-Mar

1997

KO

3

Dylan Baker

19

San Antonio

Texas

USA

Middle

Abilene Reporter-News, March 2, 1997, http://www.texnews.com/texsports97/boxer030497.html; San Antonio Express-News, March 4, 1997; Dallas Morning News, May 2, 1997, http://www.texnews.com/texsports97/boxer050297.html; “Athletes at risk: Second Impact Syndrome in sports,” http://www.firmani.com/SIS-case/incidents.htm; John Whisler, “Fighting for safety,” San Antonio Express-News, February 27, 2004, http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA27.01C.BOXimpact27a.104207aa.html. Baker took a punch to the left temple and fell over dead. Death was first blamed on diabetes, but the autopsy revealed brain injury. The cause of death was later attributed to Second Impact Syndrome, and the subsequent lawsuit was the reason USA Boxing subsequently added warnings about the risk of Second Impact Syndrome to US amateur boxers’ passbooks.

ND

24-May

1997

KO


Joseph E. Bolger

17

Redmond

Washington

USA

ND

Seattle Times, May 26, 1997; Pacific Stars and Stripes, May 29, 1997; Social Security Death Index. Bolger was participating in a backyard smoker that was meant to raise money for high school activities. He had a history of heart problems, and during the fight he complained of not feeling well. Adults were present, and headgear was being worn.

ND

21-May

1999

KO


Gjokica Nedelkovski

19

Patras


Greece

Light

http://www.b-info.com/tools/miva/newsview.mv?url=places/Bulgaria/news/99-05/may22a.mia. Cause of death was attributed to myocardial infarction.

ND

16-Jan

2000

KO


ND

17

Niigata


Japan

ND

Parents refused damages over schoolboy boxer’s death,” Mainichi Daily News, March 12, 2004, http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/archive/200403/12/20040312p2a00m0dm004000c.html. Despite being knocked down twice during a school boxing competition, the deceased was told to continue. He died of brain injuries eight days later. A local court ruled that the referee and cornermen had provided adequate supervision.

ND

28-May

2000

KO

2

Juan Silva III

16

El Paso

Texas

USA

Welter (139-lb)

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, May 31, 2000; CNN/Sports Illustrated, May 30, 2000, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/boxing/news/2000/05/30/teenboxer_dies_ap/. Silva was representing the Warriors for Christ boxing club. After the match, “he started acting strangely and then he just collapsed,” said an El Paso police spokesman afterwards. From http://www.dearlydeparted.net/1384.htm on April 5, 2005: “Brother, I wish I could get just one last chance to hold you again. You were taken from this family so suddenly. We told you goodbye thinking you were just going away on your boxing tournament and coming back a champion. Not once did the thought of a permanent goodbye cross our minds.”

Tassos Berdesis

Sep/

2000

KO


Thanasis Giorgos Miliordos

18

Patras


Greece

Middle

C. Constantoyannis and M. Partheni, “Fatal head injury from boxing,” British Journal of Sports Medicine, February 2004, 38 (1) 78-9, abstract at http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/38/1/78; “Boxer convicted,” Athens, Greece, Kathimarini, May 8, 2003, http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100018_08/05/2003_29384. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. The death was attributed to an illegal blow. In 2003, both the survivor and the referee were both sentenced to three years imprisonment, suspended.

Jesse Shoemaker

16-Feb

2001

Wdec

4

Quinton Grier

31

Joplin

Missouri

USA

Heavy

Joplin Globe, February 18, 2001. After the bout ended, Grier went across the ring to shake hands. He turned around, started back to his corner, and pitched forward on his face. Cause of death was listed as a heart condition.

Asahan Tourino

21-Sep

2003

KO


Mula Sinaga

24

Padang Sidempuan


Indonesia

Welter (64-kg)

Jeff Pamungkas, “The Year of Living Dangerously!” Fightnews.com, March 12, 2004, http://www.fightnews.com/pamungkas17.htm. Sinaga died in hospital three days later.

ND

10-May

2003

Ldec

3

Athula Bandara Senaviratne

30

Colombo


Sri Lanka

ND

Sandasen Marasinghe, “Death blow to boxer,” Sri Lanka Daily News, May 17, 2003, http://www.dailynews.lk/2003/05/17/new15.html. After taking several heavy blows to the head, and losing the fight, Senaviratne complained of headaches and nausea. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Jeffrey Etang

19-Jan

2004

Wdec

3

Reynan (or Ryan) Padrones

17

Iloilo City


Philippines

Fly (48-kg)

Dominic Menor and Rexel Sourza, “17-year-old pug dies after winning school tilt,” ABS-CBN.com, January 23, 2004, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=Sports&OID=43072. After winning the fight, Padrones complained of dizziness and began to vomit. He was taken to the university hospital, where he died the following day. Cause of death was blood clots in the brain.

Heather Schmitz

3-Apr

2005

KO

3

Becky Zerlentes

34

Fort Collins

Colorado

USA

ND

Adrian Dater, “Female boxer, 34, dies,” Denver Post, April 5, 2005, http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E76%257E2798915,00.html. See also Christine Dell’Amore, “Profile of Heather Schmitz,” Denver Post, March 20, 2005, http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E33084%257E2799639,00.html; Social Security Death Index. During the third round, Zerlentes took a straight right over her left eye. She staggered forward and collapsed. She never regained consciousness, and she died in hospital a few hours later. Cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma. (NOTE: On the date of this contest, USA Boxing had 2,200 registered female amateur boxers. As for female pro boxers, the first licensed pro bout in Nevada was in 1975. Since then, several female pro boxers have been badly hurt, but none are known to have died of their injuries.)

Nasser Mafuru

26-Jul

2006

KO

2

Emmanuel Davis Kimario


Dar es Salaam


Tanzania

Light

Boxer dies in Dar league,” ThisDay, August 2, 2006, http://www.thisday.co.tz/Sports/500.html. In the first round, Kimario knocked down Mafuru. Mafuru took a mandatory standing 8-count. During the second round, Kimario was knocked down by a series of uppercuts. Unlike Mafuru, Kimario did not get up, and he died in hospital later the same day.

ND

1-Oct

2006

Ndec

3

Jefferson Pitner

16

Palm Desert

California

USA

ND

Ben Spillman and Mandy Zatynski, “Student dies in local ‘fight club’,” Palm Springs (California) Desert Sun, October 3, 2006; “Mother of boy who died after fighting speaks out,” CBS2.com, October 6, 2006, http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_279135253.html; Kakie Urch, “Jefferson Pitner memorial draws about 200 mourners,” Palm Springs (California) Desert Sun, October 8, 2006. Although gloves were worn, the bout took place in at an unsanctioned, unsupervised “fight club” that had been operating for several years. Pitner collapsed following his third three-round bout of the afternoon. Paramedics were called around 4:00 p.m., and Pitner died in hospital at about 10:45 p.m. Cause of death was described as “severe head injury.” The local high school principal subsequently told students, “If you’re going to box, do it right, go down to one of these boxing clubs.”

ND

19-Mar

2006

Wdec

3

Dimitris Livadas

21

Patras


Greece

Middle (75-kg)

Winnipeg Sun, March 25, 2006, http://winnipegsun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2006/03/25/1504706-sun.html; “Greek boxer dies after injured in competition,” Xinhua, March 25, 2006, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/25/content_4342951.htm. Livadas collapsed shortly after the match ended. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.


Table 5: Professional ring deaths, 1890 to present


Survivor

Day/Mo

Year

Res

Rd

Deceased

Age

City

County/State

Country

Weight

Source/Remarks

Andy John Murray

22-Apr

1890

KO

10

James Fallon


Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Feather

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 26, 1890; Chillicothe (Missouri) Morning Constitution, April 27, 1890; Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, January 13, 1897. Gloves were worn, and Fallon was leading on points into the tenth round. Then he was knocked out. He was carried to the dressing room. He died three days later without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Frank La Rue

9-Jun

1890

KO


Harry McBride

30

San Francisco

California

USA

Heavy

Woodland (California) Daily Democrat, June 12, 1890; Trenton (New Jersey) Times, June 16, 1890. La Rue was charged with manslaughter.

Frank Garrard

3-Jul

1890

KO

5

Billy Brennan

21

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Light

Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 5, 1890; Sandusky Daily Register, July 5, 1890; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, July 5, 1890; Syracuse (New York) Herald, July 6, 1890. The venue was the Battery D armory. During the first, Brennan was very active, but he also tired himself out. His seconds decided to fortify him with whiskey. Things went downhill from there, and the fight ended with Brennan grabbing on to Garrard, and then slumping to the floor. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain. Garrard and the seconds were arrested, but released the next day, after the injury was attributed to the fall rather than the blows.

Louis Bezenah

13-Feb

1890

KO

4

Tom James

22

Dallas

Texas

USA

Bantam

Dallas Morning News, February 14, 1890; New York Times, February 14, 1890; Chicago Daily Tribune, February 16, 1890; Fresno (California) Daily Republican, February 16, 1890; Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, February 17, 1890; Chuck Burroughs, Come Out Fighting: True Fight Tales for Fight Fans (Peoria, Illinois: Chuck Burroughs, 1977), 90. James spent the fight running. In the fourth, Bezenah struck James with a hard right to the neck. James went down. He remained unconscious, so was carried off the stage. Water was thrown on him, and he was left to recover while the sports returned to watch Jake Kilrain spar three rounds with Cleary. After that, there was some wrestling. James still had not recovered by the time the wrestling had ended, so a physician was sought. The physician arrived, but James still died about 11:30 p.m. that night. Cause of death was attributed to the “great excitement and exertion pending the contest,” and the principals were released on the grounds that there was no law regarding deaths that occurred in the course of properly licensed exhibitions. Bezenah was touring with William Muldoon and Jake Kilrain. Anyone who lasted 4 rounds with Bezenah got $25, so he specialized in doing fourth-round knockouts. At the time of this fight, he was 19 years old, and weighed about 137 pounds. In March 1891, a jealous suitor shot Bezenah twice in the stomach, and he died in April 1891 of the injuries. See Sandusky (Ohio) Daily Register, March 24, 1891, Mansfield (Ohio) Evening News, April 29, 1891, and Chicago Daily Tribune, February 15, 1890.

Jersey Spider

29-Aug

1890

KO


Peter Noud


New York

New York

USA

ND

Waukesha (Wisconsin) Journal, September 13, 1890

John “Jack” Burns

Feb/

1891

KO


Henry “Fox” McGlone

33

Natick

Massachusetts

USA

Heavy

Boston Daily Globe, February 4, 1891; Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel, February 24, 1891; Middletown (New York) Daily Press, May 27, 1891; Chicago Daily Tribune, December 8, 1897. McGlone died on February 24, 1891. McGlone had beaten Burns earlier in the month, by knockout, but died following a rematch. Cause of death was “congestion caused by blows upon the body next the heart.” McGlone left a widow and three children. This is noted because, although period newspapers called McGlone “Nicholas” or “Fox,” http://home.neo.rr.com/jmcglone/part5.htm notes that Henry McGlone of Natick was a pugilist of the John L. Sullivan era who had three children.

David Seville

24-Feb

1891

KO

18

A.B. “Tom” Tracey (Arthur Majesty)


Nelsonville

Ohio

USA

Bantam

Chicago Daily Tribune, February 26, 1891; Mansfield (Ohio) Evening News, February 25, 1891; Salem (Ohio) Daily News, January 14, 1892; Chuck Burroughs, Come Out Fighting: True Fight Tales for Fight Fans (Peoria, Illinois: Chuck Burroughs, 1977), 91. Two ounce gloves were worn. The purse was $200 to the winner. The venue was a large hall, with a capacity of about 800 persons. Moments before the knockout, Majesty said, “I can’t see any longer. Hit me if you want to.” Which Seville did. The autopsy showed a ruptured blood vessel at the base of the brain. Seville was subsequently convicted of prizefighting, and sentenced to a year in prison. The conviction was appealed, on the grounds that gloves were worn and Queensberry Rules were followed. Hence, to Seville’s attorney, this was not a prizefight. In its published decision, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that it didn’t matter if Queensberry Rules or London Prize Ring rules were being used, or whether one called it a sparring match or a prizefight. Instead, “What was it, in plain English?” Consequently, Seville’s conviction for prizefighting was upheld. The relevant court case is Seville v. State, 15 L.R.A. 516, 49 Ohio St. 117, 27 W.L.B. 258, 30 N.E. 621; see also Robert Desty, ed., Lawyers’ Reports Annotated, Book XV (Rochester, New York: Lawyer’s Co-Operative Publishing Co., 1905), 518-520.

Harrison A. Tracy (Harry Tracy)

25-May

1891

KO

8

John “Jack” Burns


Lynn

Massachusetts

USA

Feather

Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, May 26, 1891; Chicago Daily Tribune, May 27, 1891; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News, May 27, 1891; Decatur (Illinois) Daily Republican, October 19, 1891. This was the same Jack Burns as was involved in the fatal fight with McGlone, of Natick (Middletown, New York, Daily Press, May 27, 1891). During this fight, Burns was hit hard in the temple and jaw. He went down. As he rose, Tracy hit him again, with what the Chicago Daily Tribune called “a sledgehammer blow on the head that would have felled an ox.” This time, Burns stayed down. Cause of death was a broken blood vessel in the brain. On October 19, 1891, Tracy was convicted of manslaughter.

William Daniels

16-Jul

1891

KO

7

James McCormick


Crystal Falls

Michigan

USA

Heavy

Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, July 20, 1891; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News, July 20, 1891; Iowa City (Iowa) Iowa Citizen, July 24, 1891; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, October 10, 1891. The bout was fought with light gloves. McCormick was knocked down, and died a few hours later. Daniels and the seconds were arrested. NOTE: Galveston (Texas) Daily News, July 22, 1891, ran a story saying that McCormick was reported badly bruised, but alive, in Chicago, but this is unlikely, inasmuch as Daniels was not acquitted until October 9, 1891. (Waterloo, Iowa, Daily Courier, October 9, 1891.)

Harry Boyd

23-Jul

1891

KO

4

John Myford

20

Monongahela City

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, July 24, 1891; Salem (Ohio) Daily News, July 24, 1891; Middletown (New York) Daily Press, July 24, 1891. This was a bare-knuckle bout, and apparently a grudge match. But it was fought inside a roped ring, with witnesses. Myford was struck in the neck. He collapsed, and never regained consciousness.

John Swindelle

7-Aug

1891

KO


James Henney


Longsight

Manchester

England

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 9, 1891; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, August 9, 1891; London Times, August 11, 1891. The fight was a prizefight, but there was neither a referee nor regular rounds. The fight had been going for about an hour when Henney was struck in the stomach. He said, “That’s a good one,” and then collapsed. He stood up, said he’d had enough, and then collapsed again. The cause of death was effusion of the brain. Swindelle was charged with manslaughter.

William Doyle

7-Feb

1891

KO

7

John Shafer

21

Seattle

Washington

USA

ND

New York Times, February 8, 1891. Prizefighting was illegal in Washington, so the promoters described the bout as amateur. Nonetheless, the length suggests that it was professional. Shafer was knocked out, and never regained consciousness.

Byrnie Murphy

20-Mar

1891

KO


Robert K. Willink

18

Savannah

Georgia

USA

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 22, 1891. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Willink was the son of a local railwayman.

ND

24-Jun

1891

Ldec


John Stevens


Hokitika


New Zealand

ND

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, June 25, 1891. Stovens went to the dressing room, dressed, and went back into the room, where he collapsed. Death was almost instantaneous. Death was attributed to heart disease.

Bob Ferguson

19-Oct

1891

Wdec


Pat Killen

30

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Heavy

Chicago Daily Tribune, October 22, 1891; Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, October 22, 1891. Killen had been out of training for some time, and for the past year, he had worked as a saloonkeeper. The cause of death was given as erysipelas (a skin disease that can be fatal in the absence of antiobiotics).

William Smith

14-Dec

1892

KO


James Brown


New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

ND

Dallas Morning News, October 20, 1892. The fight was a grudge match fought under London Prize Ring rules. The knockdown followed a strike to the chest.

H.A. Smeltzer

11-Mar

1892

KO


Charles E. Lesh

17

Wells County (Bluffton)

Indiana

USA

ND

Washington Post, March 13, 1892; Traverse City (Michigan) Herald, March 17, 1892; Pennsylvania (Indiana) Indiana Progress, March 23, 1892; Ancestry.com, Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920 [database online]. Lesh was knocked down by a blow to the neck. He died a few minutes later.

David Ryan

26-Apr

1892

KO


Ambrose Seeley

24

New York

New York

USA

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 27, 1892. The two men had a quarrel that they decided to settle using London Prize Ring rules. Seeley was downed by a blow to the neck. When he did not get up, the spectators fled.

Jack Keefe

2-Oct

1892

KO


George Roway (Billy the Kid Duffy)


Covington

Nebraska

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, October 3, 1892; Plattsburgh (New York) Morning Telegram, October 5, 1892, http://esf.uvm.edu/vtbox/Historical.html. Duffy died within an hour of the fight’s end. The coroner found indications of heart disease. Keefe, the referee, and the seconds were arrested.

Jack Davis

8-Oct

1892

KO

8

Richard Barker (Dick Nolan)


Memphis

Tennessee

USA

Light

Galveston (Texas) Daily News, October 11, 1892; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, October 13, 1892. Five-ounce gloves were worn. The fight was probably even into the sixth round. In the seventh, both men were visibly tired, so no apparent damage was done. Then, during the eighth, Davis hit Nolan with a left to the chin, and Nolan fell unconscious. Nolan died the following day, about noon. Cause of death was listed as a burst blood vessel in the brain.

Young Ross

17-Dec

1892

KO

12

Scotty Stewart


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, December 19, 1892; Hawarea and Normanby (New Zealand) Star, December 20, 1892. Stewart died shortly after the fight ended. Cause of death was laceration and compression of the brain. NOTE: US newspapers sometimes reversed who died. See, for example, Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, January 13, 1897.

Robert Rothery

28-Aug

1892

KO


William Asquith


Leeds

West Yorkshire

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, September 2, 1892. Rothery was charged with manslaughter.

Soldier Clayson

12-Sep

1892

KO


Langtry


Northampton

East Midlands

England

ND

Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1892. Both men were badly battered, and Langtry died within an hour after the fight.

John McGarry

17-Oct

1892

KO

4

William J. Neary


New York

New York

USA

ND

Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Journal, October 29, 1892; Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, March 2, 1906

Charles Bell

13-Mar

1892

Wfoul

23

Wallace “Pearl” Henderson

16

Portland

Oregon

USA

ND

Portland Oregonian, March 14, 1892; Portland Oregonian, March 17, 1892. The two youths, aged 15 and 16, had a contest to see who was the better boxer. During the fight, both landed many good punches. After the decision was declared, Henderson collapsed into a coma. A doctor was summoned, and he arrived with the half hour, but it was too late. Cause of death was listed as “insufficiency of the contractable power of the right heart.”

William “Kid” Robinson

3-Aug

1893

Draw

22

Bobby Taylor (Lon Taylor, Sailor Kid)


Denver

Colorado

USA

Feather

Aspen (Colorado) Weekly Times, August 5, 1893; Trenton (New Jersey) Times, August 5, 1893; Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, August 5, 1893. Taylor was white and Robinson was black, so the referee’s declaration of a “draw” at the end of 22 rounds suggests that Taylor was losing badly. The referee was the famous Western lawman Bat Masterson, and after this decision, that paragon of frontier law enforcement promptly skipped town rather than face trial.

Yankee

ND

1893

Draw

12

Jim Lewis


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Dal Hawkins

24-Feb

1893

KO

15

William “Swede” Miller

21

San Francisco

California

USA

Feather

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 26, 1893; Chicago Daily Tribune, February 26, 1893; Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, March 2, 1893. Miller was never really in the fight, and he was knocked out in the fifteenth. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Hawkins was arrested.

Joe Dunfee

4-Apr

1893

KO

7

Dan Donovan


Maple Bay

New York

USA

Middle

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 6, 1893; Syracuse (New York) Evening Herald, April 6, 1893; Olean (New York) Democrat, April 7, 1893. Donovan was knocked down three times in the final round. He died the following day. Cause of death was blood between the membranes of the brain. Donovan’s brother Jack was also a prizefighter, and on April 6, 1894, Jack Donovan also suffered significant brain injury while boxing. See (Phoenix) Arizona Republican, April 8, 1894.

Harry Bull

15-May

1893

KO

3

Harry Edward Wiltshire


London

London

England

Heavy

Trenton (New Jersey) Times, May 17, 1893; London Times, May 20, 1893. Eight ounce gloves were worn. Death was from compression of the brain following rupture of a vein.

John Henry Johnson

23-Oct

1893

KO

7

Emmett Burke


Gloucester

New Jersey

USA

Light

Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, March 2, 1906; http://www.boxrec.com

George (or Joe) Green

4-Feb

1893

KO

2

George W. Goodrich (Ed Williams)


New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

ND

Melissa Haley, “A Storm of Blows,” Common-Place, 3:2 (January 2003), http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-02/haley/haley-2.shtml; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 4, 1893; New York Times, February 10, 1893; Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, February 17, 1893. The stage floor was wet with blood. Goodrich fell on the wet surface, and broke his neck. The death was ruled an accident, but the investigation does not seem to have been especially thorough, perhaps because the promoters were well-known white men from Louisiana while the deceased was a black man from Louisville, Kentucky. The venue for the bout was the Olympic Club, and soon after this death, the State took the Olympic Club to court, saying that its gloved boxing matches violated state laws against prize fighting. The court case was State v. Olympic Club, 24 L.R.A. 452, 15 So 190, April 1894. In this case, the court ruled that state laws against bare-knuckled prizefighting did not apply to gloved contests sponsored by regularly chartered athletic clubs. Instead, if the state wanted to ban gloved contests as well as bare-knuckle prizefights, then new laws would be required.

ND

28-Oct

1893

KO


Charles Cunningham


Lady Barkly


New Zealand

ND

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, November 1, 1893; North Otago (New Zealand) Times, November 3, 1893. Cunningham died October 31. Cause of death was attributed to internal injuries.

ND

14-Mar

1893

KO

3

Fred Wright


Grand Rapids

Michigan

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, March 15, 1893; Hamilton (Ohio) Daily Republican, March 16, 1893. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain.

Jack Nicolson

11-Apr

1893

W disq

25

Richard Campbell Forgie

21

Auckland


New Zealand

Light

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, May 30, 1893; Otago (New Zealand) Witness, June 1, 1893. The bout was fought with gloves, for money. Cause of death was brain injuries. The judge advised the jury to consider whether the fight violated laws against prizefighting. To the judge’s surprise, the grand jury responded with a verdict of no bill. The reason was that the police had been present and did not stop the fight. Thus, the jury decided that do what the judge instructed was against their duty. Immediately after dismissal, Nicholson caught a ship to Sydney.

Jimmy Lindsey

9-Aug

1894

KO


Arthur Robbins (Fletcher Robinson)


Plattsmouth

Nebraska

USA

Welter

Frederick (Maryland) News, August 21, 1894; Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, August 14, 1894; Los Angeles Times, March 25, 1895; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Morning Free Press, March 23, 1895; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News, November 28, 1895; Frederick (Maryland) News, December 6, 1895. Robbins (Robinson) died of his injuries on August 14, 1894, and in March 1895, Lindsay, of Omaha, was sentenced to 2 years in the state penitentiary for his part in the death. The referee, G.V. Griswold, was the sports editor of a local paper. Griswold was also charged, but he was exonerated in December 1895.

Robert “Ruby Bob” Fitzsimmons

16-Nov

1894

KO

1

Cornelius “Con” Riordan

31

Syracuse

New York

USA

Light Heavy

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 17, 1894; Reno Evening Gazette, November 17, 1894; Syracuse (New York) Daily Standard, November 17, 1894; Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, November 17, 1894; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 14, 1933; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, May 19, 1989. Riordan was Fitzsimmons’ sparring partner, and he had not boxed competitively since losing to Jack Slavin in June 1892. Thus, Fitzsimmons normally took it easy on Riordan, who was also a heavy drinker. After being told of the death, Fitzsimmons said, “I knew he had been drinking hard, but did not know he was in such a condition... The blow that caused the trouble was as light as I could make it, I merely slapping him with the back of my hand. He fell down then rose and staggered around... When he fell headlong, I thought he was faking, and was thoroughly disgusted.” The death certificate listed the cause of death as “hemorrhage within the cranial cavity, causing compression of the brain.” The clot was on the right side of the brain, very deep. Fitzsimmons was arrested on a charge of manslaughter in the first degree, but was later acquitted. Fitzsimmons bought the burial plot for Riordan, in Section 51 of Oakwood Cemetery, and helped carry the casket, but no one ever bought Riordan a gravestone.

Maurice “Dummy” Winters

16-Nov

1894

KO

2

George Smith


London

London

England

Feather

Cumberland (Maryland) Evening Times, December 11, 1894; London Times, December 19, 1894; (Winnipeg) Manitoba Morning Free Press, January 9, 1895. Winters was a deaf-mute, hence the name. Cause of death was complications following surgery for a broken jaw -- gangrene set in, and Smith died on December 10, 1894. The gloves worn weighed 6-1/4 ounces.

George Lavigne (Saginaw Kid)

14-Dec

1894

KO

18

Andy Bowen

27

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

Feather

Chicago Daily Tribune, December 16, 1894; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, December 15, 1894; William A. Adams, “New Orleans as the National Center of Boxing,” Louisiana Historical Quarterly, 39 (1956), 92-112; New Orleans Daily Picayune, December 15, 1894; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 16, 1894; Melissa Haley, “A Storm of Blows,” Common-Place, 3:2 (January 2003), http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-02/haley/haley-3.shtml. According to Haley, “In the eighteenth round, Bowen ‘staggered around like a drunken man,’ clinched continually to save himself, and tried to avoid Lavigne’s blows. A right caught him in the jaw, though, and Bowen fell back and ‘his head hit the wooden floor with a thud which could have been heard a block away.’ The ring, as it turned out, was not padded; it was simply wooden planks, with a canvas tarp stretched across the top.” Bowen died the following morning without regaining consciousness. No doctors were called because of fears of adverse publicity. Lavigne and promoters were charged with manslaughter, but charges were dismissed after the coroner said the mechanism of injury was the fall rather than the blow.

Silas Taft

2-Jan

1894

KO

1

Porter Scott

18

Des Moines

Iowa

USA

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 3, 1894; (Dublin) Irish Times, January 5, 1894; (Correctionville, Iowa) Sioux Valley News, January 11, 1894. The bout took place at the Essex Athletic Club. After being struck in the neck, Scott fell to the floor, where he died within minutes. Cause of death was concussion of the brain, and attributed to the fall. The death caused the state governor to call for an end to all prize fights in Iowa.

John Pugh

21-Mar

1894

KO


Michael Goppert


Utica

New York

USA

ND

Bismarck (North Dakota) Daily Tribune, March 23, 1894; Olean (New York) Democrat, March 24, 1894. Goppert was knocked to the floor, and carried to the hospital.

Jimmy Kennard (St. Paul Kid)

13-Jul

1894

KO

4

Gene Flanagan


Chicago

Illinois

USA

Feather

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 13, 1894. The men fought in the back of a saloon. Two billiards tables had been moved for the occasion, and there were about 70 spectators. Flanagan was diagnosed with a fractured skull.

ND

17-May

1894

KO


Rees


Aberdare


Wales

ND

(Winnipeg) Manitoba Morning Free Press, May 19, 1894. Cause of death was listed as skull fracture.

Jimmy Carney

15-Jun

1894

KO

3

Tommy Miller


Meyers Lake

Ohio

USA

Light

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 16, 1894.

ND

15-Mar

1894

Ldec

3

Harry B. Sapp


Renovo

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Trenton (New Jersey) Times, March 16, 1894. After losing the match, Sapp went home. Next morning, he was found dead in his bed.

Frank Klein

21-Jul

1895

KO

5

Louis Schmidt Jr.


Milwaukee

Wisconsin

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, July 23, 1895; Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1895; (Albert Lea, Minnesota) Freeborn County Standard, July 31, 1895; Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, March 14, 1896; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, March 14, 1896. The fight took place at a roadhouse. Schmidt was tiring. He was struck, and knocked into the chairs. Klein and the spectators fled. Schmidt died the following day, and on March 14, 1896, Klein was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years.

John Peterson

2-Nov

1895

KO


Ralph W. Eldridge

25

Natick

Massachusetts

USA

ND

San Francisco Chronicle, November 3, 1895; North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, November 4, 1895. Eldridge was knocked down by a blow to the left ear. While falling, he reportedly struck his head on a table. He died before medical assistance arrived. Peterson was arrested.

Bob Thompson

28-Jul

1896

KO

12

Thomas Carter


Salt Lake City

Utah

USA

Welter

Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, July 30, 1896; Marble Rock (Iowa) Weekly, August 6, 1896. Thompson knocked out Carter with a blow to the chin. Carter’s head hit the floor hard, and he died two days later without regaining consciousness. Thompson was held for manslaughter. In his book Black Dynamite, Nat Fleischer erroneously identified the deceased as Jim “Coast Comet” Carter.

John Shagner

3-Jan

1896

KO

10

Henry Rodriguez

20

New York

New York

USA

ND

Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig and Courier, January 6, 1896; Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times, October 15, 1896; Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig and Courier, October 31, 1896. The fight took place on a canal boat, under Queensberry Rules. The purse was $10. Rodriguez was carried home semi-conscious, bleeding from nose and ears. He died a few hours later. Cause of death was listed as skull fracture. Shagner, age 16, and several seconds were found guilty of manslaughter. Sentence was suspended.

Henry Pluckfelder

8-Feb

1896

KO


Frederick Schlechter

40

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, February 10, 1896; Oakland Tribune, February 10, 1896; Titusville (Pennsylvania) Morning Herald, February 11, 1896; Waukesha (Wisconsin) Freeman, February 13, 1896; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: T9_1176; Family History Film: 1255176; Page: 167.3000; Enumeration District: 302; Image: 0337. A prizefight was staged at Schlechter’s mattress factory. Schlechter walked home after the fight, where he died of injuries on February 10, 1896. Cause of death was attributed to a skull fracture received during a fall. Pluckfelder, an ex-policeman, was arrested.

Patrick Nolan

7-May

1896

KO

11

John Houlihan


Farmington

Connecticut

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, May 8, 1896; Steubenville (Ohio) Daily Herald, May 8, 1896; Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Daily Sentinel, May 12, 1896. Death was originally attributed to sunstroke, but after the autopsy, the coroner ruled that death was due to hemorrhage of the brain.

Charles Turner

1-Apr

1896

KO

17

Jesse Clark (Texas Terror)


Memphis

Tennessee

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Weekly Sentinel, April 8, 1896. Turner was black. Clark was white. A warrant was issued for Turner’s arrest.

Maurer

Apr/

1896

KO


Chappie Moran


Sheffield

South Yorkshire

England

Bantam

London Times, April 8, 1896. Moran slipped, and Maurer fell on him. Moran died of internal injuries.

William “Shorty” Wright

18-Feb

1897

KO

1

Ben Coleman

18

Cincinnati

Ohio

USA

Fly

Los Angeles Times, February 19, 1897; Washington Post, February 19, 1897. Both boxers were “young colored boys” put into the ring because no one else was available for a preliminary bout. The blow that knocked Coleman down was not especially hard, so the crowd thought the knockout a fake. Coleman died two hours later. Wright was also known as Rodgers.

Leslie Pearce

20-Apr

1897

KO

14

Billy Vernon (Haverstraw Brickmaker)

27

Athens

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 22, 1897; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 3, 1897; Hornellsville (New York) Weekly Tribune, April 23, 1897. Vernon was struck at least four heavy blows over the heart in the fourteenth.Then he fell over, face first, without being struck, and he died a few hours later. The left side of Vernon’s body was swollen and discolored in the region of the heart. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Pearce was arrested.

Joseph Henry Williams

1-Jul

1897

KO

16

Michael Kerwin

19

Birmingham

West Midlands

England

Fly (6 stone 7)

Liverpool (England) Courier, July 5, 1897; Bristol (England) Times and Mirror, July 30, 1897; Glasgow (Scotland), July 12, 1897; Glasgow (Scotland) Scotsman, July 30, 1897; Glasgow (Scotland), Scotsman July 31, 1897; R.G. Allanson-Winn, Boxing, London: A.D. Innes, 1897, 23-24. Kerwin was struck on the chin. He subsequently died. Cause of death was hemorrhage at the base of the brain. After hearing testimony, the judge ruled that “sparring matches with gloves, if fairly conducted, were not unlawful, and, consequently, if death occurred from a blow fairly given in a contest, the person delivering the blow could not be convicted of manslaughter.” Williams was aged 16.

William Catskill

2-Jan

1897

KO

9

Daniel Flanagan


Low Point

New York

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, January 4, 1897; Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, January 5, 1897; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, January 6, 1897. The community of Low Point is today known as Chelsea. The purse in the fight was $40. Both fighters were from Fishkill, but Catskill was “colored” and Flanagan was Irish, and there was a history of animosity between what the Fort Wayne paper called “the white and colored sporting factions of the town.” Catskill was arrested for prizefighting.

Mark Shaughnessy (Frank Connelly)

18-Mar

1897

KO

4

Christian Keilnecker

40

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 20, 1897; New York Times, March 20, 1897; Boston Daily Globe, March 23, 1897. Syracuse (New York) Herald, May 16, 1923. During the fight, Kielnecker stumbled, and reportedly hit his head. The day after the fight, Keilnecker’s mother found him unconscious in his bed. The police were called, and Keilnecker was taken to the hospital. Before dying, he regained consciousness long enough to tell the police that he and Connelly (Shaugnessy) had been sparring in a room over a blacksmith’s shop. Connelly (Shaugnessy) was arrested, but released when the cause was attributed to the fall rather than blows. Shaugnessy was subsequently a manager or second during at least four fatal matches -- Dutch Neal vs. Harry Peppers, Tom Lansing vs. Jack Root, Harry Tenny vs. Frank Neil, and Alex Gdovin vs. Chiefy Johnson. Shaugnessy also refereed the Snailham-Crowe fight.

Matthew Semichy

21-Apr

1897

KO

14

Kid” Frank Evans


San Jose

California

USA

Light

Frederick (Maryland) News, April 23, 1897; Steubenville (Ohio) Herald, April 23, 1897; Dallas Morning News, April 23, 1897; Reno (Daily Nevada State Journal) April 23, 1897. Evans was hit on the chin, and his head struck the floor hard. He died the following morning without regaining consciousness. Visitors passed through the San Jose morgue all day to see the remains. Death was caused by concussion of the brain. Spelling of Semichy’s name from Ancestry.com. 1920 and 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line].

Butcher” John Thomas

16-May

1897

KO

13

Edward Augustus Collard


Rhondda


Wales

ND

Bristol (England) Times and Mirror, May 18, 1897, Bristol (England) Times and Mirror, August 25, 1897; (Glasgow) Scotsman, August 26, 1897. The two men were miners who had an argument and decided to settle it via a prizefight. Collard died two hours after the fight. The surviving principals were arrested on charges of manslaughter.

Ivor Thomas

23-Aug

1897

KO

8

Samuel Mandry

26

Rhondda


Wales

ND

Liverpool (England) Daily Post, August 25, 1897; (Glasgow) Scotsman, August 26, 1897. The bout took place at a boxing booth, and Mandry was under the influence of alcohol. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter.

Walter Griffin

13-Oct

1897

KO

15

John Cummings

23

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 13, 1897; San Antonio (Texas) Daily Light, October 13, 1897; Chicago Daily Tribune, October 14, 1897; Melissa Haley, “A Storm of Blows,” Common-Place, 3:2 (January 2003), http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-02/haley/haley-4.shtml. The bout was held at the Tulane Athletic Club, and was advertised as a benefit show for yellow fever patients. Cummings was leading going into the thirteenth round. Then he started tiring, and during the fifteenth round, he fell to his knees, where he was struck several more times. After the fight was stopped, he said that his head hurt. He was carried to the dressing room. An ambulance was called, and he died in hospital. Cause of death was listed as a ruptured blood vessel on the right side of the brain.

Edward Voll

16-Oct

1897

KO

12

Frank Kozewski


Lancaster

New York

USA

ND

Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times, October 20, 1897. Death was attributed to a clot of blood on the brain caused by a ruptured blood vessel in the neck.

Tobin

14-Apr

1897

KO

1

Harrison


Hampton

Arkansas

USA

ND

Huron (South Dakota) Daily Huronite, April 14, 1897. The bout was a glove match. Cause of death was said to be a broken neck.

Frederick Treichler

3-Aug

1897

KO


John Flynn

14

Newark

New Jersey

USA

ND

New York Times, August 4, 1897. The youths were fighting bare-knuckle. Flynn was struck over the heart and died.

Fred Witman

16-Oct

1897

KO

6

Thomas Hawkins


Brooklyn

New York

USA

Feather

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 24, 1897. Hawkins was losing the fight on points, but his collapse in the sixth was still unexpected.

Jimmy Barry

7-Nov

1897

KO

20

Walter Croot

22

London

London

England

Bantam

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 7, 1897; London Times, December 7, 1897; London Times, December 8, 1897; London Times, December 13, 1897; Arthur Frederick Bettinson and William Outram Tristam, The National Sporting Club Past and Present (London: Sands & Co., 1902), 88-89; Tracy Callis, “Jimmy Barry... ferocious little tiger,” http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/W10x-tc.htm; Bob Mee, Bare Fists: The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting (Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 202; “Walter James Croot,” http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1189.1 Four-ounce gloves were being worn. Croot fell with about 30 seconds left in the last round. Officially, the cause of death was Croot striking his head on the floor, and this caused the National Sporting Club to subsequently require padded floors. Although the seconds and promoter were arrested, the charges were dropped because the fight had been properly administered. Croot had been unconscious for over an hour following a fight with Pedlar Palmer in 1893. NOTE: For descriptions of the National Sporting Club’s Dr. Jackson Lang performing physical exams on boxers, see Robert Machray, The Night Side of London (London: J.B. Lippincott, 1902), Chapter XVII.

George Justice

2-Jan

1897

Ldec

10

James Duffy

27

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Bantam

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, January 4, 1897; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 7, 1897; Dallas Morning News, January 5, 1897; National Police Gazette, January 16, 1897. Previously, following a fight with Bob Rooke in 1893, Duffy had been unconscious for about 5 hours. According to testimony given at the coroner’s inquest, there were no knockdowns during the fight, which was reportedly a slow one. At the end of the match, the boxers shook hands, and Duffy walked to his corner. He had trouble getting through the ropes, and he collapsed in the dressing room. An ambulance was called, and Duffy was taken to St. Vincent’s hospital, where surgery was done to relieve pressure on the brain. Nonetheless, he died the following day. The autopsy determined that the cause of death was meningeal hemorrhage compounded by hyperatrophy of the left ventricle of the heart. The jury attributed cause of death to excitement, and Duffy was acquitted. No physical exam had been done beforehand, so the jury recommended that physicians be employed by fight clubs. NOTE: This is probably the boxing death described in Charles Phelps, Traumatic Injuries of the Brain and Its Membranes (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1897), 534-535.

Samuel C. Perry

19-Mar

1897

TKO

3

Edward J. Gibbons


Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Middle

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 20, 1897; New York Times, March 21, 1897; Boston Daily Globe, March 23, 1897; North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, December 24, 1897. Perry weighed about 175 pounds while Gibbons was about 165. Perry’s nose was broken in the first two rounds, and in the third, Gibbons took a heavy blow to the heart. Gibbons was clearly stunned, so the referee stopped the fight. Gibbons later collapsed, so he was taken to the hospital, where he died the following morning. Although the principals were charged, they were acquitted in December 1897.

Oscar Gardner (Omaha Kid)

7-Apr

1898

KO

12

George Stoudt (George Stout)


Columbus

Ohio

USA

Bantam

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 9, 1898; Sandusky (Ohio) Morning Star, April 9, 1898; Naugatuck (Connecticut) Daily News, April 9, 1898; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News and Daily Call, December 8, 1898. Stoudt was hit with a straight right, and according to the Ohio paper, “He fell as though he were shot, and his head struck the floor with a crack like a pistol shot.” However, the coroner’s jury ruled that it was the blow to the jaw that did the damage. Cause of death was a blood clot at the base of the brain.

Albert Griffiths (Young Griffo)

28-Apr

1898

KO

20

Joe Devitt (Bull McCarthy)


Sacramento

California

USA

Feather

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 29, 1898; Sandusky (Ohio) Star, January 5, 1899; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Gazette, May 6, 1898; Placerville (California), May 14, 1898; Mike Casey, “Young Griffo, boxing’s forgotten genius,” EastSide Boxing, http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=5455&more=1. Devitt went down for some light punches, so the coroner’s jury attributed to his death to his own weak constitution. Griffiths was born in Sydney, Australia, in March 1871. He came to the United States in 1893, and at the time of this fight, he was probably the best featherweight boxer in the world. Afterwards, he became a notorious drunk, with frequent arrests. Griffiths died in New York in December 1927.

Nathaniel Smith

7-Nov

1898

KO

10

Thomas Turner


London

London

England

Light

(Glasgow) Scotsman, November 11, 1898; London Times, November 18, 1898; Arthur Frederick Bettinson and William Outram Tristam, The National Sporting Club Past and Present (London: Sands & Co., 1902), 96-97; Bob Mee, Bare Fists: The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting (Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 202. Turner never recovered consciousness following the knockout. Cause of death was bleeding on the right side of the brain. The next day, the London Times reported that “a better night’s sport could not be wished for” and the National Sporting Club, where the fight had taken place, said that accidents happened. Five-ounce gloves were worn, and the ring was covered with three layers of felt and one of canvas. The survivor, Smith, was a former featherweight champion.

Jack Root

15-Nov

1898

KO

5

Tom Lansing

25

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Light Heavy

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sunday Gazette, November 27, 1898; San Francisco Chronicle, January 21, 1899; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sunday Gazette, January 22, 1899; Chicago Daily Tribune, January 22, 1899. Lansing, a former sparring partner of Gentleman Jim Corbett, returned home to Louisville, Kentucky, paralyzed, and in January 1899, he died of a blood clot in the brain.

Andrew Dupont

17-Oct

1898

KO


William “Billy” Walker

30

Omaha

Nebraska

USA

ND

Humeston (Iowa) New Era, October 26, 1898; Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, October 20, 1898, http://content.lib.utah.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/ogden4&CISOPTR=68761&CISOSHOW=68762&CISOSHOW2=68777; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, October 28, 1898; Mansfield (Ohio) News, February 19, 1899. During a fight about a year earlier, Walker had suffered a serious concussion. Walker died 56 hours after the fight with Dupont. Dupont was charged with manslaughter, but the charge was dismissed in February 1899.

Jack Smith

21-Mar

1898

Ldec

6

Henry Brown


Trenton

New Jersey

USA

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 22, 1898; Chicago Daily Tribune, March 23, 1898. Brown was leading on points into the fourth. Then he was knocked down twice in the fifth, and two more times in the sixth. He staggered around the ring until the bell. Brown was carried to his dressing room, and then transported to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Smith was arrested.

Thomas Butler

23-Aug

1898

Ldec

10

Alexander Scott

25

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Heavy

New York Times, August 26, 1898; New York Tribune, August 27, 1898; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 15, 1898; New York Times, September 16, 1898; Dubuque (Iowa) Daily Herald, August 27, 1898. Scott was knocked down four times in the final round. The cause of death was listed as uremic convulsions caused by kidney trouble. Butler was arrested.

Robert Watkins

12-Aug

1898

Ldec

20

James Rewark


Idaho Springs

Colorado

USA

ND

Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, August 15, 1898; North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, August 15, 1898; Bessemer (Michigan) Herald, August 20, 1898. Watkins was arrested.

Johnny Weston

8-Oct

1898

TKO

5

George Lavery


Gateshead

Tyne and Wear

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, October 12, 1898. Lavery died early the following morning. Death was attributed to fractured skull. The bout was a Durham miners’ championship.

Charles M. “Jack” Jeffries

Sep/

1899

Exh


Guydo


Paris


France

Heavy

Dallas Morning News, March 13, 1900; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, March 15, 1900; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, March 30, 1900. Jack Jeffries was Jim Jeffries’ brother and sparring partner, and the two men were in France during August and September 1899. The death was reported in the US newspapers during mid-March 1900, and it was originally attributed to blows from Jim. But, the Daily Northwestern reported on March 30, 1900, it was Jack who fought the Italian, not Jim. Moreover, “Jack says it is a mistake, as he did not hit [the Italian] hard enough to hurt him, such being the understanding between the two men previous to the bout.”

John “Kid” Cavanaugh

21-Apr

1899

KO

12

Tucker Townsend (Kid Lavelle, South African Cyclone)

19

Homestead

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Massilion (Ohio) Independent, April 24, 1899; Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times, April 25, 1899; San Francisco Chronicle, April 25, 1899; National Police Gazette, May 13, 1899; Sandusky (Ohio) Star, June 22, 1899; Chester (Pennsylvania) Times, November 20, 1929. The fighters were wearing 4-ounce gloves. Townsend briefly regained consciousness after the fight, but then relapsed and died. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain. The promoters, seconds, and Cavanaugh were charged with manslaughter, but the charges were dropped in September 1899.

Harry Peppers

21-Jun

1899

KO

6

Frank Neiwald (Dutch Neal)

26

Peoria

Illinois

USA

Middle

Dubuque (Iowa) Daily Herald, June 27, 1899; Los Angeles Times, June 21, 1899; San Francisco Chronicle, June 21, 1899; Naugatuck (Connecticut) Daily News, June 26, 1899; San Francisco Chronicle, June 28, 1899; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 29, 1899; National Police Gazette, July 15, 1899; Chuck Burroughs, Come Out Fighting: True Fight Tales for Fight Fans (Peoria, Illinois: Chuck Burroughs, 1977), 110-111. Neiwald took the fight on two week’s notice, and was noticeably out of shape. Five-ounce gloves were worn. In the last round of the bout, he was not fighting very enthusiastically. Peppers threw a left jab that appeared to miss, and Neiwald responded by falling on his face. The crowd yelled “Fake!” The management agreed, and told the audience that Neiwald would not be paid for the fight. Neiwald then lay ringside for the rest of the card. At the end of the night, someone called a doctor. Neiwald was taken to the hospital, where he died four days later. Cause of death was listed as hemorrhage of the brain resulting from over-exertion while in an unfit physical condition.

George Wanko (Kid Wanko)

28-Jun

1899

KO

4

Felix Carr

23

Parkersburg

West Virginia

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, June 28, 1899; National Police Gazette, July 22, 1899, 15; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, October 18, 1899. Los Angeles Times, October 19, 1899. Carr died the following morning, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. In October 1899, Wanko was convicted of manslaughter.

Frank McConnell

16-Aug

1899

KO

14

Jim Franey


San Francisco

California

USA

Welter

San Francisco Chronicle, August 16, 1899; San Francisco Chronicle, August 17, 1899; San Francisco Chronicle, August 18, 1899; San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 1899; Los Angeles Times, August 18, 1899; Hamilton (Ohio) Butler County Democrat, August 24, 1899; Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1899. Franey had a good first three rounds. Later, he tired, and he was knocked out in the fourteenth round. (He was apparently unconscious on the way to the floor, as he landed face first.) He regained consciousness several hours later, but relapsed into a coma and died the afternoon of August 17. There was a hemorrhage on the left side of his brain and the examination of his lungs showed pleuretic adhesions. Charges were filed, but dismissed in September 1899. McConnell himself was badly injured after a 14-round knockout by Joe “Spider” Welch on January 15, 1903 (Mansfield, Ohio, News, January 16, 1903), and subsequently retired from the ring.

Jim Pendergast

27-Sep

1899

KO

10

Charles Hoskins


Grass Valley

California

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, September 28, 1899; Reno Evening Gazette, September 28, 1899. During the third, the referee awarded the fight to Hoskins on a foul. (Groin protectors were not worn by boxers until about 1930.) However, at the prompting of the crowd, Hoskins asked that the fight be allowed to continue. It was. Hoskins was knocked out in the tenth, and he subsequently died. The following day, the coroner’s jury exonerated Pendergast.

Charles Chelius

21-Oct

1899

KO

1

William Wilke

19

Chicago

Illinois

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, October 22, 1899; Chicago Daily Tribune, October 23, 1899; Los Angeles Times, October 22, 1899. Both fighters belonged to boxing clubs. They were fighting for a purse of $5 in a basement. Wilke died about an hour after the fight.

John “Jack” Fox

11-Nov

1899

KO

13

Henry Apfel


Brooklyn

New York

USA

Welter

Los Angeles Herald, November 17, 1899; Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1899; Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1899; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 16, 1899; Brooklyn Daily November 21, 1899; Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig and Courier, November 27, 1899. The bout was staged at the Pelican Club. Apfel reportedly misstepped, fell, and hit his head. A few hours after the fight, he fell unconscious. Autopsy determined cause of death to be cerebral hemorrhage following laceration of the brain. Fox was arrested. The jury ruled death to be due to the fall, and Fox was released.

Fred Bellerson

14-Dec

1899

KO

6

Henry Neise


St. Louis

Missouri

USA

Heavy

Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1899; Los Angeles Times, December 16, 1899; San Francisco Chronicle, December 14, 1899; National Police Gazette, December 12, 1903, 3. The Times account described Bellerson as “hog fat.” Neise was tall and lanky and the difference in appearance drew derision from the crowd. The first hard blow in the fight came in the sixth, when Bellerson hit Neise with a right to the jaw. Neise went down. As he struggled to get to his feet, Bellerson hit him again. (The neutral corner rule was still several decades in the future.) Neise’s head hit the floor with a thud. He was carried from the ring, and he died shortly afterwards. Cause of death was listed as a concussion of the brain.

Private Butler

6-Feb

1899

KO

6

George”


Cape Town


South Africa

Light

(Glasgow) Scotsman, February 9, 1899; Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times, February 8, 1899; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, February 27, 1899. Butler was a soldier in the King’s Royal Rifles. George, who was probably Xhosa, was knocked down many times, but kept standing up. In the sixth, though, he crawled under the ropes, and Butler was declared the winner. George lay ringside until eventually someone summoned medical assistance. He died 26 hours later.

Frank McHenry

1-May

1899

KO

3

Frank Martin (Young James)


Albany

New York

USA

ND

(Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, May 2, 1899; Naugatuck (Connecticut) Daily News, May 3, 1899; National Police Gazette, May 22, 1899. According to the Police Gazette, Martin ate “a hearty dinner” before entering the ring, and so that paper attributed his death to indigestion. According to the other newspapers cited, the cause of death was a blow to the heart.

George Coxey

20-Oct

1899

KO

6

Jim Hill


Covelo

California

USA

Middle

Los Angeles Times, October 20, 1899. Hall was a 10-1 favorite. Police detained Coxey, the seconds, and the promoter, but they were released after the coroner’s jury ruled the blow accidental. Coxey later became an insurance salesman for New York Life. (Chester, Pennsylvania, Times, June 27, 1930).

Gregory Quigley

23-Jun

1899

KO

31

Morris Seeburg


Fresno

California

USA

ND

North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, June 24, 1899. During a clinch, the two men fell, and Quigley landed on Seeburg’s head.

John Musick

22-Aug

1899

TKO

9

Alfred Molina (or Melina)

20

Stockton

California

USA

ND

Davenport (Iowa) Daily Republican, August 24, 1899; Naugatuck (Connecticut) Daily News, August 24, 1899; Los Angeles Times, September 5, 1899. The fight was stopped in the ninth. The boxers shook hands, and went to the dressing room, where Molina collapsed. He died the following morning. Cause of death was attributed to a burst blood vessel in the brain. Charges were filed, but the case was dropped after the witnesses refused to testify on grounds that testifying might incriminate them. (The papers described the boxers as amateurs, but a 9-round fight at the club rooms of a fraternal organization suggests a paid performance. Age at death is approximate, but it was “under 21 years,” according to the Naugatuck paper.)

William Forsyth

25-May

1900

KO

13

Eddie Tebault (or Thibault)

25

Bridgeport

Connecticut

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, May 28, 1900; San Francisco Chronicle, May 28, 1900. Tebault was being hit hard in the body toward the end of the fight. He was groggy upon answering the bell in the thirteenth, when he began to be hit solidly in the head. He fell backwards, and the back of his head struck the unpadded floor. He was taken to the hospital unconscious, where he died May 27. Forsyth was arrested.

Victor Baldwin

8-Aug

1900

KO


Ralph Miller

19

Richmond Hill (Queens)

New York

USA

Light

New York World, August 9, 1900, 4; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, August 10, 1900; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 14, 1900. The match took place in a barn. Miller took a blow behind the right ear, and was counted out. While removing his gloves after the fight, he collapsed. Water was thrown in his face, but this did not revive him. A doctor was called, but Miller still died about an hour later. Baldwin was arrested, but subsequently exonerated. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

James Devine

4-Oct

1900

KO

5

Steve Flanagan


Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Bantam

Frederick (Maryland) News, October 6, 1900; Washington Post, October 6, 1900; Anaconda (Montana) Standard, October 7, 1900; Sandusky (Ohio) Daily Star, October 6, 1900; Dubuque (Iowa) Daily Herald, October 12, 1900. There was no blow immediately preceding Flanagan’s collapse in the ring. Indeed, Flanagan was reported to have a look of astonishment on his face. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain, which the jury attributed to over-exertion. Several months earlier, Flanagan had been knocked out by Dan Dougherty, and that time, it took ten hours to revive him.

Bernard Carroll

6-Nov

1900

KO


Michael Goldman (Kid O’Brien)


Detroit

Michigan

USA

ND

Oakland Tribune, November 7, 1900; New York Times, November 8, 1900; New York World, November 8, 1900; New York World, November 13, 1900; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 7, 1900. During a fight at the Cadillac Athletic Club, Goldman was knocked unconscious. He died in hospital the following day. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain. Carroll was charged with manslaughter, but charges were dropped.

ND

Mar/

1900

KO


John Grimes


Rutherford

New Jersey

USA

ND

North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, March 27, 1900. Grimes, “a colored coachman” was struck over the heart. He complained of pain in the area, and died a couple days later.

Patrick “Paddy” Donovan

31-Dec

1900

KO

9

Francis W. Grabfelder (Frank Welch)

21

Phillipsburg

New Jersey

USA

Feather

Trenton (New Jersey) Times, January 8, 1901; New York Times, January 9, 1901; Chicago Daily Tribune, January 9, 1901; Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator, January 8, 1901; Davenport (Iowa) Daily Leader, January 30, 1930. Grabfelder collapsed in the ring, and died January 8, 1901. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain. Donovan was arrested, but acquitted after giving a sparring demonstration for the jurors.

Matthew Precious

29-Jan

1900

KO

9

Michael Riley

21

London

London

England

Fly

(Glasgow) Scotsman, February 3, 1900; London Times, February 22, 1900; News of the World, December 30, 1900; Arthur Frederick Bettinson and William Outram Tristam, The National Sporting Club Past and Present (London: Sands & Co., 1902), 149-152; Matt Precious scrapbook in the City Archive of the Birmingham Central Library, Birmingham, England. At the start of the tenth round in a scheduled 15-round fight, Riley took one step forward and then sat back down, semi-conscious. He was counted out and carried to the dressing room. From there, he was taken to the hospital, where he died the following morning. Cause of death was listed as the rupture, by force, of blood vessels in the brain. The inquest ruled that the death was an accident, and the National Sporting Club secretary later wrote that this fight was the best of the evening.

Isaac English

4-Apr

1900

KO


Albert Day


Jasper

Michigan

USA

ND

Delphos (Ohio) Daily Herald, April 5, 1900; Naugatuck (Connecticut) Daily News, April 6, 1900.

ND

Apr/

1900

KO


Elmer Harris

17

Hamilton

Ohio

USA

ND

Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Journal, April 28, 1900.

Robert Council

27-Jun

1900

Wfoul


J.W. Stansbury


Roanoke Rapids

North Carolina

USA

ND

Washington Post, June 28, 1900. The two men were laughing and joking at the beginning of the match. Then Council struck Stansbury below the belt. Stansbury staggered out of the ring, and died thirty minutes later. Death was viewed as accidental.

Jack Gover

3-Sep

1900

WKO

15

Ponk Andrews


London

London

England

Light

Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, September 4, 1900; London Times, September 5, 1900. Andrews was knocked down in the fourth, but got up and won the fight by knockout. After the fight, he reported feeling badly, and the following morning he died.

Charles Abramowitz

8-Jan

1901

KO


John Majane (Lewis Malone)

26

Atlantic City

New Jersey

USA

ND

North Adams (Massachusetts) Transcript, January 9, 1901; New York World, January 10, 1901; Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Atlantic City Ward 4, Atlantic, New Jersey; Roll: T623 953; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 14. A blood vessel in the brain was ruptured.

Mick Dunn

23-Jul

1901

KO

9

Alfred Otto Simpson (Otto Cribb)

23

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Welter

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, July 24, 1901; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, July 25, 1901; Otago (New Zealand) Witness, August 14, 1901; Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 15, 1901; Hawarea and Normanby (New Zealand) Star, October 3, 1901; Arnold Thomas Boxing Collection, National Library of Australia, http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3637931. Simpson, who was from Dunedin, New Zealand, was counted out while resting on one knee. He left the ring unassisted, dressed, and went home. He was found dead in his bed next morning. Cause of death was determined to be hemorrhage of the brain. (Following concussion, “it is better if a knocked-out athlete is not allowed to sleep.” C. Basil Fausset, “Neurological situations related to athletic injuries,” Journal of the Indiana State Medical Association 31, January 1958, 37.) Eleven persons were charged with manslaughter, but all were acquitted.

John Kramer

4-Feb

1901

KO


Frank Hilson


Reading

Ohio

USA

ND

Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News, February 5, 1901; Wellsboro (Pennsylvania) Gazette, February 8, 1901; Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, March 2, 1906. Hilson was described as a colored boxer. The venue was the Olympia Athletic Club.

Charles Armstrong

15-Aug

1901

KO

9

John Dion


Lowell

Massachusetts

USA

ND

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 16, 1901; New York Times, August 17, 1901; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, August 17, 1901. Dion was never really in the fight, and he was taken to the hospital immediately after the knockout blows. All surviving principals were arrested. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain.

Jack Roberts

22-Apr

1901

KO

8

Murray Livingstone (Billy Smith)


London

London

England

Feather

New York World, April 24, 1901; Chicago Daily Tribune, April 26, 1901; Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator, April 26, 1901; Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator, April 29, 1901; (Glasgow) Scotsman, April 30, 1901; (Glasgow) Scotsman, May 3, 1901; London Times, May 3, 1901, London Times, May 10, 1901, London Times, June 29, 1901; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, June 30, 1901; Bob Mee, Bare Fists: The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting (Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 202. Livingstone was ahead during the first three rounds, then, during the fourth, he injured his right arm. He was knocked down in the seventh round, and he collapsed about a minute into the eighth. He died in hospital two days later. It was the fourth fatality in the National Sporting Club in just over three years, and as a result ten people were charged with “felonious slaying.” On April 25, 1901, Smith’s brother Nat told the press that the deceased had been given a laced drink in the seventh round, and that this had poisoned him. Said Nat Smith: “He had the fight won when he began to stagger about the ring and fell unconscious.” At the inquest, Dr. Dodd of Charing Cross testified that there was no evidence of drugging. Said the Scotsman: “When he saw the deceased one pupil was contracted and the other dilated, which in itself would negative any suggestion of a narcotic.” The jury was out for all of two minutes before returning a verdict of accidental death caused by “laceration on the right side of the brain.” Mechanism of death was attributed to a fall against the ring ropes in the fourth round. The court case is Rex v. Roberts and others, Central Criminal Court, June 28, 1901, cited at Arthur Frederick Bettinson and William Outram Tristam, The National Sporting Club Past and Present (London: Sands & Co., 1902), 163-205.

James Driscoll

29-Nov

1901

Ldec

6

August “Dutch” Reiniger


Chicago

Illinois

USA

Middle

Newark (Ohio) Advocate, December 2, 1901; Baltimore Sun, December 3, 1901; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, December 2, 1901; Chicago Daily Tribune, December 2, 1901; Chicago Daily Tribune, December 3, 1901. Reiniger was hit hard in the fifth round. He stayed upright to the end of the fight. He went home with a broken nose, but then became comatose. He died on December 2. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Thomas Markey

29-Mar

1902

KO


Thomas W. Hornketh (Tommy White)


Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Davenport (Iowa) Daily Republican, March 30, 1902; Los Angeles Times, April 4, 1902; Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Republican, April 6, 1902. White was knocked down by a blow to the jaw. He died on April 3, 1902, without ever regaining consciousness. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage, which the jury attributed to excitement.

Hans Hartranft

2-May

1902

KO

7

Frank J. Smith


Allentown

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, May 4, 1902; Des Moines (Iowa) Daily Leader, May 4, 1902. Cause of death was attributed to a blood clot on the brain.

Eddie Dixon

22-May

1902

KO

4

John Cassidy (Tom Noonan)

20

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Feather

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, May 23, 1902; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, May 23, 1902; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, May 24, 1902; New York World, May 25, 1902; Sandusky (Ohio) Star Journal, May 23, 1902; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, May 24, 1902; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, May 28, 1902. Cassidy was doing well going into the fourth, when he was knocked down by a right hook to the jaw. He did not get up, and he died the following day. Death was caused by a ruptured artery in the brain, which the coroner attributed to a thin skull.

William Stokes

1-Sep

1902

KO

3

Albert Terrell (Kid Albert)

17

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Coshocton (Ohio) Daily Age, September 3, 1902; Ogden (Utah) Standard Examiner, September 2, 1902, http://content.lib.utah.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/ogden7&CISOPTR=72679&CISOSHOW=72683&CISOSHOW2=72748. After being knocked down, Terrill reportedly struck his head on the floor. He died four hours later.

John Beaubien

Jul/

1902

KO


Charles Gildy


Detroit

Michigan

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, July 2, 1902; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, January 2, 1903. Gildy died August 11, “as the result of being knocked out by John Beaubien two weeks before.”

George Gardiner

18-Aug

1902

KO

17

Jack Root


Salt Lake City

Utah

USA

Middle

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 19, 1902; Newark (Ohio) Advocate, August 19, 1902. Root was knocked down three times in the final round, and at the count of 7, Root’s manager, Lou Houseman, threw in the sponge.

ND

13-Sep

1902

KO


Edward Davies

36

Rowley Wake

London

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, September 26, 1902.

Jack Slavin

5-Jan

1902

Ldec


Ernest F. Padmore


Tokyo


Japan

Middle

Winnipeg (Manitobba) Morning Free Press, February 6, 1902; Vancouver Daily Province, February 6, 1902; Boston Globe, February 6, 1902; Ancestry.com, All U.S. Veterans Gravesties, ca. 1775-2006 [database on-line]. Padmore was a black hospital corpsman in the US Navy. He was Slavin’s sparring partner in a bout in Yokohama, and the audience complained about what a slow fight he gave. A few hours after the fight, he complained his feet were cold and numb, and that his left side was causing him discomfort. A US Navy doctor treated him, but he died of angina pectoris at about 1:30 a.m. the day following the bout.

John Volence (Young Choynski)

1-Mar

1902

WKO

4

Samuel Uphouser (Brighton Slasher)


Chicago

Illinois

USA

Middle

Chicago Daily Tribune, March 2, 1902; Atlanta Constitution, March 7, 1902; Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1902; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 10, 1902. During the same show, Teddy Pepper fought twice, and was knocked out both times. These two events caused significant problems for boxing in Chicago. Explained the Post-Standard, “These purely boxing clubs are operating in Chicago under a law which permits incorporated athletic clubs to give such exhibitions as are pure sporting events -- no admission fee and only members of the clubs being present. The boxing clubs get around this part of the law by selling their tickets on the quiet and depending upon the sporting columns of the daily papers for their advertising... [The police have taken the position ] that as they were orderly and no ill results ensued from their operations, [the police are] justified in leaving them alone. [However, the police] can close them up at will, for they are operating clearly in violation of the law.”

Griffith “Grif” Jones

8-Sep

1903

Draw

6

Oliver Knight (Joe Riley)

23

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Bantam

Brantford (Ontario) Expositor, September 10, 1903; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, September 12, 1903; National Police Gazette, September 26, 1903, 3. Apparently in reasonable condition after the fight, Knight collapsed in the dressing room afterwards, and he died on September 9 without ever regaining consciousness. Cause of death was given as uremia.

Max “Ducky” Holmes

31-Mar

1903

KO

6

Joseph “Kid” Stearks


Bridgeport

Connecticut

USA

ND

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle, April 1, 1903; Forth Wayne (Indiana) Journal Gazette, April 2, 1903; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, April 16, 1903. Going into the sixth, Stearks was ahead on points. Then, in the final seconds, he was hit on the jaw. He fell to the floor and did not get up. He died the following morning. Medical examination revealed cause of death to be cerebral hemorrhage. The jury associated the injury with the fall rather than the blow, so manslaughter charges were dismissed.

Alonzo “Harry” White

8-Apr

1903

KO

2

Harry Taylor


Butte

Montana

USA

Light

Butte (Montana) Anacoda Standard, April 10, 1903. Because prizefighting was illegal in Montana, the bout was advertised as “a 10-round go for ‘exercise and points.’“ Consequently, this was described in court as a boxing bout rather than a prizefight. The gloves worn weighed about five pounds, and the hands were bandaged normally. About a minute into the second round, Taylor, in the words of the referee, “collapsed and went down in pieces.” He died soon after. When asked at the inquest if he had hit Taylor hard, White replied, “Why, to tell you the truth, I have hit my kid harder than Taylor was hit at any time last night.” Although the autopsy found great quantities of blood in the brain, the doctors attributed death to a diseased heart. Taylor was listed as a colored bootblack from New Orleans, while White was listed as mulatto.

Jim Jeffords

28-May

1903

KO

3

George Feeley


Savannah

Georgia

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1903. Jeffords was arrested, but later exonerated.

William Morgan (Paddy King)

24-Aug

1903

KO

16

Charles Best (Charlie Young)


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Light

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, August 25, 1903; (Sydney, Australia) The Age, August 26, 1903, http://www.echoed.com.au/chronicle/1903/jul-aug/general.htm. Best was knocked down. He struggled to his feet, and was knocked down again by a short left to the jaw. Best died the following morning. Morgan and the officials associated with the match were arrested.

Robert “Ruby Bob” Fitzsimmons

30-Sep

1903

KO

1

Con Coughlin (Irish Giant)

33

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light Heavy

Trenton (New Jersey) Times, October 1, 1903. Fitzsimmons was champion of world in three weights, and Coughlin was knocked down three times in less than three minutes.

Hugh Murphy

21-Jan

1903

KO

15

Eugene McCarthy

18

Scituate

Rhode Island

USA

Light

Newark (Ohio) Advocate, January 23, 1903; Colorado Springs (Colorado) Gazette, January 24, 1903; Gardner T. Swarts, Fifty-First Annual Report upon the Registration and Return of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, in the State of Rhode Island ... for the Year Ending December 31, 1903 (Providence: E.L. Freeman & Sons, 1904), 192, 279. McCarthy was knocked down by a blow to the body. Cause of death was attributed to concussion of the brain, and associated with the fall rather than blows.

James Cason

15-Aug

1903

KO

8

J. Leach


Newcastle

Tyne and Wear

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, August 25, 1903. Cause of death was “syncope arising from natural causes.”

Frank A. Solomon (Kid Williams)

18-Dec

1903

Ndec

20

Thomas Pendergast


Sacramento

California

USA

Welter

Atlanta Constitution, December 20, 1903; Coshocton (Ohio) Daily Age, December 23, 1903; Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Daily Sentinel, December 21, 1903; Oakland Tribune, December 22, 1903. After going home, Pendergast said his stomach hurt. Then he fell unconscious, and he died about 11:30 a.m. the following day. Concussion of the brain was listed as cause of death.

Clarence Doolittle

6-Nov

1903

Wdec

3

Willis Kingley


Franklin

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Atlanta Constitution, November 8, 1903. Kingsley walked out, then collapsed. Cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

Walter Robinson

11-May

1904

KO

9

Johnny Bryant


Fresno

California

USA

ND

Fresno Weekly Republican, May 19 1904; Los Angeles Times, May 15, 1904. The overmatched Bryant was practically unconscious on his feet during the ninth round. His corner threw in the towel, but he was still hit one last time. He collapsed to the floor and he died soon afterward. The coroner subsequently ruled that Bryant died from cerebral hemorrhage. Robinson was black and the writer for the Weekly Republican was aghast at the thought of a “grinning Negro” killing a white man.

George Wagner

6-Apr

1904

KO

16

Louis Drolet


Quebec City (Saint-Roch district)

Quebec

Canada

ND

Los Angeles Times, April 7, 1904; New York Times, April 8, 1904; Chicago Daily Tribune, April 8, 1904; Toronto Globe, April 12, 1904. Drolet died the day after the fight. The jury said there was no blame because the blow had not been delivered maliciously. Although cause of death was brain hemorrhage, the mechanism was attributed to a punch to the solar plexus. (“The solar plexus blow causes unconsciousness by deranging the vagal tone of the body,” thus decreasing blood pressure, and possibly causing cardiac arrest. A reduced oxygen supply to the brain is also possible. E.S. Gurdjian and J.E. Webster, Head Injuries: Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Management, Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1958, 350.)

Patrick Dormady

2-Oct

1904

KO

4

John C. Peters


West Bergen

New Jersey

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, October 3, 1904; Newark (Ohio) Advocate, October 3, 1904. The fight took place in front of 300 people (including 4 policemen) at 1 a.m. Peters was knocked down several times in the fourth round. It was reported that a blow to the heart inflicted the fatal injuries.

Thomas Johnson

28-Jan

1904

KO

5

Charles Andette

31

Detroit

Michigan

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald, January 29, 1904; Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1904. Andette died of a burst blood vessel in the head.

Dorsey Cranston (Kid Dorsey)

23-Mar

1905

KO

6

John Hall


Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, March 28, 1905; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 29, 1905; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, March 29, 1905; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, March 24, 1905; Washington Post, March 29, 1905. Death was due to cerebral hemorrhage. Cranston and the promoter were arrested, but discharged after the jury ruled that the injuries were accidental.

Jack Donnelly

3-Jul

1905

KO

16

Fred Ross


Aberdeen

Washington

USA

Middle

Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1905; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News, July 5, 1905. Ross died two days later. Cause of death listed as dislocated neck and blood clot on the brain. Donnelly was arrested.

Fred Northrup

30-Oct

1905

KO

6

Charles O’Regan


St. John

New Brunswick

Canada

Catchweight

Kennebec (Maine) Daily Kennebec Journal, October 31, 1905; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, November 11, 1905. Northrup was heavier than O’Regan. Two minutes into the sixth round, Northrup hit O’Regan with a blow to the heart followed by a left to the jaw. O’Regan went down. He was carried to the dressing room, where he died.

Frank Shannon

21-Dec

1905

KO

1

Patrick Reynolds

21

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, December 22, 1905. Reynolds was struck on the back of the neck. He went to his knees. He stood up, put up his guard, then fell face first. “Don’t cheer, boys, he’s hurt,” said a second. He was dead by the time the priest and the police arrived. Cause of death was attributed to heart disease.

George Kubnsak

15-Jan

1905

KO


Alexander Nodzinska

19

Reading

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Courier, January 17, 1905.

Herbert Eshleman

17-Feb

1905

TKO

5

Warren Yinger

20

Lancaster

Pennsylvania

USA

Welter

Trenton (New Jersey) Times, February 22, 1905; Philadelphia Inquirer, March 5, 1905; Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Yinger left the ring, but soon afterwards collapsed into unconsciousness. He died died four days later. A manslaughter warrant was issued March 4.

Frankie Neil

28-Feb

1906

KO

14

Sam Tennebaum (Harry Tenny)

21

San Francisco

California

USA

Bantam

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, March 1, 1906; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, March 9, 1906; Oakland Tribune, March 31, 1907; Elyria (Ohio) Reporter, March 5, 1906. Tennebaum was unconscious for about an hour after the fight. He regained consciousness briefly, but lapsed back into a coma, and died the following morning. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. The cororner’s jury found the promoters of this fight guilty of gross negligence after it was determined that Tennebaum’s medical certificates had been signed by a sportswriter (who, by the way, went on to become sports editor of the New York Morning Telegraph).

Nick Verra

5-Apr

1906

KO


Michael Benyo

22

Star Junction

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Courier, April 5, 1906; Connellsville (Pennsylvania), Courier, April 13, 1906. The two men were having “a playful scuffle” during a break at the coal tipple at which they both worked. Benyo was knocked down, and he died shortly afterwards. Although Verra was arrested, he was released a week later, after the coroner’s jury ruled that the death was accidental.

Eddie Tancel

4-Jul

1906

KO

10

Young” Charles Greenberg

18

La Salle

Illinois

USA

Middle

Chicago Daily Tribune, July 8, 1906; New York World, July 8, 1906, 10, Chicago Daily Tribune, April 19, 1910. Cause of death was a blood clot at the base of the brain. Greenberg had only recently begun fighting professionally. Tancel and two other men (Thomas E. Jones, better known as Ad Wolgast’s manager, and William Farmer) pled guilty to manslaughter and each of the three was fined $144.25.

Henry “Phil” Ryan

17-Sep

1906

KO

8

Harry Strothcamp


Harrison

New York

USA

ND

Washington (District of Columbia) Evening Star, September 9, 1906; Trenton (New Jersey) Times, September 19, 1906; Washington Post, September 19, 1906. The fight was held in the back room of an Italian saloon called the Bungalow, for a $200 purse. Between 100-250 people were in the crowd. Harrison was knocked down three times in the seventh round, the last time by solar plexus punch. From the floor, he said, “Good-bye, boys, I guess I’m done for. I guess I’ve fought my last fight,” and then he passed out. A doctor was called, but Harrison was dead by the time the physician arrived. Cause of death was attributed to a weak heart.

Walter Robinson

22-Sep

1906

KO


Richard Munson

20

West Seneca

New York

USA

ND

Reno Evening Gazette, September 24, 1906; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, September 24, 1906; Chicago Daily Tribune, September 25, 1906; Seattle Times, September 25, 1906. Munson was struck behind the left ear, and he went down. He died September 24, apparently of brain injury. Robinson was arrested.

Martin Martinson (Terry Martin)

24-Sep

1906

KO

5

Jack McKenzie


Portland

Maine

USA

Welter

Washington Post, December 23, 1906; Trenton Evening Times, January 4, 1907; Boston Globe, September 25, 1906. Just before the bell, McKenzie was hit above the heart and in the throat. He walked to his corner, where he collapsed. He failed to get up at the start of the sixth, and the crowd yelled, “Fake!” Several doctors entered the ring, but he was pronounced dead fifteen minutes later. Cause of death was listed as heart trouble. NOTE: In September 1908, a boxer called Terry Martin, aged 27, was taken to the hospital in New York for treatment of his own serious head injury (New York Times, September 26, 1908). The opponent in this latter bout was Harry Lewis, who was the opponent during the Mike Ward death of November 1906. Martin recovered, however, and he continued boxing until shortly before his death in 1918. Meanwhile, Harry Lewis (Herman Besterman) lived until 1956, but was partially paralyzed secondary to injuries received during a bout in November 1913.

Billy Snailham

28-Sep

1906

KO

13

Johnny Crowe

20

Everett

Washington

USA

Bantam

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 30, 1906; Seattle Times, September 30, 1906; Washington Post, October 1, 1906. Snailham hit Crowe with a combination to the kidney and heart. Crowe collapsed in the ring and died without regaining consciousness. The autopsy showed that Crowe had an enlarged heart, stomach problems, and a clot in the brain. Snailham had fought (and beaten) Crowe at least three times in the past year, and Crowe had been knocked out during a fight with Louie Long just two months before.

Herman Besterman (Harry Lewis)

15-Nov

1906

KO

9

Andrew Michael “Mike” Ward

22

Grand Rapids

Michigan

USA

Welter

Oakland Tribune, November 16, 1906; Reno Evening Gazette, November 16, 1906; Toronto Globe, November 17, 1906; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, December 1, 1906; Kennebec (Maine) Daily Kennebec Journal, January 14, 1907; New York Times, March 8, 1907; correspondence with Mary Burgess, a relative of Ward, on June 7, 2006. Ward was from Sarnia, Ontario, and he and his cousin Michael Andrew Ward were both featherweight boxers. Ward had essentially retired from the ring a year before (he was studying to become a Roman Catholic priest), but was talked into one last contest. During the ninth round of this fight, he was knocked down. When he started to stand up up, he was knocked down again. (There was no neutral corner in those days.) This time, Ward’s head struck the unpadded floor with an audible thump, and that ended the match. Ward stood up, spoke a few words, and then collapsed. He died the following day. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Besterman was charged with first-degree murder, but was exonerated after the jury said that it was the fall rather than the blows that killed Ward. Nonetheless, Besterman was still fined $1,000 on charges of prizefighting. In addition, Grand Rapid’s laws were changed so that subsequently, only three-round bouts with 8-ounce gloves could be fought inside the city.

Jim Gains

25-Dec

1906

KO

8

Calvin Good


Fargo

North Dakota

USA

ND

Reno Evening Gazette, December 27, 1906; Anaconda (Montana) Standard, December 27, 1906; Atlanta (Georgia) Constitution, December 27, 1906. Both Gains and Good were black. The fight took place at the Fargo Elks Lodge. Even though (or perhaps because) people in the audience at this bout included a state attorney, the county sheriff, and the lieutenant-governor of North Dakota, Gains was not present at the hearing. Instead, he reportedly left town. The cororner’s jury attributed Good’s death to pneumonia.

George Fis (Kid Sis)

18-Jan

1906

KO

2

Nathan Rosenberg (Kid Goog)

18

New York

New York

USA

ND

New York Times, January 19, 1906. Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1906. Fight was a scheduled 3-rounder at George Macfadden’s club. Rosenberg was hit hard over the heart, and carried to the dressing room. There, he was discovered to be dead, and the crowd (and Kid Sis) promptly left.

Joseph Rivers

22-Jan

1906

KO


Lawrence Tighe

16

Brooklyn

New York

USA

ND

Augusta (Maine) Daily Kennebec Journal, January 24, 1906; Oxford Junction (Iowa) Oxford Mirror, February 1, 1906. Tighe was knocked out and taken to the hospital. He died a week later without regaining consciousness. The surviving principals were arrested.

Chiefy” Johnson

5-Feb

1906

KO

3

Alexander Gdovin (Thomas Dover)

20

Colma

California

USA

ND

San Francisco Chronicle, February 7, 1906; Steve “Woody” Barry, “A Boxer’s Death,” Western Neighborhoods Project, January 2004, http://www.outsidelands.org/sw24.html. Gdovin dropped dead in the third. The cause of death was listed as a blow to the heart. The venue was a local saloon, and the estimated 200 spectators were gone long before the police arrived -- which was odd, because the promoters included the town constable, and the referee was one of his deputies.

Young” Harry Asbury

7-May

1906

Ldec

6

Harry McCarthy

18

Sharon

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Washington Post, May 8, 1906; Chicago Daily Tribune, May 9, 1906; Augusta (Maine) Daily Kennebec Journal, May 9, 1906. After the decision was announced, McCarthy walked from the ring to the dressing room, where he collapsed. He died two hours later. Cause of death was attributed to apoplexy.

Neil Dover

21-Sep

1907

KO

2

John Mees (Young Mees)

22

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Middletown (New York) Daily Times-Press, September 23, 1907; New York Times, September 23, 1907; Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1907; Oakland Tribune, September 24, 1907. Mees collapsed after being struck over the heart. He died in hospital the following day. Dover was arrested.

Samuel Irons

26-Apr

1907

KO


Thomas Miller

20

Walsenburg

Colorado

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal-Gazette, April 28, 1907. Miller was knocked down by a blow to the solar plexus. He did not get up.

B.M. Manning

14-Jan

1908

KO

8

H. A. Harnett (or Hartnet)

23

Naval Station Newport

Rhode Island

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald, January 19, 1908; Hamilton (Ohio) Daily Republican-News, February 14, 1908. The two men were apprentice seamen assigned to the training ship, USS Cumberland (IX-8). They had a grudge, and agreed to fight it out under supervision. Gloves were worn, a referee was in the ring, and the surgeon sat ringside. Both boxers were visibly tired by the seventh, and in the eighth, Harnett was knocked down. He did not get up, and he died in hospital on January 18. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain. The commanding officer of the USS Cumberland received an official reprimand for allowing apprentice seamen to settle a dispute with boxing gloves.

Fred Lucas

26-Feb

1908

KO

5

Emmet Brown


New York

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, February 28, 1908; Oakland Tribune, February 28, 1908. “As a side line to his trade as a barber, Emmet Brown, a negro, of 71 West Ninety-ninth Street, fought ‘for the white folks,’ as his wife explained to the police yesterday, when she was told that her husband had been in one fight too many and was dead.” The bout took place at the rear of a saloon on 1841 Avenue A. Brown was doing well until the fifth, when he was knocked down, unconscious. He was carried outside and thrown on the sidewalk. He died in hospital the following day. Death was attributed to skull fracture.

Fritz Futzenberger (Young Billy Rhodes)

17-Mar

1908

KO

5

Leck Allen

25

St. Joseph

Missouri

USA

ND

Des Moines (Iowa) Daily News, March 18, 1908; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, March 18, 1908; Warren (Pennsylvania) Evening Mirror, March 19, 1908; 1900 Federal Census Cooper County, Missouri, ED 142, page 1 of 2, http://www.rootsweb.com/~cenfiles/mo/cooper/1900/ed142/ed142p01.txt. The fight took place at the Eagles lodge. Allen, who had only recently been released from prison, collapsed in the fifth. He died two days later without regaining consciousness. Futzenberger was arrested.

James Linskey

18-Jul

1908

KO

1

Richard “Dick” Stockdale


Newcastle

Tyne and Wear

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, July 28, 1908. Cause of death was said to have been a blow over the heart.

Teddy Pick

23-Jan

1909

KO

4

Mickey Wilson


Boise

Idaho

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald, January 25, 1909. Wilson died in hospital the following day. Cause of death was listed as a fracture at the base of the brain. Both men were soldiers of Troop L, Fourteenth US Cavalry.

Young Evans

28-May

1909

KO

15

James Kueriazes (Greek Jimmy Ryan)


Savannah

Georgia

USA

Light

Atlanta Constitution, May 29, 1909; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, May 29, 1909; Coshocton (Ohio) Daily Times, June 1, 1909.

Harry Haber

30-Oct

1909

KO


Michael Murray

25

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Boston Daily Globe, October 31, 1909; Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review, October 31, 1909. Death was attributed to skull fracture. Haber was arrested.

Henri De Bouyn

ND

1909

KO


A. Tecourth


Algiers

Algeria

France

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

George Keppe (Milwaukee Kid)

4-Jun

1909

KO

11

Victor “Ed” Lyons

31

Austin

Texas

USA

Heavy

Galveston (Texas) Daily News, June 6, 1909; New York Times, June 6, 1909; Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1909; Atlanta Constitution, June 6, 1909. The promoter was Dan Stuart, who tried to arrange a fight between Bob Fitzsimmons and Peter Maher in 1895. To circumvent anti-prizefighting laws,Stuart sold no tickets to the fight. Instead, it sold membership to Albert Raatz’s athletic club. By joining Raatz’s club, one received 12 lessons in physical culture, plus free attendance at a 20-round “sparring match” that would not end by draw. Although prizefighting was illegal in Texas, this bout was witnessed by a judge, the chief of police, the county sheriff, and Texas Rangers. In addition, the county clerk kept the collection. Five-ounce gloves were worn, and the two men were active throughout; according to the Atlanta paper, “By the end of the fifth round both men were covered with blood, even the referee was sprinkled with the blood of the fighters.” In the eleventh round, Lyons rushed Keppe, and for his efforts, was knocked through the ropes. He crawled or was pushed back into the ring, but was knocked down again, and the fight was stopped. Lyons sat dazed in his corner for about twenty mintues. His seconds then helped him down the street to a barber shop, where he was bathed. After that, he was taken to one of the seconds’ homes, and put to bed. He did not waken in the morning, so a doctor was called about 6:00 a.m., and he was pronounced dead about 9:15 a.m. Death was attributed to a rupture of the left middle meningeal artery, and attributed to a right-sided blow. When notified of the death, the police chief told reporters he did not stop the bout because everyone “seemed to like it.” In the sheriff’s opinion, no laws had been broken and Lyons’ death was due merely to an accident.” Added the gym owner, Albert Raatz: “It was a nice, friendly bout.”

James “Joe” O’Brien

22-Apr

1910

Draw

6

Max Landy

21

Brockton

Massachusetts

USA

Bantam

Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, April 25, 1910; Washington Post, April 26, 1910; New York Times, May 1, 1910. Landy had been the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national bantamweight champion in 1908. He was found dead in his bed. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Kid Kenneth” Harmon

22-Feb

1910

KO

3

Charles Edward “Ginger” Williams

23

Coalinga

California

USA

Heavy

Oakland Tribune, February 23, 1910; Fresno Morning Republican, February 24, 1910; Washington Post, February 24, 1910. Williams fell through the ropes, thereby breaking his neck and fracturing his skull. Williams was generally known as “Eddie.”

Stanley Rodgers

18-Apr

1910

KO

3

Frank Cole


Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 19, 1910; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 20, 1910; New York Times, May 1, 1910; Washington Post, April 20, 1910. According to the Seattle paper, “Cole received a solar plexus blow which sent him to the mat, his head striking with great force.” According to the Chicago paper, “Cole landed a left hook on Rodgers’ jaw and the latter fell to the floor with a crash.” Either way, Rodgers was taken to the hospital with a basal skull fracture. Cole, the referee (George Decker), and promoter Jim Johnson were arrested.

Owen Moran

29-Apr

1910

KO

16

Tommy McCarthy

20

San Francisco

California

USA

Feather

New York Times, May 1, 1910; Seattle Times, December 18, 1910. McCarthy was the younger brother of the well-regarded Johnny McCarthy, but was rushed into this bout with the more skilful Moran. Death was attributed to skull fracture.

Frank “Spike” Sullivan

20-Aug

1910

KO

6

Frederick K. Castor

22

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, August 20, 1910; Elyria (Ohio) Evening Telegram, August 22, 1910; Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania 1910 Miracode Index [database on-line]. Going into the sixth round, Castor was ahead on points. Suddenly, he fell unconscious. He died in hospital. He left a 17-year-old wife and an unborn daughter.

Frederick Mumm (Tommy Callahan)

9-Oct

1910

KO

7

Frederick Gitters (Kid Hyland)

26

Buffalo

New York

USA

ND

Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, October 10, 1910; Seattle Times, December 18, 1910. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Jack Leon (Russian Lion)

24-Nov

1910

KO

5

Billy Dunning


Presque Isle

Maine

USA

Heavy

New York Times, November 26, 1910; Middletown (New York) Daily Times-Press, November 26, 1910; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, November 30, 1910; Seattle Times, December 18, 1910. Cause of death was listed as a blood clot on the brain and an enlarged heart.

John Kalme (Johnny Kain)

16-Dec

1910

KO

5

John Emhoff (Kid Gardner)

21

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Washington Post, December 18, 1910; New York Times, December 21, 1910; (Corning, Iowa) Adams County Free Press, December 31, 1910; John Henry Wigmore, Select Cases on the Law of Torts: With Notes, and a Summary of Principles, Vol. II (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1912), 936. According to the Times, “Emhoff fell like a log and his head struck the floor.” He died. “We don’t hold a football team responsible for a death and I see no reason to hold a prize fighter,” added the coroner. (Wigmore)

Richard “Dick” Knock

22-Dec

1910

KO

16

Albert Davies (Jim Holland)


Liverpool

Merseyside

England

Light

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, December 24, 1910; (Glasgow) Scotsman, February 28, 1911. Following the knockout, Davies was carried from the ring. He died the following morning. The principals were arrested.

Frank Inglis

5-Mar

1910

KO

10

Robert Bertram “Curly” Watson

26

Stepney

London

England

Welter

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, March 7, 1910; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 9, 1910; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 11, 1910. Watson had lost nine fights in the past six months. On the other hand, he was a former Royal Navy boxing champion, with over 116 wins to his credit, and into the ninth round, he appeared to be winning this bout. Then, in the tenth round, he was struck three times on the body, and he collapsed. Cause of death was given as heart failure, “caused by compression of the brain, resulting from an infusion of blood from a lacerated artery.” His “coloured opponent” was arrested, but exonerated after the coroner opined that death was caused by the fall rather than a blow.

C. Robertson

10-May

1910

KO


E. Cliburn


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Hawarea and Normanby (New Zealand) Star, May 11, 1910; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, May 12, 1910. Cliburn was knocked down. His head reportedly struck the floor. He was taken to the hospital, where he died an hour later. At first, death was attributed to a broken neck, but after the autopsy, it was determined that the cause was a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

William G. King

May/

1910

KO


A.D. Russell


Fresno

California

USA

ND

Waterloo (Iowa) Reporter, June 1, 1910. Russell was knocked out of the ring, and cause of death was attributed to the fall rather than blows. Nonetheless, the jury subsequently found King guilty of manslaughter.

Tommy Welch

11-Jul

1910

KO

4

Hugh Brant (Kid Burns)

19

Mineola

New York

USA

Bantam

San Francisco Chronicle, July 11, 1910; Middletown (New York) Daily Times-Press, July 12, 1910; New York Times, July 13, 1910. Brant collapsed suddenly in the fourth and died. Cause of death was listed as exhaustion. The venue was a back room of a hotel’s bar.

ND

31-Aug

1910

KO


William H. Brinkmeyer

26

Bluefields

Nicaragua

USA

ND

Lincoln (Nebraska) State Journal, September 2, 1910; New York Times, September 2, 1910; Ancestry.com. U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1940 [database on-line]; US Census. [database on-line]. Year: 1910; Census Place: Camp Elliott, Canal Zone, Panama, Military and Naval Forces; Roll: T624_1784; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 27; Image: 536. Corporal Brinkmeyer was assigned to Company G, 3rd Battalion, First Regiment, US Marine Corps. At the time of his death, he was serving ashore during one of the many US military interventions in Nicaragua.

Alf Copperwaite

4-Sep

1910

KO

19

Rogers


Ballarat

Victoria

Australia

Feather

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, September 5, 1910. Rogers was knocked down, and did not get up. He died in hospital. As a boxer, Copperwaite was never the same after this fight.

Philip Big Dog (Frank Hall)

13-Oct

1910

KO

11

Kid Fisher


Longdale

Oklahoma

USA

ND

(Oklahoma City) Daily Oklahoman, October 13, 1910; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Morning Free Press, October 17, 1910. This was a bareknuckle fight. Cause of death was listed as broken neck.

Charles Parnell

4-Jul

1910

KO


John Shippee


La Porte

Indiana

USA

ND

Atlanta Constitution, July 10, 1910; Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Journal, July 16, 1910.

Walter Thompson

29-Jul

1910

KO

1

Richard Reed


Lynchburg

Virginia

USA

ND

Washington Post, July 31, 1910. Reed was struck hard in the solar plexus. In his corner between rounds, Reed collapsed, and he died within minutes.

ND

Nov/

1910

KO


Oliver Roach


Allinga

Western Australia

Australia

ND

Hawarea and Normanby (New Zealand) Star, November 22, 1910. Roach was knocked down, and died of injuries.

ND

6-Dec

1910

KO


Ernest Saunders


Lowestoft

Suffolk

England

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, December 7, 1910. Saunders collapsed in the ring and died in hospital.

Roy Gard

19-Jul

1910

Ldec


Russell Miller

20

Elston

Indiana

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, July 20, 1910. After the match, Miller said he didn’t feel well. He went to his brother’s home, and the following morning he was found dead in the outhouse.

Jack McHenry

28-Nov

1910

Ldec

10

Leo “Curly” Gerhardt


Lima

Ohio

USA

Light

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, November 29, 1910; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening News, November 29, 1910; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Weekly Sentinel, November 30, 1910; New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, December 2, 1910. After shaking hands at the end of the bout, Gerhardt sank to the floor. He was taken to the hospital, where he died without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Since there was no knockout blow, the death was attributed to Gerhardt being physically unfit.

Joseph McCarthy

9-Feb

1910

Ndec

10

Albert (or Aloise) Wilkowski (Jack Coburn)

21

Chicago

Illinois

USA

ND

Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review, February 10, 1910; Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, February 10, 1910; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, March 12, 1910. The fight took place at Harry Gilmore’s academy, and the boxers wore 2-ounce gloves. Shortly after the fight, Wilkowski collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was said to be fractured skull.

Walter Simmons

22-Jul

1910

TKO

13

George Johnson

24

Leicester

Leicestershire

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, July 23, 1910; (Glasgow) Scotsman, July 26, 1910. The referee stopped the fight in the thirteenth. Johnson collapsed afterwards, and subsequently died. Death was due to injury to the brain.

Walsh

14-Nov

1910

TKO

9

Fogerty


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

ND

Hawarea and Normanby (New Zealand) Star, November 16, 1910; Hawarea and Normanby (New Zealand) Star, November 24, 1910. Cause of death was attributed to concussion of the brain. The coroner ruled that the contest had been fairly conducted, so the jury ruled death by misadventure. The boxers were probably Bill Walsh and Jim Fogerty; if so, Fogerty was an aging heavyweight, while Walsh was a younger middleweight whose boxing would never be the same afterwards.

Andy Lom (Andrew Kerr)

26-Dec

1910

TKO

5

John J. Parmentier

17

Green Bay

Wisconsin

USA

Light

Indianapolis Star, December 27, 1910; Washington Post, December 28, 1910; Chicago Daily Tribune, December 27, 1910; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, June 17, 1914. Toward the end of the fourth, Parmentier was struck hard in the throat, and between the fifth and sixth rounds, he collapsed in his corner. He died twenty minutes later. Cause of death was attributed to hemorrhage of the brain. His father took the case to court, and the resulting case (Parmentier v. McGinnie, et al.) ended up in the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1914. In this case, the Wisconsin court ruled that the boxing match was not the proximate cause of Parmentier’s death; consequently, Parmentier’s father was not entitled to recover damages from McGinnie, et al. This was not, however, a unanimous decision. Wrote the dissenting justice: “It seems to me that the deceased was killed in a fight, and that no other conclusion is warranted by the credible evidence.” In any event, the case law is 157 Wis. 596, 147 N.W. 1007.

Edward J. Boats

27-Jul

1911

Draw


C. Murzer


Helena

Montana

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald, July 28, 1911; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal-Gazette, July 29, 1911; Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Livingston Ward 1, Park, Montana; Roll: T624_834; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 196; Image: 298. Ten minutes after the end of the fight, Murzer collapsed. He died a few minutes later.

Arthur Palfrazman

13-Feb

1911

KO

1

Ernest Lough

21

Kingston upon Hull

Yorkshire

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, February 15, 1911. Lough was a substitute for a boxer who did not show up. A few blows were exchanged, and then Lough collapsed. Cause of death listed as brain injury.

Bob Whitelaw

26-Mar

1911

KO


James Boland (Bob Bryant)


Newcastle

New South Wales

England

Welter

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, April 8, 1911, http://www.boxrec.com

Jake Abel

7-Feb

1911

KO

4

George B. Denlea Jr.

26

Chattanooga

Tennessee

USA

ND

Galveston (Texas) Daily News, February 12, 1911; Colorado Springs Gazette, February 12, 1911; Indianapolis (Indiana) Star, February 13, 1911. Denlea was counted out. He then collapsed, and he did two days later. Cause of death was attributed to overindulgence in ice water rather than anything associated with the fight.

ND

9-Feb

1911

KO


Edward Joseph Scully


USS New Hampshire

Off Guantanamo, Cuba

USA (at sea)

ND

Indianapolis Star, February 21, 1911; John Henry Wigmore, Select Cases of the Law of Torts, vol. 2 (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1912), 941. The death was attributed to a fall rather than blows. Nonetheless, by late 1912, the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery was recommending that, “to obviate the harmful effects of overathletic indulgence,” naval boxing be restricted to class instruction, championships be prohibited, and that contests be limited in number and duration. (T.W. Richards and J.L. Nielson, United States Naval Medical Bulletin, January 1913), 26.

William Kennedy

3-Mar

1911

KO

4

Angelo Venizona (Young Foster)


Harrison

New Jersey

USA

ND

San Francisco Chronicle, March 4, 1911; New York Times, March 5, 1911. Kennedy and two others were arrested. Cause of death was announced as broken skull.

John Leslie Victor Jacobson (Vic Gleeson)

15-Mar

1911

KO

13

Jack Whittaker


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Middle

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, March 17, 1911; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, March 23, 1911; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, April 8, 1911. Although the direct cause of death was attributed to the fall, the jury also noted that “the deceased was in an unhealthy condition, and totally unfit to take part in a boxing contest.” Consequently, the death led to physical exams prior to fights at the Sydney Stadium. As an aside, Whittaker’s second told the press that before the fight, it had been prearranged that Jacobson should lose.

Bill Cooper

16-Mar

1911

KO

3

Albert Henry “Tom” Dovey


London

London

England

Middle

London Times, March 17, 1911; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 21, 1911; (Dublin) Irish Times, March 21, 1911. The National Sporting Club had advertised for a novice’s contest. Dovey replied. During the third round, Dovey grabbed on the ropes while his opponent was on the other side of the ring. Dovey smiled, then collapsed. Cause of death was said to be heart failure. The jury returned a verdict of death by natural causes, and exonerated the club of all blame.

Frank Burke

11-Jun

1911

KO


James Smith

16

New York

New York

USA

ND

(Reno) Nevada State Journal, June 12, 1911. This was a grudge match, but it was set up formally, with a referee. Smith was knocked down by a blow to the jaw. He did not get up.

Edge

8-Jul

1911

KO

6

Wooding


Fremantle

Western Australia

Australia

ND

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, July 10, 1911. Wooding was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Joseph Clancy

17-Apr

1911

TKO

4

William F. Luke

30

Waterbury

Connecticut

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, April 18, 1911; Chicago Daily Tribune, April 19, 1911; New York Times, April 20, 1911. Luke appeared out of shape, so the fight was stopped. Luke went to the dressing room, where he collapsed. He died the following morning. The death caused the introduction of an ordinance in New Haven, Connecticut, requiring boxers to have pre-fight physicals.

Arthur Evernden

8-Mar

1912

KO

12

Raphael Belli


Paris


France

Light

Washington Post, March 10, 1912; New York Times, March 10, 1912; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 11, 1912; (Dublin) Irish Times, March 12, 1912; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, March 15, 1912. Six-ounce gloves were worn. Evernden was knocked down in the third, but by the tenth, he was ahead on points. During the twelfth round, Belli was pummelled, and he fell face first. When he did not recover, he was taken to the hospital, where he died. Death was attributed to excessive arterial tension caused by fatigue. The death led to new rules in France: finish fights were prohibited, doctors had to be present ringside, professional boxers had to be aged at least 21 years, floors had to be padded, and gloves had to weigh at least four ounces.

Joseph Amato (Joe Motto)

20-Feb

1912

KO

6

Charles Ellis


Cleveland

Ohio

USA

Welter

Indianapolis Star, February 23, 1912; New York Times, February 23, 1912; Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette, February 23, 1912. Ellis fell down at the start of the sixth. The last significant blow was over the heart. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

10-Apr

1912

KO


John Goldberg

21

New York

New York

USA

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald, April 11, 1912; Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Times, April 12, 1912. The bout took place at the Sharkey Athletic Club. Goldberg’s opponent fled the city, so his identity was not known. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull.

ND

12-Aug

1912

KO


Roca


Ostend


Belgium

ND

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, August 13, 1912. The unnamed Belgian opponent was knocked down three times before the fight was stopped. He was carried from the ring, and subsequently died.

George Taylor

4-Nov

1912

KO

8

Bob McCarthy

15

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Bantam

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, November 5, 1912; (Winnipeg) Manitoba Morning Free Press, November 5, 1912. McCarthy was knocked down, and did not get up. He died later the same day of brain injury.

Jim McDragen

5-Jul

1912

KO

2

George Newson

18

Yonkers

New York

USA

ND

Colorado Springs Gazette, July 6, 1912; Dallas Morning News, July 7, 1912. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull.

Thomas Hanley

29-Nov

1912

KO


John North Collins


Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Feather

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, November 30, 1912.

Willard W. Walters (Billy Walters)

23-Feb

1912

NoDec

5

Joseph Kanarowski (Joe Ketchel)

22

Great Lakes Naval Training Station

Illinois

USA

Welter

Chicago Daily Tribune, February 19, 1912; Chicago Daily Tribune, February 20, 1912; Elyria (Ohio) Evening Telegram, February 24, 1912; (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, February 23, 1912; Oakland Tribune, February 23, 1912; Racine (Wisconsin) Journal-News, February 24, 1912; Boston Daily Globe, February 25, 1912; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, February 28, 1912; Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Marion, Juneau, Wisconsin; Roll: T624_1714; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 72; Image: 894. The two men boxed five rounds while wearing eight-ounce gloves. Walters, a Navy baker, was a former champion of the Asiatic Squadron, while Kanarowski was a professional boxer. The audience included at least 50 officers; civilians also may have been present. (The naval station commander denied this.) After the bout, Kanarowski said he didn’t feel well, and he collapsed in the shower room. Cause of death was blood clots in the brain, which the naval inquiry attributed to Kanarowski’s fight with Young Mike Mahoney in Appleton, Wisconsin, about six weeks earlier rather than this bout. Kanarowski’s brother replied that the Navy was doing a cover-up, and threatened civil action.

Reno Tyson

16-Oct

1912

TKO

4

Clyde Lincoln

17

Sunbury

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

New York Times, October 17, 1912; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, October 17, 1912. Middletown (New York) Daily Times-Press, October 18, 1912. Lincoln was struck in the jaw as the round ended. He was carried unconscious from the ring, and he died in hospital several hours later.

Andy Hagan

23-Dec

1912

TKO

2

Buck O’Neill


Sandusky

Ohio

USA

Heavy

Elyria (Ohio) Evening Telegram, December 26, 1912. It was the first pro fight for both men. O’Neill barely made it to his corner at the end of the second, and the fight was stopped.

John Smith (Sailor Jack Smith)

27-Jan

1913

KO

6

Pasquale Devellanna (Chick Rose)


Brooklyn

New York

USA

Middle

Port Arthur (Ontario) Daily News, January 28, 1913; Indianapolis Star, January 29, 1913; Dallas Morning News, January 30, 1913; Washington Post, February 6, 1913. Devellanna died without regaining consciousness. Smith was a bugler assigned to USS Hancock, which was then at the New York Navy Yard. In early February 1913, the New York Athletic Commission exonerated everyone involved in this death. During the same set of rulings, the New York Athletic Commission also issued banned bouts between whites and blacks. Although this ruling didn’t last long in New York, similar laws in Southern states were not struck down until the 1950s.

Young Ritchie

10-Feb

1913

KO

7

Albert J. Yelle (Jack McGuignan)


Thornton

Rhode Island

USA

Light

Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, February 21, 1913; New York Times, February 22, 1913. Cause of death given as a blood clot on the brain. Yelle died 11 days later in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Thurman L. Brady

17-Apr

1913

KO

3

Billy Allen


Hastings

Michigan

USA

Light

Oakland Tribune, April 18, 1913; New York Times, April 19, 1913; Anaconda (Montana) Standard, April 22, 1913. Allen was knocked down in the second, and in the third, he collapsed in the ring. He died soon after. Cause of death was attributed to a rupture of the heart valve secondary to over-exertion. Manslaughter charges were not pressed, but charges of prize fighting were, and Michigan’s governor subsequently ordered sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys to enforce statutes prohibiting professional boxing.

Andrew Peletier (Arthur Pelkey)

24-May

1913

KO

1

Luther “Luck” McCarty

21

Calgary

Alberta

Canada

Heavy

Murray Greig, Goin’ the Distance: Canada’s Boxing Heritage (Toronto: Macmillan, 1996), 40-50; Barney Nagler, “Ten seconds of sunlight,” in W.C. Heinz, editor, The Fireside Book of Boxing (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961), 302; Kevin B. Wamsley and David Whitson, “Celebrating violent masculinities: The boxing death of Luther McCarty,” Journal of Sport History, Fall 1998, http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1998/JSH2503/jsh2503e.pdf; Glenbow Museum photo, file number NA-5560-2; J.R. Plant and J.C. Butt, “Laceration of vertebral artery. An historic boxing death,” American Journal of Forensic Medical Pathology, March 1993, 14:1, 61-64. The bout was billed as the White Heavyweight Championship of the World, and it lasted 1 minute, 46 seconds. Hit by a jab, McCarty clinched. As he broke from the clinch, McCarty stepped back, stiff but smiling. A beam of sunlight struck him and a photographer snapped a photograph. Then McCarty collapsed in a heap. The crowd shouted “Fake!” while the referee counted to ten. Seven physicians in the audience went to McCarty, but after an hour, they pronounced him dead. The coroner listed the cause of death as a broken neck, and attributed it to a fall from a horse that had occurred several days earlier. Nonetheless, eighty years later, researchers from the Chief Medical Examiners’ Office in Calgary reviewed the reports, and hypothesized that the cause of death was actually traumatic basal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Meanwhile, the subsequent court case established that under Canadian law, a gloved bout, even if fought for a prize, was a legitimate sporting event rather than an illegal prizefight. See R. v. Pelkey (1913), 4 W.R.R. at 1057, 21. Can. Cr. Cas. 387, 24 W.L.R. 804.

Edward Beatty (Kid Batty)

20-Jun

1913

KO

7

Patrick Grant

20

Dayton

Ohio

USA

ND

Indianapolis Star, June 22, 1913; Newark (Ohio) Advocate, June 23, 1913. It was Grant’s second fight, and he died shortly after it. Medical opinion was undecided whether the cause of death was blows or heat stroke.

Private Johnny Basham

21-Aug

1913

KO

11

Harry Price

22

Liverpool

Merseyside

England

Welter

(Glasgow) Scotsman, August 23, 1913; Glasgow (Scotsman), September 5, 1913; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, September 5, 1913. Price was holding his own until the eleventh round. Then he was knocked down. He tried to stand up, and he was struck down again. (There was no neutral corner rule in those days.) Price did not get up, and he died in hospital. Cause of death was laceration of the brain. Basham was arrested, but discharged. The jury suggested that knockouts should not be counted as wins.

Jess Willard

22-Aug

1913

KO

11

John William “Bull” Young Jr.


Vernon

California

USA

Heavy

Los Angeles Times, August 23, 1913; Los Angeles Times, August 24, 1913; Los Angeles Times, September 4, 1913; Oakland Tribune, January 13, 1914. Young, who had been a sparring partner for luckless Luther McCarty, had six fights preceding this one, and he lost to Willard in two of them. During the eleventh round of this otherwise slow and uninteresting bout, Young was hit a solid right uppercut to the chin. “Bull doubled up like a rag, fell back on his haunches, and then on his back, completely out,” De Witt Van Court wrote in the Los Angeles Times. Despite a trephining operation designed to reduce pressure on the brain, Young never regained consciousness. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. In January 1914, a jury acquitted Willard of the charge of prizefighting, as defined by California statute, and this decision effectively legalized professional boxing in California. The statute (412) and revisions can be read in The Penal Code of the State of California by California and Charles Howard Fairall (Bancroft-Whitney, 1909), 204-206. The exception that acquitted Willard was that the statute authorized “sparring exhibitions not to exceed a limited number of rounds with gloves of not less than five ounces each in weight” when they were organized by incorporated athletic clubs that had paid county license fees and had a physician in attendance.

Young Ledoux

3-Dec

1913

KO


Georges Lefevre


Paris


France

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection.

Constant

ND

1913

KO


Leon Truffier


Paris


France

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection. During a fall, Truffier was head-butted in the abdomen, and he died two days later of peritonitis. Truffier had boxed in Australia during late 1912 and early 1913.

George “Swats” Adamson

20-Mar

1913

KO

4

Tommy Lavelle


Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, March 21, 1913; New York Times, March 22, 1913; Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Weekly Courier, March 27, 1913. The venue was the Young Men’s Republican Tariff Club. The promoter substituted Lavelle for another boxer who did not show up. Lavelle was leading on points going into the fourth round, when he was hit hard in the face and knocked to the floor. He died in hospital a few hours later. Cause of death was listed as basal skull fracture, attributed to Lavelle striking his head on the floor.

Williams

Sep/

1913

KO


George Ruenalf


Bombala

New South Wales

Australia

Light heavy

Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, September 13, 1913; Wellington (New Zealand) Evening Post, September 16, 1913. Ruenalf was a Maori. He died September 12.

Charles Bartole

29-Mar

1913

KO


Jack Martin


Bakersfield

California

USA

ND

Oakland Tribune, April 2, 1913. Cause of death was attributed to heart attack.

ND

ND

1913

ND


William Nugent Lynch

22

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

John Joseph Lynch,” January 26, 2003, http://www.users.bigpond.com/wendysimes/per00073.htm. Cause of death listed as mastoiditis.

George Freeman

21-Dec

1913

TKO

6

James William Burrows

20

London

London

England

Light

Syracuse (New York) Herald, December 22, 1913; Lethbridge (Alberta) Daily Herald, December 23, 1913; (Dublin) Irish Times, December 24, 1913; London Times, December 24, 1913. The bout took place at the Judean Athletic Club. Burrows was moving forward, when he collapsed without being struck. He died in hospital. Death was due to cerebral hemorrhage. The jury said no blame was attached to anyone involved.

Monico Dimalivat

8-Mar

1913

TKO


Jacinto Francisco


Manila


Philippines

ND

Luckett Davis collection (Cablenews American); http://www.boxrec.com

Jimmy Walsh

28-Jun

1913

Wdec

10

Ad Zotte

18

Salt Lake City

Utah

USA

Bantam

Reno (Nevada) State Journal, August 18, 1913. Zotte, who had been boxing professionally for two years, went to the hospital two days after this fight. After a series of operations, he died of peritonitis on August 18, 1913.

Young Latzo (probably Steve Latzo)

10-Feb

1913

WFoul

1

Johnny Durkin

21

Hazleton

Pennsylvania

USA

Welter

Oakland Tribune, February 13, 1913; Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, February 15, 1913. Durkin quit at the end of the first round, and three days later, he died in hospital of peritonitis. He had been complaining of stomach pain since his fight with Jim Tighe on February 3, 1913.

Andre Poirer

ND

1914

KO


Jean Gaspard


Paris


France

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Charles Kirby

16-Jan

1914

KO

16

Philip Schindler (Sailor Sharkey, Young Sharkey)


Santa Rosa

California

USA

Middle

Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1914; Anaconda (Montana) Standard, January 18, 1914; Colorado Springs Gazette, January 18, 1914; New York Times, January 18, 1914; Syracuse (New York) Herald, January 19, 1914. Schindler was hit by an uppercut, then a clubbing blow to the base of the neck. He went down hard, and was carried unconscious to his corner. Schindler was arrested and put in jail, but released after the coroner’s jury cleared him of responsibility in the death. Cause of death was listed as a spinal cord injury.

Roy Coughill

14-Apr

1914

KO

7

Charles A. “Kid” Fortney

19

Billings

Montana

USA

Welter

Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1914; New York Times, April 16, 1914; Montana State Genealogical Society and Ancestry.com. Montana Death Index, 1907-2002 [database on-line]. Cause of death was brain injury. The promoters said that Fortney struck his head on the floor.

John Lundgren

21-Oct

1914

KO

2

John “Kid” Levindowski

19

Tolleston

Indiana

USA

Middle

Indianapolis Star, October 22, 1914; Chicago Daily Tribune, October 22, 1914; New York Times, October 23, 1914, 12; New York Times, October 24, 1914, 14, Newark (Ohio) Advocate, October 21, 1914; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, November 7, 1914. There was a clinch, and Levindowski was pummeled around the head and neck during the break. Then he was hit hard in the stomach and he fell through the ropes. People sitting ringside pushed him back in, and he was counted out. He died a few minutes later. Cause of death was listed as internal injuries. Lundgren was arrested, but acquitted.

Young Lippo

6-Mar

1914

KO

12

Private Sampson


Plymouth

Devon

England

ND

Miles Templeton collection

John “Knockout” Eggers

31-Mar

1914

Ldec

10

James Grant

21

Atlanta

Georgia

USA

Bantam

New York Times, April 2, 1914, 9; San Antonio (Texas) Light, April 3, 1914; New York Times, April 4, 1914, 16; Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily Times, April 4, 1914. Grant collapsed in his corner after the fight, and was taken to the hospital unconscious. Eggers was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, but was released after the cause of death was listed as pneumonia.

Arthur “Knockout” Carroll

30-Sep

1914

Ldec

6

Emerl Sexton (Young Bill Huddie)


San Francisco

California

USA

Welter

Chicago Daily Tribune, October 2, 1914; Dallas Morning News, October 2, 1914; New York Times, October 2, 1914; Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Gazette and Bulletin, October 2, 1914; Fresno (California) Morning Republican, October 14, 1914. Sexton was knocked down in the first and sixth rounds, but he got up and stayed the distance. He collapsed in the dressing room after the fight, and he died without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage. The jury attributed the death to the fall in the dressing room rather than blows.

Charles Eggleton

22-Jul

1914

TKO

6

William Walter England

22

Maidenhead

Berkshire

England

Light

(Glasgow) Scotsman, July 24, 1914; London Times, July 25, 1914; Lima (Ohio) Daily News, July 23, 1914. Both men were recently discharged soldiers. The fight was even during the first four rounds. England stumbled during the fifth, and the fight was stopped in the sixth. He left the ring unaided, but was found unconscious in the dressing room 20 minutes later. The following morning, he died in hospital.

Ike Cohen (Fighting Jew)

8-Jan

1915

KO

3

Ludwig A. Anderson (Jack Newton)


Seattle

Washington

USA

Light Heavy

Tacoma Daily Tribune, January 9, 1915, 6; New York Times, January 16, 1915. Although prizefighting was illegal in Washington, this bout was part of “an exhibition” for a police benefit. Following a knockdown, Anderson stood up and was knocked down again, so the referee stopped the fight. The two fighters said ringside that they’d have to have a rematch because their record stood at one win each. About ten minutes later, Anderson collapsed in the dressing room. He died in hospital fifteen hours later. Death was caused by bursting blood vessel on the right side of the brain. The promoters were arrested, and new restrictions were placed on the practice of persons buying memberships to athletic clubs featuring boxing bouts.

Lucien LaCour

ND

1915

KO


Emile Degand


Paris


France

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Leo Jugla

14-Jan

1915

KO


John Zajaczkowski

18

Chicago

Illinois

USA

ND

Winnipeg (Manitoba) Morning Free Press, January 22, 1915; Racine (Wisconsin) Journal-News, January 23, 1915; The bout took place at the White Dove Athletic Club. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain. It was Jagla’s first time in the ring.

Clyde “Banty” Sharp

29-Mar

1915

KO

1

John Howard “Special Delivery” Tully

19

Steubenville

Ohio

USA

Welter

Syracuse (New York) Herald, March 30, 1915; Charleroi (Pennsylvania) Mail, March 30, 1915; Monessen (Pennsylvania) Daily Independent, March 30, 1915; Boston Daily Globe, March 30, 1915. The venue was the Steubenville Athletic Club. The boxers clinched. As they broke, Tully punched Sharp in the head while Sharp hit Tully hard in the left side. Tully went down. He was carried from the ring, and he died in hospital soon after. Cause of death was attributed to heart disease.

John Neu

24-May

1915

KO

7

Leo “John” Simmer (Kid Simmers)


St. Paul

Minnesota

USA

Feather

Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, May 25, 1915; Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily Star, June 3, 1915; Paul Gold, “St. Paul boxers in 1915,” http://www.twincityswedes.org/boxers/rounds/1915/round1.htm; Calumet, Indiana Lake County Times, May 5, 1915, at http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/histpoly/bigott/CALUMETMUSEUMWEB/May1915.htm; Ancestry.com. Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002 [database on-line]. Simmer had been badly beaten in a Minneapolis ring less than 48 hours earlier, and at the end of this bout, he fell unconscious to the floor. He was left unconscious on the floor for about an hour until an ambulance arrived. He died following morning. Death was attributed to the fall rather than a blow. Consequently, Neu was exonerated.

John Harvey

5-Jul

1915

KO

6

Sylvester Elgin


Mount Carmel

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

New York Times, July 6, 1915; Atlanta Constitution, July 6, 1915. A pail of water was thrown on Elgin at the end of the fight, and his death in the changing room afterwards was attributed to this.

Walter Gilbert

6-Jul

1915

KO


Anthony Condie

21

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

ND

Dallas Morning News, July 10, 1915; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal-Gazette, July 10, 1915; Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: New Orleans Ward 3, Orleans, Louisiana; Roll: T624_520; Page: 25A; Enumeration District: 31; Image: 222; Ancestry.com. New Orleans, Louisiana Death Records Index, 1804-1949 [database on-line]. Date of death was July 9, 1915.

Edward Kern

10-May

1915

No Contest

3

Natali Lafauci

30

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

Bantam

Reno (Nevada) State Journal, May 11, 1915; New York Times, May 12, 1915. La Fauci was knocked down twice during the second round, and collapsed in the ring between the third and fourth rounds. Cause of death was listed as acute heart dilation, superinduced by pleurisy.

Charlie Hardcastle

20-Jun

1916

KO

14

Louis Valentine Hood

18

London

London

England

Light

(Glasgow) Scotsman, June 21, 1916; New York Times, June 21, 1916; (Glasgow) Scotsman, June 24, 1916; London Times, June 24, 1916; (Glasgow) Scotsman, June 28, 1916; Syracuse (New York) Herald, July 5, 1916; Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, July 4, 1916. According to the testimony of the father of the deceased, “Up to the fourteenth round I thought my boy was going to win. In that round he was hit on the jaw and fell. He got up at the eighth count, but fell again, pitching on his face, and was counted out. He never regained consciousness.” Cause of death was a ruptured cerebral vein. Hardcastle and the seconds were acquitted, as it had been “a proper and lawful and a clean competition.”

Frankie Dolan

4-Jul

1916

KO

4

Joe Peoples (Bert Coffey)

21

Vernon

California

USA

Heavy

Iowa City Citizen, July 5, 1916; Los Angeles Times, July 7, 1916; Kokomo (Indiana) Daily Tribune, July 7, 1916; Des Moines (Indiana) Daily News, July 7, 1916. Coffey was struck on the jaw and he immediately clinched. Upon breaking, Coffey collapsed to the floor. He died a few minutes later. Cause of death was attributed first to concussion of the brain, but that was changed to acute dilation of the heart brought on by over-exertion, and Dolan was released from jail.

ND

13-Mar

1916

KO


Donald McMellin Addenbrooke

17

Royal Naval College, Devonport

Devon

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, March 18, 1916; London Times, March 22, 1916. He was taken to the hospital shortly after the fight, and on March 17, 1916, he died of head injuries. Cause of death was officially “result of accident.”

Michael Malone

17-Mar

1916

KO

3

Andrew Crowley

23

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Feather

Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily Star, March 18, 1916; Van Wert (Ohio) Daily Bulletin, March 18, 1916; Newark (Ohio) Advocate, March 18, 1916; Washington Post, March 18, 1916; Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review, March 22, 1916; Logansport (Indiana) Pharos-Reporter, March 22, 1916. Crowley was struck in the neck and throat, and he died a few minutes later. Death was attributed first to asphyxiation, then to acute dilation of the heart caused by over-exertion.

Gordon Vaughn

3-May

1916

KO

4

Ewalt Hankner

29

Waterloo

Iowa

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, May 4, 1916; New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, May 4, 1916. In the fourth, Hankner either fell or was knocked down. This reportedly caused him to strike his head on the unpadded floor of the ring. He died in hospital. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Jack Bratton

18-Dec

1916

TKO

6

Perfecto L. Romero (Albuquerque Joe Rivers)

20

Denver

Colorado

USA

Bantam

Syracuse (New York) Herald, December 12, 1919. Romero was knocked down in the fifth, and his cornermen threw in the sponge in the sixth. He died two hours later.

William “Toddy” Hicks

30-Jan

1917

KO

1

Stephen T. “Young” McDonald

22

Albany

New York

USA

Middle

New York Times, January 31, 1917; Washington Post, January 31, 1917; Plattsburgh (New York) Daily Press, January 14, 1924, cited at Vermont Boxing History & International Pugilist Review, http://esf.uvm.edu/vtbox/Historical.html. From the Plattsburgh paper: “During the winter of 1917, Toddy Hicks, of Albany, struck Young McDonald, also of Albany, a right over the heart. McDonald dropped, was carried from the ring, and was found to be dead.” Cause of death was said to be “shock occasioned by a blow over the solar plexus.” The bout was one of the preliminaries on a full card (this was McDonald’s first professional fight), and the promoters continued the program despite McDonald’s death. This in turn caused Governor Charles E. Whitman to call for a repeal of the Malone Boxing Law.

William Daly

15-Feb

1917

KO

16

Adolfo Morales


Santiago


Chile

Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Boxing was introduced into Chile during the 1890s. Pioneers included Frank Jones, an African American boxer living in Valparaiso, and his opponents were usually sailors from visiting US or British ships. Promoters included Juan Bundinich and Joe Daly. See, for example, Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, December 12, 1933.

Raulston

Jun/

1917

KO

7

G. Alexander


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Bantam

Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, June 8, 1917; Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, June 20, 1917. Alexander was knocked down by a blow to the jaw. He did not get up, and he died in hospital. Death was attributed to an abnormally thin skull.

George Brown

14-Aug

1917

KO

4

Paul Marchese (Dummy Evans)

21

New York

New York

USA

Light

New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, August 15, 1917; New York Times, August 16, 1917. The bout was arranged at the last minute, because another boxer failed to appear. The two men knew each other and, except for a flurry during the second round, they stalled throughout the fight. Afterwards, Marchese collapsed in the dressing room. Cause of death was listed as basal skull fracture. Spelling of family name from Ron Boeri, a descendent; the name “Dummy” referred to Marchese being a deaf-mute.

Otto “Whitey” Wenzell

28-Nov

1917

KO

7

El Paso” Jimmy Wilson


Cleveland

Ohio

USA

Middle

Sandusky (Ohio) Star Journal, November 29, 1917; Newark (Ohio) Advocate, December 1, 1917; Port Arthur (Ontario) Daily News-Chronicle, December 6, 1917; Warren (Pennsylvania) Evening Mirror, December 7, 1917. Cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage. Cause of death was attributed to the fall rather than blows, and in his report, the coroner suggested padded flooring to reduce the risk of injury.

Dido Angelo (Jimmy Berry)

19-Apr

1917

KO

8

Luke Ginley

17

Cleveland

Ohio

USA

Feather

New York Times, April 20, 1917; Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily Star, April 20, 1917, Fort Wayne (Indiana) News, April 20, 1917; Sandusky (Ohio) Star Journal, April 20, 1917; Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Cleveland Ward 8, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: T624_1168; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 152; Image: 543. Until the eighth round, Ginley appeared to be leading on points. After the fight, he collapsed, and was taken to the hospital. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull. This appears to have been Ginley’s first fight since December 21, 1916, when he was knocked unconscious for almost five minutes. The opponent in the December 1916 fight was Roger O’Malley.

Eddie Revoire

31-May

1917

KO

9

Michael Seubachal (Young Ketchel)

21

Shenandoah

Pennsylvania

USA

Middle

Philadelphia Public Ledger, June 2, 1917; Hammond (Indiana) Lake County Times, June 4, 1917. Seubachal was being beaten badly, but still rushed forward in the ninth. Caught with a flurry, his corner threw in the towel, but it was too late. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

Battling Hess

29-Oct

1917

KO

10

Earnest Epsteiner (Young Epstein)

19

Dayton

Ohio

USA

Welter

Lima (Ohio) Daily News, October 30, 1917; Chicago Daily Tribune, October 31, 1917; Van Wert (Ohio) Daily Bulletin, October 31, 1917; Racine (Wisconsin) Journal-News, October 31, 1917; Warren (Pennsylvania) Evening Mirror, November 1, 1917; Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Pasadena Precinct 4, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T623 91; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 116. During the last minute of the fight, Epstein fell from the ring. He may have struck his head on the edge of the platform. He died the following morning. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Jack Marsh

3-Aug

1918

KO


Johnny Shull


Montreal

Quebec

Canada

Light Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Frank Pacheco (Young Frankie Britt)

30-Dec

1918

KO

6

Frank DiLeo (Young Terry McGovern)

21

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Light

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News and Sentinel, December 31, 1918; Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Daily Sentinel, December 31, 1918; New York Times, January 1, 1919; Warren (Pennsylvania) Evening Times, January 4, 1919. According to the medical examiner, death was due to a hemorrhage of the brain, but there were no indications of a fractured skull or bruises on the head. Pacheco was arrested on charges of felonious assault, but was soon released. According to the Fitchburg paper, Pacheco, aged 23, came to the USA in 1909, had been boxing professionally since 1912, and this was his 28th bout in 1918 alone.

Charles Swann

7-Mar

1918

KO


Victor J. Dewees

35

Camp Meade

Maryland

USA

ND

Van Wert (Ohio) Daily Bulletin, March 7, 1918; Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Registration Location: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1907617; Draft Board: 14. The boxers were both draftees training at the base.

ND

15-Sep

1918

KO


Delphus C. Crall

30

Camp Taylor

Kentucky

USA

ND

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News and Sentinel, October 5, 1918. Then a recently-established Army post, Camp Taylor is today part of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. Crall was a soldier assigned to the 319th U.S. Remount Depot. He died following an on-post boxing match. According to Raymond Walters, et al., F.A.C.O.T.S.: The Story of the Field Artillery Central Officers Training School (Field Artillery Central Officers Training School Association, 1919), 87, boxing at Camp Zachary Taylor was sponsored by the YMCA.

Phil O’Dowd

22-Apr

1918

NoDec

10

Patrick Cronin (Paddy or Patsy Cronin)

20

Zanesville

Ohio

USA

Feather

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News and Sentinel, April 25, 1918; (Hammond, Indiana) Lake County Times, April 26, 1918; BoxRec.com. Cronin died two days after the fight. His family alleged doping, but the coroner ruled that cause of death was a burst blood vessel in the brain.

Alex Puebles

21-Mar

1919

KO

2

Jose “Soldado” Marroquin


Havana


Cuba

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. This was said to be the first Cuban fatality.

Credeville

27-May

1919

KO


Drabek


Le Mans


France

ND

Ogden (Utah) Standard, May 28, 1919; Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening State Journal and Lincoln Daily, May 30, 1919; Marble Rock (Iowa) Journal, June 5, 1919; Stars and Stripes (Paris, France), June 13, 1919. The match was one of the tournaments leading up to a major Allied military boxing tournament to be held in Paris later in the week. Sponsors included the YMCA and Knights of Columbus. US Army Captain Alex MacLean was in charge of the boxing program, and he and his staff he put on 61 boxing shows in 119 days. Credeville was French, while Drabek (or Drabeck) was an American, from Chicago. Death was attributed to a blow over the heart.

Michele La Duca (K.O. Circus)

27-Aug

1919

KO

8

Fred Haefling (Frank Heifling)

23

Atlantic City

New Jersey

USA

Bantam

Kansas City (Missouri) Star, August 29, 1919; Marion (Ohio) Daily Star, August 29, 1919; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Standard Telegram, August 30, 1919; Syracuse (New York) Herald, August 30, 1919; Port Arthur (Ontario) Daily News-Chronicle, September 2, 1919; Syracuse (New York) Herald, September 6, 1919; Wilkes-Barre Almanac 1919, http://www.lowerluzernecounty.com/articles/almanacs/wilkes-barre-almanac-1919.htm; Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1927076; Draft Board: 1. Haefling began his professional boxing career while in high school. He then served with the American Expeditionary Force in France. Upon discharge, he resumed his boxing career. During his final bout, he was hit by a right short hook to the jaw, and he collapsed to the floor. He died in hospital on August 28. The initial cause of death was given as exhaustion, but the coroner’s inquest ruled that cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Ray Doyle

7-Oct

1919

KO

4

Meyer Ellis

20

Bayonne

New Jersey

USA

Bantam

New York Times, October 8, 1919; Lima (Ohio) Times Democrat, October 9, 1919; New York Times, October 15, 1919. Ellis was struck in the left temple, and died in a Jersey City hospital the following day. Cause of death was attributed to Ellis striking his head on the floor. In April 1921, Doyle was subsequently seriously hurt during a fight at Paterson, New Jersey. See New York Times, May 1, 1921.

Steven Stitzel

2-Dec

1919

KO

4

Oliver R. “Ollie” Cooper


Cincinnati

Ohio

USA

Middle

Lima (Ohio) Times-Democrat, December 2, 1919; New York Times, December 3, 1919. Cooper was knocked down. He stood up, staggered to his corner, and collapsed. He died in hospital.

Seaman Merrilees

3-Dec

1919

KO

1

Sergeant Major Willcox

27

London

London

England

Heavy

(Glasgow) Scotsman, December 8, 1919. The bout took place during a novice’s competition at the National Sporting Club. Willcox took a hard blow to the body followed by a hard blow to the jaw, and he went down. He remained unconscious until his death the following day.

Frank Ferris (Frankie Conway)

11-Dec

1919

KO

6

Louis Roski (Lew Russell)

22

Perth Amboy

New Jersey

USA

ND

New York Times, December 15, 1919; New York Times, December 16, 1919; Modesto (California) Evening News, December 16, 1919; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, December 17, 1919. Roski, who was from Chicago, was knocked down twice in the final round. He collapsed in the dressing room afterwards. The coroner said death was caused by “softening of the brain,” and he said it could have been a fall, a blow, or Roski’s general unfitness. (He was 6’ tall, but very thin.)

Frank Everett

11-Apr

1919

KO

3

Arthur S. “Joe” Baker

19

Marysville

California

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, April 13, 1919; Woodland (California) Daily Democrat, April 17, 1919. Cause of death was attributed to hemorrhage of the brain.

Sammy Marino (Young Marino)

31-Oct

1919

TKO

10

Thomas Perry


Milwaukee

Wisconsin

USA

Bantam

New York Times, November 4, 1919; Boston Globe, November 5, 1919. Perry was leading on points when he went down in the tenth. The knockdown blow was reportedly light. He lost consciousness a second time while being helped to the dressing room, and he died in hospital on November 3. Cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage.

Willie Davis

23-Jul

1920

KO

5

Francis Monahan (Frankie Mahone)


Elizabeth

New Jersey

USA

Feather

New York Times, July 25, 1920; Syracuse (New York) Herald, July 25, 1920. Monahan was knocked down in the fifth round, but refused to quit. He was subsequently hit hard in the temple. He collapsed in the ring and later died in hospital. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Al Roberts

7-Dec

1920

KO

6

Raymond McMillan (Mickey Shannon)

25

Jersey City

New Jersey

USA

Heavy

New York Times, December 8, 1920; Sandusky (Ohio) Star Journal, December 8, 1920; Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, December 8, 1920; Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, December 9, 1920; New York Times, December 22, 1920; After taking a beating from Harry Greb in October, McMillan had complained of headaches, but he refused to cancel the fight. He was leading on points into the fourth round, then he took some heavy blows and he collapsed in the sixth. He died in hospital two days later. Cause of death was intercranial hemorrhage. Audience members at this fight included New Jersey governor (and future US senator) Edward Edwards.

Dave Powers

30-Apr

1920

KO

10

John R. “Jimmy” Murray

26

Malden

Massachusetts

USA

Light

Dunkirk (New York) Evening Observer, May 1, 1920; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, May 1, 1920; Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gazette, May 1, 1920; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, May 1, 1920; Fort Wayne (Indiana) News and Sentinel, May 4, 1920. Murray was knocked down by a blow to the jaw. He did not get up, so he was taken to the hospital, where he died. In 1917, Murray had been the New England amateur boxing champion at 142 pounds. During the World War, he served in the US Army, and at the time of his death, he had been boxing professionally for about three months.

ND

27-Jul

1920

KO


John “Jack” Foltine

23

Detroit

Michigan

USA

ND

Reno (Nevada) Evening Gazette, July 28, 1920; Washington Post, July 29, 1920. Foltine was from Chicago. Cause of death was attributed to Foltine striking his head on the floor as he fell.

Robert Holmes

28-May

1920

KO

5

Major Lee


Wheeling

West Virginia

USA

ND

Sandusky (Ohio) Star Journal, May 19, 1920. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. General Leonard Wood was in the audience.

Harry Tate (Kid Gleason)

Jan/

1920

Wdec


R. J. Dewey (Bob York, Colorado Demon)


Fort Worth

Texas

USA

Light Heavy

Dallas Morning News, January 25, 1920. Dewey had been knocked out several times in the past few months. More distantly, people who knocked him out included Jack Dempsey in May 1916.

Al Roberts

9-Nov

1921

Draw

12

Herbert Crossley

20

New York

New York

USA

Heavy

New York Times, November 21, 1921, 22. Crossley died on November 20, 1921. Cause of death was septicemia (blood poisoning). Les Darcy and Frank Gotch died of similar causes.

Battling” Joe Woolf

5-Sep

1921

KO

6

Harold “Tiger” Gaulding

21

Kansas City

Kansas

USA

Heavy

Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, September 7, 1921; (Chillicothe, Missouri) Chillico Constitution, September 8, 1921. Gaulding died September 7, 1921. Cause of death was said to be a fractured skull. The bout was staged on Labor Day by the local American Legion, and it caused Kansas legislators to review the practice of allowing boxing matches to be staged as exhibitions so long as admission was not charged at the gate.

Jeronimo Alvarez

24-Dec

1921

KO

3

Pedro Terry


Cienfuegos


Cuba

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection.

Frankie Dean

15-Feb

1921

KO

8

Harry Hamilton


Brookfield

Missouri

USA

Light

Chillicothe (Missouri) Constitution, February 16, 1921; Chicago Daily Tribune, February 17, 1921; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, February 16, 1921. The fight was reasonably even through the sixth round. In the sevent, Dean began dominating, and during the eighth, Hamilton was knocked over the ropes. He got back in the ring, but the referee stopped the fight. Soon, after, Hamilton became unconscious, and he died the following morning. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

Charles Blonds (Young Griffo)

23-Feb

1921

KO

4

John Wells (Young Corbett)

19

Pueblo

Colorado

USA

Bantam

(Cheyenne) Wyoming State Tribune, February 24, 1921. Wells was knocked down by blows to the jaw and neck, and died half an hour later. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Death was attributed to the fall rather than the blow.

Thomas Henry “Harry” Moody

14-Mar

1921

KO

15

Wallace Peter “Joe” Macfarland


Kingston upon Hull

Yorkshire

England

Light Heavy

(Glasgow) Scotsman, March 17, 1921; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 18, 1921. Macfarland was hit hard on the left side of the chin. He died March 16 without regaining consciousness.

ND

3-May

1921

KO

5

Leonard Sanduchi

18

Hazleton

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, May 4, 1921; New York Times, May 4, 1921. Sanduchi dropped following a blow to the neck, and cause of death was listed as a blow to the windpipe.

ND

13-Aug

1921

KO

4

Nelson Fielder

22

Eastbourne

East Sussex

England

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, August 15, 1921. Fielder was a professional fighting as part of a booth show at a travelling fair. He was hit hard in the body in the fourth round, and was counted out. His manager asked him if he was all right. He replied, “Yes,” and then passed out. He died in hospital.

ND

Sep/

1921

KO


James McDonald

21

Binghamton

New York

USA

ND

Oneonta (New York) Daily Star, September 17, 1921; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, September 17, 1921. McDonald collapsed in the ring. He was taken to the hospital, where surgery was done to release pressure on the brain. Nonetheless, he died on September 15, 1921. Autopsy revealed a rupture of a small blood vessel in the brain.

Frank Langley

20-Sep

1921

KO

4

Edward Francis Prout

26

Bangor

Maine

USA

Light Heavy (166 lbs)

Fort Wayne (Indiana) News-Sentinel, September 20, 1921; Olean (New York) Evening Times, September 20, 1921; Augusta (Maine) Daily Kennebec Journal, September 21, 1921; Syracuse (New York) Herald, September 24, 1921. Portland (Maine) Press Herald, March 27, 1949. Prout fell through the ropes and died. Cause of death was originally listed as acute dilation of the heart, but the autopsy changed it to concussion of the brain.

Reno Lorenzo

4-Jul

1921

KO


Frank Lee


Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times, July 5, 1921. Lee was struck over the heart and died. Lorenzo was aged 15 years.

Irvey “Sailor” Owens

20-Jul

1921

KO

6

Harry H. Estes (Frisco Kid)

30

Galveston

Texas

USA

Feather

Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review, July 22, 1921; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, July 22, 1921; Ancestry.com. Texas Death Index, 1903-2000 [database on-line]. 21 Jul 1921. Galveston. Certificate 19476; Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Registration Location: McDonough County, Illinois; Roll: 1614209; Draft Board: 0.
Estes was knocked through the ropes, and his head reportedly struck bare planking outside the ring. He died the following morning. The autopsy showed that Estes’s skull had been trephined at some earlier date.

Joe Marcus

3-May

1921

TKO

6

George Greenberg (George Robbins)

18

New York

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, May 4, 1921, 12; New York Times, May 5, 1921, 9: New York Times, May 6, 1921, 14; New York Times, May 7, 1921. Greenberg was ahead on points, having won the first four rounds. Then, in the middle of the sixth, the fight was stopped because he appeared exhausted. Greenberg walked to his corner, sat on his stool, and collapsed. He was carried to the dressing room and then taken to hospital, where he died. Cause of death was listed as brain hemorrhage. The bout was a fund-raiser for St. Lucy’s Catholic Church, and before it began, the rector gave a speech extolling boxing as a character-builder.

Bert McCarthy

2-Jul

1921

TKO

14

Dencio Cabanela

21

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Bantam

Oakland Tribune, September 13, 1921. Cabenela had reported headaches for the week prior to this fight, but would not call it off because of the money. He was winning the match until the thirteenth, when he stopped fighting and started putting his hands to his head. He quit in the fourteenth, saying, “My head no good.” The crowd booed, calling him a quitter. He died three hours later. The autopsy revealed a pre-existing brain tumor.

S. Miller

11-Nov

1921

TKO

2

Thomas Sukovich (Siberian Tom Skikovich)

25

Deer Lodge

Montana

USA

ND

Galveston (Texas) Daily News, November 12, 1921; Oakland (California) Tribune, November 12, 1921; Ancestry.com. Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956 [database on-line]. The venue was the United War Veterans’ Association lodge. Sukovich collapsed during the second round. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain. Mechanism of injury was said to be the fall.

Louis Barale

8-Aug

1922

Draw

6

Young Labadie

24

Trenton

New Jersey

USA

ND

New York Times, August 13, 1922; Chicago Daily Tribune, August 13, 1922. After the fight, Labadie, a soldier stationed at Camp Dix, collapsed in the dressing room and died. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

Joseph St. Hillaire

23-Jan

1922

KO

4

Ambrose “Joe” Melanson

25

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Light

Boston Daily Globe, January 24, 1922; New York Times, January 25, 1922; Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Daily Sentinel, January 24, 1922. Melanson, a former national amateur champion at 135 pounds, entered the contest after another boxer failed to qualify. He was knocked down twice, and the second time, he did not get up. He died at a nearby hospital. Death was attributed to the falls rather than the right hand blows to the head.

Eddie Mullen

11-Feb

1922

KO


Roy Mudd

19

Elwood

Indiana

USA

Welter

(Reno) Nevada State Journal, February 14, 1922; Indianapolis Star, November 18, 1922; Lincoln (Nebraska) State Journal, February 15, 1922; Indianapolis Star, May 20, 1922. Cause of death was brain injury. Mullen was charged with manslaughter, but was acquitted in May 1922.

Frankie Pitcher

24-Apr

1922

KO

9

Lew Brody

21

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, April 25, 1922; Clearfield (Pennsylvania) Progress, April 25, 1922. Brody was knocked down three times in the fight, twice in the ninth round. The referee stopped the fight. But it was too late: Brody died the following day without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Curly Parkes

19-Aug

1922

KO

16

Frank Griffin


Wollongong

New South Wales

Australia

Middle

Mike Attree collection

Dummy Maxson

4-Sep

1922

KO

8

Sam “Kid” Johnson

26

Roscommon

Michigan

USA

Heavy

Olean (New York) Evening Times, September 5, 1922; Indiana (Pennsylvania) Evening Gazette, September 5, 1922. Johnson had been an amateur boxing champion in the US Army during WWI. In this fight, during the eighth round, Johnson stopped, grasped the ropes, and then fell over dead. Cause of death was attributed to blows to the heart. Maxson was a deaf-mute from Brooklyn.

Sammy Ciminella

28-Sep

1922

KO

6

Billy Light


McKeesport

Pennsylvania

USA

Welter

New York Times, September 30, 1922; New York Times, October 3, 1922; Honolulu Advertiser, January 8, 1923. Light’s head reportedly hit the floor hard. He died of brain injuries the following day. This was not Albert Wegleitner, a St. Paul welterweight of the late 1920s who also boxed as Billy Light.

Francis Reys

ND

1922

KO


George Andres


Paris


France

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

William Hickman (Al McCoy)

10-May

1922

KO

4

Robert Turney

21

San Francisco

California

USA

Middle

Lima (Ohio) News, May 11, 1922; San Francisco Chronicle, May 11, 1922; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, May 23, 1922; Lima (Ohio) News, May 23, 1922. Turney was knocked down three times in the first three rounds, and was knocked out by a right uppercut in the fourth. He was carried from the ring, still unconscious, and taken to the hospital. Death was attributed to basal skull fracture. The referee (Billy Snailham), the promoter, the manager, and the surviving fighter were all charged with manslaughter.

Lester “Lett” Philbin

4-Sep

1922

KO

1

John Esses

27

Toledo

Ohio

USA

Welter

Lima (Ohio) News, September 6, 1922; Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2002 [database on-line]. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Maurice “Morris” Meola

14-Oct

1922

KO

4

Walter Welsh

23

New York

New York

USA

Welter

Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, October 19, 1922; www.boxrec.com. Welsh was knocked to the floor during this fight, which took place at the 9th Regiment Armory on 14th Street. The following day, Welsh complained of feeling dizzy. Subsequently, he was admitted to Bellevue Hospital, where he died on October 18, 1922. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Edward “Spike” Boyer

2-Feb

1922

KO

1

Alfonso Hewlett (Sailor Miller)

22

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

ND

Los Angeles Times, February 3, 1922; New York Times, February 8, 1922. Cause of death was listed as heart disease.

Willie Devanney

2-Feb

1922

KO

8

Tommy Simmonette


Glasgow


Scotland

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, February 23, 1928. Cause of death was listed as blow on the chin.

ND

24-Mar

1922

KO


Albert Sidney Groves


Gorefield

Cambridgeshire

England

ND

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, April 25, 1922. Groves fell without being hit. Cause of death was attributed to heart disease.

Ray Carter

17-Mar

1922

KO

4

Charles Havlicek (Terry O’Mallary)


Omaha

Nebraska

USA

Welter

Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, March 18, 1922; New York Times, March 18, 1922; San Francisco Chronicle, March 18, 1922; Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, March 18, 1922; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, March 18, 1922; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, March 20, 1922. Havilicek was struck in the jaw, and when he collapsed to the floor, he struck the back of his head. His breathing stopped, and 20 minutes later, he was pronounced dead. The coroner attributed death to paralysis of the respiratory center, and said that the cause was the fall. Carter was released.

Tommy Gerrard (also Gerard)

21-Jul

1922

Ldec

8

Jackie Crawford

19

Newark

New Jersey

USA

Feather

New York Times, July 24, 1922, 13; San Antonio (Texas) Evening News, July 24, 1922. It was Crawford’s second fight in a week. Crawford collapsed in his dressing room after the fight, and he died a few days later. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Johnny Hughes

23-Nov

1922

Ldec

6

Charles Parsons


Carthage

Missouri

USA

Light

Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening State Journal, November 24, 1922; Port Arthur (Texas) Daily News, November 24, 1922. Decatur (Illinois) Review, November 25, 1922. The venue was a National Guard function, so this may have been the Charles Parsons who served in the Missouri National Guard during 1916. Anyway, cause of death was listed as a blow over the heart and over-exertion.

Carl Miller

31-Mar

1922

TKO

7

George Tetzie

24

Eugene

Oregon

USA

Light Heavy

Portland Oregonian, April 1, 1922, 17; Portland Oregonian, April 2, 1922, 18. About 15 minutes after the fight, Tetzie collapsed. He died soon after. Cause of death was brain injury.

Johnny Hannison

7-Dec

1922

TKO

4

Mike Vemity

18

Akron

Ohio

USA

Bantam

Newark (Ohio) Advocate, December 8, 1922; Newark (Ohio) Advocate, December 8, 1922; Mansfield (Ohio) News, December 8, 1922; Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2002 [database on-line]. The bout took place at the Akron Armory. Vemity was carried from the ring, and died about two hours later. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Thomas Reed

28-Nov

1923

Draw

6

John Thomas Madden


New York

New York

USA

Light

Bellingham (Washington) Herald, December 5, 1923, 8; Port Arthur (Ontario) Daily News-Chronicle, December 6, 1923; National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006 [database on-line]. Reed was a New York National Guardsman while Madden was a Marine private assigned to USS Wyoming. Madden collapsed in the ring after shaking hands at the end of the bout, and he died in in hospital on December 5.

Johnny Clinton

5-Feb

1923

KO

12

Antonio Petriano (Andy Thomas)


Brooklyn

New York

USA

Welter

Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier, February 6, 1923; Olean (New York) Evening Times, February 6, 1923; New York Times, February 6, 1923, 16. Petriano was staggering in the eleventh, and at the start of the twelfth, he collapsed in the ring without a blow being struck. He was taken to hospital, where he subsequently died. Cause of death listed as concussion.

Herbert Robinson

2-Mar

1923

KO

11

William Kapp


Nelson


New Zealand

Light

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Harry Twist (Kid Runcorn, Young Harry Runcorn)

16-Mar

1923

KO


Weldon Howard (Handsome Happy)


Moose Jaw

Saskatchewan

Canada

Welter

Wayne Wilson collection; Portsmouth Daily Times, July 22, 1924; (Winnipeg) Manitoba Free Press, July 22, 1924. Howard, “a negro fighter,” was hit with an uppercut, and crashed to the floor. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull.

Max Gornick

27-Oct

1923

KO

18

Seaman Jack Dunstan


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Heavy

(Dublin) Irish Times, October 29, 1923; Port Arthur (Ontario) Daily News-Chronicle, October 29, 1923. Dunstan’s head reportedly cracked open when it hit the canvas. Dunstan had been heavyweight boxing champion of Britain’s Grand Fleet before World War I, whereas Gornick was a middleweight.

Eddie Lynch

12-Nov

1923

KO


Frank Soady


Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Soady fell from the ring, struck his head on the apron, and died nine days later.

Eloy Boyguro

ND

1923

KO


Rafael Delgado


Parana


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Delgado’s head reportedly struck the floor.

Henri Scillie

ND

1923

KO


G. Simonon


Paris


France

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection

Grant Clark (Kid Grant)

8-Jan

1923

KO

8

Lloyd “Patsy” White

22

Columbus

Ohio

USA

Middle

Bellingham (Washington) Herald, January 12, 1923; Chicago Daily Tribune, January 12, 1923; New York Times, January 9, 1923; New York Times, January 12, 1923. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. White was the son of the swimming coach at the University of Chicago, and the death caused the cancellation of a University of Chicago swim meet.

ND

6-Feb

1923

KO


Wilfred Philibert


St. Paul

Minnesota

USA

ND

Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Journal, February 10, 1923; Ancestry.com. Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002 [database on-line]. The venue was the Rose Room. Cause of death was attributed to hemorrhage of the brain.

Frank Dory

6-Mar

1923

KO

4

Elder E. Marotz (Eddie Mozart )

22

Marinette

Wisconsin

USA

Light

(Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, March 7, 1923; Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, March 7, 1923. The venue was the American Legion. Cause of death was attributed to concussion of the brain.

James Smith

12-Mar

1923

KO


Fred Powers (Freddie McCue)

26

Tacoma

Washington

USA

Feather

Modesto (California) Evening News, March 13, 1923; New York Times, March 13, 1923; Lethbridge (Alberta) Daily Herald, March 14, 1923. The venue was the Sound Social Club. After the fight, Powers complained his head hurt. He died on March 13. Cause of death was listed as brain hemorrhage.

Conrad Becklund

19-Sep

1923

KO

2

Walter Gretchell

18

Minneapolis

Minnesota

USA

ND

Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin) Daily Tribune, September 20, 1923; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, September 21, 1923; Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gazette, September 21, 1923. Gretchell collapsed to the floor during the second, and he died soon after. Cause of death was attributed to a solar plexus blow.

Romolo Parboni

20-May

1923

KO

12

Pietro Mascena


Rome


Italy

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Fred Archer

26-Feb

1923

Ldec

13

Alfred George “Alf” Humphreys

27

London

London

England

Welter

London Times, February 26, 1923; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 2, 1923. Humphreys had two prior fights, and he took this one on three days notice. He had not been training. Seven-ounce gloves were worn. Humphreys was knocked down, and he died February 27 without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Young Taylor

3-Mar

1923

Ldec

6

Joseph Hornsby Rodden


Ashlington

Northumberland

England

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, March 6, 1923. After the bout, Rodden stepped out of the ring. He collapsed, and was taken to the hospital, where he died. Death was attributed to pre-existing meningitis. The coroner said there was nothing improper in the bout, so no charges were filed.

Tom Heeney

4-Jun

1923

TKO

15

Cyril Whittaker


Auckland


New Zealand

Heavy

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm. Whittaker died in hospital the same day.

Charles “Bud” Taylor

11-Jan

1924

KO

12

Frank Doherty (Frankie Jerome)

25

New York

New York

USA

Bantam

New York Times, January 14, 1924; Chicago Daily Tribune, January 14, 1924; Harold Barnes, “Let’s abolish boxing,” Saturday Evening Post, October 25, 1958, 132. Jerome had been badly beaten by Johnny Curtin just two weeks earlier.

Harry Gordon

3-May

1924

KO

15

George Mendies

25

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Fly

New York Times, May 7, 1924. Mendies was flyweight champion of Australia. He died a few days after the fight, and the cause of death was listed as brain concussion.

Namen “Dixie” LaHood

8-May

1924

KO

10

Olin Porter (Eddie Neil)

21

Butte

Montana

USA

Bantam

Tacoma News Tribune, June 4, 1924, 16; New York Times, June 5, 1924, 17. The fight had been postponed a week because Porter had a cold. During the tenth round, Porter went down hard, and he died at home on June 4, 1924. The cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage. There is information about LaHood, a Butte constable, in Bell, 1985, 63-66, but nothing on this fight.

Harry Twist (Kid Runcorn)

21-Jul

1924

KO


William James Plaine (Joe Mehan)


Assiniboi

Saskatchewan

Canada

ND

Prince Rupert (British Columbia) Daily News, July 22, 1924; Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times, July 22, 1924; (Winnepeg) Manitoba Free Press, July 22, 1924. Cause of death was attributed to a internal cranial hemorrhage.

Indalacio Ore

Jul/

1924

KO


Felipe Perez


Chicha


Peru

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Lew Mayrs

3-Sep

1924

KO

12

Charles Holman (The Fighting Parson)

24

Baltimore

Maryland

USA

Feather

Dallas Morning Tribune, September 5, 1924; New York Times, September 5, 1924. According to the Times, Holman’s “wife was at ringside. When he sank down in the twelfth round she seized a towel and threw it into the ring to save him from further punishment.” Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

Alberto Icochea (or Ycochea)

27-Oct

1924

KO

2

Ralph Tomasa (Ralph Thomas)

30

Yonkers

New York

USA

Middle

New York Times, October 28, 1924, 19; New York Times, October 29, 1924; e-mail from Ralph Thomas (the deceased’s nephew), November 24, 2006; http://boxrec.com. From 1921-1923, Thomas, an Italian immigrant who changed his name in America, played semi-pro football for a Cleveland, Ohio, team called the Favorite Knits. Following the 1923 football season, he moved to New York, where he took up boxing. In New York, he had at least one prior pro fight (against Mickey Crusco, in March 1924). His day job was as a plumber, and he worked the day of the fatal fight. He was not scheduled to fight that night; instead, he volunteered to fill in for a boxer who did not show up. During the first round of the fight, the match was relatively even, but during the second round, Thomas was hit hard under the heart. Thomas backed up, and then suddenly collapsed. He was counted out and failed to revive. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Cause of death was listed as acute dilation of the heart.

Carl Coltrin (Kentucky Coke)

18-Dec

1924

KO

1

John B. “Jack” Tait

19

Miles City

Montana

USA

ND

Lincoln (Nebraska) State Journal, December 19, 1924; Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, December 19, 1924; Helena (Montana) Independent, December 20, 1924; Montana State Genealogical Society and Ancestry.com. Montana Death Index, 1907-2002 [database on-line]. This was Tait’s first pro fight, and it lasted about thirty seconds. There was a flurry. Tait stepped back, and then fell over backward. Cause of death given as paralysis of the heart.

Tibby Watson

30-Dec

1924

KO


Reg Anderson


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Barthelemy (Bert) Molina

ND

1924

KO


Edouard Bouzonnie


Marseilles


France

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection

Frank Sweeney

1-Feb

1924

KO


John Luby

23

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Middle

Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel, June 24, 1930; Kingston (New York) Daily Freeman, February 5, 1924. Death was due to hemorrhage and laceration of the brain.

Soldier Underwood

22-Feb

1924

KO

2

Larry Murray


Canal Zone

Panama

USA

Welter

New York Times, February 23, 1924; Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, February 23, 1924. Murray was knocked down by a blow to the chin, and death occurred within the hour. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Boxing was legalized in the Canal Zone in 1923, and “Two stadiums have been erected, one on the East and one on the West Coast, each with a seating capacity of 4,500. Terry Richards, matchmaker, is now in New York rounding up talent and expects to return shortly with a score of prominent maulers who will show their wares to the Panama hat contingent.” Plattsburgh (New York) Daily Republican, December 27, 1923, cited at http://esf.uvm.edu/vtbox/Historical.html

ND

Nov/

1924

KO


Alfred “Young” Tanguay

19

Portland

Maine

USA

Bantam

San Antonio (Texas) Express, December 8, 1924; Portsmouth (Maine) Herald, December 8, 1924. At least two Maine boxers fought as Young Tanguay during the mid-1920s, to include one who was boxing as late as September 1925. Anyway, Alfred Tanguay was hit hard over the heart. He collapsed, and he died in hospital in Lewiston, Maine, on December 6, 1924. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Lawrence Smith (Young Jack Farley)

17-Dec

1924

KO

2

Patsy Ciaccio (Kid Ryan)


Seattle

Washington

USA

Welter

New York Times, December 18, 1924; Oakland Tribune, December 18, 1924. Ciaccio was knocked down, and died almost instantly. Additional detail from http://boxrec.com: “When Ciaccio fell to the canvas, the crowd jeered and yelled ‘Fake!’ He died shortly after being knocked-out. It soon was determined he actually had died of double pneumonia. His widow informed the press that he had agreed to enter the ring when offered $2.50 to fight, because they were destitute. The ‘promoter’ tried to convince authorities this had been only an exhibition, as he had not obtained a proper license for this show. Farley [a lightweight] was with Co. K, 4th Infantry, U.S. Army,” which was then at Fort Lawton.

ND

16-Feb

1924

KO


Juan Morales


Buenos Aires


Argentina

ND

New York Times, February 18, 1924; Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, February 18, 1924. Morales died a few hours after the contest.

Leo Stokes (Sailor Bosco)

16-May

1924

KO

7

Alexander Michaluk


Fernie

British Columbia

Canada

Middle

Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, May 20, 1924. Michaluk died two days later. Cause of death was attributed to the rupture of small blood vessels in the head.

Ralph Varn

12-Apr

1924

Ldec


Pal Moore

21

Wilmington

North Carolina

USA

Feather

Port Arthur (Ontario) Daily News-Chronicle, April 14, 1924. Cause of death was listed as over-exertion.

Jesse “Pep” Webster

5-Feb

1924

TKO

3

Edgar Hollingsworth (Ed Holly)


Stockton

California

USA

Welter

San Francisco Chronicle, February 5, 1924; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, February 7, 1924; Oakland (California) Tribune, February 7, 1924; Oakland (California) Tribune, February 8, 1924; Fresno (California) Bee, February 9, 1924. The last blow in the fight was to the left side of the jaw that knocked Hollingsworth down. Hollingsworth died the following day. The medical examiner said the cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage, probably secondary to the fall. The promoter, Tommy Simpson, was arrested for staging a fight without a permit.

Manuel Cota

8-Aug

1925

Draw

4

Isaac Jose (Frank Lewis, Indian Mike)

37

Jerome

Arizona

USA

Light

New York Times, August 12, 1925; Oakland Tribune, August 13, 1925; Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, August 13, 1925; (Augusta, Maine) Daily Kennebec Journal, August 13, 1925. Jose was fouled to the groin in the fourth, but the fight continued, and at the end, it was declared a draw. Afterwards, Jose was taken to the government hospital at Fort Whipple, where he died. Cause of death was described as “internal hemorrhage.”

Sabino Mola

23-Mar

1925

KO

9

Angel Barreras


Camaguey


Cuba

Light Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Harry Fay

21-Jul

1925

KO

4

Howard Palmer (Irish Mickey Shannon, Patsy Flannigan)

25

Louisville

Kentucky

USA

Light Heavy

Syracuse (New York) Herald, July 22, 1925; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, July 22, 1925. Knocked out of the ring, Palmer’s head hit the floor and he suffered a concussion. He died the next day.

Tony Escalante

13-Nov

1925

KO

5

Babe” Monroy


El Centro

California

USA

Feather

San Mateo (California) Times, November 16, 1925; Oxnard (California) Daily Courier, November 16, 1925; Fresno (California) Bee, November 17, 1925. During the fourth round, Monroy was knocked down by a punch to the heart. He was knocked down again in the fifth, and the fight was stopped. After the fight, he said he didn’t feel well. He went home, went to bed, and was found dead next day. Death was attributed to influenza.

Gilbert “Kid” Brooks

8-Dec

1925

KO

7

Joseph “Kid” Holmes


Atlantic City

New Jersey

USA

Middle

San Francisco Chronicle, December 9, 1925; Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, December 8, 1925. Holmes died the following day. Cause of death was listed as fractured skull.

Oren Piotin

ND

1925

KO


Kid


Lisbon


Portugal

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

William George “Pop” Humphreys

8-Feb

1925

KO

6

Charles Edward “Teddy” Sheppard

21

London

London

England

Welter

(Dublin) Irish Times, February 9, 1925; Middletown (New York) Daily Herald, February 9, 1925; London Times, February 13, 1925; “Boxing: On the ropes?” MEPO 2/2215, http://www.pro.gov.uk/inthenews/boxing/Boxing4.htm. Sheppard wanted a job at the boxing booth. So, the booth owner gave him the opportunity to show his mettle. The rounds were two minutes in length, and the match was scheduled for 10 rounds. However, the bout was stopped in the sixth after Sheppard started hanging all over Humphreys. The boxers shook hands. Sheppard then shook hands with the referee. He then collapsed. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Robert Lovell (Gypsy Williams)

3-Apr

1925

KO

10

Harold “Kid” Ryle

16

Toledo

Ohio

USA

Feather

Chicago Daily Tribune, April 9, 1925; (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, April 10, 1925. Following surgery to remove a blood clot in the brain, Ryle died in hospital on April 8. The coroner attributed death to a fractured skull. The promoter said Ryle had lied about his age.

William Bonsor

6-Apr

1925

KO

3

Richard William Spooner

27

Coventry

West Midlands

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, April 9, 1925. Spooner was knocked down by a blow to the jaw. He did not get up, and died in hospital. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

Bobby Allen

16-Apr

1925

Ldec

10

Harry Simone

24

San Bernardino

California

USA

Welter

New York Times, April 20, 1925; Oakland Tribune, April 20, 1925; New York Times, April 21, 1925. About five hours after the fight, Simone fell unconscious. He died in hospital following an operation. Death was attributed to cerebral hemorrhage.

Jimmy McLarnin

4-Jul

1925

Ldec

10

Francisco Guilledo (Pancho Villa)

24

Oakland

California

USA

Fly

Honolulu Advertiser, July 15, 1925; Kingston (New York) Daily Freeman, July 15, 1925; Lester Bromberg, Boxing’s Unforgettable Fights (New York: Ronald Press, 1962), 132-133; Murray Greig, Goin’ the Distance: Canada’s Boxing Heritage (Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1996). Guilledo went into the fight knowing he had impacted teeth. He could have postponed the fight, but according to his handlers, he didn’t want to cause them to lose any money. Afterwards, he went to the dentist to have the teeth removed and he died; cause of death was toxemia resulting from spread of infection.

Billy Defoe

7-Sep

1925

Ldec

12

Don Tippero

21

Great Falls

Montana

USA

Feather

New York Times, September 10, 1925; New York Times, September 12, 1925. Although clearly in pain, Tippero refused to let his seconds stop the fight. After the fight, he collapsed in the dressing room, and he died four days later. The autopsy diagnosed both concussion and Bright’s disease (e.g., chronic kidney disease). Billy Miske is the most prominent boxer known to have died from complications of Bright’s disease.

Francis “Mickey” McVeigh

25-Jan

1925

TKO

4

D.T. Cyzowski (Gunboat Skee)

25

Newburgh

New York

USA

Welter

Middletown (New York) Daily Times-Press, January 24, 1925; Middletown (New York) Daily Herald, January 24, 1925; New York Times, January 25, 1925; Kingston (New York) Daily Freeman, January 26, 1925. Cyzowski was a sailor aboard USS Rochester, and the match was sponsored by the New York National Guard. In the third round, Cyzowski was saved by the bell, and in the fourth, he was counted out. He did not get up, so he was carried to the dressing room. The doctor could not revive him, either, so an ambulance was called. He died in hospital. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Johnny Reisler

28-Jul

1926

KO

7

Jackie Jones


San Bernardino

California

USA

Light

Oakland (California) Tribune, July 30, 1926; Reno Evening Gazette, July 30, 1926; Woodland (California) Daily Democrat, July 31, 1926; Los Angeles Times, August 1, 1926; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, August 1, 1926. Going into the seventh round, Jones was leading on points. Then he was knocked down. When he did not regain consciousness, he was taken to the hospital, where he died twelve hours later. Cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

Les Anthony

1-Oct

1926

KO


Reg Murphy


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com.

Elmer “Al” Friedman

13-Dec

1926

KO

8

Charles Pegulihan

21

Hartford

Connecticut

USA

Light Heavy

New York Times, December 15, 1926. Pegulihan was winning the fight on points, but had taken some heavy blows, to include some head butts. Following the knockdown, he stood back up, then collapsed. He died the following day. It was his sixth professional fight, and his first in the USA. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Pat Patrick

8-Jul

1926

KO

4

Clarence “Rosey” Johnson

19

Whittier

California

USA

Welter

Oakland Tribune, July 9, 1926; Modesto (California) News-Herald, July 10, 1926. Johnson failed to revive after a knockout, and he died 35 minutes later. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Frank Lieberman

29-Sep

1926

KO

4

Joseph Gerrity

18

New York

New York

USA

Feather

New York Times, September 30, 1926; Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, September 30, 1926. Gerrity was knocked down, and the fight was stopped. The papers said the fight was amateur, but Gerrity had been fighting professionally since at least 1923. Cause of death was listed as basal skull fracture.

Carl Augustine

14-Dec

1926

KO

6

Harry Berglund (Harry Berg)

21

Minneapolis

Minnesota

USA

Light Heavy

New York Times, December 16, 1926; Danville (Virginia) Bee, December 15, 1926; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, December 16, 1926. Berglund was hit with a hard left just before the scheduled end of the fight. Cause of death was listed as cerebral hemorrhage. It was Berglund’s first professional fight.

Frank Crouse

26-Aug

1926

KO

1

Leo “Bill” Landis

22

Muncie

Indiana

USA

Light

New York Times, September 1, 1926; Oakland Tribune, August 31, 1926. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

Charles “Bud” Taylor

19-Apr

1926

Ndec

10

Inocencio Moldes (Clever Sencio)

22

Milwaukee

Wisconsin

USA

Bantam

Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, April 20, 1926; Honolulu Advertiser, April 21, 1926; Honolulu Advertiser, April 27, 1926. Autopsy revealed evidence of a previous brain injury, probably received during Moldes’ 10-round loss to Fidel LaBarba three weeks earlier. Moldes had fought at least thirteen times between September 7, 1925 and April 19, 1926.

Walter Broderick (Kid Broad)

8-Feb

1926

Ndec

4

Joshua “Tiger” Smith


Stamford

Connecticut

USA

ND

Iowa City (Iowa) Press-Citizen, February 9, 1926; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, February 16, 1926. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain. Mechanism of death was “misadventure.”

Charles W. Belanger

5-Mar

1926

TKO


Harry Black


San Diego

California

USA

Light heavy

Fresno (California) Bee, March 20, 1926. Black died in a Los Angeles hospital on March 19, 1926. Cause of death was listed as subdural hematoma, probably the result of a blow to the head. The medical examiner was unable to tell if the injury occurred during the bout or training. As a side note, Belanger, a Metis, boxed for Canada during the 1924 Olympics. He turned pro in July 1925, and went on to fight another another 170 or so pro bouts before his retirement from boxing in 1939. See Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, April 26, 1969.

Ted Ferry

10-Mar

1926

TKO

7

William James Gadson (Billy Gibbins)

23

Hackney

London

England

ND

London Times, March 12, 1926; (Glasgow) Scotsman, March 16, 1926. Gadson walked to his corner, then collapsed. Death was due to cerebral hemorrhage.

Teddy Dickson

7-Jan

1927

KO

14

Emmett Murphy


Bathurst

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Michael Connors

24-Feb

1927

KO


Leon Escala


Los Angeles

California

USA

ND

Oakland Tribune, March 1, 1927. Cause of death was attributed to cerebral hemorrhage. The hemorrhage was attributed to high blood pressure and exertions rather than blows.

Lazaro Ramos (Battling Siki)

16-Apr

1927

KO

4

Candido Delgado


Havana


Cuba

Light Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com.

Tommy Griffiths

18-May

1927

KO

10

Roy Overend


Napier


New Zealand

Feather

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm. The referee stopped the fight, but Overend died next day in hospital

Samuel Mandela (Sammy Mandell, the Rockford Sheik)

1-Jun

1927

KO

2

Stephen Adamczyn (Steve Adams)

22

Kansas City

Missouri

USA

Light

Davenport (Iowa) Democrat and Leader, June 2, 1927; New York Times, June 2, 1927; Kansas City (Kansas) Star, June 2, 1927. Adamczyn was struck in the stomach. He fell, and died. Cause of death was alternatively listed as broken neck or acute dilation of the heart.

Michael Spergel

3-Jan

1927

KO

3

Robert Schleiger (Bobby Kenwood)

23

New York

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, January 4, 1927. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain. Schleiger’s death was the proximate cause of the New York State Athletic Commission subsequently authorizing ringside physicians to stop boxing matches in which a participant appeared to be in danger of serious injury.

Alphonse “Young” Benedetto

10-Feb

1927

KO

2

Leo “Kid” Porta

18

Dennison

Ohio

USA

ND

Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, February 11, 1927; Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, February 12, 1927. The venue was the Pan Handle Athletic Club. Porta was knocked out, and died about eight hours later, without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was attributed to concussion of the brain.

Jack Gross

17-Mar

1927

KO

4

Charley “Kid” Hill

26

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Heavy

New York Times, March 18, 1927; Syracuse (New York) Herald, March 18, 1927; Chester (Pennsylvania) Times, March 18, 1927; Oil City (Pennsylvania) Derrick, March 19, 1927. Hill was knocked out by a right uppercut to the chin. He failed to get up. He died in hospital two hours later. Cause of death was concussion of the brain, and attributed to the fall.

Byron Boyer

5-Apr

1927

KO

1

Lewis Frost

19

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma

USA

Light

Teeters v. Frost et. ux., 1930 OK 467, 145 Okla. 273, 292 P. 356, http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=44704. Because Oklahoma had laws prohibiting professional boxing, the promoter, Tol Teeters, organized what he called “fights between amateurs,” meaning fights between young men willing to fight three rounds for a dollar. Six-ounce gloves were worn. About midway through the first round, Boyer hit Frost in the stomach and head, then gave him a left hook to the jaw. Frost went down on his knees, then fell on his face. The referee, Johnny Ryan, immediately stopped the fight and called an ambulance. Frost was dead before he got to the hospital. Although he didn’t do any examination, the doctor gave cause of death as acute dilation of the heart caused by excitement and exertion. The Oklahoma judges ruled for the parents and against Teeters, saying that a boxing contest for money was a prizefight, no matter what euphemism you used to describe it, and adding that describing any prizefight as a “friendly sparring match” was akin to “describing a wild poker game and then terming it Sunday School.” The Oklahoma court also ruled that, in Oklahoma, “each person injured in mutual combat may recover from other all damages caused by injuries, assumption of risk rule not applying.”

Clarence “Shot” Nunn

12-Aug

1927

KO

9

William Masden (Jack Madden)

24

Denver

Colorado

USA

Middle

New York Times, August 14, 1927; Syracuse (New York) Herald, August 14, 1927. Masden was carried unconscious from the ring. He died the following day. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

James Campbell (Jimmy Blake)

14-Sep

1927

KO

1

Harold Williams

17

Bell

California

USA

ND

New York Times, September 16, 1927; Havre (Montana) September 15, 1927; San Francisco Chronicle, September 16, 1927; Modesto (California) News-Herald, September 16, 1927; Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, September 17, 1927. It was Williams’ first pro bout, and the purse was $2. There was no weigh-in or medical exam before the fight, and the promoter did not have a state boxing permit. During the bout, Williams took a left to the head soon after the opening , followed by a right to the jaw. As he fell, his head hit the ropes. He was counted out, but did not get up. He died in hospital. Death was attributed to cerebral hemorrhage.

John Mansfield

12-Dec

1927

KO

2

Thomas Henry “Tommy” Angus


Edmonton

London

England

Heavy

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, December 13, 1927; New York Times, December 14, 1927; London Times, December 19, 1927; (Glasgow) Scotsman, December 19, 1927. Angus had lost his job as a chef, and had taken up boxing about six weeks previously. It was his second fight, his first having been about three weeks previously. The first round was slow. In the second, Angus hit Mansfield hard. Mansfield countered with a straight right to the jaw, and Angus went down. The fight was called at the count of six, and the doctor was called to the ring. Cause of death listed as concussion of the brain, and attributed to the fall.

Max Rosenbloom

12-Feb

1927

Ndec

10

Jimmy Delaney

25

Cincinnati

Ohio

USA

Light Heavy

Mansfield (Ohio) News, March 4, 1927. This is an odd case, as it started with a cut received during a fight with Maxie Rosenbloom becoming infected. The injury was further aggravated during a 6-round loss to Tony Ross on February 21, 1927. Delaney died of blood poisoning on March 4, 1927.

Anisio Orbeta

26-Sep

1927

TKO

4

Lazaro Souval


Havana


Cuba

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Souval died of injuries several days later.

Daniel Williams

10-Apr

1927

TKO

4

Harold John Reid

24

Sangudo

Alberta

Canada

ND

Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, April 11, 1927; Toronto Globe, April 12, 1927. In the fourth, Reid was knocked down twice, and the fight was stopped. Outside the ring, Reid collapsed again,and this time his head struck the floor outside the ring. In the dressing room, he went into a coma, and then he died.

Charles McDonald

12-Nov

1927

TKO

15

Richard “Dick” Roughley

20

Leeds

West Yorkshire

England

Heavy

(Dublin) Irish Times, November 17, 1927; New York Times, November 17, 1927; (Glasgow) Scotsman, November 18, 1927. Roughley collapsed almost immediately after the fight ended, and he died in hospital the following night. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. The death was ruled misadventure. The opponent, McDonald, was “a coloured boxer.”

Charlie Boissell

13-Feb

1928

KO


Bill Blake


Southhampton

Hampshire

England

Light

(Glasgow) Scotsman, February 23, 1928; New York Times, February 23, 1928; Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, February 23, 1928; Japan Times, March 16, 1928; Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, April 15, 1928. When Blake was buried in Eastleigh, England, his gloves were buried with him.

Roy Green

9-Jun

1928

KO


Bob Miller


Newcastle

New South Wales

Australia

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com.

Charles Lawhead

2-Apr

1928

KO


Otto Bryant

26

Dodge City

Kansas

USA

Welter

Washington Post, April 7, 1928; New York Times, April 7, 1928. Cause of death was concussion of the brain, and the local examiner of the state boxing commission attributed it to Bryant’s head striking a plank supporting the ring as he fell.

Frankie Jarr

18-Apr

1928

KO

5

Howard “Buck” Lain

19

Fort Wayne

Indiana

USA

Bantam

New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, April 20, 1928; Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, April 20, 1928. Lain was knocked down. He reportedly struck his head on the edge of the ring platform while falling, and he died in hospital the following day. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain, and attributed to the fall.

Ernest “Jack” Campbell

3-Sep

1928

KO

10

Percival Morrison (Jamaica Kid)

24

Montego Bay


Jamaica

Middle

Morrison had been warned for hitting low. Campbell responded by landing a hard left to Morrison’s head. Morrison went down, and Campbell was declared the winner. Morrison tried to stand up, using the ropes to help him, but he fell again. The doctor ordered Morrison to the hospital, where he died about 3-1/2 hours later. Cause of death was attributed to the rupture of an artery on the right side of the skull.

James Lumb

12-Oct

1928

KO

2

Roy Henry Smith

26

Goole

North Humberside

England

Light

(Dublin) Irish Times, October 15, 1928; (Glasgow) Scotsman, October 17, 1928. Smith, a professional rugger as well as boxer, was hit on the side of the head, and he went down face first. When he did not get up, he was taken to the hospital, where he died the following day. According to the Scotsman, “Death was due to a rupture of a blood vessel on the left side of the head, which caused cerebral hemorrhage.” The contestants had not been examined prior to entering the ring, and Smith had been knocked out just four days before, while boxing Young Shakespeare at York.

Orti

17-Nov

1928

KO

1

Sotolongo


Madrid


Spain

Feather

(Dublin) Irish Times, November 20, 1928; (Glasgow) Scotsman, November 20, 1928. Sotolongo collapsed after just one blow, and the crowd booed, thinking he’d dived. Sotolongo died in hospital.

Emil Bartsch (Chuck Mangin)

28-Nov

1928

KO

6

Donald “Tiger” Huff

19

Crystal Rock

Ohio

USA

Feather

Fort William (Ontario) Daily Times-Journal, November 29, 1928; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, November 29, 1928; New York Times, November 29, 1928; Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, November 29, 1928. During the fifth, Huff was hit repeatedly in the head. Between the fifth and sixth rounds, he fell to the floor. The fight was stopped, and Huff was taken to hospital in nearby Sandusky, Ohio, where he died about an hour later. Cause of death was listed as acute dilation of the heart.

Albert Lucas

Oct/

1928

KO


J.B. Baker


Huntington

West Virginia

USA

ND

New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, October 28, 1922. Lucas died in a bout, and Baker was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Giovanni Silli (Johnny Sili)

6-Oct

1928

KO

14

Enzo Cecchi


Florence


Italy

Fly

San Francisco Chronicle, October 7, 1928; Dallas Morning News, October 8, 1928; “Muerte de pugil Italiano exhibe al control medico,” El Informador, November 1996, http://148.245.26.68/Lastest/nov96/19nov96/DEPOR.HTM; http://www.boxrec.com. Cause of death was attributed to skull fracture.

J. M’Quade

20-Feb

1928

TKO

5

George “Chick” Cairney


Edinburgh


Scotland

Feather

(Glasgow) Scotsman, February 23, 1928; Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram, February 23, 1928. The fight was fairly even through the fourth. Cairney tired during the fifth, and he collapsed in his corner at the end of the fifth. He died in hospital the following day. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain.

Billy Housego

1-Jun

1928

TKO

15

Tosh” Powell

20

Liverpool

Merseyside

England

Bantam

(Dublin) Irish Times, June 6, 1928. Powell was the Welsh bantamweight champion. The fight was even going into the final round. Then, with a minute to go, Powell was knocked down. He stood up at the count of seven, but fell back down, and the fight was stopped. Powell was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was attributed to hemorrhage of the brain. At the inquest, Richard Powell (Powell’s father, and chief second) testified that his son had not been training before the bout. He tried to cancel, but the Liverpool promoter told him that if he did, they would have young Powell’s license suspended. The promoter, Albert Taylor denied this. Finally, the doctor who performed the autopsy testified that a rupture of the brain “might happen to anybody.” Charges were dismissed, but the promoter was censured.

John Trochie

4-Jul

1928

TKO

7

Louis Alberts

26

Chester

Montana

USA

Welter

Helena (Montana) Independent, July 6, 1928; Montana State Genealogical Society and Ancestry.com. Montana Death Index, 1907-2002 [database on-line]. Alberts failed to respond to the bell starting the seventh round, and Trochie was declared the winner. Alberts died next day in the Havre hospital, about 80 miles away. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Johnny Dwyer

20-Aug

1928

TKO

6

Edwin Wunsch (Eddie Fitzsimmons)

24

Springfield

Massachusetts

USA

Heavy

New York Times, August 26, 1928. Wunsch was a preliminary boxer, and is not to be confused with a lightweight contender named Eddie Fitzsimmons. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain.

David Echeverria

ND

1928

Wdec

6

Eduardo Ramos


ND


Cuba

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Santos Mur

7-Dec

1929

Draw

10

Jose Ubeda (Kid Uber)

20

Buenos Aires


Argentina

Fly

(Dublin) Irish Times, December 9, 1929. Ubeda died December 8.

Wild” Bill Marks

1-Jan

1929

KO

3

Dick Williams


Craig

Colorado

USA

Light

New York Times, January 3, 1929; Syracuse (New York) Herald, January 2, 1929. The venue was an American Legion post. Struck a blow above the heart, Williams was dead by the time the count was finished.

Steve Salina

14-Jan

1929

KO

2

Frank Civella

22

Pittsburg

Kansas

USA

Bantam

Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier, January 15, 1929; New York Times, January 16, 1929; Syracuse (New York) Herald, January 17, 1929; Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, January 17, 1929. Civella was knocked down three times in the second round, and the third time, he fell through the ropes to the floor. He died the following day. Cause of death was listed as concussion of the brain, and attributed to the fall rather than the blows.

Caesar van Geysel (Cecil “Fat” Geysel)

5-Feb

1929

KO

3

Hamilton I. “Eddie” Cartwright

32

Seattle

Washington

USA

Light

Centralia (Washington) Daily Chronicle, February 6, 1929; Seattle Times, February 7, 1929; Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Gazette and Bulletin, February 9, 1929. Cartwright had lost three fights by knockout since November 1928, and was unconscious for thirty minutes following a knockout in Oregon on February 1, 1929. Meanwhile, Geysel was in his fifth pro fight. During this fight, Cartwright with a couple moderate blows to the face. These caused Cartwright to fall straight backwards. Cartwright was counted out and carried to the dressing room, where he died twenty minutes later. Cause of death was listed as arterial bleeding at the base of the brain, and attributed to the fall rather than the blows. The coroner’s jury blamed Cartwright, a black man from Portland, for not telling the ringside physician his true age or that he had recent brain injuries. Everyone else with the fight was acquitted. Nonetheless, Cartwright’s family sued the survivor. The case law is Hart v. Geysel, 159 Wash. 632, 294 P. 570, 1930. The question asked here was, inasmuch as prizefighting was illegal in Washington, could a case for wrongful death be brought when both parties had consented to participate in an unlawful fight? The Washington Supreme Court’s answer was no. The promoters were also charged in a separate civil action, and that led to a delay in the legalization of professional boxing in Washington State.

Lou Denny

15-Feb

1929

KO

9

Eddie Chandler

19

Kewanee

Illinois

USA

Feather

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, February 18, 1929; Lancaster (Ohio) Daily Gazette, February 18, 1929. Cause of death was listed as hemorrhage, due to concussion of the brain.

Harry “Tuffy” Morris

19-Feb

1929

KO

1

Edward T. Hammond (Eddie Hommart)

25

Cortland

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, February 20, 1929; New York Times, February 28, 1929; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 20, 1929; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 21, 1929; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 23, 1929; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 14, 1933. This was reportedly Hammond’s first fight since leaving the Army in 1922. After breaking from a clinch, Hammond stepped back two steps, then fell backwards, clutching his chest. The referee stopped the fight without a count, and seconds carried Hammond to his corner. He failed to revive. An ambulance was called, but it took half an hour to arrive. Hammond was pronounced dead at the hospital. Hammond’s widow, Margaret, subsequently sued the owners of the club and the City of Cortland. This led to an investigation. Although the fight was advertised as an amateur match, Morris testified that the matchmaker was supposed to pay both men $10 each after the fight was over. The six-ounce gloves Morris wore during the fight were old and worn. There was no weigh-in, and no doctor was present.

Mirko Anderschitz

10-May

1929

KO

3

Kalman Hudra

23

Vienna


Austria

Heavy

New York Times, May 11, 1929; Dansville (Virginia) Bee, May 11, 1929; Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, May 11, 1929. Hudra was struck with a right over the heart. He fell down, and was counted out. He died in the dressing room soon after the fight. Anderschitz was a police boxing instructor. The death occurred during the first boxing card staged in Vienna in five years.

Bill Lyle

18-May

1929

KO


Jim Smith


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Light Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com.

Manuel Pineda

22-Sep

1929

KO

4

Armando Vega


Havana


Cuba

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Mauro Galluzo

12-Jan

1929

KO

8

Clemente Sanchez


Montevideo


Uruguay

Light Heavy

San Francisco Chronicle, January 16, 1929; New York Times, January 16, 1929; Syracuse (New York) Herald, January 16, 1929. Sanchez, a Cuban fighter, failed to get up after the knockout and he died in hospital on January 15, 1929. Cause of death was concussion of the brain.

ND

May/

1929

KO


Herbert T. Smith

24

El Dorado

Arkansas

USA

ND

Chicago Daily Tribune, May 13, 1929. Smith was from Bonita, Louisiana, and his wife told the county sheriff that he had been knocked out during a boxing match in Arkansas the previous week.

Young Snyder

2-Sep

1929

KO


Ray Alatorre


New Iberia

Louisiana

USA

Welter

Amarillo (Texas) Globe, September 12, 1929; http://www.boxrec.com. Cause of death was listed as skull fracture caused when Alatorre hit his head on a concrete floor.

Fred Fraser

21-Oct

1929

KO

1

Ray Miller

20

Newark

New Jersey

USA

Light

New York Times, October 23, 1929; Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, October 23, 1929. Following the knockout, Miller stood up and then went home. He fell unconscious the next day. He died in hospital.

Robert Robertson

22-Apr

1929

KO

4

Robert Mackie


Kirkcaldy


Scotland

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, April 23, 1929. Mackie was carried from the ring semi-conscious. He went into a coma and died.

ND

Aug/

1929

KO


Louis Ventericci


Juan le Pins


France

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, August 19, 1929. Cause of death was a blow to the neck.

Lonnie McCale

23-Mar

1929

Ldec

4

John Securro

24

Fairmont

West Virginia

USA

ND

Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, March 25, 1929; Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, March 26, 1929; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, November 19, 1929. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Because prizefighting was illegal in West Virginia, McCale and the referee were subsequently convicted of unlawful assault. The sentence for both men was three months in the county jail and a fine of $100.

Young” Manuel Quintero

12-Apr

1929

Ldec

10

William Podraza

24

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

Welter

Albert Lea (Minnesota) Evening Tribune, April 26, 1929. After the fight, Podrazza began driving to New York for his next match. He collapsed in a hotel lobby in Zanesville, Ohio, and died. Podrazza had lost a separate fight in Mobile, Alabama, on March 20, 1929, and it was believed that his injuries may have stemmed from this bout, where he was hit harder.

Two-Ton” Tony Galento

14-Oct

1929

Ldec

10

Cuban” Bobby Brown

27

Newark

New Jersey

USA

Heavy

http://members.aol.com/ksmith9116/cuban2.html. At the time of the fight, Brown was sick with influenza. He went to the hospital two days later and died a month later.

Young” Earl Sweeney

26-Mar

1929

Ndec


Tony Azzera

24

Steubenville

Ohio

USA

Light

Lima (Ohio) News, March 29, 1929; Newark (Ohio) Advocate, March 30, 1930; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, March 30, 1929; Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2002 [database on-line]. Azzera collapsed in the dressing room an hour after the fight, and he died three days later. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. The death caused Ohio officials to consider banning professional boxing. The boxing community responded by saying that Azzera’s death was not due to this match, but to a concussion he suffered during an accident several weeks earlier. NOTE: The name may be a pseudonym. There was no one named Azzera listed in the 1920 or 1930 census, but there was a popular Wisconsin boxer of the day named Joe Azzerella.

Herman Follins

19-Aug

1929

TKO

9

John R. Crosby (John B. Bleraslyn, Johnny “Kid” Sullivan)

21

Jersey City

New Jersey

USA

Feather

Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, August 20, 1929; Kingsport (Tennessee) Times, August 20, 1929; New York Times, August 21, 1929; Atlanta Constitution, August 21, 1929. Crosby led this fight for the first seven rounds, but after that, he tired, and began taking some hard hits. The referee stopped the fight in the ninth. Crosby was carried to the dressing room. He did not recover, so he was taken to the hospital, where he died the following morning. Death was attributed to heart conditions.

Peter Macdonald

23-Nov

1929

TKO

3

Albert Lack (Alf Sullivan)

20

Salford

Manchester

England

Middle

(Glasgow) Scotsman, November 27, 1929. Lack was trying a comeback; he had fought from 1923-1928. He quit in the third. He went to the dressing room, and collapsed. He died in hospital afterwards. The autopsy reported he had a thin skull.

Dave Gordon

7-Jan

1930

KO


George Lissos


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Edward Kopydlowsky (Eddie Koppy)

24-Jan

1930

KO

5

Nicholas “Mickey” Darmond

20

Detroit

Michigan

USA

Light

Abilene (Texas) Morning Reporter-News, January 26, 1930; Fresno Bee, January 27, 1930; Detroit News, January 28, 1930. Darmond died seven hours after the fight. Cause of death was given as fractured skull, concussion of the brain, and cerebral hemorrhage. The matchmaker for the fight attributed the death to the fall, saying no blame should attach to Koppy.

Woodward Tending (Spark Plug Boyd)

24-Mar

1930

KO

5

Frank Farmer

39

Tacoma

Washington

USA

Light Heavy

Seattle Times, March 25, 1930; Helena (Montana) Independent, March 26, 1930. After taking several blows to the chest and abdomen, Farmer slumped to the floor. He stood up and retreated to the ropes, where he tried to clinch. He collapsed instead. Farmer had not boxed much for the past six years, and after just ten minute’s deliberation, the coroner’s jury attributed death to over-exertion, and exonerated everyone involved.

Jimmy Neal

14-Jul

1930

KO

7

Sammy Buchanan

21

Dayton

Kentucky

USA

Welter

Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, July 16, 1930; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, July 16, 1930. Cause of death attributed to stomach hemorrhage.

Luis Pellicer (Luis Logan)

28-Aug

1930

KO

10

Antonio Gabiola


Valencia


Spain

Light Heavy

(Glasgow) Scotsman, October 6, 1930; http://www.boxrec.com.

Leonard Van der Walle (Kid Leonard)

3-Oct

1930

KO

5

Hildreth C. Nelson

27

Cedar Rapids

Iowa

USA

Welter

Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, October 3, 1930; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, October 3, 1930; Mason City (Iowa) Globe-Gazette, October 4, 1930; (Dublin) Irish Times, October 4, 1930. Nelson was visibly wobbling in the fifth, so his corner threw in the towel. He was carried out with his gloves on. Although he died within minutes, the crowd was not told that he had died until after the 10-round main event was over. Van der Walle was arrested, but released after the coroner’s jury attributed death to paralysis of the heart. According to Nelson’s nephew, Joe Faucher, in e-mail received August 8, 2002: “He had over 200 professional fights when he died at 27. He worked on the railroad during the day. My mother was 3 when he died.”

Eddie Foy

16-Oct

1930

KO

8

Nick J. Pozega

19

Missoula

Montana

USA

Middle

Havre (Montana) Daily News, October 18, 1930; Helena (Montana) Independent, October 21, 1930. Going into the eighth, Pozega was ahead on points. Then, in the eighth, after stepping away from a series of punches, Pozega fell flat on his face, and the fight was stopped. The coroner ruled cause of death was unknown.

Warren “Larry” Hogan

21-Oct

1930

KO

3

Carl Baldus

25

New York

New York

USA

Light Heavy

Helena (Montana) Independent, October 21, 1930; Kalispell (Montana) Daily Inter Lake, October 21, 1930; New York Times, October 22, 1930; (Dublin) Irish Times, October 22, 1930. This was Baldus’ first professional bout, and going into the third, Baldus was leading on points. Reports conflict about whether blows were hard, but at any rate, Baldus was hit in the chest and then collapsed. He was carried to the dressing room, where he died. Hogan was released after the cause of death listed as heart attack.

Chuck Patterson

30-Oct

1930

KO

3

Sammy DiSalvo

25

Omaha

Nebraska

USA

Middle

Lincoln (Nebraska) Star, November 1, 1930; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, November 1, 1930; Havre (Montana) Daily News, November 1, 1930. Between the third and fourth rounds, DiSalvo was clearly tired. In the fourth, his cornerman threw in a towel, to signal defeat, but the referee kicked it aside and let the fight continue to the knockout. Another boxer on the same card, Joe Parizek, was also carried unconscious from the ring, also with brain concussion.

Wedge O’Leary

24-Aug

1930

KO

10

Emil Sencio

21

Butte

Montana

USA

Bantam

Helena (Montana) Independent, May 6, 1930; Oakland Tribune, August 25, 1930; Billings (Montana) Gazette, August 26, 1930; Havre (Montana) Daily News, October 18, 1930. Sencio was knocked down four times in the final round. He was counted out after the fourth fall, and he never regained consciousness. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage, attributed to Sencio striking his head on the floor when he fell.

Bobby Wills

29-Aug

1930

KO

9

Nobuo Kobayashi


Osaka


Japan

Feather

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000); http://www.boxrec.com

Charlie Green

5-Dec

1930

KO

9

Jack Isaacs (Jacks)

23

Camden

London

England

Light

New York Times, December 7, 1930.

ND

27-Dec

1930

KO


Roland Dujardin

22

Lille


France


(Dublin) Irish Times, December 30, 1930. Dujardin fell in the dressing room, and reportedly fractured his skull in the fall.

Herb Ackworth

15-Jan

1930

Ldec

6

Frank Thorn

45

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection. Thorn was the former feather, fly, bantam, light, and welter champion of Australia. He started boxing in 1902. After this bout, he was taken to a mental institution, where he died a month later.

Reinhart “Red” Kuehl

20-Aug

1930

Ldec

4

John Anderson

18

San Francisco

California

USA

Light

Dallas Morning News, August 22, 1930; Greeley (Colorado) Daily Tribune, August 22, 1930; San Francisco Chronicle, August 22, 1930. After the fight, Anderson was examined by the state athletic association doctor. He then changed clothes and started walking toward a waiting car. On the way, he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he died the following morning. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage. This was Anderson’s second professional fight. He had lost his first fight two weeks earlier, and had been complaining of headaches since.

Walter Cappel

21-Jan

1930

Ldec

3

William Schramski (Freddie Schrantz)

21

Sheboygan

Wisconsin

USA

Heavy

Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, January 20, 1930; Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, January 22, 1923; Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, January 23, 1930. The venue was the Eagles Hall. Eight-ounce gloves were worn. Although Cappel had boxed from 1925-1927, this was his first fight in 18 months due to a shoulder injury received while playing football. The fight was reasonably even for the first two rounds. Then, in the third round, Schramski was hit hard in the head and chest. By the closing bell, he was dazed, and needed to be directed to his corner. Soon after leaving the ring, he collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he died the following morning. Cause of death was concussion of the brain and cerebral hemorrhage. Mechanism of death was blows to the head.

George Tomasky

27-Mar

1930

Ldec


Billy Hatch

19

McKeesport

Pennsylvania

USA

Fly

Clearfield (Pennsylvania) Progress, March 28, 1930; Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, March 29, 1930. Although he lost on points, Hatch was knocked down several times in the bout. After hearing the decision, he walked to the dressing room, where he complained of head pain. The ring doctor sent Hatch to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was listed as brain hemorrhage. It was Hatch’s second pro fight.

Charles Evans

26-Nov

1930

Ldec

6

Charles “Kid” Watson

29

Sault Ste. Marie

Ontario

Canada

ND

Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review, November 27, 1930; New York Times, December 2, 1930.

Maxmilian A. “Max” Baer

25-Aug

1930

TKO

5

Francisco Camilli (Frankie Campbell)

26

San Francisco

California

USA

Heavy

Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, August 8, 1930. Baer fell down in the second. Campbell headed for the neutral corner to await the count. The unhurt (but angry and embarrassed) Baer jumped up, and began hitting Campbell with everything he had. Campbell hung on for two more rounds, then collapsed in the fifth. It took half an hour for the ambulance to arrive, and Campbell died the following day in an Oakland hospital. Cause of death was listed as a massive subdural hematoma; basically, Campbell’s entire brain was hemorrhaging. The autopsy results are reported at Jesse L. Carr and A.M. Moody, “Boxer’s hemorrhage,” California and Western Medicine, 51:4 (October 1939), 227-228.

August Carlson

13-Jan

1930

TKO

2

Evan Eugene Gustafson

22

Olean

New York

USA

Light Heavy

Olean (New York) Herald, January 14, 1930; Woodland (California) Daily Democrat, January 15, 1930; Plattsburgh (New York) Sentinel, January 17, 1930; Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, January 19, 1930; Olean (New York) Herald, January 20, 1930. This match took place at St. Bonaventure College. Although it was originally reported that the match was not sanctioned by the State Athletic Commission, the coroner’s jury was told that the match had been approved by a member of the State boxing commission. Moreover, the referee was the Olean chief of police. The coroner’s verdict was excusable homicide without negligence. Cause of death was listed in the newspapers as brain concussion and in subsequent court documents as a broken neck at C2. Anyway, after this hearing, Gustafson’s mother, Helma C.Gustafson, went to New York Life Insurance Company to collect on her son’s policy. The insurer paid face value of the policy without question, but balked at paying double indemnity for accidental death. So, it was back to court. In this case, the court (District Court, Western District Pennsylvania) ruled in favor of Mrs. Gustafson. First, there was no specific clause in the insurance contract stating specifically that boxing was a prohibited activity. Second, “no man has ordinarily any cause or reasonable ground to anticipate that when he engages in any of these games, death will result.” Thus, the death was accidental, and Mrs. Gustafson was entitled to double indemnity. The case law is Gustafson v. New York Life Ins. Co., 55 F.2d 235.

Earl Bridges (Cole Brown)

23-Jun

1930

Wdec

6

Young” Bruno Moraski

23

Moundsville

West Virginia

USA

ND

Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel, June 24, 1930; Titusville (Pennsylvania) Herald, June 25, 1930; New York Times, June 25, 1930; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, October 8, 1930. Moraski was winning the bout on points. Then, after having been knocked down twice in the final round, Brown stood up and flattened Moraski. When the bell rang, the referee had just reached “four” in the count. Therefore, this was counted as a win for Moraski rather than a knockout for Brown. Cause of death was concussion. The grand jury in Wheeling exonerated Moraski in October 1930.

Robert Paulhus

7-Oct

1930

Wdec

6

Charles Ernst


Montreal

Quebec

Canada

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

John Henry Lewis

11-Mar

1931

KO

3

Sam Terrin


Prescott

Arizona

USA

Middle

Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin) Daily Tribune, March 12, 1931; Olean (New York) Evening Times, March 12, 1931; Helena (Montana) Independent, March 14, 1931. Terrin was hit by a punch to the heart followed by another to the jaw. Terrin hit the floor hard, and he died a few minutes later. It is not known if this was the same Sam Terrin as boxed out of St. Paul, Minnesota, circa 1916-1922, and who was sent to the Minnesota State Prison in January 1929 (Albert Lea, Minnesota, Evening-Tribune, January 4, 1929). For his part, in 1939, Lewis was found to be nearly blind in his left eye, a condition that Lewis said was of several years’ duration.

Mickey Duris

23-Mar

1931

KO

10

Sammy Harris

20

Johnstown

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, March 24, 1931. During the ninth round, Harris was hit hard over the heart. As he came out to touch gloves at the start of the tenth round, he collapsed in the ring.

Pete Meyers

9-Jun

1931

KO

5

Stanley “Popeye” Sargent

20

Portland

Oregon

USA

Middle

Portland Oregonian, June 11, 1931. During the fifth round, Sargent was struck by a left hook that knocked him down. He stood up, and was knocked down again by a short right to the chin that made him fall backward. On the way down, he struck his head on the floor. He remained unconscious until he died about fifteen hours later. Cause of death listed as subarachnoid hemorrhage of the brain. Sargent was reportedly in excellent health, but the survivor, Meyers, was barred from fighting in California due to his having been badly beaten during recent bouts.

Alby “Kid” Roberts

4-Jul

1931

KO

13

Bert McCarthy

39

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Feather

National Library of Australia, Arnold Thomas boxing collection, http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3672417; http://www.boxrec.com. McCarthy had retired following a fight in December 1926, and was trying a comeback. Roberts was an Aboriginal boxer.

Alfred Crummack

4-Oct

1931

KO

1

Eddie Walmsley

16

Barnsley

Yorkshire

England

Feather

(Dublin) Irish Times, October 5, 1931. Walmsley was carried to his corner. He did not revive, so he was taken to the hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

Bob Singleton

ND

1931

KO

9

Bob Coffey

19

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection

Ward Phelps

30-Jan

1931

KO

2

Robert Louthian

21

Phoenix

Arizona

USA

Middle

San Francisco Chronicle, January 30, 1931; Port Arthur (Texas) News, February 1, 1931. Louthian was hit solidly in the second. He was counted out, and carried from the ring. He died in hospital twelve hours later. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Louthian had reportedly collapsed in the ring following a bout in Texarkana several weeks earlier.

Kid Langford

14-Sep

1931

KO


K.O. Pacheco


Guyaquil


Ecuador

Light

Dunkirk (New York) Evening Observer, September 15, 1931; Syracuse (New York) Herald, September 17, 1931. Cause of death was concussion. Langford was from Chile. Pacheco was reportedly the survivor of a prior ring fatality in Ecuador; in that fight, the deceased opponent was Tito Simon.

N. H. Jones (Kid Lobo)

10-Apr

1931

KO

2

Jesse Mayberry

21

Houston

Texas

USA

ND

Dallas Morning News, April 12, 1931. Mayberry fell from the ring. Cause of death was attributed to a fractured skull.

Blackie Stevens

21-Dec

1931

TKO

2

Hugh Bigelow

40

Raymond

Washington

USA

ND

Newark (Ohio) Advocate, December 23, 1931; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, December 23, 1931. Bigelow was the promoter of a charity show intended to raise money for the unemployed. One of his fighters did not show. So, although he had not gotten into the ring for 21 years, Bigelow said he would fight. He was knocked down. He apparently struck his head on the plank floor. He was knocked out, and did not get up. He died two hours later.

Jonathan Lee Walker (Tiger Kid Walker)

19-Aug

1931

WKO

4

Battling Griffin

20

Alliance

Ohio

USA

Light

Newark (Ohio) Advocate, August 21, 1931. After the fight, Griffin complained that he didn’t feel well. Cause of death was peritonitis.

Oscar Mears

4-Jan

1932

KO


Len Killenbach


Katherine

Northern Territory

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Louis “Bull” Seda

8-Jan

1932

KO

4

James L. Purdy

25

Honolulu

Hawaii

USA

Welter

Honolulu Advertiser, January 10, 1932. Purdy crawled through the ropes, sat down, and collapsed, bleeding profusely from the nose and mouth. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

G.H. Christie

11-Jan

1932

KO


Richard Jeffrey


Port Campbell

Victoria

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Albian Holden

2-Feb

1932

KO

2

John Fagg

23

Indianapolis

Indiana

USA

Welter

Valparaiso (Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, February 5, 1932; Lowell (Massachusetts) February 6, 1932; Fresno Bee, February 9, 1932. During the second round, Fagg collapsed without being hit. He died two days later. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Fagg had been hospitalized following a loss by knockout in September 1931.

Joseph Sanifuvero (Joe Pagano)

20-Feb

1932

KO

2

Robert “Irish Bobby” Brown

25

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Welter (Lt Welter)

Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 21, 1932; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 22, 1932. The venue was the 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn. Brown was carried from the ring, and pronounced dead in the dressing room. Cause of death was a ruptured heart vessel. Out front, the fights continued.

Archie Hughes

2-Oct

1932

KO

14

Harry Johns

20

Auckland


New Zealand

Light

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm. Johns died the following day.

Francisco Ros

ND

1932

KO


Peracio


ND


Spain

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Howie James

ND

1932

KO


Miguel Raule


Panama City


Panama

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Webby Booth

ND

1932

KO


James Keeler


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Davey White

Jan/

1932

KO

4

William D. “Kid” Elton

24

Lake Worth

Florida

USA

Light

Galveston (Texas) Daily News, February 11, 1932; Dallas Morning News, February 11, 1932. Elton reportedly collapsed in the ring without being hit. He was carried out, and he died without regaining consciousness on February 10. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

Ernest Anderson

2-Feb

1932

KO

1

Bud Hughes

17

Evansville

Indiana

USA

ND

Fresno Bee, February 9, 1932; Reno Evening Gazette, February 3, 1932. Hughes walked to his corner, where he collapsed. He died several hours later. Cause of death given as heart failure.

Cullen Williams

25-Jul

1932

Ldec

10

Ruby Johnson (Roughhouse Rube)

23

Tulsa

Oklahoma

USA

Light

Dallas Morning News, August 7, 1932. Cause of death was pneumonia and blood poisoning. The blood poisoning was due to a carbuncle under his left arm that got infected during the fight.

Justin Pascus

5-Aug

1932

Ldec

6

Wildcat” Julio Romero

24

Bakersfield

California

USA

Welter

Fresno (California) Bee Republican, August 10, 1932; Fresno (California) Bee Republican, August 9, 1957. Before this fight, Romero had been hit hard in the temple, and had been told not to box for a month. He insisted on taking this fight. A couple days later, he collapsed at home, and he died in hospital.

Kid Roberts

22-Aug

1932

ND


Ramon Juan Vargas

25

Agua Prieta


Mexico

ND

Fresno (California) Bee Republican, August 23, 1932. Cause of death was concussion of the brain. Vargas fell in the dressing room after the bout, and his death was attributed to the fall rather than to blows in the ring.

Lionel Gibbs

22-Dec

1932

TKO

9

Alberto Ortega


Port-of-Spain


Trinidad and Tobago

Welter

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, January 30, 1933. In the ninth, Ortega stumbled and fell. He landed on his left side. He got up, and continued to fight for another minute. Then he dropped his hands to his side. The referee stopped the fight. Ortega died on December 24, 1933. Cause of death was cerebral compression and hemorrhage.

Richard Howard

20-Jan

1932

TKO

2

George Bell

20

Bellingham

Washington

USA

Welter

San Francisco Chronicle, January 21, 1932; Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, January 21, 1932; Centralia (Washington) Daily Chronicle, January 21, 1932. Following a clinch, Bell was hit twice. He then collapsed. He was carried to the dressing room, where firemen tried to revive him, but without success. Cause of death was listed as a blow to the heart. It was Bell’s first pro fight. His opponent was aged 16.

Mickey Biss

25-Feb

1932

TKO

4

Frank Turiano (Frankie Turrano)

24

Paterson

New Jersey

USA

Middle

New York Times, February 27, 1932; Chester (Pennsylvania) Times, February 29, 1932; Kingston (New York) Daily Freeman, February 27, 1932. Turrano was knocked down three times in the first round, and four times in the fourth. However, the referee did not stop the fight until Turrano was hanging over the ropes.

Jim Docherty

Mar/

1932

TKO

5

Oscar “Kid” Watson

18

West Hartlepool

Durham

England

Bantam

(Glasgow) Scotsman, March 11, 1932.

Primo Carnera

10-Feb

1933

KO

13

Ernie Schaaf

24

New York

New York

USA

Heavy

Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, February 14, 1933; “Death among the heavyweights: Carnera-Schaaf prize fight,” Literary Digest, 115 (February 25, 1933), 26-29; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects, edited by Julia Taylor Unterharnscheidt (London and San Diego: Academic Press, 2003), 554. Schaaf had recently recovered from influenza, and had only trained about ten days for the bout. Throughout the fight, Schaaf put up little defense. Indeed, sometimes he was seen walking into punches with his hands down. Consequently, the fans were booing and yelling “Fake!” as he went down, and subsequently, most sportswriters attributed the outcome of the fight to Carnera’s handlers’ Mob connections, and Schaaf’s death to a savage beating that he received at the hands of Max Baer in August 1932.

Hugo Monterrubio

14-Feb

1933

KO


Felix Barron


Oaxaca


Mexico

Middle

Reno Evening Gazette, February 16, 1933. Barron died two days later. Cause of death was listed as congestion of the brain. Both men were railroad employees and semi-professional boxers.

Rolando Banos

3-May

1933

KO


Miguel Reina


Havana


Cuba

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Johnny Kunich

28-Jun

1933

KO

3

Benny Duran

18

Reno

Nevada

USA

Feather

Seattle Times, July 3, 1933. During the third round, Duran was knocked out. He was unconscious for ten to fifteen seconds. Then he got up, and seemed to be okay. “Duran returned to San Francisco Friday and according to Ted Martinas, an associate, complained of feeling queer. He went through his usual daily workouts, however... Early Sunday he became seriously ill and lapsed into unconsciousness.” The autopsy results appear in Jesse L. Carr and A.M. Moody, “Boxer’s Hemorrhage,” California and Western Medicine, 51:4 (October 1939), 228.

Johnny Blanchard

2-Aug

1933

KO

1

Nick Klimovich (Abie Muller, Speedy Sparks)

18

Reno

Nevada

USA

Middle

Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin) Daily Tribune, August 3, 1933; Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, August 3, 1933; Oakland Tribune, August 4, 1933. Klimovich struck his head on the ring ropes. Death was attributed to a broken neck.

Harry Lister

21-Oct

1933

KO

12

Albert Lowe


Greymouth


New Zealand

Middle

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm. Lowe had represented New Zealand in the 1932 Olympics.

Jose Torres (KO Mendiva)

4-Nov

1933

KO

5

Carlos Aleman


Guantanamo


Cuba

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

John Scherer

25-May

1933

KO

1

Floyd Warner

19

Portsmouth

Ohio

USA

Feather (118-lbs)

Portsmouth (Ohio) Times, May 26, 1933. The venue was the American Legion hall. Warner was hit several times, not especially hard, and then collapsed. He was carried to the dressing room, where he died. Cause of death was attributed to heart failure.

Les Funk

5-Sep

1933

KO

5

Harold Schrader

22

Aberdeen

Washington

USA

Middle

Seattle Times, September 14, 1933. Schrader was leading on the scorecards when he was knocked through the ropes. In the process, he apparently struck his head on the floor. He stood up semi-conscious and the fight was stopped. He went first to a hospital in Aberdeen, and then to a better equipped hospital in Seattle, where he died nine days later.

Bud Lymer

9-Sep

1933

KO

4

Whitlow Birdsall

27

Sioux City

Iowa

USA

Welter

Syracuse (New York) Herald, September 9, 1933; Hagerstown (Maryland) Daily Mail, September 19, 1933. While falling, Birdsall reportedly hit his head on the wooden floor boards. Cause of death was basal skull fracture.

Hal Glymph

12-Oct

1933

KO


James McDonald (Battling Bozo)

27

Atlanta

Georgia

USA

Welter

Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, October 14, 1933. Cause of death was brain injury. McDonald was not the same person as the earlier Battling Bozo of Birmingham.

Tony “Young” Marullo

3-May

1933

Ldec

6

Rhule Jack Holland

24

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

Light Heavy

New York Times, May 10, 1933; Statesville (North Carolina) Landmark, May 12, 1933; Dunkirk (New York) Evening Observer, October 25, 1933. Holland took a nine-count but finished standing up. He collapsed after the fight and he died in hospital the following morning. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Holland had won a Southern AAU boxing championship in 1932, but it was only his fourth pro fight. Before boxing, he had been a star football player at Tulane, so the university retired his old number, 21, for five years to honor his memory.

Arthur Lund

14-Jul

1933

Ldec

3

Donald Wingaire

17

Woodworth

North Dakota

USA

ND

Bismarck (North Dakota) Tribune, July 15, 1933. Wingaire fell dead as he stepped from the ring at the end of the match. Cause of death was attributed to dilation of the heart.

Jackie King

5-Jun

1933

Ldec

6

David Kane


Canal Zone

Panama

USA

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection

Alexander Hazel

2-Feb

1933

TKO

3

Tony Dragon

25

Kingsville

Ontario

Canada

Light

Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 3, 1933; Toronto Globe, February 6, 1933; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, February 6, 1933. The bout was not licensed; instead, it was advertised as a benefit. The coroner attributed death to asphyxiation -- Dragon had swallowed a piece of rubber he was using to protect his teeth. (Although dentists had been making mouth guards for boxers to use during training since at least 1902, affordable commercial mouth guards had only recently come into use. See, for example, J. L. Shapiro’s US Patent Office application for a tooth guard, application 1,644,284, dated October 4, 1927.)

Harry Lister

10-Jan

1934

KO

8

Frederick Johnson (Clem Jones)


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. By the seventh round, both men were exhausted. Jones went down in the eighth and never regained consciousness.

Frank Weber

22-Sep

1934

KO


Joe Thunderface

21

Singapore


Singapore

Middle

Dunkirk (New York) Evening Observer, September 22, 1934; “Singapore firsts: Sports,” January 5, 2003, http://www.sg/flavour/fact_sports.asp; The Shaw Organization, “The Shaw story,” January 5, 2003, http://www.shaw.com.sg/shawstory/shawstory2d.htm. Thunderface died in hospital the day after the fight. The cause of death was listed as fractured skull. Thunderface was from California, and he and his father were part of a touring rodeo. The promoters of the fight were the Shaws, who after World War II became the kings of Hong Kong kung-fu movies.

Gilbert Fare (Young Fear)

12-Feb

1934

KO

2

Jimmy Cooper

14

Bristol

Bristol

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, February 21, 1934; “Fighters of the West Country: Young Jimmy Cooper,” http://weldgen.tripod.com/fighters-of-the-west-country/id21.html. Although underage, this was Cooper’s sixth professional fight. His opponent was aged 22. The first round was nothing in special. In the second, Cooper took the lead. Then he backed up, and fell face first. At the count of three, he began to rise, then collapsed again. The fight was stopped, and before the ambulance could arrive, Cooper was dead. Cause of death was listed as “paralysis of the respiratory centre due to compression of a displaced vertebra of the spinal cord.”

Baby Zacatecano

6-May

1934

KO


Aurelio “La Tripa” Ruiz

23

Juarez


Mexico

Bantam

El Paso (Texas) Herald Post, May 8, 1934; Dallas Morning News, May 9, 1934; Fresno (California) Bee Republican, May 9, 1934. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

30-Mar

1934

KO


Robert Lockwood


Glasgow


Scotland

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, April 4, 1934.

Seaman” Tommy Taylor

31-Jul

1934

KO

2

Joseph Ernest Morgan (Kid Lennox)

22

Liverpool

Merseyside

England

Middle

(Glasgow) Scotsman, August 4, 1934; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, August 20, 1934. During the second round, Morgan complained of pain in his leg, and then collapsed. Cause of death was hemorrhage on the right side of the head. Morgan had a pre-existing skull fracture, the result of a motor vehicle accident at about age 4.

Arcade “Windmill” Pierce

3-Sep

1934

KO

5

Seth Edmonton

22

Payson

Utah

USA

Heavy

Fresno (California) Bee Republican, September 4, 1934. Edmonton knocked Pierce down eleven times in four rounds. He called for the fight to be stopped, to which Pierce responded by knocking Edmonton down. Edmonton died a day later in hospital. Cause of death was attributed to skull fracture. This was Pierce’s first known professional bout, and he continued boxing until at least 1952.

Soldier Hicks

19-Oct

1934

KO

1

Robert Smith

25

Kirbyville

Texas

USA

Middle

Port Arthur (Texas) News, October 20, 1934; Greeley (Colorado) Daily Tribune, October 20, 1934. The fight was a booth bout staged at the Jasper county fair. Hicks, an Arizona man who boxed in Texas from 1930-1939, was the touring pro. Meanwhile, Smith was a local man who was promised a few dollars for every round he could stay. Hicks promptly hit Smith with a blow to the heart. Smith said, “I’m passing out,” then fell down. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

ND

21-Jun

1934

ND


Vicente Hinosa (Battling Frid)


ND


Mexico

ND

The Ring/Carlos Vera. Hinosa had appendicitis at the time of the fight and he died of peritonitis a week later.

C. Williams

8-Feb

1934

TKO

4

Isaac Williams


Rhyl


Wales

ND

Miles Templeton collection. Williams died at home the following day.

Victor “Vickey” Vidales

6-Jul

1934

TKO

4

James Patrick “Jimmy” Costello

21

El Monte

California

USA

Middle

Lincoln (Nebraska) Star, July 8, 1934; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, July 8, 1934; Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1934. Costello walked to his corner, shook hands with his trainer, and then collapsed. He died the following day. Death was attributed to hemorrhage of the brain, but other injuries included a punctured lung. The Los Angeles Times headline read, “Boxer’s Life Lost for $9.”

Julio Villagran

13-Jan

1935

KO

2

Juan Arizmendi

12

Tampico


Mexico

ND

Lincoln (Nebraska) Star, January 14, 1934; Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer, January 15, 1934; Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, January 16, 1934. Arizmendi, younger brother of professional boxer Babe Arizmendi, was knocked down during the second round and did not get up. The police investigation revealed that Arizmendi had suffered head and eye injuries during an automobile accident the day before the fight, and the autopsy reported blood clots on the brain that had formed at least 12 hours prior to the fight.

Louis Petro (Lou Pettro)

23-Dec

1935

KO


John Homer Coomes

17

Springville

Utah

USA

Welter

Chicago Daily Tribune, December 24, 1935; Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, December 24, 1935. Coomes was knocked out by a blow to the chin. When he failed to revive, he was taken to a hospital in Provo, and he died there the following day. Cause of death was basal skull fracture.

Al Romero

22-Nov

1935

Ldec

6

Ralph Mano

22

San Diego

California

USA

Feather

San Mateo (California) Times, November 23, 1935. Mano collapsed in the dressing room after the fight, and died in hospital the next day.

Young Audet

14-Jun

1935

TKO

3

Jimmy “Cyclone” Sawyer

23

Bath

Maine

USA

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Sawyer quit fighting in the third, mumbled something to the referee, and collapsed. He died soon after in hospital. Cause of death was originally attributed to acute indigestion, a diagnosis that was subsequently changed to heart failure.

Jim Richardson

2-Jan

1935

Wdec

12

Lett Sheppard

24

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Sheppard collapsed in the ring following the win. He died four days later.

Tiger Donnelly

29-Mar

1936

KO

11

Bobby Clements

23

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Clements complained of head pain following a fight on March 7, 1936. However, he still met Donnelly in a rematch on March 29. He fell backwards, struck his head, and died.

Jesus “Chucho” Najera

6-Jun

1936

KO

10

Francisco Botelo (Paco Sotelo)

19

Mexico City


Mexico

Feather

Dallas Morning News, June 8, 1936; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, June 8, 1936. Botelo died four hours after this fight. Cause of death was attributed to fractured skull.

Blay

ND

1936

KO


Marti


Barcelona


Spain

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Patrick Flanagan

19-Feb

1936

KO

1

Fred Matieshin (Fred Matthews)

24

Toronto

Ontario

Canada

Heavy

Toronto Globe, February 24, 1936; Syracuse (New York) Herald, February 25, 1936; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, February 26, 1936; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, March 5, 1936. Matieshin was one of 32 boxers in Jack Dempsey’s White Hope boxing tournament. This was his third bout of the tournament, and after the second bout, Matieshin had told his sister and his handlers that he had severe head and jaw pain. However, there was no quitting if he wanted to get the prize of $500 and a trip to New York. In addition, there was no medical examination between bouts, just the one examination before the tournament began. Consequently, Matieshin entered the ring with Flanagan, was hit hard in the head, and dropped to the canvas in about 50 seconds. Cause of death was a rupture of a blood vessel on the right side of the brain.

Bill Tate

26-Apr

1936

KO

7

Felix Fernandez

35

Montego Bay


Jamaica

Middle

Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, April 28, 1936; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, May 26, 1936. Fernandez was knocked down in the sixth, but saved by the bell. He was knocked down two more times in the seventh. The fight was stopped. He was helped to his corner, but he died two days later. Cause of death was a ruptured artery at the base of the skull.

Ernie Duarte

18-Jun

1936

KO

3

Domingo Lopez


Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Welter

Kevin Iole, “Committee examining ways to make boxing safer,” Las Vegas Review Journal, October 28, 2005, http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Oct-28-Fri-2005/sports/4038861.html; Bruce Trampler. Lopez was taken to a hospital in Los Angeles, where he died of injuries on July 5, 1936.

Woodrow Chancey

25-Sep

1936

KO

8

Sammy Lucas

23

Atmore

Alabama

USA

ND

Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, September 27, 1936. Lucas was knocked down and never regained consciousness.

Dick Morgan

16-Oct

1936

KO


Eron Jackson

18

Mobile

Alabama

USA

ND

Anniston (Alabama) Star, October 18, 1936. Jackson was knocked down, and died in hospital the following morning without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain. The venue was the Oakdale Amateur Athletic Club, but the fight was probably paid, because Morgan was from out of state and the AAU suspended the club shortly afterwards.

Harry Spivey

21-Dec

1936

KO

2

Cyril George Webber

24

Torquay

Devon

England

ND

(Glasgow) Scotsman, December 24, 1936. Spivey testified that the two men were in a clinch. “We broke into the centre of the ring, and Weber came forward. I hit him once to the heart. He closed his eyes for a moment, and after I hit again he collapsed.” Cause of death was attributed to “a persistent thymus gland, and a heavy meal which he ate a few hours before the fight.”

Pete De Ruzza

6-Jun

1936

Ldec

6

William Peartree (Willie Pal)

25

New York

New York

USA

Light

Kingston (New York) Daily Freeman, June 11, 1936; New York Times, June 12, 1936. Peartree was the former New York Colored lightweight champion. He was knocked down twice during the bout. He collapsed after the fight and was taken to the hospital unconscious. He died two days later. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

Luigi D’Ambrosio (Lou Ambers)

17-Mar

1936

TKO

8

Tony Scarpati

22

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, March 18, 1936; Syracuse (New York) Herald, March 20, 1936. A blow to the jaw knocked Scarpati to the floor just before the bell ending the seventh round, and he was unconscious when he was carried to his corner. The referee stopped the fight. Scarpati revived a bit in the dressing room, but he soon fell back into a coma, and he died a few hours later. Cause of death was listed as skull fracture. Scarpati was the National AAU featherweight champion in 1931, and he had won his last nineteen fights.

Jackie Sharpe

2-Oct

1937

KO

3

Stan Smith

26

Wellington


New Zealand

Light

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm

Carlos “Indian” Quintana

30-Jan

1937

Ldec

8

Tony Marino

25

Long Island City

New York

USA

Bantam

New York Times, February 2, 1937; Winnepeg (Manitoba) Free Press, February 3, 1937. After Quintana’s arm was raised, Marino collapsed in the ring, and he died in hospital two days later. Marino had been knocked down four times in the fight. Cause of death listed as sudural hemorrhage.

Eddie Zivic

2-Aug

1937

TKO

9

Irish” Johnny Page

22

Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania

USA

Light

Hammond (Indiana) Times, August 4, 1937; New York Times, August 4, 1937; New York Times, August 5, 1937. Page was hit with a hard right and collapsed in his corner. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage. The death was ruled accidental, because Page had been injured in an auto accident before the bout.

Raymond “Buddy” Paul

11-Mar

1938

KO

1

Herman “Hank” Gowdy

23

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light Heavy

Hammond (Indiana) Times, March 15, 1938; Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal, March 15, 1938. This was Paul’s sixth and Gowdy’s fourth pro fight. Cause of death was cerebral contusion.

Roy Worcester

19-Oct

1938

KO

10

Henry King

21

Rockland

Maine

USA

Heavy

New York Times, October 20, 1938; Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, October 20, 1938. King, a former New England amateur champion, collapsed in the ring just before the bell. It was the day before his 22nd birthday.

ND

10-Jun

1938

KO

3

Phillip Meagher

18

Cincinnati

Ohio

USA

Light

New York Times, June 12, 1938; Zanesville (Ohio) Signal, June 11, 1938; Portsmouth (Ohio) Times, June 12, 1938. Meagher was knocked down and did not get up. Cause of death was attributed to a fractured skull. It was Meagher’s second pro fight.

George Salvadore

12-Dec

1938

Ldec

6

Andre Shelaeff

18

San Francisco

California

USA

Welter

Ironwood (Michigan) Daily Globe, December 13, 1938; Kansas City (Missouri) Star, December 13, 1938; Galveston (Texas) Daily News, December 14, 1938; Dallas Morning News, December 31, 1938. Shelaeff, who had boxed professionally in Harbin, Manchukuo, walked from the ring. Then he collapsed in the dressing room, and he died the next day. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage, perhaps secondary to earlier trauma; Shelaeff also had lobar pneumonia at the time of his death. Because there was no medical exam before the fight, Shelaeff’s father subsequently brought suit against the state athletic commission and the Disabled American Veterans, who organized the card (Fresno Bee, February 3, 1939). The court case is Shelaeff v. Groves, 27 F. Supp. 1018. The decision in this case was to dismiss the complaint: for public officers to be liable for tort, the officers must owe a statutory duty to the injured person. There was no statutory rule about this in the California code. In addition, there was nothing in the complaint indicating that anyone had done anything that was clearly wrong. Consequently, the court ruled that the state boxing commissioner and inspector “owed no duty to boxer to enforce requirement of physical examination, neglect of which would make them liable for boxer’s death.”

Stafford “Buzz” Barton

12-Aug

1938

TKO

10

William Eley

24

Kingston


Jamaica

Middle

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, August 15, 1938. Eley was ahead on points until late in the fight. Then he was knocked down twice in the tenth round, and the referee stopped the fight. Eley was taken to the hospital afterwards, where he died. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Hut Thompson

2-Jun

1939

KO

2

Lou Gomez

20

San Diego

California

USA

Middle

Dallas Morning News, June 4, 1939; Syracuse (New York) Herald, June 3, 1939; Fresno Bee, June 3, 1939; Fresno Bee, June 3, 1939. Thompson hit Gomez in the body, and Gomez pitched forward on his face. The fire department aid squad worked on him, but he died. Cause of death was listed as contusion of the solar plexus and paralysis of the respiratory system.

George Wilson

11-Sep

1939

KO

6

Bob Patterson


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Patterson was leading until he ran into a hard left. Knocked out, he went into coma, from which he never recovered.

Vic Caltaux

4-Mar

1940

KO

15

Stan Jenkin

22

Petrone


New Zealand

Welter

http://www.geocities.com/kiwiboxing/ringdeaths.htm. Jenkin had trained down to 147 pounds and was very weak. Cause of death listed as concussion.

Fernandez

ND

1940

KO


Santandreu


Galicia


Spain

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Pete Muscarnera

16-Jul

1940

TKO

4

Pete Asero

20

Long Island City

New York

USA

Welter

New York Times, July 17, 1940. Asero had been winning the fight until the fourth, when, without being hit, he collapsed backwards into the ring ropes and slid to the ring floor. He died 45 minutes later, without regaining consciousness.

Lou Thomas

24-Feb

1941

KO

7

Arne Anderson

22

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Heavy

Chicago Daily Tribune, February 25, 1941; Van Wert (Ohio) Times-Bulletin, February 25, 1941. Anderson fell backwards after a short right hook to the chin, and he was pronounced dead six minutes later. Because cause of death was listed as an enlargement of the heart, no inquest was held.

Frank Lindsay (Bill McNair)

28-Jun

1941

KO

6

Danny Timmins

22

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Irish” Al Dunbar

14-Aug

1941

KO

3

Ray Bonti

24

Brooklyn

New York

USA

Welter

Oakland Tribune, August 16, 1941; New York Times, August 20, 1941. Bonti was dropped with a right to the jaw. He died two days later without regaining consciousness.

Dick Clare

ND

1941

KO

1

Sam Cerutti

21

ND


Australia

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection

Jack Young

ND

1941

KO


Bren Parkinson


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Light Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection

George M. Verenka

23-May

1941

KO

8

Fred “Cyclone” Taylor

21

Two Hills

Alberta

Canada

Heavy

Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, June 6, 1941; Toronto Globe, July 31, 1942. When Taylor, whom the Toronto Globe described as a “negro scrapper,” went down, the referee noticed that he went down stiffly, as if frozen, rather than limply, as boxers usually do. Taylor died eleven hours later in an Edmonton hospital. Cause of death was listed as intercranial hemorrhage. Worn-out gloves were listed as contributing factors to the death.

Gregorio Gonzalez (Jack Chase, Young Joe Louis)

30-Jun

1941

KO


Billy Gillespie

25

Denver

Colorado

USA

Middle

New York Times, July 3, 1941; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, July 3, 1941. Cause of death was brain injury.

Young Frisco

1-Aug

1942

KO

15

Cecil Overall


Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Light Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Overall was reportedly the champion of Australia. He collapsed in ring during the fifteenth round.

Mulatto Hoppe

ND

1942

KO


Erland Coureau


ND


France

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection

Al Globe

15-May

1942

KO

8

Johnny Marquez

26

San Francisco

California

USA

Middle

Lima (Ohio) News, May 17, 1942; Oakland Tribune, May 18, 1942. Marquez was the 1937 National AAU champion. Cause of death was listed as brain hemorrhage.

ND

16-Jun

1942

KO


Thomas F. Smith Jr.

24

Sheppard Field

Kansas

USA

Light Heavy

San Antonio (Texas) Light, June 17, 1942; National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Smith was a private from Oklahoma who was stationed at Sheppard Field (near Wichita Falls). He collapsed after the bout, and he died soon after in hospital.

Lew Hanbury

15-Jun

1942

Ldec

6

Preston Drew

24

Washington

District of Columbia

USA

Light

Washington Post, June 17, 1942; Washington Post, June 18, 1942; Washington Post, December 22, 1950. After the fight, Drew collapsed in the dressing room. He was taken to the hospital. Cause of death was cerebral concussion and hemorrhage. Drew had seven years of amateur experience, but it was only his second pro fight. In his pro debut, three weeks earlier in Baltimore, the fight had been stopped by technical knockout in the sixth. It was Hanbury’s pro debut.

Herb Cuke

ND

1942

Ldec

6

Roy Norton


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Angelo Panatellas

5-Mar

1942

TKO

3

Herbert Black

23

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Feather

New York Times, March 25, 1942. Black substituted at the last minute. Cause of death given as cerebral concussion.

Nat Lamanuzzi

5-Oct

1943

KO

4

Irving “Chick” Rogers

19

Fresno

California

USA

Feather

Reno Evening Gazette, October 6, 1943; Fresno Bee Republican, February 1, 1956. Rogers was backing out of a clinch. He was not visibly hurt. Then he convulsed, collapsed, and died. Cause of death was originally thought to be cardiac, but later reported as cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

ND

1943

KO


Harry “Hoppy” Crane


Cairns

Queensland

Australia

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection

Jimmy Joy

19-Nov

1943

TKO

3

Tommy Hearst

21

San Diego

California

USA

Heavy

Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, November 23, 1943. Hearst died two days later. Cause of death was a basal skull fracture.

Freddie Dawson

20-Dec

1943

TKO

10

Al Reasoner

23

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Light

New York Times, December 22, 1943, 28; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, December 22, 1943. Reasoner was behind on points in the ninth, and in the tenth, he was dropped by a left hook. He stood up at the count of one, but was then knocked down again. This time, he got up at the count of two. He was then knocked down a third time. With this, the fight was stopped. The cause of death was listed as traumatic cerebral hemorrhage and hemorrhage of the right kidney. Six weeks earlier, Reasoner had suffered concussion following a knockout, and this contributed to the Illinois Boxing Commission’s subsequent ruling that boxers who had been knocked out had to wait at least 60 days before fighting again (Madison, Wisconsin State Journal, June 28, 1947).

Larry Lane

24-Jul

1944

KO

9

Lem Franklin

28

Newark

New Jersey

USA

Heavy

Chicago Daily Tribune, August 4, 1944; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, August 4, 1945; New York Times, August 4, 1944; Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin) Daily Tribune, August 4, 1944; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 556. Franklin had a pre-existing head injury, but fought anyway. He collapsed in the ring, and he died in hospital ten days later. Cause of death was attributed to multiple concussion hemorrhages. The medical examiner, Harrison S. Martland, could not say whether blows or the fall caused the death. Franklin’s death was the proximate cause of the development of rubber-padded ring floors. The first reported usage of rubber-padded mats in a professional contest took place in Newark, New Jersey, on July 7, 1947. According to the New York Times (July 8, 1947), inventor Thomas “Babe” Culnan “said he was unable to find material suitable for the protective layer until he saw a television show in which eggs were dropped on a rubberoid mat from a tall building and bounced without breaking.”

Angel Felipe

ND

1944

KO


Benjamin Rodriguez


Barcelona


Spain

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Percy Dudas

ND

1944

KO

3

Len Richards


ND


British Guiana (Guyana)

ND

The Ring, April 1944.

ND

29-Mar

1944

KO


Kiyoshi Imai


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000).

Clement (Clem) Sands

5-Apr

1945

KO

12

Roy Thurber


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Welter

The Ring; http://www.boxrec.com; (Sydney) Sun Herald, June 11, 1994. Sands was the brother of boxer Dave Sands, and went on to become New South Wales welterweight champion from 1947-1951. A photo of Sands appears at http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3791472.

Andy Hetlin

1-Oct

1945

KO

4

John Bezinski

32

Scranton

Pennsylvania

USA

Middle

Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Times, October 3, 1945; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 3, 1945; New York Times, October 3, 1945; Dixon (Illinois) Evening Telegraph, October 2, 1945. Cause of death was a head injury. Bezinski died in hospital several hours later.

Lloyd “Silent” Escobar

24-Oct

1945

KO

5

Booker Washington

23

Oakland

California

USA

Middle

Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, October 29, 1945; “The Indian history of Lorraine ‘Rain Cloud’ Escobar,” Inam Mec Tanotc, http://hometown.aol.com/Inammec/RainCloud.html. Washington had lost last his three fights by knockout. Escobar had 44 wins, and only three losses. After being knocked out, Washington lay on the canvas for ten minutes before an ambulance was called. The diagnosis was skull fracture.

Felix Miramontes

9-Oct

1945

TKO

4

Alberto M. Silva

21

Ocean Park

California

USA

Feather

Fresno Bee, October 10, 1945; Los Angeles Times, October 19, 1945; Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Silva walked out of the arena, but died in hospital less than 24 hours later. Miramontes was the 1945 Los Angeles Golden Gloves champion, and this was his first professional fight.

Billy Eck

2-Mar

1946

KO

6

Nat Hines

24

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light Heavy

San Antonio (Texas) Light, March 3, 1946; New York Times, March 5, 1946; Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder, March 5, 1946; Indiana (Pennsylvania) Evening Gazette, April 2, 1946. Cause of death was attributed to concussion of the brain. The athletic commission said the death was unfortunate, but unavoidable because a thorough medical exam had been given. Nonetheless, the athletic commission still suspended Eck and his manager, Edward Fluck (Prince Henry). This suspension had nothing to do with the fact that Hines had lost 22 of his 23 career fights, 10 by knockout, and had been called in as a last minute substitute. Instead, it was because Eck and Fluck publicly protested the athletic commission having prohibited Eck from fighting while the athletic commission conducted its investigation.

Sammy Medina

12-Jul

1946

KO

9

Jaime “Baby” Uribe


Colon


Panama

Feather

Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, July 14, 1946; Ring Record Book 1947. Uribe was knocked down four times, then collapsed in the ring. Death was attributed to cerebral hemorrhage.

Remo Polidori

5-Aug

1946

KO

9

Del Seziger (Del Hardy)

21

Salt Lake City

Utah

USA

Middle

Walla Walla (Washington) Union Bulletin, August 7, 1946; Fresno Bee, August 7, 1946. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Red McGrath

23-Sep

1946

KO

3

Ray Vidal

18

Holyoke

Massachusetts

USA

Feather

New York Times, September 24, 1946; Dixon (Illinois) Evening Telegraph, September 24, 1946. Cause of death listed as basal skull fracture.

Bob Burton

30-Oct

1946

KO

6

Bobby Burton

24

Providence

Rhode Island

USA

Welter

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, October 31, 1946. Same name boxers, but the deceased was black, and the survivor was white. Deceased was barred in New York and Pennsylvania due to heart murmur. Nonetheless, he boxed in Manchester, New Hampshire, on October 29 and he died in the ring the following day. He had produced a cardiograph showing no heart condition.

Mickey Logan

7-Nov

1946

KO

3

Billy Brown

21

Highland Park

New Jersey

USA

Middle

New York Times, November 8, 1946; Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, November 8, 1946; Walla Walla (Washington) Union-Bulletin, November 8, 1946. The venue was the Masonic Hall. Logan and Brown had boxed two weeks before. In the third, Brown was hit hard, and he collapsed into the ropes. The fight was stopped. Officials spent 15 minutes in the ring trying to revive him. After that, he was taken to the officials’ room.

Oiva Purho

9-Dec

1946

KO

8

Jacques Beneto


Malmo


Sweden

Light Heavy

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, December 10, 1946; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, December 12, 1946; http://www.boxrec.com. Beneto, who was from Martinique, had boxed in France and Czechoslovakia during 1938 and 1939. He resumed boxing in Europe in the spring of 1945, but is not known to have won any these postwar bouts.

Phil Pearce

Apr/

1946

KO

6

Alan Alcorn


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Alcorn had been leading until he was knocked out.

Patsy Gall

24-Apr

1946

Ldec

8

Harvey “Twin” Weiss

22

Wilkes-Barre

Pennsylvania

USA

Welter

New York Times, April 26, 1946; Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Berkshire Evening Eagle, April 26, 1946. Before the fight, Weiss had been complaining of headaches. After the end of the fight, he fell off his stool. He was taken to the hospital, where he died of cerebral hemorrhage. A photo of Weiss appears at http://saxonyrecordcompany.com/v-web/gallery/album05/Harvey_Weiss.

Joe Matisi

2-Apr

1946

TKO

3

Dave Mason

24

Buffalo

New York

USA

Heavy

Reno Evening Gazette, April 4, 1946; Clearfield (Pennsylvania) Progress, April 6, 1946; New York Times, April 6, 1946. Matisi floored Mason four times during the fight before it was stopped. A three-knockdown rule was in effect, but the referee said that he viewed some of those falls as slips. All parties involved were absolved. Cause of death attributed to subdural and pontine hemorrhages.

Emile Famechon

9-Dec

1946

TKO

9

Alec Murphy

24

Nottingham

Nottinghamshire

England

Fly

(Glasgow) Scotsman, December 11, 1946; “The sport of boxing,” http://www.portglasgow4u.co.uk/socialhis/boxing.html. Murphy was knocked down at the end of the eighth round, and staggering in the ninth, so the fight was stopped. He was sent to the hospital, where he died the next day of cerebral hemorrhage. Murphy turned pro in 1943, after having been a Scottish amateur boxing champion from 1940-1943.

Bob Ford

20-Feb

1946

TKO

5

Jack Von

22

Salem

Oregon

USA

Heavy

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, February 21, 1946; Portland Oregonian, February 23, 1946. Ford knocked Von through the ropes. Von was staggering when he got back in the ring, so the fight was stopped. Cause of death listed as subdural hemorrhage.

Al “Kid” Point

14-Aug

1946

Wdec

10

Roland Prairie

18

Quebec City

Quebec

Canada

Light

Oakland Tribune, August 15, 1946; Troy (New York) Record, November 20, 1946; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 556. Prairie was knocked down in the final round and he collapsed in the dressing room afterward. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Prairie’s mother subsequently filed suit against the promoter, Lucien Aldette, on the grounds that Prairie had been allowed to fight too soon following a knockout in Montreal.

Keith Furner

19-Jul

1947

KO

8

Nick Lewis

20

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Light Heavy

New York Times, July 20, 1947

Sam Crandall (Sam Baroudi)

15-Aug

1947

KO

9

Glenn Newton Smith

23

North Adams

Massachusetts

USA

Middle

Annapolis (Maryland) Capital, August 16, 1947; (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) Berkshire Evening Eagle, August 18, 1947. Smith was unconscious from the time he collapsed to the time he died. Cause of death was attributed to cerebral hemorrhage at the base of the skull.

Walker Smith (Sugar Ray Robinson)

24-Jun

1947

KO

8

James Delaney (Jimmy Doyle)

22

Cleveland

Ohio

USA

Welter

New York Times, June 25, 1947; Nashua (New Hampshire) Telegraph, June 26, 1947; “Jimmy’s Last Fight,” TIME, July 7, 1947, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934648,00.html; San Antonio (Texas) Light, November 2, 1947; Ralph Wiley, Serenity: A Boxing Memoir (New York: Henry Holt, 1989). Robinson was the world champion, and he hadn’t wanted to fight Doyle, fearing that something bad would happen. It did: Doyle died of cerebral hemorrhage. Doyle had been knocked out a year before, and was barred from fighting in California due to previous head injuries. At the inquest, the coroner asked Robinson if he thought Doyle had been in trouble during the fight. Robinson replied: “Getting him in trouble is my business as a boxer and a champion.”

ND

30-Nov

1947

KO


Nobuo Komiya


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Luis “Baby” Adame

11-Jul

1947

Ldec

4

Benny Cleveland

21

Hollywood

California

USA

Bantam

Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1947. Cleveland was a former Marine Corps boxer and winner of the 1946 Los Angeles Golden Gloves competition. Although knocked down twice in the first round, Cleveland won the second and drew the third. He tired in the fourth and was then hit by several solid body punches. He needed assistance leaving the ring. After complaining of feeling nauseous, Cleveland collapsed into a coma, and he died the following morning in hospital. Cause of death listed as hemorrhage of the mid-brain.

Georges Vignes

21-Feb

1947

Ldec

8

Federico Cortonesi


Geneva


Switzerland

Light

(Dublin) Irish Times, February 24, 1947; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, February 26, 1947; Muerte de pugil Italiano exhibe al control medico, El Informador, November 1996, http://148.245.26.68/Lastest/nov96/19nov96/DEPOR.HTM. Cortonesi, the Italian featherweight champion, was fighting at lightweight. Although knocked down at the end of the eighth round, he was saved by the bell. Nonetheless, he never regained consciousness, and he died in hospital the following day.

Jimmy Hogg

30-Jan

1947

TKO

12

Rip Bunker


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection. Bunker complained of dizziness, then collapsed.

Ezzard Charles

20-Feb

1948

KO

10

Sam Crandall (Sam Baroudi)

20

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Heavy

Los Angeles Times, February 22, 1948; Los Angeles Times, February 24, 1948; Chicago Daily Tribune, February 22, 1948; New York Times, February 24, 1948; New York Times, March 9, 1948. Crandall was too young to be legally fighting 10-round fights in Illinois. In addition, he had suffered severe head injuries during two previous bouts. Nonetheless, he was put against the current world champion. He died in hospital six hours after being knocked out; cause of death listed as cerebral hemorrhage According to press reports, the main concern of Crandall’s manager Mike Spinelli as his fighter died was his cut of the purse.

Fidencio “Freddie” Herrera

27-Feb

1948

KO

4

Leroy Decatur

20

Hollywood

California

USA

Feather

New York Times, February 28, 1948; Herrin (Illinois) Daily Journal, February 28, 1948; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, February 29, 1948; Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1948; Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1948. Going into the fourth, Decatur was clearly leading on points. Then, at 2:50 in the fourth (and final) round, Decatur was hit with a left to the jaw and a right to the body. He stood still for a moment, then collapsed as the crowd booed and jeered. Cause of death was listed as “an acute dilation of the heart due to overexertion.” However, in 1946, Decatur had fallen off a horse and subsequently suffered headaches and double vision; he had also been hospitalized five weeks in 1947 for heart problems. Nonetheless, he was licensed in January 1948, and this was his first pro bout. The purse was $75, which after management fees, meant $49.50 for Decatur.

Fernando Jannilli

12-Mar

1948

KO

8

Francesco Loi


Rome


Italy

Welter

New York Times, March 13, 1948.

Jim Stimpson

13-Apr

1948

KO

6

Mickey Markey

18

Wolverhampton

Westmidlands

England

Feather

New York Times, April 15, 1948; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, April 19, 1948. It was Markey’s second pro fight. He never recovered consciousness. The coroner’s jury ruled death by misadventure. Stimpson, who had just turned 17, continued boxing professionally for another eight years.

Tommy Downes

10-May

1948

KO

2

Joe Burns

27

Auckland


New Zealand

Light Heavy

Burlington (North Carolina) Daily Times-News, May 27, 1948; San Mateo (California) Times and Daily News Leader, May 27, 1948. Knocked down, Burn’s head struck the floor. He was hospitalized, and he died May 25.

Johnny Haynes

16-Sep

1948

KO

8

Bill “Chicken” Thompson

21

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Light Heavy

Philadelphia Inquirer, September 22, 1948; New York Times, September 22, 1948. Thompson was knocked out with three seconds left in the eighth. He failed to regain consciousness, and died in hospital following an operation for the removal of a blood clot on the brain.

ND

16-Mar

1948

KO


Shogo Koyama


Tokyo


Japan

Middle

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000). Koyama had lost at least two bouts (both against Hachiro Tatsumi) since November 1947.

Meyer

ND

1948

KO


Jimmy Koko


Surabaya


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Calvin Coolidge Lytell (Bert Lytell, the Chocolate Kid)

21-Apr

1948

TKO

6

Johnny L. “Jackie” Darthard

18

Milwaukee

Wisconsin

USA

Middle

Fresno (California) Bee Republican, January 25, 1948; New York Times, April 22, 1948; Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, April 22, 1948; Moberly (Missouri) Monitor-Index, April 22, 1948; La Cross (Wisconsin) Tribune, April 23, 1948; Oelwein (Iowa) Daily Register, April 24, 1948; Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer, April 24, 1948; TIME, May 3, 1948; Pete Ehrmann, “The Jackie Darthard Story,” CBZ Journal March 1999, http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/box3-99.htm; Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Precinct 3, Panola, Texas; Roll: 2382; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 10; Image: 786.0; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 573. Darthard, a former national amateur flyweight champion, had fought 33 times in the past two years, and had been complaining of headaches before the fight. Nonetheless, he took the fight because he was sure that it would be his lucky break. However, it was not. Instead, he was knocked down twice during the third round. The referee refused to stop the fight. So, Lytell went back out, and hammered Darthard some more. Darthard was knocked down again in the sixth. After the sixth round ended, Lytell walked to his corner. He sat down, told his manager that all he knew was that he was fighting in Milwaukee, and then fell off his stool. He was carried out of the ring on a stretcher, and he died next morning. Cause of death was a blood clot on the left side of the brain.

Roy Higa

8-Jul

1948

TKO

8

Jose Poticor Berje (Black Joe)

29

Stockton

California

USA

Feather

Fayetteville (Arkansas) Northwest Arkansas Times, July 9, 1948; Hayward (California) Daily Review, July 9, 1948; Bradford (Pennsylvania) Era, July 10, 1948; Titusville (Pennsylvania) Herald, July 10, 1948; Oakland (California) Tribune, July 10, 1948; Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Berkshire County Eagle, July 14, 1948; (Salt Lake City) Pacific Citizen, July 17, 1948; (Salt Lake City) Pacific Citizen, July 24, 1948; Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. During the eighth round, Berje was knocked down three times. Berje was far behind on points, so the referee stopped the contest. Berje walked shakily to his corner, and he collapsed in the dressing room. He was sent to the hospital, where he died the following morning. Cause of death was brain contusion. Mechanism of injury was attributed either to falls or blows. Following the inquest, the California State Athletic Commission made 8-ounce gloves and standing 8-counts mandatory. (Six-ounce gloves had been worn during this match because a recent athletic commission ruling requiring 8-ounce gloves had not yet gone into effect. No standing 8-counts were given, either, because that requirement also was not mandatory at the time.)

Bobby McQuillar

29-Sep

1948

TKO

8

Felix Gomez (Kid Dinamita)

22

Chicago

Illinois

USA

Welter

New York Times, October 1, 1948; Oakland Tribune, October 1, 1948. During the seventh round, Gomez was knocked down. He took a nine-count, but made it through the round. Then, three seconds before the bell ended the eighth round, he was knocked down again. He was carried from the ring unconscious, and he died about four hours later. It was Gomez’s 22nd birthday.

Charles Cotton

20-Mar

1949

Exh

3

Art Jackson

18

Toledo

Ohio

USA

Welter

New York Times, March 21, 1949; Kingsport (Tennessee) Times, March 21, 1949; Lima (Ohio) News, March 21, 1949; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, March 24, 1949. During the sparring, Jackson was hit at least three times in the head. During the inquest, Cotton testified that Jackson had told him before the match that he had fallen in the dressing room before the match. The coroner attributed death to subdural hemorrhage, and ruled the cause “accidental.”

Auguste Caulet

19-Feb

1949

KO

10

Ali Mekoui


Algiers

Algeria

France

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Caulet was subsequently the French lightweight champion.

Tote Martinez

29-Mar

1949

KO

9

William Gerald “Billy” Cornwell

25

San Jose

California

USA

Light

Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, March 30, 1949; Mount Pleasant (Iowa) News, March 30, 1949; Billings (Montana) Gazette, March 31, 1949; New York Times, March 31, 1949; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, March 31, 1949; Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Both boxers were 3 pounds overweight for this bout. Cornwell, who had a concussion following a fight on October 18, 1947, and who had been advised to retire from the ring, took a straight right to the chin. His head bounced on the floor, which had less padding than was required by state law. He was carried to the dressing room, and then to the hospital. He died the following morning. Cause of death was concussion and blood clot.

Johnny Efhan

19-Apr

1949

KO

5

Frederick Bungat (Freddy Sylvano)

32

Honolulu

Hawaii

USA

Feather

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, April 21, 1949. Cause of death was massive subdural hemorrhage.

Angel Casano

9-Sep

1949

KO


Urbano Rodriguez


Buenos Aires


Argentina

Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Carlos Ramirez

3-Oct

1949

KO


Salvador Ramos


Cuernevaca


Mexico

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Luther Rawlings

10-Oct

1949

KO

9

Talmadge Bussey

26

Detroit

Michigan

USA

Light

New York Times, October 12, 1949; Chicago Daily Tribune, October 12, 1949. Saved by the bell at the end of the eighth round, Bussey was visibly groggy as he answered the bell for the ninth. He had been hospitalized for concussion in December 1945. Cause of death was a blood clot in the brain.

Mok Khai Khoon

6-Aug

1949

KO

4

Nai Thom Chai

26

Singapore


Singapore

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Jack Hassen

19-Sep

1949

KO

11

Archie Kemp

24

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Light

New York Times, September 21, 1949; Arnold Thomas Boxing Collection, National Library of Australia, http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3790762; Geoff Moore, “Fact Sheet: Aborigines and Sport,” http://www.aaa.com.au/hrh/aboriginal/factsht55.shtml; Tony Nobbs, “Jack Hassen: 1925-2002,” Eastside Boxing, http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/nobbs1212.php. Kemp was knocked out in the fight, and died next day. Death was caused by a combination of a torn left lung and cerebral hemorrhage. Kemp had blacked out during sparring on earlier occasions.

Hocine Rabah

7-May

1949

Ldec

10

Mustapha Rafai


Algiers

Algeria

France

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Frank Czjewski (Lee Oma)

4-Oct

1949

Ldec

10

Enrico Bertola

27

Buffalo

New York

USA

Heavy

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 5, 1949; New York Times, October 6, 1947. Bertola, the former Italian heavyweight champion, collapsed shortly after the fight and died. He had been suspended in Illinois nine months earlier, but still fought three times in California. He had also been unconscious for six hours following a second-round knockout by Bob Foxworth on August 23, 1948. Cause of death was given as concussion and possible cerebral hemorrhage.

Ramon Garcia

17-Oct

1949

Ldec


Jesus Barrientos


Guanajuato


Mexico

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

George Small

22-Feb

1950

KO

10

Lavern Roach

24

New York

New York

USA

Middle

New York Times, February 23, 1950; New York Times, February 24, 1950; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, February 23, 1950; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, February 24, 1950; Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News, February 24, 1954. Ring’s rookie of the year in 1947, Roach was severely beaten by Marcel Cerdan on March 12, 1948. He fought three more times and retired. In 1950, he decided to try a comeback. He won three fights. Before this fight, he had complained of a sore nose but nothing was found wrong; consequently, he was cleared to fight. During this fight, he was leading on points going into the ninth, then, in the tenth, he took a solid right to the jaw. He went down, but got up at the count of seven. He was knocked down a second time, and the referee stopped the fight without a count. Roach returned to his corner, and said, “Damn it, this would happen.” Then he collapsed. The ringside doctor ordered a stretcher, and Roach was taken to the hospital, where he died 14 hours later. Cause of death was listed as subdural hematoma. Although few people saw the fight live (the weather was bad that night in New York), the fight was televised. Fights were shown live in those days, and for the last few minutes of the allotted time, the cameras focused on the medical activity in Roach’s corner.

Jan Nicholaas

25-Jun

1950

KO

7

Jean Remie

26

Rotterdam


Holland

Light

Long Beach (California) Independent, June 27, 1950; New York Times, June 27, 1950. Remie was knocked down, and did not get up. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Remie had been hospitalized following a knockout in Paris. This was reportedly Holland’s first ring death in 25 years, and its third overall.

Diego Orsaez

17-Aug

1950

KO

4

Manuel Alvarez

23

Madrid


Spain

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Gene Pilcher

3-Dec

1950

KO

1

Alex Karell


ND


Austria

Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Joseph “Joe” Madrid

7-Dec

1950

KO

2

Samuel J. “Johnny” Lopez

26

Merced

California

USA

Feather

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, December 9, 1950; Pasco (Washington) Tri-City Herald, December 8, 1950. During the second round, Lopez was knocked down. He stayed down to the count of eight. He got up, took one swing, and was then knocked out by a right to the face. Cause of death was a torn cavernous sinus on the left side of the head. The medical examiner attributed this to the fall rather than blows.

Roy “Kid” Sutherland

3-Nov

1950

KO

2

Alex Chisholm

23

South River

Nova Scotia

Canada

Middle

New York Times, November 5, 1950; Len Solomon and Jerry Doiron, “A history of boxing in Canada,” http://www.canadianboxing.com/profiles_content.htm. Chisholm had been in an auto accident not long before this fight, during which he injured his head. However, he didn’t want to call off the fight, for fear of being called a quitter.

Percy Bassett

20-Dec

1950

KO

7

Alfred “Sonny Boy” West

21

New York

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, December 21, 1950; New York Times, December 22, 1950; New York Times, December 23, 1950. West stepped into a straight right and his head hit the canvas with a thump. Before the fight, and again between the sixth and seventh rounds, he had complained of double vision. Cause of death was listed as intercerebral hemorrhage. The fight was televised, and the media response was savage. Sample newspaper headlines included “Youngster has birthday unaware that her boxer-daddy has died of ring injuries,” Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, December 22, 1950.

Vic Suatman

ND

1950

KO


Rocky Wang (or Ricky Huang)


Surabaya


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Juan Venegas

21-Aug

1950

Wdec

10

Max Morales


San Juan

Puerto Rico

USA

Feather

Long Beach (California) Independent, December 22, 1950. Morales was Puerto Rico’s 1948 Golden Gloves champion. He was trying a comeback, and he died the night after an easy victory over Venegas.

Doug Hardy

14-Dec

1950

Wdec

4

Terry Lynch


Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Middle (Jr Middle)

Manuel Velazquez collection.

Wal Dugan

29-Jun

1951

KO

12

Laurie Peterson

21

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Peterson collapsed in the ring and died next morning.

Roger Donoghue

29-Aug

1951

KO

8

George Flores

20

New York

New York

USA

Welter

Chicago Daily Tribune, September 3, 1951; Newport (Rhode Island) News, September 4, 1951; Joe Williams, TV Boxing Book (New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1954); Oakland Tribune, December 13, 1955; Frederick (Maryland) Post, December 16, 1955; New York Times, December 20, 1951; Fergus Falls (Minnesota) Daily Journal, September 23, 1957; Frank Graham, Jr., A Farewell to Heroes (New York: Viking Press, 1981). The bout was on the undercard of the welterweight title fight between Kid Gavilan and Billy Graham. Although Donoghue was leading on points, the contest was fairly even for seven rounds. Then, in the eighth, Flores took a straight right to the mouth followed by a left hook to the chin. Flores hit the floor with an audible thud and the fight was stopped. Flores, visibly dazed, was rushed to the dressing room so that the ring could be prepared for the televised main event, and there he fell into a coma. Despite three surgeries in five days, he died in hospital. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage, but some of the cerebral edema pre-existed the fatal bout. This is not surprising -- Flores had averaged two fights per month for the past 21 months, and he had lost two fights in the past five weeks by technical knockout. Following the autopsy, Flores’s wife’s family sued the International Boxing Corporation for negligence. In 1957, with the case going to trial, the International Boxing Corporation settled out of court for $30,500 (about $250,000, in 2007 dollars). In addition, investigations started as the result of this suit directly contributed to the demise of the company itself, as the investigations revealed that the company’s practices were monopolistic and represented restraint of trade. The Flores family also sued the State Athletic Commission. In 1955, a New York superior court ruled that the Commission was responsible for the decisions of Commission-approved physicians, and awarded Mrs. Flores $80,000. The Commission appealed this determination, and, in a split decision, the appellate court reversed the lower court’s ruling. Taken together, these two suits greatly accelerated the use of foam-padded rings, ropes, and buckles in New York. In addition, the furor caused the State Athletic Commission to rule that boxers take a mandatory 30-day break following knockouts. Of note, however, is the fact that the medical opinion in this case actually said that a boxer should take a 60-90 day break following a knockout. As an aside, Marlon Brando’s famous line, “I could have been a contender,” is attributed to a post-fight conversation between Donogue and author Budd Schulberg. See Westchester (New York) Journal News, August 26, 2006, http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/NEWS02/608260308/1018/NEWS02. The published case law is Rosensweig v. State, 5 N.Y.2d 404, 158 N.E.2d 229, 185 N.Y.S.2d 521 (N.Y. Apr 09, 1959) (NO. 31049).

ND

27-Nov

1951

KO

3

David John Redmond

22

Aberystwyth


Wales

ND

(Dublin) Irish Times, November 28, 1951. Redmond, who was from Northern Ireland, fought a booth fighter at a fairground. He was knocked down, and did not get up. He died in hospital the following day. Death was attributed to the fall rather than the blows.

Pierre Gress-Gyde

27-Jan

1952

KO

9

Mustapha Mustaphaoul

29

Roubaix


France

Fly

Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Berkshire Evening Eagle, January 22, 1952. Mustaphaoul boxed from 1939 to 1952, and he had reportedly lost 17 of his last 22 fights.

Tenejeros Boy

7-Apr

1952

KO

7

Young Canuto


Davao City


Philippines

Bantam

New York Times, April 8, 1952. Death occurred eight hours after the fight.

Pablo Anello

9-Apr

1952

KO


Manuel Torres


Cordoba


Argentina

Middle

New York Times, April 11, 1952; Hagerstown (Maryland) Daily Mail, April 12, 1952. Although struck in solar plexus, Torres died of brain injuries.

Charley Joseph

3-Oct

1952

KO

6

Jimmy “Bud” Taylor

21

New Orleans

Louisiana

USA

Welter

New York Times, October 6, 1952, Austin (Minnesota) Daily Herald, October 6, 1952. Cause of death was listed as brain concussion.

ND

24-Apr

1952

KO


Tamotsu Terada


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000).

Jose Pons

8-Nov

1952

KO

9

Emilio Nestor Jackson

23

Temperley


Argentina

Middle

Dallas Morning News, November 24, 1952; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, November 10, 1952. Jackson, who was from Venezuela, had lost his last three fights, but he had just gotten married and needed money. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Lucien Galleres (Star Matnog)

2-Aug

1952

Ldec

10

Kid Liberty


Tacloban


Philippines

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Tommy Barnabas

27-Aug

1952

Ldec

8

Momaduo Nyang (Mickey Johnson)

20

Lancaster

Lancashire

England

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection. Knocked down but saved by the bell ending the eighth round, Nyang subsequently collapsed and died. Cause of death was listed as skull fracture.

Jacob N’tuli (Jake Tuli)

4-Nov

1952

Ldec

10

Honore Pratesi

31

London

London

England

Fly

New York Times, November 7, 1952; New York Times, November 12, 1952; Sun Times, Clinton Van der Berg, “A gutsy little boxer who punched above his weight,” November 29, 1998, http://www.suntimes.co.za/1998/11/29/insight/in09.htm. Cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel in the brain. N’tuli was never offered a chance at a world championship -- the reigning champion, Japan’s Yoshio Shirai, was unwilling to risk losing his title to a black man. Nonetheless, he was the first black South African to win an Empire championship (against Teddy Gardner, on September 8, 1952).

Guajiro de Nivas (Candido Gonzalez)

11-Jul

1953

Draw

8

Julian Varona

27

Havana


Cuba

Light

Bradford (Pennsylvania) Era, Tuesday, July 14, 1953; Kansas City (Missouri) Times, July 14, 1953. Varona was hit hard during the seventh. He finished the fight, walked to the dressing room, and then collapsed.

Chu Chu Jimenez

31-Jan

1953

KO

5

Nicholas Acosta Flores

24

Mexicali


Mexico

Welter

Oakland Tribune, February 6, 1953. Flores died in a San Diego hospital. Cause of death was brain injury.

Salvador Mares

21-Feb

1953

KO

8

George Cox

21

Durango


Mexico

Light

Ring Record Book 1953.

Fernando Silva

7-Mar

1953

KO

7

Pedro Hernandez


Guantanamo


Cuba

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection

Maurice Hautois

17-May

1953

KO


Lucien Innocenti


Rheims


France

Bantam

New York Times, May 17, 1953.

ND

29-Jun

1953

KO

8

Homicide Illori

21

Lagos


Nigeria

Welter

New York Times, July 2, 1953. This was reportedly the third boxing fatality in Lagos in 18 months.

Kenny Yates

18-Jul

1953

KO

1

Robert L. Lee (Bobby Leonard)

24

Miami Beach

Florida

USA

Middle

Chicago Daily Tribune, August 19, 1953; Kenny Yates as told to W.C. Heinz, “I killed a man in the ring,” Argosy, July 1954, 23, 54-57. Lee, a US Marine sergeant, was struck a light right hand blow below the heart. He fell backwards, went into convulsions, and was pronounced dead in the dressing room. Death was attributed to brain hemorrhage.

Mayan Kid

12-Sep

1953

KO


Frankie Carpi

20

Zamboanga


Philippines

Bantam

Ring Record Book 1953.

Abie Farrell

22-Sep

1953

KO

5

Johnny Johnson

22

Johannesburg


South Africa

Light

Modesto (California) Bee, September 23, 1953.

Tony Fisher

13-Nov

1953

Ldec

12

Roy Chapman

22

Brisbane


Australia

Light

Ring Record Book 1953.

Jimmy Brown

21-Apr

1953

TKO

5

Dick Miller

22

Worcester

Massachusetts

USA

Welter

Brainerd (Minnesota) Daily Dispatch, April 22, 1953; Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, April 22, 1953; New York Times, April 22, 1953; Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News, April 22, 1953. Miller, reportedly undefeated in 10 fights, collapsed in his corner and died in the dressing room. He was struck in the solar plexus in the fourth, yet died of brain injuries.

Dick Lowe

11-May

1953

TKO

12

Johnnie Slockie

22

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Light

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, May 13, 1953. In a daze at end of fight, Slockie was taken to the hospital, where he lost consciousness and died.

Roy Hernandez

2-Sep

1953

TKO

10

Jesus Morales Ortiz (Chucho Morales)

24

Mexico City


Mexico

Feather

New York Times, September 5, 1953. Morales lost consciousness in the dressing room and died two days later.

Mohammed Chickaoui

6-Dec

1953

TKO

9

Ray Grassi

23

Marseilles


France

Feather

Dallas Morning News, December 9, 1953; Bedford (Pennsylvania) Gazette, December 9, 1953. Grassi was the featherweight champion of France, and he had won his last thirty fights. He was knocked down twice in the fight, and collapsed in the ring in the ninth. Therefore, his manager would not let him go out for the tenth round. Grassi died two days later of brain injury. Autopsy revealed that he had been taking drugs to keep his weight down.

Don Sleet

29-Nov

1954

Draw

6

Bobby “Cannonball” Callaghan

22

Leyton

London

England

Welter

Reno Evening Gazette, December 15, 1954; Dallas Morning News, December 2, 1954; Dallas Morning News, December 23, 1954. Callaghan, who had fought more than a hundred amateur bouts before turning pro, collapsed on his way to the dressing room. Two days later, he died. Cause of death was a ruptured vein on the right side of the head, which led to hemorrhage.

Teddy Hall

10-Dec

1954

KO

9

Ralph Weiser

26

Klamath Falls

Oregon

USA

Welter

Portland Oregonian, December 12, 1954; Reno Evening Gazette, December 15, 1954. After taking several hard blows, Weiser stepped back, groggy. He took a light blow to the head, dropped his hands, and fell forward. He tried to stand up, but fell forward again and was counted out. He failed to revive and he died in hospital several hours later. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Enrique Ferreyra

ND

1954

KO


Manuel Lopez


Buenos Aires


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Willie James

11-Dec

1954

KO

11

Hayes “Ed” Sanders

24

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Heavy

Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel, December 13, 1954; New York Times, December 13, 1954; “The manly art of murder,” TIME, January 24, 1955, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,861164,00.html; Arik Hesseldahl, “They called him ‘Big Ed,’“ Idaho State Journal, July 24, 1996, http://www.arik.org/olympics2.html; James A. Merolla, “Cry Uncle,” WAIL! The CBZ Journal, May 2001, http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/w52x-jm.htm. This was a slow match that Sanders, the 1952 Olympic gold medalist, was leading on points. There had already been two knockouts on the card, and it was getting late, so the crowd was thinning. Then, in the eleventh, James connected with several blows to the head. Sanders, who had been visibly tiring, collapsed, and rolled over on his side. Sanders died in hospital sixteen hours later. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. The inquest found no one legally responsible for the death, but Justice Elijah Adlow of the Boston Municipal Court was nonetheless critical, stating in his decision, “It is a sad commentary on our sporting world that as Hayes Sanders sank to the floor, there were boos from the crowd.”

Jerry Luedee

29-Mar

1955

KO

2

Bryan Thompson

23

Trenton

New Jersey

USA

Middle

New York Times, April 18, 1955; Monessen (Pennsylvania) Daily Independent, April 18, 1955; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, April 23, 1955. Thompson was the 1954 AAU national champion and he had won 104 of his 115 amateur fights. However, this was his first professional bout. (He was a last minute substitute, the scheduled fighter having had car trouble.) Following the knockout, Thompson drifted in and out of consciousness, and he died in hospital. Cause of death was intercranial hemorrhage compounded by lobar pneumonia.

Americo Villarreal

3-Apr

1955

KO

2

Julio Lucero

21

Buenos Aires


Argentina

Welter

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, April 7, 1955. Lucero fell backward without being hit, and he died half an hour later. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Manny Delgado

1-Oct

1955

KO


Pelon Silva


Irapuato


Mexico

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection. Silva was reportedly punchy, but his manager said he had no knowledge of that.

Arman Peck

29-Nov

1955

KO

9

Ferman King

25

Tampa

Florida

USA

Welter

New York Times, December 2, 1955. Although the family refused to allow an autopsy, the ring physician listed the cause of death as brain hemorrhage.

Hamia Mekholbia

17-Dec

1955

KO

10

Francois Boleda

28

Mayenne


France

Welter

Dallas Morning News, December 20, 1955; Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, December 19, 1955. Boleda was knocked out, and he died the next day. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Janny Armstrong

31-Mar

1955

KO

13

Casino “Blue Tornado” Sawyer

24

Accra


Ghana

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Robert Lee Holston (Bob Bolton)

2-May

1955

TKO

8

Jose Contreras

28

Providence

Rhode Island

USA

Middle

New York Times, May 10, 1955; Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal, May 10, 1955; Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer, May 10, 1955; Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News, May 24, 1955. Contreras walked out of the ring, and collapsed in the dressing room. He died seven days later.

Akiyoshi Akanuma

19-Mar

1955

Wdec

10

Yoshiharu Yokoi

22

Nagoya


Japan

Feather

Japan Times, March 21, 1955; San Antonio (Texas) Light, March 23, 1955; Japan Times, March 24, 1955. Yokoi died three days later. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain complicated by pneumonia.

ND

3-Apr

1955

Wdec

8

Marc Bilaut

24

Montargis


France

Welter

New York Times, April 8, 1955; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, April 7, 1955. The fighters bumped heads during the fight, and Bilaut died two days later. Cause of death listed as meningitis.

Willie Toweel

19-Mar

1956

KO

11

Hubert Essakow

21

Johannesburg


South Africa

Feather

New York Times, March 22, 1956; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 22, 1956; Gary Gordon, “A date with death,” SA Boxing World, April 1979, 22; David Isaacson, “Willie’s gloves still doing the talking,” Johannesburg Sunday Times, July 21, 2002, http://www.suntimes.co.za/2002/07/21/sport/boxing/box05.asp; Ron Jackson, “The famous Fighting Toweels,” Supersportzone.com, http://www.superboxing.co.za/history/sportsTalk.asp?tId=400; Deon Potgieter, “In the company of a legend,” The Sweet Science, http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/3253/company-legend/, January 24, 2006. Essakow had been suffering blackouts before fight. He was also overweight, so he sweated it off. He died 52 hours after his eleventh round collapse.

Andy Rodenas

21-Dec

1956

KO

6

Pete Espera

29

Sorsogon


Philippines

Bantam

New York Times, December 24, 1956; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, December 31, 1956. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Edward Chekovsky (Kid Chick)

26-Nov

1956

Ldec

4

Michael E. Conner (Gene Foster)

18

Holyoke

Massachusetts

USA

Feather

Holland (Michigan) Evening Sentinel, November 27, 1956. Conner was an airman at Westover Air Force Base. He collapsed in the dressing room. In August 1961, another Michael E. Connor, who fought under the name Baby Watusi, also suffered serious brain injury. See Kansas City (Missouri) Times, August 24, 1961.

ND

ND

1956

ND


W. Webb


ND


South Africa

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Rudy “Ray” Watkins

26-Jan

1956

TKO

6

Robert Perry

20

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Middle

New York Times, January 30, 1956; Traverse City (Michigan) Record-Eagle, February 2, 1956; Kingsport (Tennessee) News, February 4, 1956. The main event ended early, so Perry went into the ring as a standby, to fulfill the promoter’s television commitments. During the sixth, Perry was knocked through the ropes and the fight was stopped. Afterwards, Perry complained of severe headache, so he went to hospital, where he died two days later. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

Ewart Potgeiter

2-Mar

1957

KO

6

Bruce Olson

24

Portland

Oregon

USA

Heavy

Portland Oregonian, March 3, 1957. Olson was the former Oregon Golden Gloves heavyweight champion. Struck by a right uppercut to the chin, Olson was counted out. He stood up shakily, and walked to his corner, where he collapsed. He underwent surgery, but died.

Eric Brett

28-May

1957

KO

8

Jackie Tiller

22

Doncaster

South Yorkshire

England

Bantam

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, October 29, 1957; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, April 16, 1958. Tiller was knocked down twice during this fight. He collapsed in his dressing room. He died the following April, after being in a coma for 293 days.

Jose Rojas

21-Jun

1957

KO


Neiber Fuente Alba


Ramos Mejia


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Filio Perez

19-Oct

1957

KO

3

Ramon Zuniga


Tampico


Mexico

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Zuniga collapsed in the ring after the fight and he remained in a coma until he died.

Pat McAteer

4-May

1957

KO

6

Jimmy Elliott

26

Johannesburg


South Africa

Middle

New York Times, May 6, 1957; Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal, May 6, 1957; SA Boxing World, April 1978. Elliott was knocked down by a left to the head. Before the fight, Elliott had fallen and hit his head on the floor. However, because he badly wanted the Empire title, he insisted that no one be told. In 1955, Elliott had detached retinas repaired, and he was subsequently refused a license in Britain because he lacked peripheral vision. In addition, in July 1956, he was hospitalized for a week following a fight with Mike Holt. Cause of death listed as brain injury.

Marcel Arabi

13-Apr

1957

Ldec


Hocine Aissaoui

19

Vierzon


France

ND

Panama City (Florida) News, December 28, 1957; The Ring. Aissaoui collapsed in the ring after the fight and remained in a coma until he died.

Manfred Nauke

15-Jun

1957

TKO

10

Karl-Heinz Bick

23

Dortmund


Germany

Light

Long Beach (California) Independent, June 17, 1957; Dallas Morning News, June 17, 1957; Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, June 17, 1957; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, July 22, 1957; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 557. Bick was hit hard in the head and staggering in the ring, so his handlers stopped the fight in the tenth. He was carried to the dressing room, and he died a few hours later. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Reportedly, he had not fully recovered from a recent tonsillectomy.

Guillermo Lazaga

19-Apr

1958

KO


Juan Oro

25

Buenos Aires


Argentina

Welter

(Reno) Nevada State Journal, May 7, 1958. Oro died of injuries on May 6, 1958.

Manuel Alcala

14-Jun

1958

KO

7

Miguel Aguilar


Merida


Mexico

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Ultiminio “Sugar” Ramos

8-Nov

1958

KO

8

Jose “Tigre” Blanco

22

Havana


Cuba

Feather

Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, November 11, 1958. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage. Blanco had reportedly lost 9 of his last 11 fights, 6 by knockout.

Danny Davis

18-Nov

1958

KO

9

Nat Simon

25

Sioux City

Iowa

USA

Light

(Reno) Nevada State Journal, November 23, 1958; Huron (South Dakota) Huronite and The Daily Plainsman, November 23, 1958. The boxers bumped heads in the first round, and between rounds, Simon complained of head pain. He was knocked down in the ninth, and he never regained consciousness. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Toshio Yamamoto

4-Feb

1958

KO

4

Shisei Kunimoto

20

Osaka


Japan

Feather

Japan Times, February 7, 1958. Cause of death was a brain hemorrhage.

Farid Salim

4-Jun

1958

TKO

1

Santos Galvan

19

Buenos Aires


Argentina

Welter

Odessa (Texas) American, June 18, 1958. After protesting the stoppage, Galvan collapsed in the ring. He died ten days later. Cause of death was brain injury.

Ben Ferrer

12-Feb

1959

KO

9

Horacio Salatan


Manila


Philippines

ND

Pasadena (California) Star-News, February 19, 1959.

Pepe Montes

6-Dec

1959

KO

8

Manuel Palomares


Arcelia


Mexico

Welter

La Aficion; http://www.boxrec.com

Max Smith

12-Dec

1959

KO

5

Dennis Okerigwe (Dennis Patrick)

22

Wolverhampton

Staffordshire

England

Middle

London Times, December 14, 1959; (Dublin) Irish Times, January 1, 1960. The first four rounds were fairly even, but in the fifth, Smith began hitting Okirigwe hard in the head. Okirigwe was carried out of the ring and he died in hospital on December 11. Cause of death was bruising of a membrane over the brain.

Mohammad Yali

ND

1959

KO


Robby Pav


ND


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Jose Becerra Covarrubias (Jose Becerra)

24-Oct

1959

TKO

9

Walter Ingram

25

Guadalajara


Mexico

Bantam

New York Times, October 27, 1959; Dallas Morning News, October 27, 1959; Marty Mulcahey, “Forgotten champs,” BritishBoxing.com, May 22, 2001, http://216.87.30.172/max/May01/mulcahey052201.asp; reprinted at MaxBoxing.com May 22, 2001, http://www.maxboxing.com/Correspondents/mulcahey052201.asp. An intentional mismatch, Becerra had won 66 of 70 fights while Ingram had lost 6 of 20. The fight was before a hometown crowd, and the promoters wanted to treat the fans to a knockout. Two hospitals refused to accept Ingram. Cause of death was attributed to a heart attack.

Ramiro Garces

20-Apr

1960

KO

2

Santiago Perez

19

Saltillo


Mexico

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Rodolfo Santamaria

23-Apr

1960

KO

6

Carlos Arana

21

Mexico City


Mexico

Fly

Cocshocton (Ohio) Tribune, April 28, 1960; Holland (Michigan) Evening Sentinel, April 28, 1960. It was Arana’s fourth professional fight. Cause of death was brain injury.

Bill “Buzzsaw” Crosby

30-May

1960

KO

8

Lewis “Ernie” Tubbs

20

Pensacola

Florida

USA

Welter

Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, June 1, 1960; Dallas Morning News, September 15, 1960. While falling, Tubbs may have hit his head on the ring apron. Just over three months later, he died without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was hemorrhage and severe swelling of the brain.

Benny Gordon

6-Jun

1960

KO

10

Tommy Pacheco

18

New York

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, June 10, 1960. Pacheco collapsed over the ring ropes and then fell on his back. He could not be revived. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain. According to the information Pachecho or his handlers had provided to the State athletic commission, Pacheco was born on July 1, 1938 (e.g., aged 21 years). However, according to his birth certificate, he was born on July 15, 1941 (e.g., aged 18 years). If aged 18, he was ineligible to box in 10-round matches in New York.

Gaby Sanchez

27-Jun

1960

KO

5

Rafael Rodriguez Ramirez

19

Mexico City


Mexico

Light

Dallas Morning News, June 28, 1960. Ramirez was leading the fight until the fifth. Then he was knocked down by a blow to the liver. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Andres Marin

6-Aug

1960

KO


Enrique Canete


ND


Chile

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Albino Gonzalez

19-Sep

1960

KO

6

Trinidad Hernandez Bolanos

19

ND


Mexico

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

ND

18-Oct

1960

KO


Mohammed Chickaoui

30

Marseilles


France

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection. Chickaoui was the former French featherweight champion.

Kid Relampago

16-Jan

1960

Wdec

10

Jesus “Chucho” Zarate

21

Cosamaloapan


Mexico

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Zarate was ahead on points, with just six seconds to go in the fight, when he collapsed. He died the next morning.

Anselmo Castillo

29-May

1961

KO

6

Jose Rigores

25

New York

New York

USA

Bantam

New York Times, May 31, 1961; New York Times, June 4, 1961; Great Bend (Kansas) Daily Tribune, June 4, 1961. Rigores collapsed in the dressing room and died in hospital. Cause of death was brain injury.

Emiliano Gomez

16-Oct

1961

KO

6

Miguel Angel Fernandez


Caracas


Venezuela

Feather

Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, October 19, 1961; Troy (New York) Record, October 19, 1961. Fernandez was a former amateur champion. This was his second professional fight. He died two days later. Death was attributed to cardiac failure.

Mariano Arido (Kid Mar)

22-Nov

1961

KO

5

Virgilio Ybanez (Vic Herero)


Tanjay


Philippines

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Albert Sewell

31-Dec

1961

KO

10

Jai-Koo Song

23

Seoul


South Korea

Feather

Dallas Morning News, January 4, 1962; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, January 4, 1962. The contest pitted a US Army middleweight boxer against the Korean featherweight champion, and was an exhibition for charity.

Tan Hwa Soei

ND

1961

KO


Sarono


ND

Surabaya

Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Alfie Charles “Easy Boy” Fraser

ND

1961

KO

1

Kid St. Rose


ND


Martinique

Middle

Did you know that?” St. Lucia Mirror, January 30, 2004, http://www.stluciamirroronline.com/2004/jan30/sports9.htm. Cause of death was brain injury.

Al Medrano

15-May

1961

Ldec

10

Harry Campbell

23

San Francisco

California

USA

Light

Ironwood (Michigan) Daily Globe, May 17, 1961; New York Times, May 17, 1961; Dallas Morning News, May 18, 1961; Ron Miller, “Half a century of bad news still hasn’t stopped the habit,” July 26, 2002, http://www.thecolumnists.com/miller/miller177.html. Immediately following the fight, Campbell, a former member of the US Olympic team, collapsed in his corner. The following day, he died in hospital. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. During the fight, he was not hit hard, and it was suggested during the inquest that the injury that led to his death may have occurred during training.

Keith Lewis

3-Nov

1961

TKO

10

George Kerekes (George Kraal)

22

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Welter

Troy (New York) Times Record, November 4, 1961. Kerekes was leading on points, but then was knocked out. He got up, went to his corner, and collapsed. He died in hospital. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Amilcare Martinelli

30-Jan

1961

TKO

1

Oride Matteuzzi

22

Bologna


Italy

Heavy

(Dublin) Irish Times, January 31, 1961; New York Times, January 31, 1961; Bettman/Corbis Archive, image 42-15854754, http://pro.corbis.com/search/searchFrame.aspx. Matteuzzi was the former Italian amateur boxing champion, and this was his first pro fight. He stopped fighting in the first round, so the match was stopped. Matteuzzi then collapsed in the ring. He died on the way to hospital.

ND

16-Dec

1961

TKO

8

Elino Esguerra

18

Manila


Philippines

Bantam

Oakland Tribune, January 5, 1962; Austin (Minnesota) Daily Herald, January 6, 1962; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, January 6, 1962. After the fight was stopped, Esguerra went to his corner, where he collapsed. He died in hospital. Death was attributed to brain injury.

Rocky De La Rosa

24-Nov

1962

Draw

10

Rod Ladeca

19

Cagayan de Oro


Philippines

ND

Oakland Tribune, November 26, 1962. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Erich Walter

23-Feb

1962

KO

7

Lion King


Frankfurt


Germany

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Several weeks after this bout, during which he was beaten badly, Lion King collapsed in the gym and died.

Nikola Kankaras

12-Jun

1962

KO


Elija Plackic

26

Novi Sad


Yugoslavia (Serbia)

ND

Oakland Tribune, June 21, 1962.

Rodrigo Contreras

26-Jul

1962

KO

4

Sonny Nunez

19

Phoenix

Arizona

USA

Feather

Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, July 26, 1962; Brainerd (Minnesota) Daily Dispatch, July 26, 1962. It was Nunez’s first pro fight. He had suffered a neck injury in training but apparently didn’t tell anyone. He was knocked down in the fourth. He was counted out. He stood up, said something to his manager, and then collapsed. He died a few hours later, in surgery. Cause of death was brain damage..

John Riggins

21-Sep

1962

KO

6

Alejandro Lavorante

25

Los Angeles

California

USA

Heavy

New York Times, September 27, 1962; New York Times, April 2, 1964; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 574. Lavorante’s two fights preceding this bout had been losses by knockout to Cassius Clay (the future Muhammad Ali) and Archie Moore. He went into a coma following the sixth round knockout by Riggins, and he died at home in Argentina on April 1, 1964.

Francisco Bolivar

29-Sep

1962

KO

10

Virgilio Acosta

21

Caracas


Venezuela

Welter

New York Times, October 6, 1962; Kansas City (Missouri) Times, October 6, 1962; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, October 6, 1962. Cause of death was listed as skull fracture.

Gil Flores

24-Nov

1962

KO


David “Baby” Valle

18

Angeles


Philippines

Feather

Oakland Tribune, November 26, 1962. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Emile Griffith

24-Mar

1962

KO

12

Benny “Kid” Paret

25

New York

New York

USA

Welter

Gary Smith, “The shadow boxer,” Sports Illustrated, April 18, 2005, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/04/12/griffith0418/; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, “About boxing: Review of historical and medical aspects,” Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine, 28:4 (Winter 1979); “Griffith kills Paret in the ring,” SportsJones.com, http://www.sportsjones.com/sj/397.shtml. Midway through the twelfth round, Griffith hit a flatfooted Paret eighteen times in just six seconds. Paret unsurprisingly slumped unconscious over the ropes, and he died in hospital ten days later. Cause of death was brain injury. The fight was broadcast live over national television, as the death was rerun frequently on news shows. This led to an investigation into boxing and a famous essay, namely Norman Cousins, “Who killed Benny Paret,” Saturday Review, 45:14 (May 5, 1962), 14, in which Cousins argued that more than anything else, it was the bloodlust of the audience that was responsible for boxers’ deaths. Subsequent court cases included Alfaro v. Joint Legislative Com. on Prof. Boxing, 36 Misc. 2d 1018, 234 N.Y.S. 2d 164, in which Paret’s former manager, Manuel Alfaro, was unsuccessfully trying to quash a subpoena issued by a state legislative inquiry into the “possibility that many boxers, managers and promoters might be under control of racketeers.”

Jerry Aquino

16-Jun

1962

Ldec

6

Sammy Romero


San Miguel


Philippines

Fly

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, July 19, 1962. Cause of death was head injuries.

Linton John

30-Sep

1962

Wdec

6

Henry Alvain Brown

27

Georgetown


British Guiana (Guyana)

Welter

Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, October 2, 1962. Knocked down as the final round ended, Brown’s lead on points was saved by the bell. He was carried from the ring, and he died about 10 minutes later.

Salustino Suarez

16-Apr

1963

KO


Domingo Castro

22

San Luis


Argentina

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Johnny Lozaga

12-May

1963

KO

8

Sabino “Rocky” Mangubat

22

Manila


Philippines

Bantam

New York Times, May 15, 1963; Pacific Stars and Stripes, May 17, 1963. Cause of death was listed as brain injuries.

Norberto Aguirre

21-Jul

1963

KO


Renato Aguila


Tierra del Fuego


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Wayne Bethea

14-Oct

1963

KO

9

Ernie “Rainbow” Knox

26

Baltimore

Maryland

USA

Heavy

Frederick (Maryland) Post, January 8, 1964; Unterharnscheidt, 574; http://www.macklewis.com/mack_lewis_story.htm; Thomas Scharf, Baltimore’s Boxing Legacy, 1893-2003 (Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing), 108; Alan Goldstein, “The Ring Master,” Pressbox, 1:25, October 12, 2006, http://www.pressboxonline.com/story.cfm?id=921. Knox was knocked out and remained unconscious until his death 30 hours later. Cause of death was a blood clot in the brain. Scandal followed this death. Although Knox officially weighed 178 at the pre-fight exam, at the autopsy, his actual weight was found to be 152. Meanwhile, Bethea weighed 205. In addition, he had been hospitalized following auto accidents in 1961 and 1963. However, he was on unemployment at the time, which suggests that he needed the $243 purse. Knox was managed by Mack Lewis. Another of Lewis’s boxers, John Hurtt, was fighting on the same card as Knox. At the time of this fight, Hurtt had two detached retinas, and he later went blind on the left side.

Adan Mesa

22-Nov

1963

KO


Roberto Hernandez

19

Montevideo


Uruguay

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Ultiminio “Sugar” Ramos

21-Mar

1963

KO

10

Davey Moore

29

Los Angeles

California

USA

Feather

Cyril B. Courville, “The mechanism of boxing fatalities,” Bulletin of the Los Angeles Neurological Society, 2:29 (June 1964), 59-69; David Jablonsky, “Remembering Davey Moore,” Springfield News-Sun, February 23, 2003, http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/sports/newsfd/auto/feed/sports/2003/02/23/1046062483.16698.0036.4180.html. This was a televised fight. Moore was the 1952 Olympics champion and current world champion, but he had starved himself to make weight. About 45 minutes after the end of the fight, he lapsed into unconsciousness, and he died three days later. His death was attributed to the fall rather than the blows that knocked him down; specifically, his head was said to have struck the ring ropes as he fell. The fight had been televised, and the death quickly became a political football and a media circus. (Bob Dylan’s song “Who Killed Davey Moore?” premiered on April 12, 1963; lyrics appear at http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/daveymoore.html.) Consequently, within a week of this death, the New York State Athletic Commission prohibited 6-ounce gloves and instituted a 3-knockdown rule. See New York Times, April 3, 1963, 54. California also introduced similar legislation. See Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, March 26, 1963.

Cliff Hanson

6-Apr

1963

TKO

2

Norman Smith

26

Gympie

Queensland

Australia

Fly

New York Times, April 8, 1963; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, April 8, 1963. Smith had been knocked out just a week before. He also had a history of heart problems.

Roger Aganan

13-Jun

1964

KO

4

Rey Romero

21

Quezon City


Philippines

Welter

(Reno) Nevada State Journal, June 17, 1964; Dallas Morning News, June 17, 1964; Pacific Stars and Stripes, June 19, 1964. It was Aganan’s second pro fight and Romero’s third. There was only the one knockdown in the fight. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Colin Lake

16-Jun

1964

KO

6

Lyndon James

21

London

London

England

Feather

New York Times, June 17, 1964; Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, June 17, 1964; (Dublin) Irish Times, January 14, 1965; Mike Lewis, “Ernie Fossey, the man who made boxing ring,” The Guardian, October 1, 2003, http://sport.guardian.co.uk/boxing/theobserver/story/0,10541,1053202,00.html. Knocked down just before the final bell, James jumped up. He collapsed shortly after the end of the round, so he was taken to the hospital for a checkup. At the hospital, he lost consciousness, and he died six hours later. He reportedly had not recovered from injuries received in an auto accident shortly before the bout. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage, and attributed either to James striking his head against a rope or being post-concussional from a previous injury. There had been several other boxing deaths during the past few days, and this led to renewed calls for the abolition of boxing in the United Kingdom.

War Tagalogin

16-Jul

1964

KO


Sammy Parker

18

Ozamiz City


Philippines

ND

Burlington (North Carolina) Daily Times-News, July 18, 1964. Oakland Tribune, July 18, 1964. Parker was knocked down twice during the bout. Cause of death was brain injury. This was reportedly the sixth Philippines fatality in past three years.

Fix Njelamenda

25-Oct

1964

KO

4

Boniface Mau Mau


Kitwe


Zambia

Feather

Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern, October 27, 1964. Mau Mau was knocked down and did not get up. Cause of death was brain injury.

Shigeru Suzuki

16-Aug

1964

Ldec

6

Minoru Hasegawa

22

Tokyo


Japan

Feather

New York Times, August 21, 1964; Japan Times, August 21, 1964, 7; Japan Times, August 22, 1964. It was Hasegawa’s fourth pro fight, and he was hit hard throughout the fight. He collapsed shortly after the bell ending the fight. He died in hospital 82 hours later. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage; the clot was said to be the size of a baby’s fist.

Kwanchai Kityountra

18-Aug

1964

Ldec

6

Kamolsing Singchaophya


Nakorn Sawan


Thailand

ND

New York Times, August 21, 1964, 22; (Pasco, Washington) Tri-City Herald, August 20, 1964. After the fight, Singchaophya reported feeling sleepy. He was sent home. He died within 24 hours.

Enrique Jana

24-Sep

1964

TKO

9

Adrian Servin

29

Buenos Aires


Argentina

Light (Super Feather)

Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder, September 29, 1964. Servin collapsed in his corner at the start of the 10th round. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. Servin had not won a fight since 1960. On the other hand, Jana had lost two fights in his career.

Martin Hermida

25-Apr

1964

WTKO

4

Kolawole Mustapha

21

Barcelona


Spain

Bantam

(Dublin) Irish Times, June 19, 1964. Mustapha was a bantamweight, while Hermida was a flyweight. Hermida’s record going into this fight was 3-5-0, and it ended exactly as the promoters expected, with Hermida’s knockout. Nonetheless, in the middle of June 1964, Mustapha suddenly collapsed while walking, and he died in hospital.

Leotis Martin

10-May

1965

KO

9

Lucien “Sonny” Banks

24

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Heavy

Philadelphia Inquirer, May 11, 1965, 1; Philadelphia Inquirer, May 14, 1965, 36. Struck with a right fist to the left temple, Banks toppled over but was not counted out because there was just one second left in the round. He remained partially conscious for about fifteen minutes, then lapsed into a coma. He died three days later in hospital. Cause of death was listed as subdural hematoma. Banks had been knocked out only once before, on July 21, 1964. The attending doctor, Robert Andre, said he did not know what caused the death, but he was sure that Martin’s punch had nothing to do with it.

Roscoe Gergory

11-Sep

1965

TKO

6

Willie “Pineapple” Stevenson

29

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Welter

New York Times, September 20, 1965; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, September 21, 1965. Knocked down three times in the fight, Stevenson subsequently complained of headache and dizziness. He was hospitalized. He died in hospital. Cause of death was subarachnoid hemorrhage. Stevenson had lost 9 of his last 12 matches, and this was his first known fight in over three years.

Shigo Hirashi

18-Aug

1966

KO

8

Yoshimitsu Kubo

22

Tokyo


Japan

Bantam

Japan Times, August 19, 1966, 3; New York Times, August 19, 1966. Kubo was knocked out. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was internal brain hemorrhage.

Marion Conner

16-Nov

1966

KO

9

Ed “Greatest” Crawford

28

Canton

Ohio

USA

Light Heavy

New York Times, November 19, 1966; Valparaiso (Indiana) Vidette-Messenger, November 19, 1966; Bettman/Corbis Archive, image 42-15854739, http://pro.corbis.com/search/searchFrame.aspx. Crawford, who had won just three of his past eleven fights, was carried from the ring unconscious. Surgery was done, but he died in hospital two days later. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain. Conner was a promising light heavyweight who would start a downward spiral after a loss to Joe Frazier in December 1967,

Neville Kennedy

16-Mar

1966

Ldec

4

Patrick Casey

21

Sydney

New South Wales

Australia

Light

New York Times, March 22, 1966; Bristol (Pennsylvania) Bucks County Courier, March 22, 1966; Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail, March 22, 1926. Casey collapsed in his corner and subsequently died. Cause of death was blood clots in the brain. It was Casey’s third professional fight, and he had taken severe beatings in his two previous fights. His share of the purse was US $16.

Julio Guerrero

14-May

1966

TKO

5

Fernando Blanco


Oaxaca


Mexico

Fly

Long Beach (California) Press-Telegram, May 16, 1966; Washington Post, May 17, 1966. Blanco was knocked down. His head reportedly hit the rope during the fall. He stood up, went to his corner, and collapsed. He was carried from the ring. He died in hospital. Cause of death listed as subdural hematoma.

Alberto Mino

Jul/

1966

TKO

10

Belindo Leyba

28

Corrientes


Argentina

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Qashe “Anthony” Sithole (Kid Snowball)

11-Mar

1967

KO

6

Lumkile Wiseman Dunjana (Young Clay)

21

Port Elizabeth


South Africa

Bantam

Deaths in the ring preyed on my mind,” News24, November 16, 2002, http://www.news24.com/City_Press/City_Press_Sport/0,1885,186-245_1285991,00.html; Jimmy Matuyu, “About Town,” Port Elizabeth (South Africa) Herald Online, http://www.theherald.co.za/colarc/town/mj20062007.htm. The venue was the Great Centenary Hall (now Nangoza Jebe Hall). The fight was scheduled for eight rounds, but lasted six. Dunjana died March 15, 1967. His trainer was Nyami Pemba.

Antonio Matassio

29-Jun

1967

KO


Tomas Misson

19

Udine


Italy

Welter

New York Times, July 3, 1967; Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, July 3, 1967. Misson was carried from the ring unconscious, and died in hospital on July 2.

ND

26-Jul

1968

KO

4

Kamolchai Sitnoppaku

22

Bangkok


Thailand

Feather

Pacific Stars and Stripes, July 29, 1968. Cause of death was brain injury.

Giancarlo Ballisai

17-Aug

1968

KO

3

Raimondo Gaviano

19

Seui


Italy

Bantam

Dallas Morning News, August 19, 1968; Pacific Stars and Stripes, August 20, 1968. Gaviano took a stiff right to the jaw. He stiffened, then fell. He failed to regain consciousness following the knockout and died in hospital. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. It was Gaviano’s first professional fight.

Luis Altamirano

19-Jan

1968

Ldec

10

Marcial Jimenez

20

Acapulco


Mexico

Welter

European Stars and Stripes, January 24, 1968. Jimenez was knocked down by a blow to the chin. He went down for a count of eight, and stood up just as the fight ended. He remained standing until the decision was announced, then collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Rod Sario

21-Aug

1968

Ldec

6

Amado Pineda

20

Manila


Philippines

ND

Pacific Stars and Stripes, August 25, 1968. Pineda collapsed in the dressing room. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Juan Carlos Duran

12-Jun

1968

TKO

15

Jupp Elze

28

Cologne


Germany

Middle

New York Times, June 13, 1968; (Dublin) Irish Times, June 21, 1968; Pacific Stars and Stripes, June 28, 1968. Elze had been advised to take a rest from the ring following a bout in April 1968. Eight-ounce gloves were worn. During the fifteenth round of this fight, he was hit at least twenty times in the head and neck. Unsurprisingly, he fell down. He stood up, then collapsed in the ring. He died in hospital eight days. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. The autopsy also revealed methamphatamines in his system. The injuries are described in H.J. Colmant and G. Dotzauer, “Analysis of a boxing match with fatal outcome from unusually severe brain damage,” a German-language article published in Zeitschrift fuer Rechtsmedizin (Journal of Legal Medicine), 1980: 84 (4), 263-278.

Raphael Miya

23-Feb

1969

KO

5

Nicholas Cele (Lucky Boy)

26

Durban


South Africa

Feather

New York Times, February 23, 1969; Appleton (Wisconsin) Post Crescent, February 24, 1969.

Omar Gottifredi

31-Jul

1969

KO

10

Mario Hector Paladino

27

Buenos Aires


Argentina

Welter (Jr Welter)

Pacific Stars and Stripes, August 2, 1969; New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, August 1, 1969; Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press, August 1, 1969; Bettman/Corbis archive, image 42-15854750, http://pro.corbis.com/search/searchFrame.aspx. This was a televised bout, and Paladino was knocked out just before the end of the tenth round. Cause of death was attributed to heart failure.

Carlos San Jose

30-Dec

1969

KO

8

Agbakhume “Bernard” Daudu


Barcelona


Spain

Middle

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, January 2, 1970; Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal, January 4, 1970; Carlos Francisco San Jose, “Our Pursuit of Fame in the Boxing Ring,” Awake!, September 22, 1980, 17-21. Daudu sagged against the ropes and never recovered consciousness. San Jose was the Spanish champion. On the other hand, Daudu had lost at least four fights (two by knockout) since July 1969, and the prefight exam suggested that his head injuries were still a problem.

Joe Bugner

11-Mar

1969

Ldec

8

Ulric Regis

27

London

London

England

Heavy

New York Times, March 16, 1969; London Times, March 17, 1969. Regis collapsed the morning after the fight and died three days later. Cause of death was attributed to a pre-existing blood clot on the brain.

Hector Cabrera

19-Aug

1970

KO


Jose Morales


San Salvador


El Salvador

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Hector Thompson

6-Oct

1970

KO

10

Roko Spanja

21

Newcastle

New South Wales

Australia

Welter (Jr Welter)

Harlingen (Texas) Valley Morning Star, October 8, 1970; Butte (Montana) Standard, April 3, 1976. Spanja was hit with a right uppercut to the jaw, and he went down. He never regained consciousness. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Cliff Nguwo

4-Apr

1970

KO


Muleya Mugwarai


Blantyre


Malawi

Feather

(Dublin) Irish Times, April 9, 1970. Mugwarai died in hospital.

Reynald Cantin

26-Jun

1971

KO

10

Danny Tucker

25

Montreal

Quebec

Canada

Welter (Jr Welter)

New York Times, July 28, 1971; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, July 30, 1971; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, August 25, 1971. Tucker collapsed in the tenth round and went into a coma.

Qashe “Anthony” Sithole (Kid Snowball)

1-Oct

1971

KO

8

Albert Jangalay

28

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Bantam

Holland (Michigan) Evening Sentinel, October 2, 1971; Dallas Morning News, December 22, 1971; Salt Lake City (Utah) Tribune, June 1, 1972. Jangalay was knocked down in the eighth, and he did not get up. He had not won a fight since February 1969, and two weeks earlier, he had been badly beaten during a bout in Melbourne. Cause of death was first attributed to a broken neck, but the inquest changed that diagnosis to subdural hematoma.

Miguel Ramos

18-Dec

1971

KO


Eduardo Carrica

20

Maipu


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Carrica became ill after the fight. He was hospitalized, and died.

Cesar Romero

12-Nov

1971

Ldec

8

Walter Larrea


Montevideo


Uruguay

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Larrea had lost 5 of his last 8 fights by knockout, and three of those fights had taken place within the past six months.

Jose Juan Ortiz

16-May

1971

Wdec

10

Francisco Valenzuela

23

Acapulco


Mexico

Feather

Long Beach (California) Press-Telegram, May 20, 1971. Valenzuela collapsed in the dressing room and died the following day. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Jimmy Moore

3-Feb

1972

KO

5

Michael John “Mickey” Pinkney

22

Bradford

Yorkshire

England

Light

Lima (Ohio) News, February 3, 1972; London Times, February 3, 1972; London Times, February 12, 1972; Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, February 13, 1972. It was Pinkney’s third pro fight; he had been brought in as a substitute. He was knocked down three times in the first round, and twice in the fourth. During the fifth round, he collapsed without being struck, and he was pronounced dead in the ring. Cause of death listed as hemorrhage in lungs, and attributed to the aspirin he had been taking for headache prior to fight.

Al Sparks

22-Feb

1972

KO

4

Stewart Gray

27

Winnipeg

Manitoba

Canada

Light Heavy

New York Times, February 23, 1972; Panama City (Florida) News-Herald, February 27, 1972; Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, April 8, 1972; Steven Brown, “Ex-champ turns trainer,” http://www.canadianproboxingscene.com/Clyde-Interview.htm. Gray had suffered a concussion in a car accident two weeks earlier, but the promoters apparently didn’t bother telling anyone. Another fighter on the same card alleged he took a dive because the promoters threatened to kill him if he didn’t.

Ely Exinte

9-May

1972

Ldec

8

Porfirio Cruz Perez

26

Honolulu

Hawaii

USA

Feather

Honolulu Advertiser, July 20, 1980. Cruz complained of headaches after the fight, so he went to the hospital, where he died. However, it was subsequently discounted as a ring death because Cruz got into a street fight after the bout, and may have received the fatal brain injury then.

Guillermo Perez

3-Sep

1972

Ndec

8

Aquilino “Guaridos” San Jose

23

Salamanca


Spain

Light (Jr Light)

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, September 4, 1972. San Jose felt ill after the fight, so he was taken to the hospital, where he died of cranial trauma. Perez had won 2 and lost 9 prior to this fight, so the cause of San Jose’s death was probably not related to the power of Perez’s punching.

Antonio Puebla

19-May

1972

Wdec

12

Javier Reyes Valdez

19

San Pedro


Mexico

Middle

Dallas Morning News, May 21, 1972. Valdez suffered no apparent injuries during the bout, but he woke up at home complaining of headache, and he died the following morning. Death listed as cardiac failure.

Regino Corral

ND

1972

Wdec

10

Raul Bravo


Agua Prieta


Mexico

Welter

Historia Boxeo Sonorense

Fred Zayas

26-Jan

1973

KO

8

Noboru Oyokawa

22

Agana

Guam

USA

Light (Super Feather)

Oxnard (California) Press-Courier, January 28, 1973. Oyakawa collapsed at the end of the eighth round, and the fight was stopped. He was taken to the hospital, where he died 18 hours later. Cause of death was undetermined.

ND

4-May

1973

KO

1

Antonio Jose Colina


Caracas


Venezuela

ND

The Ring

Roque Roldan

13-Feb

1974

KO

8

Ruben Loyola

19

Pergamino


Argentina

Middle (Jr Middle)

New York Times, February 17, 1974; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, February 17, 1974; (Reno) Nevada State Journal, February 18, 1974; Vallejo (California) Times-Herald, February 17, 1974. Although Loyola had an extensive amateur career, this was just his third pro bout. He collapsed in the dressing room after the fight. He died in hospital. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

ND

4-May

1974

KO

1

Antonio Jose Colina


Caracas


Venezuela

ND

Ring Record Book 1974

Jose Nemesio

7-Jun

1974

KO

7

Manuel Bastidas


Ciudad Obregon


Mexico

Feather

Mexicano/ Sergio Manuel Bastidas Jaramillo de Mazatlan/Historia Boxeo Soronese; http://www.boxrec.com

Zorrita Yepes

14-Jun

1974

KO

10

David “Babe” Palomo

19

Tapachula


Mexico

Feather

Mexicano; http://www.boxrec.com

Francesco Piccanelli

1-Sep

1974

KO

5

Charles “Big Boy” Cutajar

32

Paola


Malta

Heavy

New York Times, September 3, 1974; Modesto (California) Bee and News-Herald, September 3, 1974; Fresno Bee Republican, September 3, 1974. Cutajar was taken to the hospital, bleeding from the nose. He died three days later. Cause of death was hemorrhage due to a burst vein in the brain.

Don McMillan

2-Apr

1974

TKO

5

Hugo Chasa


Kitwe


Zambia

Middle

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, April 4, 1974. Chasa tired early in the fight. After getting knocked out, he got up, and then he collapsed again. He died in hospital. It turned out that Chasa’s medical certificate was issued falsely.

Norman Hlalele

1-Nov

1975

KO


Petrus “Trizza” Mkhwanazi


Johannesburg


South Africa

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. This was reportedly South Africa’s seventh fatality since 1950.

Jo Vicago

ND

1975

KO


Walser Tavusa


Suva


Fiji

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Chris “Kid” Dlamini

31-May

1975

KO

12

Simon “Razor” Monamodi


Port Elizabeth


South Africa

Bantam

Death in the Ring… Monamodi Gone!” Knockout, June 1975. Monamodi died eight days after the fight from brain injuries.

Ramon Ybanez

18-Sep

1975

KO

1

ND

15

Metan


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Although Argentina’s legal age for boxing is 16, the deceased was only 15.

El Mulato” Cruz

ND

1975

KO


Juan Carlos Garcia

17

ND


Mexico

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Garcia died after his head hit an unpadded floor. There was no medical help ringside.

O. Davalos

ND

1975

Ldec

8

Hugo “Toby” Munoz

29

Quito


Ecuador

Light (Jr Light)

Manuel Velazquez collection

Miguel “Mike” Mayan

26-Nov

1975

TKO

10

Roy Holloway

23

North Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Welter (Jr Welter)

New York Times, November 30, 1975; Connellsville (Pennsylvania) Daily Courier November 28, 1975; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, November 29, 1975; Burlington (North Carolina) Daily Times-News, November 30, 1975. Holloway was knocked out of the ring and struck his head on a press table. He had lost six of his last nine fights, two of them within the preceding three months by knockout. In addition, after his most recent fight, in August 1975, he had been hospitalized for hepatitis. Death was due to severe swelling of brain stem.

Abraham Saucedo

11-Jul

1975

Wdec

10

Alfonso Diaz Garcia (Jose Luis Garcia)

22

Monterrey


Mexico

Middle

Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press, July 15, 1975. Diaz Garcia’s boxing license was revoked at the time of the fight, so he fought this fight under a pseudonym. He collapsed after the fight, and he died in hospital. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Jose Cerda

ND

1975

Wdec


Juan Nunez

18

Cojiaco


Chile

Middle

Manuel Velazquez collection

ND

8-Jan

1975

WTKO


Juan Torres Suarez


Durango


Mexico

ND

Mexicano/Manuel Velazquez collection.

Ciro Cayetano

29-Aug

1976

KO

5

Miguel Gomar

17

Acapulco


Mexico

Bantam

Mexicano; Boxeo Mexicano en Records; http://www.boxrec.com. Gomar was unconscious when taken from the ring. However, instead of being hospitalized, he was put in a car and driven to Mexico City, 400 kilometers away. He died two days later.

Kazuhiro Matsuzawa

19-Dec

1976

KO

1

Takahito Kimura

24

Tokyo


Japan

Light

Japan Times, January 4, 1977, 7. Kimura took a straight right to his jaw, and hit the canvas headfirst. He started to rise, then collapsed. He had brain surgery, but never regained consciousness. It was his first professional match.

Hector Thompson

1-Apr

1976

TKO

10

Chuck Wilburn

22

Blacktown

New South Wales

Australia

Welter (Jr Welter)

New York Times, April 6, 1976. The fight was considered even into the tenth round, when Thompson began pounding Wilburn in the head. Wilburn’s knees buckled, and the referee stopped the fight. Wilburn staggered to his corner, where he collapsed. He was carried from the ring on a stretcher, and he died in hospital. Cause of death was brain injury. Wilburn, who had been brought to Australia from the United States specifically for this match, had lost 4 of his last 5 fights, whereas Thompson’s record was 56-5-2.

Eugenio Salazar

12-Jul

1976

TKO

6

Gregorio Martinez


Nouquen


Argentina

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

ND

28-Jan

1977

KO


Toshifumi “Musashi” Goto

22

Yamaguchi


Japan

ND

Syracuse (New York) Herald-Journal, February 8, 1977. Goto was unconscious from the knockout to the time of his death. Cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain.

Norberto Fiori

1-Feb

1977

KO

8

Carlos Jesus Sosa


Tandil


Argentina

Heavy

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

ND

19-Jul

1977

KO

2

Toshihiko Narita

20

Tokyo


Japan

Fly

Corpus Christi (Texas) Times, July 21, 1977; Modesto (California) Bee, July 22, 1977; Japan Times, July 22, 1977, 11. Narita remained unconscious until his death in a Yokohama hospital two days later. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage. According to the wire services, this was Narita’s pro debut, but BoxRec.com shows a match with Hideyoshi Horinaga on July 9, 1975. The papers also said that this was Japan’s seventh pro fatality, with seven other deaths during training.

ND

20-Aug

1977

KO


Masayuki Mizuno


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000). Mizuno went into a coma and did not recover consciousness prior to death on June 18, 1990.

ND

26-Aug

1977

KO


Katsunori Osachi (Daiko)


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000).

Tapsoba Tiga

ND

1977

KO


Mamadou Kone


Abdijan


Ivory Coast

Light

Manuel Velazquez collection

Francisco Rodriguez

17-Feb

1978

KO

7

Juan Rubio Melero

23

Madrid


Spain

Middle

New York Times, February 23, 1978; (Levittown, Pennsylvania) Bucks County Courier Times, February 22, 1978; David Frisancho Pineda, “El Box: Camion a la Muerte,” Acta Medica Peruana, 13:3 (Sep-Dec 2001); http://sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe/BVRevistas/acta_medica/VOLXVIII_N3_2001_SET_DIC/box_cami_muerte.htm; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 576. Rodriguez was Spanish national champion at light heavyweight, whereas Melero was a middleweight having his ninth professional fight. Melero was knocked down three times before the fight was stopped. He died five days later. Cause of death was listed as lung and brain injuries.

Miharu Muto

2-May

1978

KO

2

Katsuya Yamato


Tokyo


Japan

Light

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000); http://boxrec.com

Christian Muelheim

14-Dec

1978

KO


Juergen Krause


Essen


Germany

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Adolfo Sanjeado

ND

1978

KO

7

Rafael Contreras


ND


Mexico

Welter

Mexicano; Boxeo Mexicano en Records/R.Valero

Alan Minter

19-Jul

1978

KO

12

Angelo Jacopucci

29

Belarria


Italy

Middle

Columbia (Missouri) Missourian, July 22, 1978; Los Angeles Times, July 22, 1978; New York Times, June 17, 1983. The fight was televised. Minter was champion of Europe, with a record of 30-6-0, and, as expected, Jacopucci, with a record of 7-3-0, was pummeled. A few hours after the fight, Jacopucci collapsed and went into a coma. Following two brain surgeries, he died in hospital two days later. In June 1983, the ringside doctor, Ezio Pimpinelli, was convicted of manslaughter. This death was the stated reason for subsequent European championships being scheduled for no more than 12 rounds. Television, though, is the more likely explanation for the change -- 12 rounds fit into an hour, but 15 require 90 minutes.

Kai Siong

ND

1978

KO


Atjeng Jim


Bandung


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Curtis Parker

21-Mar

1978

TKO

4

Clarence “Jodie” White

28

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

USA

Middle

Philadelphia Inquirer, March 21, 1978. The fight was stopped in the fourth. White collapsed in his dressing room and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital thirty minutes later. The cause of death was listed as “sudden death syndrome.”

Jose “Cookie” Valencia

14-Jul

1978

TKO

6

Jesse Trujillo

26

Ogden

Utah

USA

Bantam

Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, July 17, 1978. Trujillo’s speech was slurred as he left the ring, so he was sent to the hospital. He was unconscious by the time he got there, and he died two days later.

Arturo Galvan

29-Jan

1978

WKO


Jose Medina Lara

22

Monterrey


Mexico

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection. Medina had been banned from boxing and his license was suspended. His manager left town without talking to the police.

Adolfo Cardenas

9-Feb

1979

KO


Alberto Sanchez Flores


Veracruz


Mexico

Light (Super Feather)

Manuel Velazquez collection

Patrick Ford

19-Oct

1979

KO

10

Cecil Fernandez

34

Georgetown


Guyana

Feather

Robert Ecksel, “Ford Foundation: A trainer named Patrick Ford studies beautiful annhilation,” New York Sports Express, April 8, 2004, http://www.nysportsexpress.com/2/13/departments/boxing.cfm; http://boxrec.com. Fernandez was hit hard in the ninth. Then, following a clinch in the tenth, he collapsed. He died five days later in a Miami hospital. Fernandez had boxed over 200 bouts while in prison, 1966-1979.

Wilford Scypion

23-Nov

1979

KO

10

Willie Classen

29

New York

New York

USA

Middle

New York Times, December 12, 1979; New York Times, December 16, 1979; Columbia Missourian, November 29, 1979; Joseph Bruno, “A judge’s eye view of the Classen fight,” The Ring, February 1980, 14-18; CyberBoxingZone.com, http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/box5-97.htm. Classen was hit hard in the head during the ninth. The ringside doctor checked him, and said he could continue. However, early in the tenth round, Classen was hit hard once again, and this time he was knocked out. Classen was then taken to the hospital, where he died five days later. Cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest secondary to acute subdural hematoma. His death was the proximate cause of two leading court cases, Classen v. State of New York, 131 Misc. 2d 346 (1985)/500 N.Y.S. 2d 460 (Ct. Cl. 1985) and Classen v. Izquierdo, 137 Misc. 2d 489 (1987)/ 520 N.Y.S. 2d 999 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1987). In the first case, the higher court ruled that there was no malpractice liability for the doctor who cleared Claasen to fight because the doctor had followed accepted procedures. In the second, the higher court ruled that the ringside physician’s duty to the athlete was the same inside the ring as it was inside a hospital or clinic. That is, he needed to follow accepted medical practice. Consequently, a failure to stop a fight on medical grounds could constitute malpractice if it was determined that the decision was contrary to accepted medical practice. The courts’ emphasis on accepted procedures and standards was part of the reason for a subsequent New York State Athletic Commission requirement for promoters to have ambulances on site during boxing matches.

Tadao Ishido

13-Oct

1979

KO

4

Toshiaki Kuroi


Tokyo


Japan

Light

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000); http://www.boxrec.com

ND

7-Oct

1979

KO


Shuichi Utsumi


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000).

Sammy Horne

22-Dec

1979

TKO

4

Tony Thomas

20

Spartanburg

South Carolina

USA

Middle

New York Post, January 2, 1980; New York Times, January 2, 1980; Pacific Stars and Stripes, January 4, 1980. A standing 8-count had been given in the third, and the fight was stopped in the fourth. Thomas collapsed in the dressing room, and died in hospital ten days later. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain.

Simon Motake

18-Aug

1979

TKO

8

Samuel Tshabalala


Welkom


South Africa

Welter

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Marlon Starling

9-Jan

1980

KO

7

Charles Newell

26

Hartford

Connecticut

USA

Welter

New York Times, January 11, 1980; New York Times, January 19, 1980; John Reinosa, “When is a boxing death not a boxing death?” The Ring, June 1980, 34-36. Newell had lost three of his seven pro fights, and was giving so little action in this fight that the fans were booing. Finally, during the seventh round, he fell down and never got up. He had collapsed in training several times in the previous few years, and had failed to provide required physical information. Newell was a prison boxer, and bureaucratic bungling was involved.

Gaetano Hart

20-Jun

1980

KO

10

Cleveland Denny

24

Montreal

Quebec

Canada

Light

New York Times, July 8, 1980; Murray Greig, Goin’ the Distance: Canada’s Boxing Heritage (Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1996); Mark Cardwell, “Ringside seat,” Medical Post, April 17, 2001, 37:15, http://www.medicalpost.com/mpcontent/article.jsp?content=/content/EXTRACT/RAWART/3715/36A.html. The fight was part of the undercard to the first Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran contest, and many fans had not arrived at the stadium. Hart was leading throughout the match, and late in the tenth round, he hit Denny at least four times in rapid succession. Denny collapsed and the referee stopped the fight. Denny lay on the mat, convulsing, but commission doctors failed to respond. Upon realizing that medical aid was not forthcoming, two physicians seated ringside, a family practitioner named Pierre Meunier and a television boxing analyst named Ferdie Pacheco, went through the ropes. “‘It was pretty obvious that Denny had suffered a serious cerebral injury,’ says Dr. Meunier, who watched as the boxer was bundled onto a stretcher for transport to nearby Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. Just how serious became infinitely clear the next day, when Denny died without regaining consciousness” (Cardwell, 2001). The investigations into Denny’s death led to the resignation of two doctors from the Montreal Athletic Commission, and to Canadian ring physicians being given the authority to stop a match. The first time that Dr. Meunier, himself a ringside physician, used this power to stop a fight was during a pro contest held in 1984, and the riot that broke out in the stands after the stoppage was announced led to arrests.

Manuel Garcia Requena

2-Feb

1980

KO


Santiago Gonzales Monzon

25

Santa Cruz de Tenerife


Spain

Light

New York Times, June 11, 1981; David Frisancho Pineda, “El Box: Camion a la Muerte,” Acta Medica Peruana, 13:3 (Sep-Dec 2001); http://sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe/BVRevistas/acta_medica/VOLXVIII_N3_2001_SET_DIC/box_cami_muerte.htm. Garcia went into a coma after the fight. He died of his injuries in June 1981.

Jose Guadalupe “Lupe” Pintor

19-Sep

1980

KO

12

Johnny Owen

24

Los Angeles

California

USA

Bantam

New York Times, November 5, 1980; New York Post, November 4, 1980, 36; “Johnny Owen,” http://www.geocities.com/johnnyowenboxer/history.html; “The Matchstick Man,” http://www.johnnyowen.com/history.html; Brian Doogan, “Boxing: Owen’s Remembrance Day,” October 27, 2002, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article818086.ece; http://pro.corbis.com/search/searchFrame.aspx, photo BX001967. Following the knockout, Owen lay flat on his back for five minutes. When he was finally carried out of the ring, people in the crowd urinated on him. Owen died in hospital four days later. Cause of death was brain injury. The promoters’ insurance paid about $94,000 in medical costs, but did not pay any death benefits to survivors.

ND

ND

1980

KO


Syamsul Bachri


ND


Indonesia

ND

http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.htm

Isidro “Gino” Perez

28-Feb

1981

KO

6

Tiger” Fred Bowman

25

Atlantic City

New Jersey

USA

Light

New York Times, May 8, 1981; New York Times, April 17, 1982; Robert Mladinich, “Al Certo has seen it all,” The Sweet Science, June 24, 2005, http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/2298/certo-seen-all/. The fighters butted heads in the fifth and the fight was stopped in the sixth. Afterwards, Bowman complained of headache and then collapsed. He was admitted to the hospital. After surgery, Bowman was transferred to a nursing home, where he died 13 months later without regaining consciousness. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Ivan Matamba

26-Jun

1981

KO

7

Domingo “Mingo” Gonzalez Arredondo


ND


Venezuela

Light (Super Feather)

David Frisancho Pineda, “El Box: Camion a la Muerte,” Acta Medica Peruana, 13:3 (Sep-Dec 2001); http://sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe/BVRevistas/acta_medica/VOLXVIII_N3_2001_SET_DIC/box_cami_muerte.htm. Cause of death was brain injury.

Masakatsu Sakuma

4-Aug

1981

KO

1

Sumito Urayama


Tokyo


Japan

Fly

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000); http://www.boxrec.com. This was Urayama’s pro debut. He died six days later.

Manase Potse

2-May

1981

TKO

8

Motsi Diala


Bethlehem


South Africa

Light

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, May 5, 1981; http://www.boxrec.com

Barry McGuigan

14-Jun

1982

KO

6

Alimi Mustafa (Young Ali)

24

Mayfair

London

England

Feather

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, February 19, 1984; (Dublin) Irish Times, December 14, 1982; London Times, December 14, 1982; (Dublin) Irish Times, January 13, 1983; “Barry McGuigan,” Irish-Boxing.com, http://www.irish-boxing.com/mcguigan.htm. It was Mustafa’s first fight in Britain, and he was pounded to the canvas in the sixth. Alimi walked to the dressing room, where he collapsed. He died in Lagos on December 11, 1982, following two operations and five months in a coma. Death was attributed to a thin skull. In response the British Boxing Board of Control introduced a rule requiring professional boxers to get brain scans before matches, and another rule reducing title fights to 12 rounds.

Yoshisimu Oyama

18-Oct

1982

KO

9

Naoki Kobayashi

24

Tokyo


Japan

Feather (Super Bantam)

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000)

Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini

13-Nov

1982

KO

14

Duk-Koo Kim

23

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Light

Washington Post, November 15, 1982; New York Times, November 18, 1982; Ralph Wiley, Serenity: A Boxing Memoir (New York: Henry Holt, 1989). Explained Wiley: “Kim was off-center, exhausted and facing Mancini’s corner. He never saw the punch. Mancini drove off his right foot and delivered the first of the final pair of rights on the point of the Korean’s chin. A glancing left hook followed, then a crushing right which sent Kim to the canvas. Kim landed heavily on his back and head, rolled over in slow motion, grabbed a middle strand of the ropes, and stared blankly at the timekeeper.” Kim died three days later, and both his mother and the referee subsequently committed suicide. Kim’s death was the proximate cause of Nevada adopting a standing 8-count and a 45-day layoff for boxers knocked out. It was also the reason the World Boxing Council gave for reducing the length of championship fights from 15 rounds to 12 (though of course television schedules provide a more probable explanation). For his part, Mancini just kept fighting. As Warren Zevon wrote in, “Boom Boom Mancini,” a song about a working man racing home to catch Mancini’s fight with Bobby Chacon on January 14, 1984, “They made hypocrite judgements after the fact/But the name of the game is be hit and hit back.” A Korean film, Champion, was subsequently made of Kim’s life and, unsurprisingly, it focused on his courage rather than his death. Korea Times, June 28, 2002, http://korealink.co.kr/kt_culture/200206/t2002062820341146110.htm.

Juan Cordero

23-Jul

1982

Ldec

10

Ubaldo Rivas


Guadalajara


Mexico

Feather

Murio 4 dias despues/Boxeo Mexicano en Records; http://www.boxrec.com

Hi-Sup Shin

7-May

1982

TKO

10

Andy Balaba

28

Seoul


South Korea

Fly

Frederick (Maryland) Post, November 19, 1982; Joey Gonzalez, “Ring deaths, who is to blame?” January 20, 2002, http://thesweetscienceboxing.net/PillartoPost.html. Following the knockout, Balaba never regained consciousness. Shin was a former IBF flyweight champion, while Balaba took the fight at short notice. In addition, just two months earlier, Balaba had been seen vomiting in the dressing room after a fight. Gloves in Korea at the time were 6-ounce, and hand wraps were minimal. Shin went on to become world champion.

Jun Resma

26-Mar

1983

KO


Antonio Guevara


Caracas


Venezuela

Bantam

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, March 28, 1983; (Miami, Florida) El Nuevo Herald, March 28, 1983. Guevara died in hospital 18 days later. Cause of death was brain injury.

Pongpan Sorphayahtai

25-May

1983

KO

5

Jairo Anton


Bangkok


Thailand

Feather (Super Bantam)

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com. Anton suffered a nose injury during the fight, underwent surgery, and died of complications.

Juan Ramon Cruz

6-Oct

1983

KO

7

Isidro “Gino” Perez

24

New York

New York

USA

Light

New York Times, October 7, 1983; Washington Post, October 7, 1983. After the knockout, Perez got up. He said he felt dizzy, so a stool was brought. He sat down, then collapsed. Cause of death was a contusion of the brain stem. It later turned out that a cornerman for Cruz had removed padding from Cruz’s gloves. Manslaughter charges were filed.

Alberto Davila

1-Sep

1983

KO

12

Francisco “Kiko” Bejines

22

Los Angeles

California

USA

Bantam

New York Times, September 5, 1983; Los Angeles Times, September 2, 1983; Los Angeles Times, September 3, 1983; California State Athletic Commission Final Statement of Reasons, February 9, 2002, http://www.dca.ca.gov/csac/rules/294fsr.pdf. Bejines was ahead on points, but tiring. Then Davila caught Bejines with four punches that knocked him down. Bejines tried to stand up, but couldn’t. He slipped down the ropes, and never got up. There was no ambulance on site, so transport to the hospital was delayed. The cause of death was a clot on the right frontal lobe of the brain.

Boy Roxiso

26-Mar

1983

TKO

3

Nceba Gobozi


East London


South Africa

Bantam

Manuel Velazquez collection; http://www.boxrec.com

Maurizio Lupino

10-Dec

1983

Wdec

8

Salvatore La Serra

25

Rozzano


Italy

Bantam

New York Times, January 3, 1984; London Times, January 4, 1984; Washington Post, January 6, 1984; “Muerte de pugil Italiano exhibe al control medico,” El Informador, November 1996, http://148.245.26.68/Lastest/nov96/19nov96/DEPOR.HTM. Cause of death was brain damage.

Mutsuo Watanabe

9-Jan

1984

KO

6

Isao Kimura

28

Akita


Japan

Fly (Jr Fly)

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, January 10, 1984. Cause of death was brain injury.

Sor Somboon

15-May

1984

KO


Wittaya Watchara


Bangkok


Thailand

Feather

Manuel Velazquez collection

Hector Rosa

ND

1984

KO


Segundo Encinas


ND


Bolivia

ND

Manuel Velazquez collection

Dadang Krinsa

ND

1984

KO


Domo Hutabarat


Jakarta


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Miguel Urriola

17-Aug

1985

KO

7

Bernardino Moreno

23

Panama City


Panama

Light (Jr Light)

http://boxrec.com

Jorge Vaca

29-Nov

1985

KO

6

Gerard “Dracula” Derbez


Guadalajara


Mexico

Welter

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, December 5, 1985. Derbez was knocked down twice. Then, during the sixth, he was hit square in the face. He went into a coma, and he died December 2.

Chris “Southern Rebel” Calvin

29-May

1985

TKO

7

Shawn Thomas

26

Merrillville

Indiana

USA

Light (Jr Light)

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, June 2, 1985; “Boxing’s deadly toll,” BBC News, May 5, 1998, http://news1.thdo.bbc.co.uk/low/english/uk/newsid_87000/87290.stm. The fight was televised by ESPN. Cause of death was brain injury.

Brian Mitchell

2-Nov

1985

TKO

12

Jacob “Dancing Shoes” Morake

30

Sun City


South Africa

Light (Jr Light)

London Times, November 4, 1985; “Brian Mitchell: The Road Warrior marches on,” http://members.tripod.com/boxingbob/int15.html; http://www.boxrec.com

ND

9-May

1986

KO

4

Kenji Kobayashi


Nagoya


Japan

Fly

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000); Washington Post, May 12, 1986, C2. Kobayshi died 2 days later.

Paul “Rocky” Kelly

17-Mar

1986

Ldec

10

Steve Watt

27

London

London

England

Welter

(Dublin) Irish Times, March 18, 1986; Washington Post, March 18, 1986; (Dublin) Irish Times, March 20, 1986. Watt collapsed as he walked back to corner and went into coma. He died following brain surgery; doctors said the injury, a blood clot on the brain, was a re-injury to a pre-existing condition. Watt’s liver was then transplanted into a woman from Liverpool.

Aquiles Guzman

21-Mar

1986

Ldec

4

Jose Gregorio “Goyo” Padrino

20

Ciudad Ojeda


Venezuela

Fly

New York Times, March 25, 1986; (Miami, Florida) El Nuevo Herald, March 25,1986; Miami Herald, April 13, 1986. This was Padrino’s pro debut. He collapsed 10 minutes after leaving the ring and never regained consciousness. Cause of death was blows.

ND

ND

1987

KO


Lupe Valdez


Apatzingan


Mexico

ND

Boxeo Mexicano en Records. The match must have been in late 1987, as Valdez had a fight with Miguel Martinez in Tijuana on November 16, 1987. The result of that fight was Martinez by knockout in the first.

ND

10-Aug

1987

KO


Masanao Ozawa


Tokyo


Japan

ND

Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000).

Michael Arthur

18-Sep

1987

KO


Agus Souissa

26

Jayapura


Indonesia

Fly

Kingston (Jamaica) Gleaner, September 22, 1987. Souissa had been the national amateur champion before turning pro in 1985. He never recovered consciousness following the knockout, and he died 12 hours later. Cause of death was brain injury. Spelling of the name is per Jeffry Pamungkas.

Lionel Jean

2-Feb

1987

Ldec

6

Jean-Claude Vinci


Evreaux


France

Bantam

Boxing’s deadly toll,” BBC News, May 5, 1998, http://news1.thdo.bbc.co.uk/low/english/uk/newsid_87000/87290.stm

John Bonex

ND

1988

KO


Suryanto


ND


Indonesia

Light

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Kenny Vice

13-Jun

1988

KO

10

Brian Baronet

27

Durban


South Africa

Welter (Jr Welter)

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, June 20, 1988; Paddy Harper, “Homeless men honour boxer who died too young,” Johannesburg Sunday Times, August 29, 2004, http://allafrica.com/stories/200408300503.html; Deon Potgieter, “From Baronet to Sanchez: Who’s to blame?”Sweet Science, July 11, 2005, http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/2355/from-baronet-sanchez-blame. Baronet was not hit hard in the fight, but afterward, he went into a coma and he died in hospital several days later. Cause of death was a blood clot on the brain. Baronet had apparently taken some hard blows to the head during training. In addition, he was involved in a motor vehicle accident while on the way to the weigh-in. His boxing license was suspended in the United States.

Hudi

ND

1988

KO


Wahab Bahari


Blitar


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Aaron Williams

13-Aug

1988

TKO

5

Daniel Thetele


Odendalruus


South Africa

Feather

Sydney Morning Herald, August 16, 1988. Thetele collapsed after leaving the ring, and he died on the way to the hospital.

David Gonzalez

19-Aug

1988

TKO

8

Ricardo “Rico” Velazquez

22

San Jose

California

USA

Light

New York Times, August 21, 1988; Washington Post, August 21, 1988; “Gonzalez fights on despite killing two opponents in the ring,” Nando.net, September 15, 1995, http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/sports/oth/1995/oth/box/feat/archive/091595/box23069.html; California State Athletic Commission Final Statement of Reasons, February 9, 2002, http://www.dca.ca.gov/csac/rules/294fsr.pdf. Velazquez collapsed shortly after the fight was stopped. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where he died. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Terrence Alli

4-Mar

1989

KO

9

David Thio

22

Lyon


France

Welter (Super Light)

Chicago Daily Herald, March 15, 1989. Cause of death was brain injury.

Mike Caminiti

29-May

1989

Wdec

8

John Gross

23

Phoenix

New York

USA

Light Heavy (Super Middle)

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, January 29, 1990; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 16, 1990; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, April 27, 1990, Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, March 7, 1991; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, September 27, 1993; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, December 25, 1997; CBS SportsLine, December 1997, http://www.sportsline.com/u/page/covers/others/dec97/workers122497.htm. After the fight, Gross spoke with reporters, and then, about 90 minutes later, he collapsed in the dressing room. He lapsed into a coma, and he died of injuries on January 28, 1990. Cause of death was subdural hematoma on the left side of the brain. In the interim, Gross’s family applied for workers’ compensation, and in 1990, an administrative law judge ruled that Gross had a valid claim, and that the family was eligible for survivors’ benefits. The State Insurance Fund appealed this decision, and in 1997, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court reversed the lower courts. That is, the appeals court ruled that professional boxers were ineligible for workers’ compensation through the State Fund. The court’s reasoning was that the plain language of the Workers’ Compensation Law specifically excluded “compensation for any injury occasioned ‘by wilful intention of the injured employee to bring about the injury or death of himself or another,’’ and that “it would be absurd to suggest that he [Gross] participated in that match without willfully intending to bring about the injury of his opponent.” The justices ruled 2-1 on this, and in his dissenting opinion, the dissenting justice wrote, in part, that “denying compensation to an entire class of athletes ... is not, we think, what the Legislature contemplated.” The case law is Estate of Gross v. Three Rivers Inn Inc., 238 A.D. 2d 12, 667 N.Y.S. 2d 71, 1997 N.Y. Slip Op. 11247. The split decision promptly led to another court case, namely 92 N.Y. 2d 970, 706 N.E. 2d 741, 683 N.Y.S. 2d 753, 1998, N.Y. Slip Op. 10243, which in turn remanded the case to the Workers’ Compensation Board for further proceedings on the employer-employee relationship at time of injury.

ND

3-Mar

1990

KO


Aro Kitoki


Angeles City


Philippines

Feather

http://boxrec.com

Edgar Maghanoy

5-May

1990

KO

7

Joefer Pahayahay


ND


Philippines

Bantam

http://www.boxrec.com. Pahayahay’s brother Jerry also boxed professionally.

Yasuei Yakushiji

14-Jun

1990

KO

10

Atsushi “Jun” Yonesaka

23

Sapporo


Japan

Bantam

Japan Economic Newswire, June 19, 1990. Yonesaka was knocked down in the tenth round. He collapsed in the dressing room after the fight, and died in hospital four days later. Cause of death was brain injury.

Mlamili Magwaza

24-Jun

1990

KO

6

Dean Sawuti

26

Port Elizabeth


South Africa

Welter

http://boxrec.com

Bisenti Santoso

23-Dec

1990

KO


Bongguk Kendy


Bontang


Indonesia

Welter (Lt Welter)

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.htm; http://www.fightnews.com/pamungkas17.htm

ND

ND

1990

KO


Dako Cabella


ND


Philippines

ND

R. Yalen

Jun Aviles

17-Mar

1990

Ldec

10

Jun Tinoy


Calinian


Philippines

Feather

http://boxrec.com. Tinoy had five known fights, and had lost all of them.

Armando Andales

20-May

1990

Ldec

10

Darry Kabales


ND


Philippines

Light

http://boxrec.com

Greco Gonzalez

21-Sep

1990

TKO

3

Jesus Ortiz


Apatzingan


Mexico

Fly

El Boxeo Mexicano en Records

Gary Wills

1-Aug

1990

Wdec

10

Patrick Stone

24

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Heavy (Cruiser)

Doylestown (Pennsylvania) Intelligencer, August 19, 1990. Stone collapsed in his corner before the decision was announced, and died in hospital. Cause of death was a blood clot on the right side of his brain.

ND

May/

1991

KO


Patrick Mdiniso

22

Queenstown


South Africa

Feather

New York Times, November 27, 1991

Kelvin Onwudiwe

27-Sep

1991

KO

6

Nijim Gbadegesin


Lagos


Nigeria

Fly

Manuel Velazquez collection. Gbadegesin died three days later.

Ndoda Mayende

17-Nov

1991

KO

8

Clive Skwebu

20

East London


South Africa

Fly

New York Times, November 27, 1991; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, November 27, 1991; Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, November 27, 1991. Despite two surgeries, Skwebu died of brain injuries.

ND

Apr/

1991

KO


Priscilo Togonon


Cagayan de Oro


Philippines

ND

R. Yalen

ND

May/

1991

KO


Tata Cabanes


Guindulman


Philippines

Bantam

R. Yalen

Richie Smith

8-Apr

1991

Ldec

4

Alan Lonnie Goldstein

26

Ocala

Florida

USA

Middle

Frederick (Maryland) News, April 10, 1991; Chicago Daily Herald, April 10, 1991. It was Goldstein’s first professional fight. He was knocked down in the fourth, and he collapsed in his corner afterwards. Cause of death was listed as brain injury.

Takao Murata (Takashi Harada)

1-Dec

1991

TKO

10

Minoru Katsumata

20

Nagoya


Japan

Feather (Jr Feather)

London (England) Independent, December 3, 1991; St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, December 3, 1991. With less than a minute to go in the fight, Katsumata’s corner threw in the towel. He walked out of the ring, but collapsed in the dressing room. Cause of death was brain injury.

Sibusiso Phakathi

3-Nov

1991

TKO

6

Phiwenkosi Xaba


Empangeni


South Africa

Light

http://boxrec.com

Abdenago Jofre

20-Dec

1991

TKO

11

David Ellis Venegas (La Furia)


Coyhaique


Chile

Middle (Jr Middle)

David Frisancho Pineda, “El Box: Camion a la Muerte,” Acta Medica Peruana, 13:3 (Sep-Dec 2001); http://sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe/BVRevistas/acta_medica/VOLXVIII_N3_2001_SET_DIC/box_cami_muerte.htm; http://boxrec.com. Ellis died after spending 10 days in a coma. Although the bout was billed as the Chilean light middleweight championship, Ellis’s pro record going into this fight was 2 wins, 12 losses, 4 draws.

ND

19-Dec

1992

KO

7

Yasuji Hamakawa

23

Osaka


Japan

Light

Boxing deaths number about 500 since 1884,” Nando.net, October 14, 1995, http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/sports/oth/1995/oth/box/feat/archive/101495/box4549.html; Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000). He died January 7, 1993.

Juan Rodriguez

5-Jun

1992

KO

7

Guido Trivino

20

Cartagena


Colombia

Feather (Jr Feather)

(Dublin) Irish Times, June 8, 1992. Trivino died in hospital on June 7, following brain surgery.

Hector Patri

16-May

1992

TKO

10

Wilfredo “Pitufo” Andrade

28

Rio Grande


Argentina

Fly (110-lb)

(Miami, Florida) El Nuevo Herald, May 21, 1992; (Miami, Florida) El Nuevo Herald, May 23, 1992). Cause of death was brain injury.

Mahmud

15-Jul

1993

Ldec


Yance Samangun


Jakarta


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html; http://www.fightnews.com/pamungkas17.htm.

Ernie Alesna

29-May

1993

TKO

7

Macalino Silvano


Cebu City


Philippines

Light

Emmanuel Villaruel, “GAB to start investigation on Juarez death,” The Freeman (Cebu, Philippines), October 24, 2005, http://thefreeman.com/sports/index.php?fullstory=1&issue=articles_20040109&id=13833.

Hernan Acosta

3-Jun

1994

KO

4

Felix Ocegueda


Mexicali


Mexico

Bantam

(Miami, Florida) El Nuevo Herald, June 9, 1994.

Richie Wenton

26-Apr

1994

KO

10

Bradley Stone

23

Bethnal Green

London

England

Feather (Super Bantam)

(Dublin) Irish Times, April 29, 1994; (Dublin) Irish Times, May 5, 1994; Ann Bradley, “Gloves off,” Living Marxism, 68, June 8, 1994, http://www.informinc.co.uk/LM/LM68/LM68_Taboos.html. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. The death led to calls for the use of MRI scans of all boxers who were knocked out, for weigh-ins to be held at least 24 hours in advance, so fighters would not be dehydrated. This is probably the boxing brain injury described in J.F. Geddes, G.H. Vowles, S.F. Robinson, and J.C. Sutcliffe, “Neurofibrillary tangles, but not Alzheimer-type pathology, in a young boxer,” Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol., February 1996, 22 (1), 12-16.

Antonio Valseca

16-Sep

1994

KO

7

Pablo Ocana


Puebla


Mexico

ND

R. Yalen

Marco Picariello

5-Nov

1994

KO

3

Tzvetan Todorov

28

St. Gallen


Switzerland

Middle (Jr Middle)

http://boxrec.com

David Gonzalez

26-Jul

1995

KO

9

Robert Wangila Nyapunyi

27

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Welter

Syracuse (New York) Herald Journal, October 4, 1994; “Gonzalez fights on despite killing two opponents in the ring,” Nando.net, September 15, 1995, http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/sports/oth/1995/oth/box/feat/archive/091595/box23069.html. Wangila collapsed in the dressing room after the fight. Cause of death was a blood clot in the brain. Wangila was a 1988 Olympic gold medalist and a Kenyan national hero, and arranging his burial took months of legal wrangling.

Allan Llaneta

23-Oct

1995

KO

10

Marvin Corpuz

19

General Santos


Philippines

Fly (MiniFly)

(Dublin) Irish Times, October 24, 1995. Corpuz wanted to quit after the eighth round, but didn’t because the crowd was screaming, “No surrender!” Cause of death was brain injury.

Gabriel Ruelas

6-May

1995

KO

11

Jimmy Garcia

21

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Light (Jr Light)

New York Times, May 19, 1995; Associated Press, June 3, 1995, http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/ap/box/feat/06039530208.html; Nando.net, “Garcia wants to win world title, then become local cop,” March 23, 1996; http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/sports/oth/1996/oth/box/feat/archive/032396/box8269.html; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 586. Garcia had rapidly lost between 15 and 30 pounds in preparation for the fight. Also, an insurance company subsequently sued the attending neurosurgeon for failing to notify them of the numerous malpractice suits filed against him -- see http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Oct-18-Sat-1997/news/6236583.html.

Bugiarso

11-May

1995

KO


Akbar Maulana


Jakarta


Indonesia

Feather (Super Bantam)

Jeff Pamungkas, “The Year of Living Dangerously!” Fightnews.com, March 12, 2004, http://www.fightnews.com/pamungkas17.htm. In 2001, the survivor, Bugiarso, was also hospitalized for brain injuries.

Ali Matumla

24-Jun

1995

KO

5

Singini Ackim


Lusaka


Zambia

Welter

Washington (District of Columbia) Times, June 26, 1995.

Setsuo Kawamasu

5-Sep

1995

KO

10

Dong-chun Lee (Great Kaneyama)

32

Tokyo


Japan

Bantam

Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, September 11, 1995; (Seoul) Korea Times, September 15, 1995. Lee, a Korean, was the former Japanese national champion. He passed out in the dressing room after the fight. He died in hospital four days later. Cause of death was acute subdural hematoma.

Drew Docherty

13-Oct

1995

KO

12

James Murray

25

Glasgow


Scotland

Bantam

(Dublin) Irish Times, October 16, 1995; New York Times, October 16, 1995; “Boxer said to be ‘clinically dead’ after losing bout,” Nando.net, October 14, 1995, http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/sports/oth/1995/oth/box/feat/archive/101495/box11342.html; Steve Bunce, “October 13, 1995,” (Glasgow, Scotland) Sunday Herald, October 9, 2005, http://www.sundayherald.com/52170. In the ninth, a left hook caught Murray hard. He stayed on his feet, but went down in the twelfth. Members of the standing-room only crowd threw bottles in the ring and started fighting among themselves; some even rushed into the ring, to daub themselves in blood. Docherty stood crying in the corner, paramedics were too busy dodging bottles and chairs to safely administer first aid, and five fans were later treated for injuries. Eventually, Murray was taken to the hospital, where he died on October 15, 1995. Rapid weight loss was reportedly a factor in this death, which was commemorated by a 1997 song, “James Murray, by Mr Jones; for the lyrics, see http://www.mrjones.net/lyrics2.htm#james.

ND

Dec/

1995

KO


Mitsuyuki Ito

26

Tokyo


Japan

Welter (Jr Welter)

Agence France Press, December 12, 1995. Ito died December 12, 1995. The fight took place the previous week. The death led to the Japanese requiring boxers to get annual CAT scans and taking longer rest periods following knockouts.

Marlon Carillo

15-Oct

1995

Ldec

10

Restituto Espineli

19

Manila


Philippines

Fly

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, October 16, 1995; (Dublin) Irish Times, October 17, 1995. Espineli was not knocked down in the fight. However, he collapsed in the dressing room after the fight, and he died in hospital three days later. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Liu Gang

29-Apr

1996

KO

6

Lance Hobson

23

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Feather

(Sydney) The Age, April 29, 1996; (Dublin) Irish Times, May 1, 1996; (Sydney) Sunday Age, May 4, 1996; Doylestown (Pennyslvania) Intelligencer, May 1, 1996; Newcastle (Australia) Herald, April 30, 2001; “Australian boxer’s father hoped for world champion,” Nando Net, http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/ap/oth/1996/oth/box/feat/archive/050196/box52073.html. This was Gang’s professional debut. Hobson had not fought for about ten months prior to this bout. Hobson fell from his stool at the start of the sixth. He was carried from the ring and he died in hospital. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Mike “Night Train” Trejo

13-Nov

1996

KO

7

Rey “Conejito” Hernandez

28

San Marcos

Texas

USA

Fly

Phoenix New-Times, April 10, 1997, http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1997-04-10/feature2.html; “Athletes at risk: Second Impact Syndrome in sports,” http://www.firmani.com/SIS-case/incidents.htm. Cause of death suspected as Second Impact Syndrome. Hernandez’s application said his record was 20-12, with no defeats by knockouts, whereas he had actually lost half his last 24 fights, 3 by knockout. His manager, German Barrientos, was profiled by Newsweek on December 6, 1999: Alan Zarembo, “Taking a Real Beating,” http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/nw-srv/printed/us/so/a47822-1999nov28.htm.

Vincenzo Imparato

16-Nov

1996

KO

12

Fabrizio de Chiara

24

Massa Carrara


Italy

Middle

Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, October 19, 1996; (Southern Illinois University) Daily Egyptian, November 19, 1996, http://www.dailyegyptian.com/fall96/111996/sbeat.html; “Muerte de pugil Italiano exhibe al control medico,” El Informador, November 1996, http://148.245.26.68/Lastest/nov96/19nov96/DEPOR.HTM. De Chiara collapsed in his corner after the fight was stopped, and he was pronounced brain dead two days later. The family approved organ donation.

Makoto Uematsu

24-Feb

1997

Draw

8

Hiroyuki Hiramuma

24

Tokyo


Japan

Welter (Jr Welter)

Deportes,” February 11, 1997, http://www.unam.mx/nacional/1997/feb97/11feb97/11de383.html

James Crayton

26-Sep

1997

KO

5

Johnny Montantes

28

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Welter (Jr Welter)

Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 29, 1997, http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Sep-29-Mon-1997/sports/6145957.html; Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 30, 1997, http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Sep-30-Tue-1997/sports/6152875.html; West Texas Daily University Star, March 4, 1999, http://www.star.so.swt.edu/99/03/04/s1.html. As Montantes went down from a punch to the jaw, he hit the back of his head on the floor. He was clearly unconscious, and was in surgery within the hour. However, two days later, his family agreed to donate his organs. “It was such a massive bleed (blood clot) to the brain, there wasn’t much that could be done,” explained Dr. Robert Voy, ringside physician.

Yoshiaki Matsukura

14-Oct

1997

KO

7

Akira Omasa (Akira Taiga)

23

Tokyo


Japan

Welter (Jr Welter)

Buffalo (New York) News, October 21, 1997; “Japanese boxer Taiga dies from injuries,” Nando.com, October 20, 1997, http://archive.sportserver.com/newsroom/ap/oth/1997/oth/box/feat/archive/102097/box662.html; Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000).

Paul Burke

12-Dec

1997

Wdec

12

Felix Bwalya

25

Lusaka


Zambia

Welter (Jr Welter)

New York Times, December 24, 1997; Illawarra (Australia) Mercury, December 27, 1997; Indian Express Online, December 25, 1997, http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19971225/35950503.html. Two days after winning a fight in which he was knocked down three times, Bwalya complained of headaches, and then fell into a coma. He died two weeks later.

Fusaaki Takenaga

12-Oct

1998

KO

5

Takashi “Ken” Katagiri

28

Tokyo


Japan

Feather (Super Bantam)

New York Times, October 28, 1998; Japan Boxing Year Book (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2000); Sun Dispatch, October 29, 1998, http://www.dispatch.co.za/1998/10/29/sport/JAPAN.HTM; Friedrich Unterharnscheidt, Boxing: Medical Aspects (London: Academic Press, 2003), 586. Katagiri died December 27, 1998.

Khulile Makeba

4-May

1998

KO

7

Sithembele Booi

22

Mdantsane


South Africa

Fly (MiniFly)

Boxer dies after Mdantsane fight,” Dispatch Online, May 5, 1998, http://www.dispatch.co.za/1998/05/05/easterncape/BOXER.HTM; “250 pay tribute to M’sane boxer,” Dispatch Online, May 13, 1998, http://www.dispatch.co.za/1998/05/13/easterncape/MSANE.HTM; “Deaths in the ring preyed on my mind,” News24, November 16, 2002, http://www.news24.com/City_Press/City_Press_Sport/0,1885,186-245_1285991,00.html

Kabary Salem

12-Sep

1999

KO

10

Randie Carver

24

North Kansas City

Missouri

USA

Light Heavy (Super Middle)

Pacific Stars and Stripes, September 16, 1999; Syracuse (New York) Post-Standard, September 16, 1999. Carver was head-butted several times in early rounds, and by the eighth, he was clearly tiring. In the tenth, he was knocked down by punches. He tried four times to get up, but could not even get to his knees. He was taken to the hospital, where he died two days later.

Paul Vaden

20-Nov

1999

KO

10

Stephan Johnson

31

Atlantic City

New Jersey

USA

Middle (Jr Middle)

Marquette Tribune Online, December 7, 1999, http://www.marquette.edu/tribune/archive/99-12-07-Tribune/content/s-boxer.html; Online Athens, December 8, 1999, http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/120899/spo_1208990054.shtml. Johnson was under medical suspension in Canada, but took the televised fight in Atlantic City because he needed money to move his mother from her tenement in Queens. Cause of death was left subdural hematoma.

Jose Luis Valbuena

9-Oct

1999

TKO

10

Carlos Barreto

23

Caracas


Venezuela

Feather (Super Bantam)

Joe Koizumi, “Mourning the death of Venezuelan boxer Carlos Barreto,” October 9, 1999, http://www.ring-japan.com/ori99/ori991009.htm; HollandSentinel.net, October 14, 1999, http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/101499/spo_spobrief.html. Barreto was pulled to the canvas by an arm around the neck. He got back up, and was pummeled for his efforts. Dazed, he staggered to his corner, where he collapsed. He was subsequently refused admission at two hospitals, apparently because his family couldn’t show proof of insurance.

Fabio “Killer” Marfa

24-Jul

1999

TKO

7

Mateo Baring

31

Cebu City


Philippines

Fly (MiniFly)

Leticia Suarez-Orendain, “Life as one ‘lord’ of the ring,” SunStar Cebu, http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2006/01/23/news/life.as.one.lord.of.the.ring.html, January 23, 2006. Baring was hit solidly and the referee stopped the fight. During the subsequent investigation, it was determined that Baring had a history of head injuries. According to http://www.boxrec.com, Baring’s record was 1-12-4.

Steve Dotse

20-Oct

2000

Draw

10

Robert Benson (Bobby Tomasello)

24

Boston

Massachusetts

USA

Feather

Annapolis (Maryland) Capital, October 26, 2000; Jay Miller, “Bobby Tomasello dies after fight,” October 26, 2000, http://www.boxingranks.com/Articles/Article115.htm; Michael Katz, “Life after death,” HouseofBoxing.com, http://www.houseofboxing.com/Katz/katz_06-13-01.asp. The fight was televised by ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.” In the dressing room after the fight, Benson collapsed, and he died in hospital several days later. Cause of death was brain injury.

Thembinkosi Tywantsi

4-Jun

2000

KO

3

Mzwandile Mathole

23

Dimbaza


South Africa

Fly

Johannesburg Sunday Times, August 20, 2000, http://www.suntimes.co.za/2000/08/20/sport/boxing/box03.htm; Dispatch Online, July 8, 2000, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2000/07/08/sport/BOX.HTM; Mesuli Zifo, “Commission demands report on boxer’s death,” Dispatch Online, August 11, 2000, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2000/08/11/sport/AINJURIE.HTM. Mathole collapsed in ring, and he lay there, jerking convulsively, for about ten minutes while an ambulance was sought. When none arrived, he was put on a folding table, and carried to a private vehicle for transport. He remained in a coma for two months, then died in hospital.

Roy Saragih

16-Jun

2000

KO

7

Dipo Saloko

30

Jakarta


Indonesia

Fly

http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.htm

Teddy Reid

23-Jan

2000

KO

10

Emiliano Valdez

26

Miami

Florida

USA

Welter

Valdez still in critical condition,” January 26, 2000, AP, http://espn.go.com/boxing/news/2000/0125/312787.html; “Valdez succumbs to injuries two years after bout with Reid,” MaxBoxing.com, March 25, 2002, http://www.maxboxing.com/Gerbasi/gerbasi032502.asp. Valdez fell into a coma after the fight and he died without ever regaining consciousness. Valdez had been visibly wobbly during the eighth and tenth rounds, but his trainer, Nelson Lopez, refused to throw in the towel. Said Lopez later: “How could I stop the fight? They would have said, ‘It’s ridiculous, a trainer bringing a fighter and not letting him fight.’ I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but that’s the sport we choose.” The proximate cause of death was ruptured blood vessels in the brain.

Herianto Kalam

18-Nov

2000

KO

6

Bayu Young Iray


Belawan


Indonesia

ND

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

George Khalid Jones

26-Jun

2001

KO

10

Beethavean “Honey Bee” Scottland

26

New York

New York

USA

Light Heavy

Michah Pollack, “Boxer’s autopsy released,” Washington Post, July 21, 2001, D-5, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28736-2001Jul20.html; Tom Scoca, “Blood sport,” Baltimore City Paper Online, July 4-July 10, 2001, http://www.citypaper.com/2001-07-04/upper.html; Mark Kram, “Dukes of death: A dozen boxers reflect on men they’ve killed,” Philadelphia News, http://www.pnafoundation.org/Archives/Keystone%202003/Div%20I/DukesofDeath.htm. Scottland was a last-minute replacement for another boxer, who had broken his nose in training. During the fight, Scottland took heavy punishment, but he was still defending himself. Consequently, the doctor and referee let him stay. Then, following a knockdown, he failed to get up and he subsequently died. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. In 2004, Scottland’s widow filed suit against the ringside physicians, alleging that they failed their duty to exercise reasonable care by stopping the fight. The judge ruled that the case was grounded in medical malpractice rather than negligence, and then dismissed the case because it was filed after New York’s 30-month statute of limitations on malpractice had expired. The case law is Scottland v. Duva Boxing LLC, 109169/04; a brief summary appears in Mark Fass, “Judge Dismisses Negligence Suit Against Ringside Doctors,” New York Law Journal, November 7, 2005.

Hasan Purba

11-Mar

2001

KO

4

John Namtilu

19

Bekasi


Indonesia

Fly (MiniFly)

Tinju Online Indonesia, http://www.tinju.4t.com/tewas.html

Kongtawat Ora Sorkitti

30-Mar

2001

KO

8

Muhammad “Alfa” al-Faridzhi

23

Cibinong


Indonesia

Feather (57 kg)

Alfa’s last message,” Jakarta Post, http://laksamana.net/vnews.cfm?news_id=766; “BoxingInsider.com,” http://www.boxinginsider.com/pressreleases/posts/1103.html. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Tony Pappa

6-Apr

2001

KO

6

Ahmad Popal

29

Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

Bantam

Illawarra (Australia) Mercury, April 10, 2001; (Sydney) The Age, May 2, 2003; BoxingCentral.com, April 10, 2001, http://www.boxing-central.com/print.php?sid=390; Adam Cooper, “Injured boxer dies,” (Syndey) The Age, April 9, 2001, http://www.theage.com.au/frontpage/2001/04/09/FFXBFWU3BLC.html. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage, and attributed to Popal striking his head on the ring ropes.

Mawabo Vuso

May/

2001

KO

1

Simpiwe Galada

25

Dimbaza


South Africa

Feather

Second boxing tragedy in Dimbaza,” Dispatch Online, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2001/05/25/sport/ADIMBAZA.HTM, May 25, 2001; “Indwe boxer dies,” Dispatch Online, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2001/06/13/sport/ASIMPH.HTM, June 13, 2001; “Indwe boxer buried tomorrow,” Dispatch Online, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2001/06/22/sport/ABOXER.HTM, June 22, 2001. Galada collapsed in his corner after the fight, but appeared to recover. Four days later he collapsed again, and he died in hospital the following month.

Stenley Kalalo

27-Oct

2001

KO

7

Donny Maramis

19

Manado


Indonesia

Light

Another boxer dies after KO,” http://sport.iafrica.com/boxing/news/835715.htm. Kelalo (note spelling) struck Maramis with a right hook and Maramis collapsed. He died in hospital the following day. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Mzolisi Yoyo

Nov/

2001

KO

8

Ntsikelelo Nonyalasa

21

Queenstown


South Africa

Light (Jr Light)

Mesuli Zifo, “Boxer dies from injuries,” Dispatch Online, November 27, 2001, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2001/11/27/sport/AABOXER.HTM. At the end of the seventh, Nonyalasa complained of a headache, but he continued because he was ahead on points. He collapsed in the ring at the start of the round, and he died in hospital a month later.

ND

Dec/

2001

KO


Tetsuya Nakajima


Tokyo


Japan

Feather

Japanese boxer dies in hospital,” Yahoo! Sports, April 9, 2002, http://sports.yahoo.com/m/box/news/ap/20020409/ap-japan-death.html

Elias Phiri

6-Apr

2001

Wdec

4

Coleman Cidar


Chegutu


Zimbabwe

ND

Boxer dies after match,” Panafrican News Agency, April 6, 2001, http://allafrica.com/stories/200104060045.html. “‘Soon after being pronounced winner, the boxer staggered for a few metres, breathing heavily before he collapsed. The boxer clearly looked confused at the end of the third round and was breathing with a lot of difficulty,’ an eyewitness said.”

Jorge Alberto Reyes

15-Jun

2001

Wdec

12

Andres Fernandez

29

Acoma

New Mexico

USA

Feather (Super Bantam)

http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/Boxer:Andres_Fernandez:015848; http://www.newmexicoboxing.com/fights2005/12-juarez.html; http://www.newmexicoboxing.com/cozzone/fernandezfights.html. After leaving the ring, Fernandez said he wasn’t feeling well, so he was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with subcutaneous hematoma. Following surgery, he was kept in an induced coma for several weeks. After regaining consciousness, he could communicate only using eye-blinks, and he died of sequelae of the injury on December 16, 2005.

Oscar Molina

14-Apr

2001

WTKO

1

Crescencio Mercado

19

Pueblo

Colorado

USA

Feather

Mercado in critical condition after winning fight,” Nando Media, April 19, 2001, http://archive.sportserver.com/generic/story/0,1673,500474734-500728636-504134123-0,00.html. After winning by knockout, Mercado stood on the ring ropes and raised his arms. He then walked to his corner, where he collapsed.

Fernando Montiel

22-Jun

2002

KO

6

Pedro “Rockero” Alcazar

26

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Bantam (Jr Bantam)

Alcazar collapses in hotel room after bout,” ESPN.com, June 24, 2002, http://espn.go.com/boxing/news/2002/0624/1398524.html; “Autopsy of Alcazar reveals little,” SlamSports, http://www.canoe.ca/Slam020712/box_alcazar-ap.html, July 2, 2002; Kieren Mulvaney, “Boxing and the brain,” Tigerboxing.com, February 2, 2005, http://www.tigerboxing.com/articles/index.php?aid=1001244888. The fight was stopped by a hard blow to the body, and during the post-fight medical examination, Alcazar showed no outward signs of severe injury. The following day, he complained of a headache. So, he took some Tylenol, and went to his hotel room to rest. He died. Cause of death was listed as cerebral edema, meaning extensive swelling on the brain.

Cesar Romero

27-Jun

2002

KO

2

Hugo Benjamin Guzman

29

Salta


Argentina

Light (Super Feather)

Argentinischer Boxer nach Ring-Unfall Gestorben,” July 5, 2002, http://www.sportschau.de/news/boxen/82436.phtml. After the decision was read, Guzman collapsed in his corner. He died in hospital eight days later.

Yoshinori Naito

24-Mar

2002

Ldec

6

Yoshihiro Irei

22

Tokyo


Japan

Fly

Japanese boxer dies in hospital,” Yahoo! Sports, April 9, 2002, http://sports.yahoo.com/m/box/news/ap/20020409/ap-japan-death.html; “Be a Phoenix,” Okinawa Times Online, April 6, 2002, http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/eng/20020406.html. Irie was from Okinawa, and had a career record of 8-0, two by knockout. He collapsed in the dressing room after the fight. He underwent brain surgery, but died anyway.

Fabio Oliva

22-Nov

2002

Ldec

12

Jorge Daniel Espindola

25

Catamarca


Argentina

Light (Super Feather)

Argentine boxer dies after title bout,” November 24, 2002, http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=4&art_id=qw1038157203145S163&set_id=6. Cause of death was a blood clot in the brain.

Alex Escanar

20-Apr

2002

TKO

9

Manuel Zayas

21

Tarlac


Philippines

Feather (Super Bantam)

Boxer Zayas dies five days after knockout,” ESPN Boxing, April 26, 2002, http://espn.go.com/boxing/news/2002/0426/1374201.html; “Filipino boxer dies after knockout,” Yahoo! Sports, April 26, 2002, http://sports.yahoo.com/m/box/news/ap/20020426/ap-philippines-death.html; Manolo Inigo, “Mismatch in Elorde card?” Inquirer News Service, http://www.inq7.net/spo/2002/apr/26/spo_11-1.htm, April 26, 2002. http://www.inq7.net/spo/2002/may/06/spo_10-1.htm; Recah Trinidad, “Macapagal can lend RP
boxing a winning punch,” http://www.inq7.net/spo/2002/may/06/spo_10-1.htm; Recah Trinidad, “RP boxing needs a solid, punch,” http://www.inq7.net/mag/2003/nov/30/mag_4-1.htm. Following a standing 8-count, Zayas complained of dizziness. He was sent to the hospital, where he went into a coma. He died five days later. Zayas had not boxed since December 2000, and he had lost four of his last five bouts by knockout. Five thousand pesos (US $96.64) were subsequently raised for the family.

Masamitsu Ikeda

9-Dec

2002

TKO

6

Yodsingh Chuwatana

28

Tokyo


Japan

Bantam

Howie Reed, “The square ring,” http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/011/sports.shtml. Chuwatana returned home, then went into a coma. He died in hospital two days later.

Billy Zumbrun

18-Jul

2003

KO

2

Bradley Rone

34

Cedar City

Utah

USA

Heavy

Jennifer Weaver, “Family, friends: Boxer Brad Rone died of a broken heart,” St. George, Utah, Spectrum, July 20, 2003, http://www.thespectrum.com/news/stories/20030720/topstories/612709.html; Michael Hirsley, “Journeyman boxer’s death raises questions about sport’s perils,” San Jose Mercury News, http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/6543850.htm, August 31, 2003. Rone took a hard kidney punch a few seconds before the end of the first round. Between rounds, he collapsed in his corner, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Cause of death was listed as heart failure, and because he collapsed between rounds, the fight was officially listed as no contest rather than loss by knockout. When Rone took the fight, his record was approximately 7-41-3, with 25 straight losses, 12 of them by knockout. Rone took the fight on 24-hour notice, apparently because he needed the $800 purse to pay for his mother’s funeral. Thomas Hauser subsequently reported (Seconds Out, May 27, 2004, http://www.secondsout.com/USA/colhauser.cfm?ccs=208&cs=13484; Seconds Out, June 4, 2004, http://www.secondsout.com/USA/colhauser.cfm?ccs=208&cs=13484) that federal authorities were investigating this death. The allegation was that the promoters had knowingly falsified medical records that were sent to the state boxing commission. See also Elisa Harrison, “The Top Rank Scandal is Old News,” DoghouseBoxing.com, January 16, 2004, http://www.doghouseboxing.com/News/Harrison/Harrison_011604.htm. The family’s wrongful death suit against the Utah Athletic Commission was dismissed in February 2006. http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060203/NEWS/60203013

Roger Gadian

27-Oct

2003

KO

1

Freddy “Amang” Gimay

29

Titay


Philippines

Fly

Emmanuel Villaruel, “GAB to start investigation on Juarez death,” The Freeman (Cebu, Philippines), October 24, 2005, http://thefreeman.com/sports/index.php?fullstory=1&issue=articles_20040109&id=13833; Proc Maslog, “Boxer losses (sic) by kayo, dies in Zambo slugfest,” Mindanews, October 29, 2003, http://www.mindanews.com/2003/10/29sprts-boxerdies.html. Gimay was hit by a looping left followed by a right to the jaw that knocked him down. He took the standing 8-count, stepped forward, and collapsed. He died in hospital the following morning without ever regaining consciousness.

Slamet Nizar

4-Feb

2003

TKO

3

Johannes “Bones” Fransiscus

20

Jakarta


Indonesia

Fly (Jr Fly)

Another Indonesian boxer dies after fight,” ABCNewsOnline, February 7, 2003, http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s779332.htm; http://www.fightnews.com/pamungkas17.htm. Fransiscus died in hospital two days after the fight. Cause of death listed as brain hemorrhage.

Rocky Fuentes

28-Dec

2003

TKO

4

Juan Eman Juarez

25

Danao City


Philippines

Fly (Jr Fly)

Emmanuel Villaruel, “GAB to start investigation on Juarez death,” The Freeman (Cebu, Philippines), October 24, 2005, http://thefreeman.com/sports/index.php?fullstory=1&issue=articles_20040109&id=13833; Proc Maslog, “GAB to monitor boxing promotions safety requirements,” Minda News, January 19, 2004, http://www.mindanews.com/2004/01/19spt-gab.html; Glenn C. Michelena, “Fuentes surprised of fight’s tragic end, feels sorry Juarez,” Sun Star Cebu, December 31, 2003, http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2003/12/31/sports/fuentes.surprised.of.fight.s.tragic.end.feels.sorry.juarez.html. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. The survivor had just turned 16.

Kaicho sor Vorapin

13-Jan

2004

KO

8

Antonius Jonathan Mosse

20

Jakarta


Indonesia

Fly (Jr Fly)

Indonesian boxer dies a week after knockout,” Sports Illustrated/CNN, January 20, 2004 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/more/01/20/bc.box.boxerdies.ap/. Mosse (the name is often spelled Moses in English-language sources) took at least three hard hits to the head. So, although the cause of the stoppage was a blow to the body, the cause of death was a subdural hematoma.

Earl Ladson

27-Mar

2004

KO

4

David Rickman

29

Savannah

Georgia

USA

Heavy

Don Heath, “Fighter dies after boxing loss,” Savannah Morning News, March 30, 2004, http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/033004/SPT_boxingdeath.shtml; “Boxer dies after knockout in match,” Savannah Citizen Online, March 30, 2004, http://www.citizenonline.net/citizen/archive/article63B6F0FE73104B809D7C109C707D9AF7.asp. The fight was fairly even into the fourth round when Rickman, who had been boxing professionally for about 9 months, was hit hard in the head several times. He collapsed in the ring, and he died in hospital about 36 hours later.

Anthony Napunyi

19-Dec

2004

KO

4

Mohammed Basule

26

Nairobi


Kenya

Bantam

Reuben Olita and James Bakama, “Ugandan boxer dies in Kenyan ring,” New Vision, December 21, 2004, http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/407406; Samson Ateka, “Ugandan boxer dies in bout contest,” Standard, December 20, 2004, http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=8869; Arthur Baguma, “Boxer Basule’s family in dire straits,” New Vision, January 27, 2005, http://allafrica.com/stories/200501270498.html. It was Basule’s third professional match. During the contest, he was knocked down twice. The referee stopped the fight, and then Basule fell down again. First aid was done at the scene, but it took 30 minutes to get him to hospital. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage, but dehydration to make weight was a possible contributing factor. According to the dead boxer’s family (Basuma, January 27, 2005), “The boxing commission was not represented at the burial of the boxer. They even never gave us mabugo (condolences). It’s only a few of his friends (boxers), who came.”

Rickie “Showtime” Quiles

28-Feb

2004

Ldec

12

Luis Villalta

34

Coconut Creek

Florida

USA

Light

Joe Maxse, “Fallen fighter’s spirit never leaves the ring,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 31, 2004, http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1080730845194281.xml; Daniel de Vise and Santos A. Perez, “Boxer died chasing dream of ring fame,” Miami Herald, March 15, 2004, http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/8188366.htm; Sharon Robb, “Villalta collapses after fight, lapses into coma,” Sun-Sentinel.com, March 1, 2004, http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-boxercoma01mar01,0,7188321.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlines; Steve Politi, “He dreamed, fought and died,” New Jersey Star-Ledger, March 7, 2004; http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1078650619128641.xml; Greg Cote, “Boxer battles guilt stemming from opponent’s death,” Miami Herald, February 26, 2005. In the dressing room after the fight, Villalta pointed to the back of his head, vomited, and then collapsed. He died in hospital four days later. Cause of death was listed as post-traumatic cerebral edema.

Keisuke Ayukawa

15-Mar

2004

Ldec

10

Masanao Noto

24

Tokyo


Japan

Light (Super Bantam)

Noto dies from injury in March bout,” Japan Times, April 4, 2004, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sp20040404a1.htm. Following the fight, doctors said that Noto was fine. Soon afterwards, however, he began complaining of headaches. He went to the hospital the following day. His condition went downhill on March 22, and so he had brain surgery. He died without regaining consciousness a few weeks later. Cause of death was subdural hemorrhage.

Syamsul Hidayat

14-Feb

2004

TKO

8

Sriyanto (Jack Ryan)

21

Purwokerto


Indonesia

Light

Agus Maryono and Zakki Hakim, “Boxer dies, second fatality in a month,” Jakarta Post, February 20, 2004, http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailweekly.asp?fileid=20040220.@02. Between the fifth and sixth rounds, Ryan complained of headaches. He took some heavy blows in the remaining rounds. After the fight, he vomited, collapsed into a coma, and died in hospital four days later. Cause of death was brain hemorrhage.

Ricardo Cordoba

3-Dec

2004

TKO

12

Carlos Meza

26

Colon


Panama

Bantam

Colombian boxer Meza declared dead after four days in coma,” The Star Online, December 9, 2004, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/12/9/sports/9610093&sec=sports. Cause of death was listed as cerebral hematoma and massive hemorrhage.

Rustam Nugaev

1-Jul

2005

KO

9

Martin “Bombero” Sanchez

26

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Welter (Super Light)

Boxer Sanchez dies day after bout at The Orleans,” Las Vegas (Nevada) Review-Journal, July 3, 2005, http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Jul-03-Sun-2005/sports/26823766.html; “WBC launches probe into boxer Sanchez’s death,” ESPN, August 23, 2005, http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2141461 . Sanchez walked out of the ring, but was observed walking strangely. His pupils were dilated, so he was taken to the hospital, where surgery was done. He died the following day. Cause of death was subdural hematoma. Before the fight, Sanchez may have faked medical records. In addition, his pre-fight weight loss program included jumping rope under the Nevada sun while wearing a sweat suit. Suspicions that the latter program contributed to his death was part of the motivation for the California Athletic Commission’s subsequent longitudinal study on weight loss in boxers. For an introduction to this California study, which began in January 2006, see http://www.dca.ca.gov/csac/about/1223_weightstudy.htm.

Francisco Javier Olvera

9-Dec

2005

KO

8

Hector Merino

19

Toluca


Mexico

Welter (Lt Welter)

Tercera victima fatal,” December 16, 2005; http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=391601; Rodolfo Rosales Salinas, “Merino ya no se levanto de la lona,” El Grafico, December 16, 2005, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/grafico/43527.html. He died December 15, 2005. Cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Mones Arapas

3-Mar

2005

TKO

3

Hendrik Bira

21

Jakarta


Indonesia

Fly (MiniFly)

http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Boxer:Hendrik_Bira:301713. It was Bira’s first pro fight. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Nobuo Nashiro

3-Apr

2005

TKO

10

Seiji Tanaka

28

Osaka


Japan

Bantam (Super Fly)

Super Flyweight boxer dies from head injuries,” Mainichi Interactive, April 16, 2005, http://www12.mainichi.co.jp/news/mdn/search-news/929894/seiji20tanaka-0-1.html; “Super flyweight boxer Tanaka dies of brain hemorrhage,” Japan Today, April 16, 2005, http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=334372. Tanaka collapsed in the dressing room after the fight. He died in hospital four days later. Cause of death was subdural hematoma.

Gabriel Sandoval (Jesus Chavez)

17-Sep

2005

TKO

11

Leavander Johnson

35

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

Light

Tim Dahlberg, “Boxer dies from brain injury sustained in title fight,” September 22, 2005, http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20050922-1902-box-fighterdies.html; “Leavander Johnson dies,” SecondsOut.com, September 22, 2005, http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=17446; Robert Morales, “DiBella copes with Johnson’s plight,” San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 22, 2005, http://www2.sgvtribune.com/sports/ci_3050046; Howard Reynolds, “Fighting the demons: Jesus Chavez returns to the ring after the death of Leavander Johnson,” January 26, 2007, http://www.ringsidereport.com/rsr/print.php?type=N&item_id=942. Johnson, who was behind on points, was hit hard in the head during both the tenth and eleventh rounds. Nonetheless, he was still standing when the fight was stopped. He began dragging his leg en route to the dressing room, so he was taken to the hospital, where surgery was done within the hour. He died five days later. Cause of death was kidney failure and subdural hematoma.

Jibril Soamole

17-Jun

2006

TKO

6

Fadly Kasim

22

Manado


Indonesia

Fly

Indonesia boxer dies in fight,”June 18, 2006, http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060618-79576.xml.html; http://blog.thesweetscience.com/2006/06/19/indonesian-boxer-dies-in-debut/. It was Fadly’s pro debut. He died in hospital the following morning.

Ryan Maraldo

18-Mar

2006

Wdec

8

Kevin Payne

34

Evansville

Indiana

USA

Welter

Steve Ford, “Boxer’s death shocking,” Evansville (Indiana) Courier Press, March 21, 2006, http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/news/article/0,1626,ECP_734_4557601,00.html; Ken Kusmer, “Boxer may have had pre-existing injury,” Evansville (Indiana) Courier Press, March 24, 2006, http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/news/article/0,1626,ECP_734_4566062,00.html. Before the fight, Payne reported headaches. However, he did not tell ringside doctors, apparently because this bout was important to his chances to appear in a televised fight scheduled for April 2006. About a minute before the end of the match, Payne began stumbling, and within minutes of being declared the winner, he was placed on a gurney and taken to the hospital. Surgery was done, but he still died the following afternoon. Cause of death was left-sided subdural hematoma.

Javier Garcia Calderon

20-Sep

2007

Draw

6

Jackson K. Bussell

28

Calabasas

California

USA

Welterweight (Lt Welter)

Professional boxer dies after bout,” Los Angeles Police Department, September 24, 2007, http://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/news_view/36436; Lance Pugmire, “Governing body to look into Bussell’s death,” Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2007; Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News, September 25, 2007. Bussell, who had boxed as an amateur in Oregon before turning pro in 2006, took the fight on short notice. He was doing well through the first five rounds. Then, during the sixth, he staggered, and almost immediately after the result was announced, he collapsed in the ring. The ambulance got him to the hospital within 17 minutes. Nonetheless, he died in hospital the following day.

Chatchai Sasakul

30-Mar

2007

KO

4

Angelito “Lito” Sisnorio

24

Bangkok


Thailand

Fly

RP boxer Sisnorio dies after getting KO’d in Bangkok,” Asian Journal Online, April 2, 2007, http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=194&a=19231; Ronnie Nathanielsz, “RP boxer dies after KO loss,” Manila Standard Today, April 2, 2007, http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports2_april2_2007; Rey Danesco, “The aftermath of Lito Sinorio’s death,” BoxingScene.com, April 2, 2007, http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=8020. The match was fought catchweight, at 116 pounds. Sasakul was a former World Boxing Council flyweight (112 pound) champion, while Sisnorio was a fighter unlicensed for overseas fight who had lost his three previous fights. (His most recent loss had come just two months earlier, by knockout.) Cause of death was severe brain injury, and there was immediate discussion in the Filipino media of an intentional mismatch on the part of the Thai promoters.

Irvan Bone

15-Mar

2007

TKO

6

Anis Dwi Mulya

27

Jakarta


Indonesia

Light (Jr Light)

Jeffrey Pamungkas, “Dwi Mulya dies after fight!” Fightnews.com, “Indonesian boxer dies after fight,” March 21, 2007; http://www.fightnews.com/boxing/bc/pamungkas100.htm; Independent Online, March 21, 2007, http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=21&art_id=nw20070321090600421C177398; “Indon boxer dies after fight,” Malaysia Star, March 22, 2007,http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2007/3/22/sports/17214734&sec=sports. The fight was televised on pay-per-view in Indonesia. During the sixth round, Mulya was visibly tired, and his trainer asked that the fight be stopped. Mulya was then taken to the hospital, where he died five days later. Two brain surgeries were done. Then his blood platelet levels dropped, perhaps due to undiagnosed dengue fever, and he died. Cause of death was therefore listed as subdural and epidural hematoma compounded by low blood-platelet levels.

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JCS Nov 2007