Journal of Combative Sport, Nov 2007

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

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

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

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