I WAS very sorry to hear of the death
of my old friend Harry Doherty on July- He was 78. Harry was president of
Kent EBA in its last years, and a staunch
supporter of the EBA movement and
boxing generally. I’d often see him
at shows and EBA functions – not so
much recently, because he had health
problems, including having been
involved in a car crash. He was very
knowledgeable – his views on today’s
boxers were always worth listening to,
and his reminiscences of past fighters
were fascinating. And his love of the
game was paramount. He was also a
very funny man, with a new joke every
time one saw him. His son-in-law,
Paul, phoned me with the sad news,
explaining Harry had had a stroke
two days before – and then another.
“He didn’t suffer,” Paul said. I’m sure
all BN readers will join me in sending
condolences to Harry’s wife, Vivienne
(who often accompanied him to EBA
functions), and all his family and friends.
He will certainly be very much missed.
A minute’s silence was held at July’s
London EBA meeting for members and
other fight people who had passed on,
and Stephen Powell paid tribute to them
in his President’s Report. He described
Ernie Hatton (aged 90) as a lovely man
and a staunch LEBA member, even after
moving to Norfolk. Bob Draper, too, was
a good member and supporter. He said
Isola Akay did a lot for the local youth,
and helped many young offenders go
straight. He spoke of Connor Law’s tragic
suicide at just 26 – a good amateur,
unbeaten as a pro, and seemingly with
a good future. He said Jack Lindsay had
been a fine trainer who had workedwith several champions, including Billy
Schwer, and reminded the meeting that
Wille “The Worm” Monroe was the only
man to have beaten Marvin Hagler
without controversy.
I’m continually stressing how
important it is that EBAs show they
support today’s scene. There are several
ways they can do this. The Scottish EBA
have instituted a Scottish Boxer of the
Year award, and this year’s winner is Josh
Taylor, who is currently 15-0 and last
time out won the IBF super-lightweight
title with an emphatic win over the
previously unbeaten Ivan Baranchyk.
So, well done Josh – and well done SEBA
for setting up the award. Josh will be
presented with the trophy at a future
SEBA meeting.
In a similar vein, I heard from Ipswich
EBA Secretary Erik Roper, as follows:44 lBOXING NEWSlJULY 25, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.netYESTERDAY’S HEROES
Simon
Euan-Smith
simonoldtimers
@googlemail.com
EBA
correspondentR.I.P. HARRY DOHERTY
Paying tribute to
an EBA stalwart
who has sadly
passed away
saw, writing: “It has not been my pleasure
to witness such rattling good sport on a
Sunday for many years. The Judeans have
a mission to perform, and whilst they
have as yet no world-beaters, the time is
not far off when a JS and AC member will
give to the boxing world a representative
champion.”
However, our writer found the raucous
atmosphere less to his liking: “The noise –
oh ye Gods! You could not hear yourself
shout, and when you get a dense crowd
all shouting, it is – well, it’s
awful! We would impress
upon the good boys
of the Judean Club to
maintain silence, if not all
the time, at least during
the boxing. Howling and
bawling to your pal in the
ring does not help him.
The poor fellow in the
ring, even if he is carrying
your money, has got but two hands.”
It was a rough and ready place,
with no doctor present and no Board
of Control to impose safety rules.
In fact, that very afternoon, as BN’s
correspondent stood enduring the noise,
he saw one young fighter crash through
the ropes and out of the ring, shattering
a tumbler on the referee’s table. A large
shard of glass pierced the lad’s shoulder,
leaving him with a huge gash that
required hospital treatment.Our reporter blamed the slackness
of the ropes and said the ring – which
presumably had only two ropes – ought
to have three. The club secretary, Sam
Kite, assured him this would be in place
in time for their next show.
With the club’s small capacity and
cheap entrance fees, the fighters’ purses
were ludicrously low. When Kid Lewis
made his debut there, he received just
sixpence (2.5p) and a cup of tea! But
it seems some boxers found a way to
augment their paltry purses.
In 1910, the later famous Moss
Deyong started his refereeing career at
the Judean. “We can’t get the boxers to
fight straight!” the Stitcher brothers told
him. Sure enough, in his first afternoon
refereeing there, Deyong found four
fighters “who endeavoured to terminate
proceedings according to their own
private arrangements”, one of whom
repeatedly tried to quit with a feigned
arm injury, which Moss refused to accept.
According to his autobiography, Deyong
soon straightened things out.
As well as Lewis, other top boxers who
graduated from the Judean included
Young Joseph, Sid Burns, Young Cohen,
Jack Greenstock and the Brooks brothers:
Joe, Nat and Harry. In 1914, the club
closed as 80 per cent of its members
were serving in the Great War. It never
reopened – the building was wiped out
by a Zeppelin bomb.OR a generation
of young Jewish
males in London’s
East End – the sons
of impoverished
immigrants from
Russia or Poland –
boxing was a possible way to break free
from the slums. Ted Kid Lewis, who won
world welterweight honours, was the
most successful Jewish-English boxer and
arguably Britain’s greatest fighter ever.
But where did Lewis and
other East End Jews of his
time learn their trade?
The Judean Social and
Athletic Club was where
it all started for Lewis
and many other Jewish
fighters. Part boxing hall,
part gym, part social club,
it was founded in 1902 by
brothers Dave and Barney
Stitcher to encourage Jewish youngsters
to participate in sport. It was best known,
though, for its Sunday afternoon fight
shows.
The club was at 54 Princes Square, off
Cable Street, in a loft high above a stable
and reached via a ladder. Hundreds of
spectators would crowd the place to
near-suffocation, many of them there to
place bets.
Boxing News first visited the club in
1909, and our reporter liked what heTHE JUDEAN CLUB
Despite its
ramshackle
state, the
Judean Club
was a nursery
for Jewish
East End
fistic talent
F
‘THE NOISE –
OH YE GODS!
YOU COULD
NOT HEAR
YOURSELF’
Alex
Daley
@thealexdaley
Historian
& author