Mr. Miles Templeton writes: The great Larry Gains was disqualified from the world picture title due to widespread overt racism in the 1930s, writes Miles Templeton
BACK in 1935 the color bar was firmly fixed in British boxing and it was strictly enforced, both by the Board and certain boxers.
For example, British heavyweight champion (1931/32) Reggie Meen, when under contract boxing Canadian Larry Gains at Liverpool Stadium in 1929, withdrew from the bout saying, “I’m drawing lines color”. Either way, I doubt he’s delusional of his chances against Larry. This unfortunate situation, then rife in sport and in British society at large, meant that Larry, despite a great career beating two world heavyweight champions, never had Opportunities like men like Jack Petersen, Jack Doyle and even Reggie Meen, were taken.
Thus, someone came up with the idea of a world heavyweight championship exclusively for black boxers, and in 1935 Larry fought the American, Obie Walker, to fight for this title. No man is listed in the world’s top 10 according to The Ring, despite having a decent record. Instead, inferior white boxers like Hank Hankinson, Buck Everett and Ford Smith found themselves in the rankings.
The match took place at Welford Road, the official home ground of rugby club Leicester Tigers. Larry was a favorite at Leicester, where he was based throughout the 1930s and before that he had succeeded in a stadium competition in 1931 with Phil Scott. This contest is live on YouTube now, has sound, and it’s quite a special boxing legacy. Obie Walker wasn’t America’s greatest black boxer in 1935, that mantle clearly belonged to the great Joe Louis, who was rapidly climbing to the top. However, he is a solid fighter with victories over Tony Galento, George Godfrey and Otto Von Porat. He arrived in Great Britain earlier that year and secured a win over Australian George Cook, who beat and kept his way in the match, much to Obie’s disappointment.
Only 12,000 people attended the championship game, half the number who watched the Gains-Scott competition four years ago, and this is no doubt due to the constant rain falling throughout the day.
Gains is in fine form, having picked up three quick wins since losing, a year earlier, to Jack Petersen in a match for the British Empire title. His problem is about size, as he’s considerably smaller than Walker, and he’s managed to tie the American foot in the first place, following Cook’s approach. This meant the competition lacked suspense, and it quickly turned into a romantic and uninteresting sight.
By the second round, the crowd started muttering indignantly, and by the eighth round, they openly demanded that the two fighters kiss instead of trying to hurt each other. Some wags shouted “What do you think you’re here for” and this prompted Obie to take action. He staked the Gains with a series of hooks, but, despite hurting his men, he soon reverted to caution. When Gains’ arm was raised late on the 15th, the crowd booed. It’s impossible to know if these boos reflect their dissatisfaction with the verdict, or with the contest itself, can’t tell today, but they’re not.
On the card, young Tommy Farr made a tighter decision than Nottingham cop, George Brennan, in a tenth round. Four years later, Tommy stops the aging growth before 40,000 at Ninian Park, Cardiff.
Obie Walker stayed in the UK for a while longer to beat Don McCorkindale, Norman Baines and Maurice Strickland in competitions all away. His final bout, against future British heavyweight champion Jack London, took place at the Tigers field in Leicester, but this time only 3,000 turned to see him eliminated once. again. Then he returned to America, and the fog.
