Bare knuckle fighters

Mendoza 1797
Dai "St. John" (1871-99)
Twm Maeslwnc"
Wil Rhobert Fawr."1900s
Dic Shon Shams
Sam Thomas,
George Henry Hanson,(Sketty George),1880/90s
John (Jack ) Jones 1914s
Dai Jenkin Jones
Rees Jones
Ivor Jones
David Leyshon
Eddie Harris, 1920s
Vic Farrier
John Jones "Shoni Sgubor Fawr of Penderyn
Richard Owen
Kid Jacobs
Dick Landeg

Boxers such as Jimmy Driscoll were schooled in the booths of Welsh fairgrounds, Randolph Turpin, Jimmy Wilde, Freddie Mills, and Len Johnson, Tommy Farr.

Ex collier having worked in the Powell Dyffryn collieries in South Wales, emigrated to Pennsylvania USA to seek his fortune. Conditions on both sides of the water were bad when working below ground, and he soon felt he would have been better staying in his home town. However, having boxed as an amateur in Wales and again as a booth fighter, he had then turned professional and had beaten some of the best lightweights in Europe. It was during a period of homesickness that he discovered a boxing gymnasium, and he was soon back in training. Showing his enterprising ringwork, Landleg was spotted by a matchmaker looking for contestants for the supporting programme of a Championship bout Sep. 30,1927 between Tiger Flowers (Middleweight) and Pete Latzo (Welterweight) at Wilkes-Barre,Pa. Flowers won in the tenth round. Landeg’s opponent was a Welsh-American called Sid Thomas, a tough fighter with a winning reputation. Landeg got the decision after a solid performance in the second round, winning himself many admirers while doing so. Landeg’s supporters from Edwardsville set up a gym for his own personal use and furnished it with training equipment. The Wilkes Barre Times carried stories of his many fights and he continued his fight career in many American states. He headlined numerous programmes and fought on three World Championship cards, as a Lightweight and a Welterweight, chalking up an enviable record. Sayings such as,“he throws punches faster than machine-gunners in a Chicago gangland gunfight” were banded about. Arthur Adams of Toronto stated that with better management Landey could have won a World Championship title. Though Landeg won many laurels in the ring, he claimed the proudest moment was receiving the medal of the British Humane Society for rescuing a young girl from the path of an oncoming train at Cwmafon and saving her life. In his retirement he kept his good sense of humour, and worked for several city banks while being married to his wife Gladys who was from Merthyr Tydfil. Dick Landeg “The Welsh Terror” also known as the “Veritable Hornets Nest” will be remembered for his professionalism in and out of the ring.

Acknowledgements to Jack Morgan of the American/Welsh newspaper that this shortened version of Richard Lanlegs story was taken from, also to Bruce Landeg in Cleveland grandson of Richard Jones Landeg, who is the brother of Dick Landeg. Also thanks to Steve Landeg grandson of William Landeg, Dick’s brother. William was also quite a useful fighter as an amateur before WW1 and as a pro in the following years.

Greetings from the Land o' the Maple Leaf!

Cannot tell you anything about Dai [note spelling] Dower except he was a Welshman and circa 1955 I had his photo fastened inside the lid of my desk at the Convent School I attended!! Surprised I got away with it! I thought he was 'a bit of alright', anyway! He and Danny Purchis - the singing gypsy with the golden earring! [I lived in North Wales before emigrating to Canada in 1962].

My grandfather's claim to fame (Ivor Thomas) was that he allowed himself to be defeated by Jim Driscoll in 1905. His brother Sam was a prizefighter - quite a small man in his photographs. He died in Ynyshir in 1937 .

Interested in the bare-knuckle boxing. I have always been told that my grandfather took part in barefisted boxing when he was young. This would have been late 1880s/early1890s, on the mountains above Glyncorrwg and the Rhondda. His name was George Henry Hanson and he fought under the name of "Sketty George" and he was a collier all his working life. Fortunately for him, he was converted by the Methodists, gave up the boxing, and was a staunch chapelgoing man from then on.

I had a great grandfather and uncle- Eddie Harris- who was the 1929 Flyweight Boxing Champion. They lived in Blaenllechau/ Ferndale, Glamorgan.

My Great Great Uncles all took part in this sort of fight, before 1914. As I understand it, they received 5s a win in the early 1900s. They went to the Rhonda to fight on occassion. though they were all from Port Talbot - John (Jack) Jenkin Jones, Dai Jenkin Jones, Rees Jones. They were tin workers,though, not colliers. They continued to enter more organised competitions after they joined the army in 1914 and I have a picture of Dai, in his army uniform, with some of his boxing trophies.

About a year ago I heard from someone else via the Glam list about a Rhondda boxing ancestor who had gone down with the Titanic.

On the subject of bare knuckle fighting - i have a postcard of a bareknuckle fighter and his trainer signed "yours truly kid jacobs, trainer young hall. Although no script on it i am trying to establish where they might have been from. sometimes pick up postcards and would love to reunite some with their rightful families - any ideas who these two are?

eirlys

The day he was 'called up' for National Service, my first husband was on the TV news because they joined up on the same day. The TV crew had the men collecting their self service dinners at the canteen over and over again until it was thought the cameras had it right. There was a lot of excitement in our street that night because a boy from the street had been on the TV News. I was only 14 at the time, so it was years before I was to become known to my first husband, he was 20 at the time.

Many years later, when my daughter was about 25 there was a documentary about Dai Dower on the television and they showed the newsclip of the canteen scenario. She was quite overcome at seeing her father 'live' and at five years her junior. She sent to the BBC who kindly sent her a copy of the clip of her father on video.

Another little snippet of personal interest to me. I was in school with a
great niece of Jimmy Wilde who hailed from Tylorstown in the Rhondda Valley.

I know very little about bare knuckle fighting and thought these fights usually took place on the mountain tops, out of the way of the law. I personally know a couple of boxers from the 1940's. One is Ivor Jones from Treherbert and his deceased brother Len Jones. Another is David Leyshon who lives in Kenfig Hill near Porthcawl or Bridgend. I don't know their fighting names though.

My husbands ancestor, William J Sedgmore, a miner, went on the road as a travelling showman, although we have no idea what he actually did. Bare knuckle fighting was something we hadn't considered.

Jane Salisbury

In the late 1950s/early 60s Dai Dower and his wife had a holiday caravan at Fontygary Bay Caravan Park. I didn't know them well, but he seemed a nice little chap. Quite shy!!

Also, my father was a friend of Jimmy Wilde - he used to meet him at the Judge's Hall fights in Tonypandy (maybe 50 years ago), and one night proudly brought home his autograph for me!! (I always was a tomboy!!) I have recently been in touch via e-mail, with a relative of his - David Wilde - who has been trying to find out more about Jimmy Wilde.

My husband has just informed me that he once worked in the coalmines with a mountain fighter. He can't remember his surname, but his nickname was Vic Farrier. The Farrier name comes from the fact he worked with horses in the pit. If I get any further information, I will let you know.

Two men from this area have just brought out another photograph book of the Upper Rhondda i.e. Treherbert, Blaencwm and Blaenrhondda and it features Len Jones the boxer in one of his poses. His brother Ivor still has one of posters advertising one of the boxing matches in which he features. I think the date is 1948, but I can find out for definate, if you are interested.the date

This from "Old Aberdare" Vol 7:
(Talking about entertainment at a fair)
"Additionally, there were various, more or less nefarious, masculine diversions for the more athletic and sporting, such as hare-coursing, squirrel hunting, prize-fighting, wrestling, ballplaying, cock-fighting, dicing and footracing, noteable exponents of which were Griffith Morgan (Guto Nythbran) and Thomas Llewellyn of Penderyn.

There were a number of renowned prize-fighters in the district including the notorious John Jones, "Shoni Sgubor Fawr" of Penderyn, famed pugilist, and one time "Emperor" of Merthyr's notorious red light district known as China."

Pam
in New Zealand

According to my grandmother, her father Richard OWEN from Trehafod used to
fight like this.

Old Neath in Pictures-Vol
1 has a picture of - Dai "St. John" (1871-99) of Resolfen, the last of the bare-knuckle mountain fighters?
He is stripped to the waist , arms folded, and I would not like to meet him on a dark night. A book I have on the Vale of Neath mentions : the celebrated prize-fighter Mendoza to give an exhibition of his skill in Neath in 1797; also " that for the first half of the 19th Century, the notablefighting men of the upper vale of Neath were "Twm Maeslwnc" and "Wil Rhobert Fawr." Dic Shon Shams, who kept an inn at Neath was the champion of a later age.
On the subject of Dai Dower, I think he was from Abercynon and after retiring from boxing used to turn out for the Abercynon rugby side. That`s the story as told by one of my contemporaries who used to say " I looked up and I was marking Dai Dower on the wing"; the story grew as the night went on,

Brian Wagstaffe
Tonna, Neath
Images of Old Neath Churches and other information at:
http://websites.ntl.com/~g.brian.wagstaffe/index.html
Genealogy at : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~waggy

I would like to thank all the listers for the help they have given to construct this page.