William E. Van Wyck

Jeremiah Gurney took this photo of boxer William E. Van Wyck in 1866.

It is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

 

Celebrity Day, Part 2 - Hairy Boxers

Part two of our celebrity series features hirsute boxers, starting with Jim Jeffries.  He famously was called "The Great White Hope" when he fought (and lost to) Jack Johnson in 1910.

Below we see him as World Champion, 1899-1905.

 

 

Bobo Olson

Honolulu born Carl "Bobo" Olson was sometimes called the Hawaiian Swede due 

to his mixed ethnic background.  Better known for his stamina than his skill,

 he had a fairly successful career as a middleweight.

 

Paul Sykes

Sometimes celebrities are infamous rather than famous.  This is Paul Sykes, an English boxer 

whose success at boxing and weightlifting was overshadowed by his criminal history.  Never 

able to handle alcohol or stay away from it, he engaged in a string of violent crimes that 

kept him imprisoned for 21 years.  While in prison, he routinely assaulted guards and other 

personnel.  He fathered six children, two of whom are currently serving life sentences 

for murder, just about the only violent crime Paul Sykes was never convicted of.  

He was a regular attendee at the Baptist Church in Wakefield, but it didn't seem 

to help much.  He died of pneumonia aggravated by cirrhosis of the liver at age 60.

Charles Bronson called him the toughest guy in Britain.

 

Ingemar Johansson

Here we see Swedish great Ingemar Johansson emerging from a pool.

 

Scott LeDoux

Closing part two with a 1983 shot of Scott LeDoux being weighed in for a match with Frank Bruno which turned out to be the last of his career.  Gotta love the colored BVDs.

 

Boxers

Indoor FKK photos are rather rare, it being a mainly outdoor focused organization,

but my usually impeccable source says these boxers are FKK.

 

Sailor

This unknown AMG sailor is said to date from 1964.

 

Unlaced gloves

Whoever staged this one didn't even bother to lace up the gloves.

 

John Apache

Bob Mizer of AMG took this shot of John Apache in 1974, and I just realized

 that those might not be boxing gloves.  What do y'all think?

Either way, he looks like he would hit somebody.

 

Unknown X 2

I know neither the models' nor the photographer's name

for this realistally staged picature.

 

Ray and Joe

Our last boxing shot features Joe Cook at right and Ray Cox at left.  

At least that's what I think the handwriting below each says.

And I haven't forgotten Halloween.  Scroll down.

 

Boxers

These two boxers and what I presume to be their trainers are in an intersting pose.

 

Nitzschke and Stubnick

According to Google, these two are German boxers Nitzschke and Stubnick.

 

Primo Carnera

This is Primo Carnera, a champion boxer and wrester who also appeared in movies.  

At 6'6" and 270 pounds, he was a giant, and he posed for Elio Luxardo in 1933.

 

Don and Roland

These two turned out to be 1954 boxers Don Cockell and Roland LaStarza at a weigh-in.

 

Boxers

The man at center is California rancher Harry Rowell, and he is shown 

with some unnamed boxers he sponsored around 1930.

 

John L.

Couldn't do a Sullivan hunk set without one of the last bare knuckles boxers. John L.

 

Boxers

The boxing motif shows up several times in Von Gloeden's work,

and this is one of my favorites.

 

Boxing Day

I know that Boxing Day has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, but I'm doing this schtick anyway, starting with two guys who are nove very convincing, but may appeal to some of you.