BOXING CHAMPION | Tom Cribb was born the son of Thomas and Hannah Cribb on the 2nd July 1781.
He lived his early life with his three brothers and three sisters, in the village of Hanham. He left his home for the city of London when he was only thirteen years old, and for a time worked as a Bell hanger, under the guidance of a relative. This work did not suit Tom who was a strong outdoor type of lad and before too long he got a job as a porter at the wharves, unloading barges. During this time he suffered two accidents which could well have ended his life, let alone any future ideas of boxing. Luckily Tom had an
iron constitution and was soon fit again. Tom Cribb won his first public fight which was againest George Maddox at Wood Green near Highgate London on
7th Janurary 1805. The following month he beat Tom Blake to win a purse of forty guineas, quite a small fortune in those days. Hanham born Tom Cribb Became Champion of the World in the art of bare fist boxing, after defeating the American Champion Tom Molineaux who had won his freedom as a slave because of his boxing skills. In the following year a crowd of 20,000 saw him repeat his victory most decisively. After holding the Championship for nearly ten-years without receiving a challenge, he was permitted to hold the title of Champion of the World for the rest of his life. The Dictionary of National Biography says," As a professor of his art he was matchless and in his observance of fair play he was never excelled".
We can not think how he stood for a couple of hours or more trying to knock
his opponent insensible, and all in the name of sport. Cribb later ran a London Pub named the Union Arms in Picadilly. There is a very grand Memorial to him at St.Mary's Woolwhich London. At about the same time John Gully came on the scene, he was the son of an Inn
Keeper at the nearby village of Wick and was born at the Rose and Crown Public
House, which is still an Inn today. It is recorded that on one Fairday at Bath
Gully saw a fight between the Bristol Champion, a man of 18 stone, and known as Sixteen string Jack and the home Champion Known as the Flying Tinman, a man of 22 stones. In the course of 20 minutes the Flying Tinman was finished
and Sixteen string Jack challenged anyone to fight him. Young John Gully
threw his hat into the ring and amid much laughter from the crowd the fight
commenced. Within 10 minutes Gully had given Sixteen String Jack a sound
beating and the fame of the lad from Wick soon reached London particularly after he beat Henry Pearse of Hanham at Lansdown Fair Bath in the 59th round.
Emissaries arrived at Wick with offers to induce him into prize fighting but for a time all temptations were rejected. This was because his parents wished their son to follow a less aggressive pursuit. At last however they agreed and gave him permission to visit London, where his most brilliant achievement was in defeating the Giant gregson twice.His very straight-forward conduct obtained for him the patronage of the highest in the land, by whom he was introduced to the Racing ring and he became one of the most distinguished members of Tattersalls. He bought and bred race horses and honestly ran them and after obtaining much wealth became Member of Parliament for Ponfret in 1836. His horses twice won the Derby, in 1836 and in 1846. John Gully died at the age of 74, He married twice and sired 24 children,
he was sincerely missed by many people.
The images on this page relate to Tom
Cribb. His image can be found on many a pub sign in the London area.
The second image is an old print of
Tom Cribb and the American Champion
Tom Molineaux fighting for the championship of the world. The third
image is Cribbs Memorial at St.Mary's
Woolwhich London.
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