The Great Depression had just begun to make its impact when he first saw the light of day…….
His was what you’d succinctly describe as a difficult upbringing……Having already lost his mum, and living with an alcoholic father, he was stricken with Rheumatic fever at the age of 11, and remained bedridden for 12 months.
To be told that he may never walk again was a devastating prognosis, but fortunately, he came under the care of a warm-hearted old boxer, who guided him on a program of massage and careful diet……
He began to thrive on the exercises in the gym; soon he began to gradually regain the use of his legs………And, inspired by his carer, developed a fascination for ‘The Noble Art’……..
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At 15, having convinced the ring doctor that he had reached the legal boxing age of 17, he won his first professional bout – against a well-performed 23 year-old…….He was rather slow on his feet, but compensated for this by being lightning-quick with his hands…..It was a convincing win, as he sent his opponent to the canvas in each of the four rounds.
By the age of 20 he had compiled 31 straight victories, before losing his first fight, to an experienced European craftsman……
Hardly deterred by the loss, he reversed the result three months later, then fought for – and won – the NSW featherweight title…..
He continued to rack up wins over all of the highly-ranked boxers throughout Australia…….The next step was a tilt at the National title, held by an erstwhile punching machine.
They met in a non-title bout at Sydney Stadium, with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees.
The champ was highly-acclaimed, and considered a supreme test for the youngster…….Despite feeling unwell before the bout, because of medical treatment he’d received for a burn infection, he was equal to anything that his classy opponent could throw at him, and prevailed in a classic 12-rounder.
The crowd of 6,000 at the Sydney Stadium roared their approval, as they now recognised that the ‘underdog’ was a boxer of the highest calibre.
The re-match, with the National crown on the line, was set for March 1954….. But three weeks prior to the keenly-awaited contest, misfortune again struck the plucky challenger……..
He was knocked off his motor-bike…..Gangrene set in…….Amputation of the leg was suggested, but again, he rehabilitated himself…..…For the second time in his life he was told that he wouldn’t be able to walk without the use of a cane……..
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With typical determination he again set out to prove the doctors wrong……From their prediction of becoming a cripple, he progressed to shuffling along with a pronounced limp….then walking…
Six years later, in 1960, he was back in the ring……
He credited his comeback to constant skipping…..It enabled him to advance to running, covering at least five miles every morning.
He resumed his career in New Zealand, where he outpointed the New Zealand Lightweight champion.
Returning to Australia, his ambition was to fight for the Australian title that had so cruelly eluded him…….He considered himself a worthy contender to hold his own against the reigning Lightweight champ, George Bracken.
But in the meantime he contracted a bout of hepatitis, which took 12 months to shake off…….He decided to work on a sheep station in North Queensland, combining fresh surroundings with a stringent training regimen which, he hoped would lead to that title-bid.
Bad luck again intervened when he was involved in another motor-vehicle accident which resulted in serious head injuries…..
This time he accepted the inevitable, and decided to hang up the gloves……After 60 wins in 61 professional bouts, the career of one of Australia’s finest, but most ill-fated boxers had drawn to a close…..
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His life, post boxing, fell into a spiral of drinking and gambling……It seemed that he was heading down the road to nowhere……He became a fixture at race meetings and got involved with elements of Sydney’s underworld……
The day his life dramatically altered came as he was sitting in a city coffee lounge perusing the Form Guide……..Lured by the sound of a brassy Salvation Army Band, he wandered outside and caught the eye of a young girl who was standing in their midst.
Memories flooded back to his childhood days when the ‘Salvo’s’ would bring his hopelessly drunk dad home because he was incapable of making it on his own…….or provide parcels of food and clothing for the family at Christmas.
He ultimately fell in love with Judy, the young, uniformed member of the Band, and, in time, became an ordained minister of the Salvation Army.
On their visits to the City Jail, where they regularly provided services to the inmates, Judy joked that he seemed to know more people inside the Jail than he did on the outside.
Both now Army Captains, the pair opened a Caring and Sharing Mission in the north of Sydney, to aid people with drug and alcohol addictions and behavioural problems …..
He was awarded an OAM in recognition of this work……
His popularly-received induction into Australia’s Boxing Hall of Fame, where he is listed alongside legends such as Les Darcy, Jeff Fenech, Lionel Rose, Jimmy Carruthers, ‘Fammo’, and his contemporary, George Bracken, is reward for a man who continued to defy the odds………
ON REFLECTION 