By Miles Templeton
BACK in 1912, when the Cosmopolitan Gymnasium in Plymouth was one of the most important fight venues in the UK, a young lad who boxed under the name “Rabbitts” stepped into the ring to fight his last professional contest.
Ring names like this were not unusual in the days before licencing and “Rabbitts”, along with “Black Bob”, “Jago’s Pupil” and “Duffin’s Nipper” fought there many times, although it would be very difficult today to positively identify them. Such are the joys of record-keeping, and “Rabbitts” is only partially mentioned on BoxRec. I have traced 32 contests for him from 1908 onwards, and he won only six of them. He was a bottom of the bill fighter who gave his all in six-rounders. His last bout was against a decent lad from nearby Stonehouse, and “Rabbitts” went down to an inevitable points loss.
That same night, much higher up the bill, Tom McCormick was having his second contest in the city. Originally from Dundalk, McCormick came over to England in his youth and served in the Manchester Regiment as a Private. After a decent boxing career in the army, Tom started to take things more seriously in 1912, winning all five contests before he arrived in Plymouth. After knocking out Jack Marks in one round in June 1912 on his Plymouth debut, he was matched with Battling Taylor of South Africa, over 15 rounds, on the night that “Rabbitts” bowed out.
I like to think that Tom and “Rabbitts” might have exchanged a few words in the dressing room that night. Tom was an ex-serviceman and “Rabbitts” had plans to join the Army himself.
BN editor, John Murray, opened his editorial on 19 July 1916 with the following words, “Tom McCormick was the first of our first-rank professional boxers to go out to the firing line, and now he is the first to appear on the roll of honour.” Tom had been killed during the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. His good pal, and fellow boxer, Corporal Jim Winspear, was with him when he died and he recounted the details of his final moments: “He was, of course, joking to the last. He was killed by the same shell that has put an end to my boxing days.” Tom’s body was never found, and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. He was just 26 when he died.
Tom had a great career, winning the British welterweight title in 1914 by virtue of a 20-round decision over Johnny Summers in, of all places, Rushcutters Bay Stadium in Sydney, Australia. This was the same venue that had hosted the Jack Johnson v Tommy Burns world heavyweight title bout six years before. McCormick became the first fighter to win the British title overseas and he repeated the feat in the same ring five weeks later, this time knocking out Summers, who was a great fighter, in the first round.
Five weeks later, Tom lost his title to Matt Wells of Lambeth, again in the same ring. Over the course of just 10 weeks Tom won, defended, and then lost the British title, with each contest taking place on the other side of the world.
McCormick returned to the UK later that year and fought just six more times. He re-enlisted immediately after war was declared, rejoining his old regiment, and as Murray put it, in his editorial, “Not only did he rejoin, but he also asked to be sent out to the front as soon as possible.”
In concluding his tribute to McCormick, Murray ended with the following words, “McCormick was the idol of the Plymouth boxing world, which has lost another old favourite in Private A H Wilson of the 3rd Rifle Brigade, better known in Plymouth circles as “Rabbitts”. Wilson was killed in action, but not before he had won the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his gallantry at the battle of Armentieres in October 1914.”
