Tom Spring

Tom Spring (February 22 1795 – August 20 1851) was an English bare-knuckle fighter. He was heavyweight champion of England in 1821 until his retirement in 1824. After his retirement he became landlord of the Castle Inn at Holborn in London, where he arranged the patronage and contracts of many of the major boxing events of the period while overseeing fair play in the ring.

Early years

Spring was born at Witchend in Fownhope, Herefordshire. His true surname was "Winter" which he changed to Spring when he became a professional boxer. His first career was as a butcher the trade in which he was employed when he had his first known fight in 1812, against John Hollands. He had been encouraged to box from a young age by his father, who had constructed a sand bag for him to train with. Later his father was jailed for debt, which destroyed Spring's relationship with him. In 1814 Spring met the legendary heavyweight champion Tom Cribb who was staying nearby. Cribb was impressed by Spring's prowess, and persuaded Spring to go to London under his patronage, this was the beginning of Spring's boxing career. [ [http://www.dulwichdynamo.homechoice.co.uk/TOMSPRING.HTML Tom Spring, Famous Herefordians] ]

Boxing

Spring is considered one of the most scientific of the early English boxers, an approach which set him apart from most of his contemporaries. [ [http://www.ibhof.com/spring.htm Tom Spring IBHOF] ] Not possessing a strong punch he honed a fine defence, and a powerful left hook.

Aged 23 he twice fought the very experienced Ned Painter, winning the first bout and losing the second. His defeat of Jack Carter in 1819 earned him some notoriety, and he toured the country giving exhibition matches with the reigning English heavyweight champion Tom Cribb. Cribb on his retirement in 1821 handed over the championship title to Spring. To defend the title Spring offered to fight anyone in England. No one volunteered to challenge him until 1823, when he fought Bill Neat. Neat referred to Spring as a “lady’s maid fighter” [ [http://www.ibhof.com/spring.htm Tom Spring IBHOF] ] because of his weak punch. The fight lasted just 37 minutes, with Spring victorious after knocking Neat down in the first round and cutting him severely in the next. This victory ensured that Spring was officially recognised as the heavyweight champion of England. [ [http://www.georgianindex.net/Sport/Boxing/champ-boxers.html Heavyweight Champions of England] ]

Spring then fought two bloody fights against the Irish fighter Jack Langan. The two boxers had very different styles - Spring was light on his feet and fast, while Langan was slower and heavier. Spring was victorious on both occasions against Langan.

In 1824 Spring decided to retire from boxing, his hands, never strong and always easily damaged, were now weakened. Throughout his career Spring had managed to often avoid personal damage by his fast hits and what became known as his "Harlequin Step" this was a technique he developed of putting himself just within reach of his opponent, then avoiding the instinctive punch while simultaneously delivering one himself. [ [http://www.ibhof.com/spring.htm Tom Spring IBHOF] ]

Retirement

On his retirement he purchased the Castle Inn at Holborn, which under his management became the ersatz headquarters of English boxing, fights were arranged and contacts signed under his supervision. English boxing has been described at this time as full of "gambling related corruption" and when "disqualification and open cheating were common". [ [http://www2.umist.ac.uk/sport/SPORTS%20HISTORY/BSSH/The%20Sports%20Historian/TSH%2021-2/Art3-Anderson.htm "Pugilistic Prosecutions: Prize Fighting and The Courts in 19th Century Britain'" Jack Anderson. School of Law, University of Limerick, Ireland.] ] On 25 September 1828 an organization known as the "Fair Play Club" was formed to try and clean up boxings image and "to ensure fair play to the combatants" and "to preserve peace and order in the outer ring" [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/england/hereford_worcester/article_6.shtml Tom Spring. BBC site] ] this was in addition to the London Prize Ring rules which had been devised by Jack Broughton almost a century earlier. Spring was elected as the club's first treasurer, and was also authorised to employ officials to enforce the new rules and prevent invasions of the ring by supporters.

Spring, however, was not immune from criticism himself [ [http://www.dulwichdynamo.homechoice.co.uk/TOMSPRING.HTML Tom Spring, Famous Herefordians] ] Vast amounts of money were bet on the outcome of fights and inside knowledge could make the holder enormous sums. Spring twice arranged fights, and personally seconded the Irish heavyweight champion Simon Byrne. In 1831 he put Byrne in the ring against the heavyweight champion Jem Ward, knowing that Byrne was unfit and out of condition. Ward was known to be corrupt having once thrown a fight for £100. Spring finally pulled Byrne out of the fight in the 33rd round, allowing Ward to retire and retain his title. The boxing commentator Gilbert Odd described this fight as a "disgraceful affair". [ [http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/ward-j.htm Jem Ward, Cyberboxing] ]

On the second occasion in 1833 he seconded for Byrne. Byrne was fighting James Burke for the heavyweight title. This was the longest fight in boxing history, it was brutal and bloody, but vast sums were riding on the fight. In the 99th round Spring had to carry the barely conscious Byrne to the mark to fight. Byrne was quickly knocked unconscious and died three days later. The death finally lead to a reform in the rules governing English boxing.

In retirement Spring became very wealthy. He is known to have married and had two children. He split from his wife, and, in spite of the wealth Spring later acquired, she died destitute in the Holborn workhouse. [ [http://www.dulwichdynamo.homechoice.co.uk/TOMSPRING.HTML Tom Spring, Famous Herefordians] ] However, Spring remained well-respected for his kindness and good manners outside of the boxing ring. His reputation was in itself an achievement for a fight promoter of this era.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story, "The Lord of Falconbridge", with Spring as the protagonist.

References

ee also

*List of bare-knuckle boxers

Further reading

* "Tom Spring: Bare-Knuckle Champion of All England" by Jon Hurley (Tempus, 2005)

External links

* [http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/spring-t.htm Record of Spring's fights]