Tiger Flowers

Tiger Flowers
Statistics
Real name	Theodore Flowers
Nickname(s)	Georgia Deacon
Rated at	Middleweight
Nationality	USA
Born	1895-08-05 Camilla, Georgia
Died	November 16, 1927(1927-11-16) (aged 32) New York City, New York
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	161
Wins	136
Wins by KO	56
Losses	15
Draws	8
No contests	2

Theodore Flowers (born August 5, 1895 - died November 16, 1927) became the first African-American middleweight boxing champion, defeating Harry Greb in 1926. Known as "Tiger", he began boxing professionally in 1918 at the age of 23 while working at a Philadelphia shipbuilding plant. Nicknamed the "Georgia Deacon", he was a devoutly religious man who would recite a passage from Psalm 144 before every bout.

Personal Life

Theodore Flowers was married and had a daughter named Verna Lee Flowers.

Professional career

During his career, Flowers would meet many high caliber fighters, including Sam Langford, Kid Norfolk, Jamaica Kid, and Mickey Walker. In 1924, Tiger was rated the number one contender to Greb's title by Ring Magazine. Flowers earned a shot at Harry Greb after losing a questionable decision to lightheavyweight champion Mike McTigue.

On February 26, 1926, before a crowd of 16,311 at Madison Square Garden, Flowers dethroned Greb by unanimous decision, and would repeat the victory in August. Tiger's next bout came against Mickey Walker in Chicago. Flowers would dominate the bout but would lose a controversial decision in the eyes of many, which would later be investigated by the Illinois Athletic Commission, but the decision would not be overturned.

While trying to obtain a rematch with Walker, Flowers was hospitalized in November 1927 to have surgery to remove scar tissue from around his eyes. Complications from the surgery resulted in the tragic passing of Tiger Flowers on November 16, 1927, reminiscent of the surgery that caused the death of Greb the year before. He was buried in Atlanta's Lincoln Cemetery.

Flowers has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (1993) and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (1976)

References

• The Pussycat of Prizefighting: Tiger Flowers and the Politics of Black Celebrity

External links

• New Georgia Encyclopedia: Tiger Flowers (1895-1927)
• Career record at boxrec.com
• CyberBoxingZone Bio
• IBHOF Bio

Persondata
Name	Flowers, Tiger
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 5, 1895
Place of birth	Camilla, Georgia
Date of death	November 16, 1927
Place of death	New York City, New York