Many of these great fights involving gypsies are described in more detail in the main text.
Prince Boswell v George Taylor
Boswell was the first Romany fighter that we know of and was supremely talented. He fought Taylor, a leading English pugilist, several times, winning at least once.
William Hooper, the Tinman v Will Wood, June 1795
The experienced Wood held his own at first but Hooper won after fifty minutes of hard battling.
George Cooper v Dan Donnelly, The Curragh, Ireland, 1815
Cooper and Hooper were both believed to have gypsy blood. Neither was a champion but both were top men of their day and Cooper gave Irish champion Donnelly a famous fight.
Jem Mace v Farden Smith, 1850s
Recorded by Mace in his book Fifty Years A Fighter. Mace went on to win the heavyweight championship of the world. Of course, he always denied being of gypsy blood.
Bartley Gorman I v Jack Ward, Donnybrook Fair, Dublin, 1854
My great-grandfather was not known as a fighter until he bested Ward, the notorious King of the Tinkers.
Pooley Mace v Louis Gray. King’s Lynn, Norfolk, 1862
Pooley, Jem Mace’s cousin, was a half-bred gypsy while Louis was a Romany from the Norwich area. Gray drew first blood but took terrible punishment to the face and by the seventeenth round was semi-conscious and unable to continue.
Jem Mace v Bartley Gorman I, Dublin, 1864
An impromptu challenge in a Dublin saloon led to a cobblestone bout between these two great knuckle men. It was broken up by the garda.
Bartley Gorman I v Caleb Wenman, Black Patch, Birmingham
One of the most brutal of all fights, it resulted in Wenman losing an arm and my great-grandfather having to wear a collar around his neck for three months.
Bartley Gorman II v Chasy ‘Blackbird’ Price, Wales
My grandfather beat the gigantic young Price in quick time but said that he would not have fancied fighting him years later, when Price had grown so big he could dangle Bartley II on his knee.
Bartley Gorman II v Matt Carroll, Dublin
A fight which took place at the harbourside saw Bartley II vanquish Carroll after a very close fight and also knock out his sister!
‘Strong’ John Small v Edmond Penfold, Exeter
Both were unbeaten when they met and Small prevailed after a heroic tussle. John Small never lost a fight. He was the only man ever to beat Penfold and also beat the brothers Tom and Jimmy Duckett and several members of the James family. He was a Devon man and fought Tom Duckett twice. After beating him on Duckett’s home ground, he said, ‘I can cor [fight] just as good in Bristol as I can in Devon.’
Reilly Smith v Charlie Bacon, Six Hills, Leics, c1936
Smith was a heavyweight boxer while Bacon was a young bull. They fought twice after the Bacon family had a dispute with the Elliots, who were relatives of Reilly Smith. Bacon apparently won the first one in a big upset at Cambridge Fair but Smith beat him at Six Hills and it was left at that.
Crooked-necked Robin Winters v Tommy Woodward
Winters – also known as Wry-necked Robin because he had one shoulder higher than the other – and Woodward (pronounced Wothard) had one of the great fights of the mid-1930s. Woodward once jumped in the ring at a big police boxing tournament in Liverpool and said, ‘Bring out your best heavyweight policeman and donate what I win to your nearest charity.’ But they wouldn’t let him fight. They were true sporting men in those days.
Johnny Winters v Whiteface Tommy Allen, Walsall and Doncaster
Two great fighters from the Midlands. They fought twice and Winters, the bigger man, won both times.
Sam Price v Johnny Winters
They fought twice and Price won at least one of them. They say he was the best Welshman ever. He must have been good if he beat Winters, who never took a backward step. Winters was still alive at the time of writing but Price died a few years ago. Top modern fighters like Henry Francis and Dan Rooney were at his funeral.
Little Tommy Lee v Charlie Whitehead, Manchester
The Lees could fight. There were three brothers: Jack, Saley and Little Tommy. Charlie Whitehead was said to be the best man in Manchester when they fought. Tommy fell and broke his ankle and Whitehead said, ‘Let’s call it a day.’ Lee said, ‘Prop me up against this wall,’ so they did. Whitehead came at him and Lee sparked him out.
‘Atom Bomb’ Tom Lee v Oathy Burton, Manchester
Said to have taken place in a bomb crater. There were no witnesses but Burton, older brother of the famous Hughie said that after a brutal fight, Lee hit him with a half-brick.
Tom Lee v Joe Stretton, Rugby, Warks
They fought in a bull-ring at a cattle market. It was a good fight but the Atom Bomb was too powerful for Stretton, whose son Ginger is a friend of mine.
Black Bob Evans v Billy Rogerson, Wrexham Horse Fair
A hell of a fight until one of the Evanses hit Rogerson on the sly and everyone piled in. The Rogersons were Nantwich travellers and Billy was the best man in Cheshire and Shropshire, while Black Bob was the best man in Wales. Blondie Bill Evans, Black Bob’s brother, was the best man in Anglesey.
Tom Brazil v Jimmy Frankham
Said to be one of the great fights. Jimmy was the father of Johnny Frankham, who became British light-heavyweight boxing champion. The Brazils are a well-known gypsy breed: my uncle Ticker once beat one of their best men.
‘Big Chuck’ Caley Botton v Willie Biddle, Coventry, 1950s
Caley made his name when he beat Biddle, who was a showman and one of the best men of his day, at the annual Pot Fair.
Caley Botton v Wisdom Smith, Stratford-on-Avon, 1950s
According to Caley, he and Smith fell out over a family dispute. Smith was a millionaire but also a respected fighter.
Barney Docherty v Big James Friel, Donegal, Ireland 1950s
A classic fight between two of the toughest men in Ireland. Barney won and later set off to England for a death match with Hughie Burton but died in mysterious circumstances on a train. His son Simon was a top fighter.
Uriah Burton v Big Jim Nielson, St Boswell’s Fair, Scotland, c 1960
Burton won the title ‘King of the Gypsies’ in controversial circumstances. Those who were present say he forced Nielson to give best by throwing him to the ground and biting off one of his nipples.
Uriah Burton v Big Tom Roberts, Epsom Derby
Roberts was a boxer and a giant man but Burton was too savage for him.
Bartley Gorman V v Jack Fletcher, Hollington Quarry, 1972
After Hughie Burton failed to meet me the previous year at Doncaster races, I fought and beat Fletcher for Burton’s crown.
John-John Stanley v Boxer Tom, Watford, 1972
Two of the best men when I was in my prime, though I fought neither of them. Their battle was a marathon affair and said to be one of the greatest ever. They remain good friends and can still look after themselves today.
Bob Gaskin v Simon Docherty, Appleby, 1976
Gaskin and Docherty fought three times, with Simon winning two of them. When they fought at Appleby, Simon also took on and beat Gaskin’s brother Kevin.
Bartley Gorman V v Bob Gaskin, Doncaster Races, 1976
The most infamous mob attack among all travellers, it became known as the Massacre on St Leger day.
Bartley Gorman V v Mexicana Webb, Coventry, 1980
An impromptu challenge in a pub, I dislocated my shoulder in this fight but still won.
Dan Rooney v Joe ‘the Hulk’ Joyce
Joyce had beaten Anthony Donnelly in Ireland to claim the title King of the Travellers. He was a big man, well built, and got his nickname when he crunched five or six lads at a wedding in London and the police had to powerhose him. All these people were shouting, ‘He’s the Incredible Hulk!’ He was no fancy dan but he would get in and hit you and that was all he needed. Big Dan was the up-and-coming man when they fought and won when Joyce broke his ankle.
Ernie McGinley v Henry Francis, Yorks, c1982
McGinley was given a £5,000 horse to challenge Francis. Henry was sitting on the steps of his trailer picking his toes when McGinley showed up to challenge him.
Dan Rooney v Ernie McGinley, Crossmaglen, Ireland, 1991
For the Championship of All-Ireland. This was the first gypsy classic to ever be recorded on video. It was stopped when the crowd became too unruly and both men claimed victory but it is generally accepted that Rooney was having the better of it.
Bartley Gorman V v John Rooney, Hinckley, Leics, 1991
My victory over John, younger brother of Big Dan, is commemorated by a famous wood-carving in the Grapes public house at Appleby.
Bartley Gorman V v Henry Francis, Notts, June 1995
My last epic fight and yet another spur of the moment encounter, again after a funeral.
Jimmy McDonagh v Paddy ‘The Lurch’ Joyce, Drogheda, Ireland, Nov 1997
Another fight recorded on video. It was not a great one but McDonagh is a top man now.