The Old Tin Shed - Sydney Stadium

Joe Frazier

Although this blog is supposed to focus on boxing at the old Sydney Stadium, I was deeply saddened to hear that Joe Frazier has been diagnosed with liver cancer.

I have many fond memories of 'Smokin' Joe". As a fifteen year old, the lead up to his first fight with Ali, was as exciting as Christmas, as I counted off the days to the fight.

I have never been very good at drawing or art, but Joe fascinated me and I tried to capture with a charcoal drawing, the Joe that I saw in my mind. I spent weeks working on and perfecting that drawing. It did actually receive praise from the school art teacher, then I went back to my normal pictures of matchstick men!

I have included a link to this clip from 'Carmen Jones." I fell in love with the movie when I first saw it as a toddler and Joe always reminded me of Husky Miller. I sincerely hope that Joe, who never took a backward step in the ring, will "stand up and fight." Sure, we will all hear the final bell one day, but till then - stand up and fight like hell.

Stand Up And Fight - Carmen Jones

Update:

Today brought the sad news that Joe Frazier passed away. Thanks for the memories Joe, you were one of the breed of boxers that has not been seen since. I would often lie wake with a transistor radio hidden the blankets waiting for the results of your fights - especially your first fight against Ali.

You may have been responsible for my being late for school many times, but it was worth it. What you taught me about courage and never giving up, was worth more than any teacher could ever teach.

R.I.P. Joe, a class act in and out of the ring.

Herb McCoy - cheeky little ball of muscle

Herb McCoy was a great lightweight champion who fought and beat some of the world's best. Below is an "electronic" translation of an old newspaper clipping I have. Sadly much of the clipping is barely readable.

The article is from the Adelaide Mail, dated May 15, 1937 and is written by Sam Gray, one of the great names of Australian boxing

****

Fifty years' active participation in the sport of boxing as fighter, instructor, promoter, manager, and second, with scarcely a day in that span passing without donning the gloves, is the record of Sam Gray, who claims it as a world's record. An ex-champion featherweight, he is one of the few fighting men who have been able to impart his knowledge to pupils, and many of his boys have won fistic honors, while he himself has been one of the mainstays of the sport through its years of depression and riches. It was Sam Gray who launched 'Kid' McCoy, former lightweight champion of Australia, on the road to fame and fortune. He piloted the destinies of McCoy from his first fight up to his last ring appearance 13 years later. McCoy met the world's best, and his 103 fights include some of the most stirring battles seen in Australia.

BOXING has enjoyed many bursts of popularity in Australia in the last half -century,but none to equal the boom that began about 1908, and; fizzled out during the years when the world was at war. Jack Johnson, Sam McVea, and Sam Langford came to these shores, chasing the golden rainbow of boxing, and Tommy Burns. Burns and Johnson focused the eyes of the world on Australia when they fought for the world's heavyweight title at Sydney. Men of smaller stature had to play a part in keeping a fight-crazed public interested, and Billy Papke, Jimmy Clabby, Eddie McGoorty, and a host of other middleweights invaded the Commonwealth to find the weight of the late Les Darcy's punch. But the Stadium coffers bulged through the agency of the galaxy of world-famed lightweights, who in that decade clashed in a series of clever, fierce, and inspiring battles. They came from America, England, France, Holland, and Africa, and all had to meet the Stadium drawcard, McCoy, before they won the approbation or disapproval of the fight fans of the Commonwealth. Win, lose, or draw, all knew they had been fighting before getting through an engagement with the per fectly moulded fighting machine that was McCoy. Had Meteoric Rise So meteoric was McCoy's rise to the highest rung of the fistic ladder that the story of his entry into the ranks of professional pugilists is worth telling.

In June, 1908, a bright-faced, stocky little fellow came to me and told me that he wanted to take boxing lessons. I asked his age, and when he told me he was 15 I said,' 'You're too small, sonny; come and see me in a year's time" I never gave the youngster another thought until he turned up 12 months later. Opening- a book, he said, 'Here I am, Mr. Gray, the 12 months are up today; I've got the date marked here.' What could I do, but take him? When I asked hirn his name, he told me it was Herb Wilson, but he stipulated there and then that when he fought it would be under the name of 'Kid McCoy.' The world-famous fighter of that name was a hero in the eyes of the bright, strong little fellow who marked me down as the man to put him in the game- of hard knocks. First let me say that the pupil must be made of the right stuff if he wants to get anywhere in the sport of boxing — amateur or professional. He must have confidence in himself, and above all, confidence in his manager-trainer, together with a respect for him. A boxer without a pal and adviser in his corner is like a rudderless ship. Many fights have been won and lost by the man behind the fighter.

I'll Do the Fighting, You Do the Thinking'

McCoy was the perfect pupil. 'I'll do the fighting, and you' do the thinking,' he said to me more than once.

I became attached to him as though he were my son, and I saw unlimited possibilities in him. Quick to learn, eager to train, and a nipper with stamina out of the ordinary, I was afraid at first that he would overtax his strength, but he proved to be made of the stuff of which champions are' made. I knew in the first three months be was in my care that he was a coming Australian, if not world's, champion lightweight. Within eight months of the day he came to me, he had three victories ? points decisions over Bull Williams, Soldier Rogers, and Tommy Jones, and a glorious defeat at the hands of Frank Thorn, a champion who at different times held the feather, light, and welter championships of Australia. Fight promoters realised the merit of the performance for a lad 16 years old, and Frank Thorn told me that I had the best boy he had ever seen. Frank was sincere, too, and when McCoy defeated him three times the following year. Thorn generously shook hands and told me that my kid was too vigorous and clever.

Close Contest With Hock Keys

When only a lad of 17, I had no alternative but to allow McCoy to go into the ring against Hock Keys, one of the really clever men we have seen in this country. Hock won a close decision at the end of 20 torrid rounds. The hallmark of boxing was now stamped on McCoy. He was in the forefront of Australian lightweights, and the day was near at hand when Hughie Mehegan would have to guard his lightweight crown. - Still, there were tons of fighting for both of them, and I was not in a desperate hurry to pit my charge against Mehegan, who was a hard man to get a decision over. , McCoy resisted invasions from West Australians in Alf Morey and Dick: Cullen in 1912, and then strung together four knock-outs at the expense! of Frank O'Grady, Rod Standon, Les! Gleeson, and Alf. Goodwin. He then had to meet the Frenchmen, Paul Til and Jean Poesy. I told him not to take risks with either of them, as we did not know much about overseas form/

Paul Til could not go any further than nine rounds, while his compatriot went 15 rounds before crying enough. In between those two triumphs, McCoy had two fights with Hock Keys, one ending in a draw, and the other going to McCoy after 20 rounds. As one of those fights was an epic of Australian boxing, I will deal with it in a later story.

In this story, the first of a series by Sam Gray, who has been associated with boxing for 50 years, he tells many untold and behind the scenes tales of the fight business, also some of the thrilling experiences he had with the 'apple of his eye,' Kid McCoy. Gray's eyes sparkle with pride when he speaks of his protege. 'McCoy was the greatest lightweight since Griffo,' he declares. Great Invasion Of Lightweights By this time, 1913 and 1914, Australia had some magnetic attraction for the world's greatest lightweights, and the influx included Waldemar Holberg, Pal Brown, Nat Williams, Milburn Saylor, Joe Shugrue, Kid Lewis, Matt Wells, Young Abe Attell, and another French team, comprising Eugene Volaire, Fernand Quendreux, Marcel Denis, and Louis de Ponthier. The doughty McCoy was stacked up against them all. Just as war broke out, McCoy met Hughie Mehegan at Sydney for the lightweight title, and was knocked out in 17 rounds. Undismayed, McCoy took the setback in the right spirit, and his words to me in the dressing room after the bout were prophetic and true. He told me that Mehegan would never defeat him again if be lived to be 100. They met again at Mel bourne, in February, 1915, and McCoy won the lightweight championship of Australia by knocking the ' redoubtable Hughie in 14 rounds

To prove that he was Mehegan's master he repeated the performance in July of the same year, taking 15 rounds to hammer Hughie into submission. Further meetings between them could not be arranged, as Hughie Mehegan enlisted and sailed to the war, never to return. And so passed a gallant little gentleman. McCoy was not a 'glass case' cham pion, and no fighter can say that he side-stepped them if they wefe worthy of a crack at his title. In the year that he won the title of lightweight champion he fought 15 times, having bouts at Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. The next year, 1916, he fought 16 times, meeting men of mettle in Fred Kay, Tommy Uren, Harry Stone, Eddie Moy, Benny Palmer, Arlos Fanning, and the peerless ,Lew Edwards. Lost title to Edwards To Llew Edwards McCoy lost his crown, and be had nothing but respect for the clever, hard-hitting English man, who was a Lonsdale belt holder. They fought seven times, and two of their fights were ring classics, that the referee had no alternative but to de clare draws, while four other bouts were thrillers that had the crowds on their feet throughout McCoy was a generous winner and loser, and he never growled at a deci sion all the time he was boxing. He enthused about the cleverness of Llew Edwards in a manner that would make anyone listening think that he had been in the Edwards corner, instead of being opposed to him in fights. On the night he lost bis title to Edwards at Sydney in 1917, when he was knocked out in 18 rounds, McCoy told me that he bad met his master, and that Edwards would shade him any time they met in the future.

We both knew that eight years of strenuous battling in the ring against the best men in the world had taken its toll, and that the end was not far off, but we also knew that only topnotchers could push McCoy to his limit, even though a tired man. His knock-out victories over Dave Meakin, * Mattie Smith, Jimmy HilL and Mattie Smith again — four in succes sion, were proof that he was not easy money for anyone. I claim that McCoy was the greatest Australian lightweight since Griffo, and his record will prove it. He fought any time and any where, and always delivered himself at the ringside in fettle good enough to fight for a king dom. As pointed out previously, he foueht whenever a fight offered, sometimes three times a month, and the better the opponent the keener McCoy was to get in the ring with him. As a box office attraction he has had no equal and stadium managers and boxing promoters will remember him for the value he always gave for the money he received. No fighter in Australia was ever called on to meet so many good men from overseas and at borne, and most of bis opponents looked back over their careers and admitted that McCoy was the best man they had met. He heard the gong go for 1,625 rounds, and in each one of them he fought with a clever fury that lasted till the referee called 'corners.' His cleverness, fighting spirit, indifference to punishment, recuperative powers, will to win, and general love of the noble art, made him a great fighter, and in my humble opinion, the best since Griffo, undefeated featherweight champion of the world.

HERB McCOY in bis heyday cheeky little ball of muscle said, 'Don't worry, Sam, I'll have a go at toppling them over.' And over they went.

Eugene Criqui - he came, he saw, he conquered

Sid Godfrey on the left, Criqui on the right

Sydney Stadium became a Mecca for boxers from all over the world. One of the finest boxers to grace our shores was the great French featherweight world champion, Eugene Criqui. During a career that spanned eighteen years from 1910-1928, Criqui won 99 fights, losing only 17 along the way.

In 1920 and 1921, Criqui fought several times at The Old Tin Shed, beating such fine boxers as Vince Blackburn, Jackie Green, Bert Spargo, Sid Godfrey, Cabanella Dencio. and the plucky little boxer from the Philippines, Silvino Jamito.

· It was claimed his “steel” jaw, which was reconstructed after injury, made him impervious to punches on the chin.
· Famous fight with Sid Godfrey at the Stadium.
· Fought Bert Spargo, knocking him out in the 16th round. At that stage, Spargo was well ahead on points
· Epic contest with Cabanella Dencio.

Tommy Uren

Although a perfect gentleman, Tommy Uren was not the sort of bloke a two-bob thug would like to upset on a dark night. Under-rated and if there is such a word - "under-remembered"! Tommy was a former Australian light, welter, and middleweight champion. He also fought as a heavyweight.

Tough an determined Tommy fought and beat some of the great names of the day - Clabby, Harry Stone, Fernand Quendreux, Eddie McGoorty and Fred Kay. His career spanned from 1916 to 1930 notching up 70 wins and 28 losses.

Born in 1893, Tommy died in 1954 aged 61.

Townsville Daily Bulletin, Tuesday 26 August 1924

At the Stadlum, Tommy Uren, 10.01, outpointed Merv Williams, 11.6, for the middleweight championship of Australia. In the first ten rounds Uren outbozed his opponent, using bis right to splendid .advantage. Williams was aggressive, but most of his leads were cleverly taken on the gloves. Williams rushed his opponent all round the ring until a left to the Jaw floored him for two seconds. Williams did most of the leading from the thirteenth to the twentieth round and repeatedly scored with lefts to the Jaw. Uren seemed content to box on the defensive and blocked many uppercuts. The referee's decision for Uren was a good one

Dave Smith

Dave Smith was a typical journeyman. Three times Australian champion, a great fighter, tough, rugged and determined. During his career he beat some of the great names of the era - Jimmy Clabby, Billy Papke, Cyclone Johnny Thompson, Jerry Jerome and Fritz Holland (vanquisher of Les Darcy).

More notes on Dave will follow, but here is an introduction.

Fights at Sydney Stadium

Arthur Cripps drew 20 Dave Smith 29 Nov 1909
Dave Smith ko 17 Pat O'Keefe 19 Jan 1910
Dave Smith pts 20 Arthur Cripps 12 Oct 1910
Dave Smith wf 10 Billy Papke 26 Dec 1910
Dave Smith pts 20 Jimmy Clabby 17 Jan 1911
Dave Smith pts 20 Cyclone Johnny Thompson 05 Feb 1911
Billy Papke ko 7 Dave Smith 11 Mar 1911
Dave Smith pts 20 Bandsman Rice 11 Nov 1911
Dave Smith drew 20 Jimmy Clabby 09 Dec 1911
Dave Smith wf 14 Jack Lester 01 Jan 1912
Dave Smith pts 20 Cyclone Johnny Thompson 26 Jan 1912
Dave Smith drew 20 Jimmy Clabby 24 Feb 1912
Dave Smith ko 3 Ercole De Belzac 01 Jan 1913
Dave Smith ko 10 Reg Midwood 01 Feb 1913
Dave Smith ko 18 Jerry Jerome 19 Apr 1913
Dave Smith ko 16 Les O'Donnell 16 Jul 1913
Dave Smith pts 20 Pat Bradley 25 Oct 1913
Eddie McGoorty ko 1 Dave Smith 01 Jan 1914
Dave Smith pts 20 Jules Dubourg 22 Feb 1914
Eddie McGoorty ko 10 Dave Smith 11 Apr 1914
Jimmy Clabby ko 1 Dave Smith 01 Aug 1914
Dave Smith pts 20 Fritz Holland 30 Jan 1915
Dave Smith pts 20 Ben Doyle 13 Feb 1915
Dave Smith ko 14 Colin Bell 10 Jun 1916
Les Darcy ko 12 Dave Smith 24 Jun 1916
Buck Crouse ko 9 Dave Smith 15 Jul 1916
Dave Smith ko 4 Buck Crouse 05 Aug 1916
Art Maygirl ko 12 Dave Smith 02 Sep 1916
Dave Smith pts 20 Joe Chip 14 Oct 1916
Dave Smith ko 10 Bill Squires 26 Dec 1916
Dave Smith pts 20 Albert Lloyd 14 Apr 1917
Jimmy Clabby ko 10 Dave Smith 26 May 1917

Career Record

Ranji Burns ko 9 1909 Sydney Australia
Starlight pts 8 1909 Sydney Australia
George Reidy pts 20 1909 venue ? Australia
Pat O'Keefe pts 20 1909 venue ? Australia
Reg Dempsey ko 1 1909 venue ? Australia
Billy McColl ko 13 1909 venue ? Australia
Albert Scanlon ko 9 1909 venue ? Australia
Jack Blackmore ko 9 1909 venue ? Australia
Arthur Cripps drew 20 29 Nov 1909 Sydney Stadium Australia
Ted Whiting ko 12 1910 venue ? Australia
Pat O'Keefe ko 17 19 Jan 1910 Sydney Stadium Australia
Arthur Cripps pts 20 12 Oct 1910 Sydney Stadium Australia
Billy Papke wf 10 26 Dec 1910 Sydney Stadium Australia
Frank Bungardy lf 7 1911 venue ? Australia
Jack Howard ko 9 1911 venue ? Australia
Jimmy Clabby pts 20 17 Jan 1911 Sydney Stadium Australia
Billy Papke koby 7 11 Mar 1911 Sydney Stadium Australia
Cyclone Johnny Thompson pts 20 05 Nov 1911 Sydney Stadium Australia
Bandsman Rice pts 20 11 Nov 1911 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jimmy Clabby drew 20 09 Dec 1911 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jack Lester wf 14 01 Jan 1912 Sydney Stadium Australia
Cyclone Johnny Thompson pts 20 26 Jan 1912 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jimmy Clabby drew 20 24 Feb 1912 Sydney Stadium Australia
Eddie McGoorty koby 1 02 Sep 1912 New York Usa
George Asche nd 6 24 Sep 1912 Philadelphia USA
Freddy Hicks pts 12 02 Oct 1912 Boston USA
Leo Houck nd 6 Oct 1912 Philadelphia USA
Battling Levinsky nd 6 21 Oct 1912 Philadelphia USA
Les O'Donnell ko 13 1913 venue Australia
Jerry Jerome ko 11 1913 venue Australia
Bill Lang pts 20 1913 venue Australia
Les O'Donnell pts 20 1913 venue Australia
Ercole De Belzac ko 3 01 Jan 1913 Sydney Stadium Australia
Reg Midwood ko 10 01 Feb 1913 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jerry Jerome ko 18 19 Apr 1913 Sydney Stadium Australia
Les O'Donnell ko 16 16 Jul 1913 Sydney Stadium Australia
Pat Bradley pts 20 25 Oct 1913 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jules Douberg ko 11 1914 venue Australia
Eddie McGoorty koby 1 01 Jan 1914 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jules Douberg pts 20 22 Feb 1914 Sydney Stadium Australia
Eddie McGoorty koby 10 11 Apr 1914 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jimmy Clabby koby 1 01 Aug 1914 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jimmy Clabby pts 20 12 Aug 1914 venue Australia
Fritz Holland pts 20 30 Jan 1915 Sydney Stadium Australia
Ben Doyle pts 20 13 Feb 1915 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jimmy Clabby lpts 20 20 May 1916 venue Australia
Colin Bell ko 14 10 Jun 1916 Sydney Stadium Australia
Les Darcy koby 12 24 Jun 1916 Sydney Stadium Australia
Buck Crouse koby 9 15 Jul 1916 Sydney Stadium Australia
Buck Crouse ko 4 05 Aug 1916 Sydney Stadium Australia
Les Darcy koby 11 23 Aug 1916 Brisbane Australia
Art Magirl koby 12 02 Sep 1916 Sydney Stadium Australia
Joe Chip pts 20 14 Oct 1916 Sydney Stadium Australia
Art Magirl koby 6 28 Oct 1916 Melbourne Australia
Bill Squires ko 10 26 Dec 1916 Sydney Stadium Australia
Albert Lloyd pts 20 14 Apr 1917 Sydney Stadium Australia
Jimmy Clabby koby 10 May 26 1917 Sydney Stadium Australia

Notes On his fight with Colin Bell

· Take the fight he had with Dave Smith at the Sydney Stadium on June 10, 1916, as an instance. It was typical of other battles which the Moree giant participated in with, if anything, this difference - that he demonstrated his incapacity to become a great fighter in a greater measure than usual. For that night he had victory within his grasp four or five times and was not equal to effecting the “killing” that should have been easy for him.

· Smith, who although heavyweight champion of Australia, was little better than a middleweight. As a matter of fact he weighed 13 stone 11 ¾ pounds as against hi opponents 11st 9lb, a difference of over two stones.

But this tremendous advantage did not worry Smith, who had the fighting instinct well developed, and besides was a firm believer in the familiar and popular boxing axiom that the bigger they are the harder they fall. And so instead of Bell being the aggressor and endeavoring to overwhelm his man with his strength, it was Smith who took up the attack from the moment they were called together. David and Goliath in a modern setting.

The enormous strength which Bell possessed, with the added advantages of skill with his hands and cleverness on his feet, should have counselled the big fellow to carry the war into the enemy camp, but the absence of “devil” that prompted caution proved his undoing. Smith, realising that his strength would not prove equal to the task if he remained on the defensive and allowed Bell to wear him down, punished his man at every opportunity and set a pace that might have caused his own downfall had he not been in superb condition.

· The fact was, that Smith knew of Bell’s weakness and, like a good general, capitalized it at every stage of the contest. Ducking and side-stepping and dodging he leaped in and out at the mountain of muscle in front of him and so punished him about the head with lefts and rights that after a few rounds Bell was tottering. But only momentarily. He pulled himself together well and then did what he should have done from the start - opened out. For a round or two he fought as if he really meant it. Smith was hard put to it to defend himself and in the sixth session was in such a bad way that had Bell taken proper advantage of the opportunity he would probably have with a knock-out.

· ……with the result that Smith was given the “breather” that enabled him to gather his scattered senses. And having done that and possessing the very thing that Bell was deficient in, he made attack his defence and in a few moments was dominating the fighting again.

· Again a few rounds later he caught Smith with a terrific left over the right eye, splitting it badly and causing the blood to flow freely. A second later he hooked a powerful left to the jaw and again Smith was flying distress signals. But did Bell go in to finish his man? He did not. And so Smith, maintaining a relentless attack, continued on until, by the time the tenth round was reached, Bell was obviously done.

• For a while the big fellow tried to bluff that all was well, but Smith refused to believe him and continued to pepper him with rights and lefts. And then Bell got another chance. A heavy right to the jaw had Smith in a bad way, but instead of crowding in and administering the finishing punch as he had plenty of opportunities to do, he allowed the damaged warrior freedom from trouble until such time as his head had cleared and then had to take what was coming to him - which was not altogether pleasant.

• By the time the fourteenth round was reached Bell was badly used up. Smith had gradually worn him down until he was comparitively easy for the smaller man to handle. And so Smith, who was showing signs of wear and tear, concluded that the best thing to do would be to get the business over. With right and left he pasted Bell unmercifully and drove him staggering, back on to the ropes. As Bell rebounded Smith’s right flashed through the air on to the opposing jaw and Bell crashed to the floor helpless. The finishing punch was not a particularly hard one, but it was all that was necessary to terminate the big fellow’s interest in the proceedings.

• If ever a boxer should have won a fight it was Bell that night.

Newspaper clipping from The Canberra Times, Wednesday 30 May 1945. Transcript below

Three times heavyweight champion of Australia, Dave Smith died at a private hospital to-day at the age of, 59.

He was acknowledged as one of the fairest and squarcst fighters Australia had known, and he fought the leading boxers of the world be tween 1914 and 1917.

Eddie McGoorty - The Oshkosh Terror

I will be writing more about Eddie McGoorty when I have cleaned up some of my old paper files. But for now, a brief introduction.

Eddie McGoorty, also known as the "Oshkosh Terror" was another favorite with Sydney Stadium crowds. Sadly, like Jimmy Clabby, Eddie's life was short and tragic dying at the age of 40

A more than capable middleweight he won 65 fights (44 on knockouts) and lost 18. In addition he notched up 22 "newspaper decisions" for only six losses.

Below is a report of his 1915 fight against Les Darcy - a fight he lost when the police stopped the fight in the 15th round after Eddie was knocked down four times. Click to enlarge.

Fred Kay

Fred Kay was a great boxer and a favorite with crowds at Sydney Stadium. He once advised fellow boxer, the great Jimmy Clabby, "son save your money for when you're old and grey". Rather prophetically, Jimmy replied, "I aint going to be old and grey"

Fred's record belies his ability, won 39 (KO 6) lost 20 (KO 6) with 3 draws, but he scored victories over some great boxers - including Jimmy Clabby and Fernand Quendreux

Fred was born in Melbourne in 1890 but I have no record of his passing.

Below is a photocopy of a report of his victory over Clabby. Click to enlarge

The early days of boxing at the old Sydney Stadium in Rushcutters Bay, is a project I first started working on in 1994! This blog will evolve slowly, and articles will be added in no particular order - I like tothink of it as rummaging through old cardboard boxes in an antique shop, never knowing whay you may find.

Although much has been written about Sydney Stadium, a large proportion of the 1,000 plus pages of handwritten notes, (only pencil was allowed in the Manuscript room at the State Library!) and photocopies of old articles and recollections, are from long defunct newspapers and boxing devotees sadly no longer with us.

Perhaps my opening sentence is a bit misleading. My original idea was - and still is - not to focus on the actual fights, but rather the numerous wonderful and colorful characters involved. It is about people rather than actual blow by blow descriptions - about times gone by and the impact, "The Old Tin Shed" had on Sydney's social, corporate and political life.

Here you will read about people you probably not have heard of before - but they all had lives and often wonderful tales to tell. There is sadness, triumph and inspiration.

Boxing fans will probably already know a lot about the boxers and the stadium , but I think I can honestly say, there will also be much that is new to them.

Nor will I focus entirely on Australian boxers. Overseas boxers such as the Prince Lochinvar of boxing, Jimmy Clabby and many other American, French and British boxers, played a vital role in the history of a stadium that until 1970, was an integral part of Sydney and its people.

Mike Hitchen