JEM MACE For My Mate GJC

[McGoorty]

JEM MACE -The FATHER Of MODERN BOXING

For My Buddy, GJC, Who Wanted To Learn More.

The Knockout Tour
Bolton, Lancashire. 1864
Jem Mace's Circus is in town. Its proprietor, Champion of England, is touring the country challenging all-comers to last 3 three-minute rounds with him and offering a cash prize. Mace insists he is certain to knockout all his challengers. Innovating the ten count, he flattens them all but this time a foundryman nearly lasts the distance- till Mace finds an unusual shot to finish him off.
John L. Sullivan will copy Mace's idea -- 20 years later!
The Demand for Gloves
Liverpool. 1865
At the Myrtle Street Gymnasium, Mace teaches amateur boxers and publicly urges the use of gloves for professionals -- 2 years before the publication of the original Queensberry Rules.
But Mace's eagerness to protect his hands is not down to boxing reasons alone..
The First Professional Boxing Bout
Virginia City, Nevada. 1876
Thousands of indoor spectators watch Mace outpoint Bill Davis in a historic clash between professionals under Queensberry Rules.
Bullion Bonanza King John W. Mackay's role will indicate how, in future, fights will be made. The First of Australia's Golden Generation
Sydney. 1881
At Larry Foley's gym, The White Horse in George Street, Mace's former protege runs the earliest of the great boxing gyms, from which will descend Stillman's and the Kronk.
Peter Jackson, aged 20, born in the West Indies but an adopted Australian, learns by watching Mace and Foley spar. 10 years later, John L. Sullivan will preserve his world heavyweight title by refusing to meet Jackson on grounds of race.
But other Australian boxers, taught exclusively in Mace's style, will capture world titles at other weights.
A Unique Discovery
Timaru, South Island, New Zealand. 1882
Taking boxing into the theatres of New Zealand, Mace is the first in the world to hold open tournaments. He discovers nineteen-year old Bob Fitzsimmons and teaches him a unique punch.
Fitzsimmons will become a world champion at three separate weights.

Double - crossed but Defiant
Glasgow. 1890
Scheduled to fight a purely exhibition bout, Mace is double crossed by the notorious prizefighter Charlie Mitchell. Mitchell tries for a shock KO as the bell sounds. Mace is stunned but uses his great defensive skills to keep the vicious Mitchell at bay until the end of the fourth round. With no proper points system yet in operation, the way is open for a disgraceful decision.
Astonishingly, Mace is 58, fully twice as old as Mitchell. Yet, only two years before, in a world title fight, Mitchell had fought a draw with John L. Sullivan.
The National Sporting Club Rules
London, King Street. 1891

[McGoorty]

Mace, preoccupied by a love affair and the decimation of his fortune, cannot attend N.S.C committee meetings. But, from these, the Queensberry Rules of Endurance are drawn up -- professional boxing is at last equipped with stipulated maximum rounds and a specific points system. These are the real Queensberry Rules, not the original ones of 1867-whose flaws Mace has consistently pointed out. The Marquess of Queensberry had no interest in scientific boxing. He preferred brutality and sat at ringside, bawling for more blood!

But Mace's fingerprints are all over these rules. The triumvirs of the N.S.C. were:

Lord Lonsdale -- who was taught to box by Mace as a boy of 11
John Fleming -- who picked Mace's brains for years in the sporting pubs of London
A.F. Bettinson -- who watched all Mace's exhibitions and based the points system -- in terms of defence -- entirely on Mace's style

The Acclamation of an American Legend
New York. 1896
On his previous trip to America, Mace had slipped up by bringing the inept New Zealand giant Herbert Slade to challenge John L. Sullivan. As a result, Sullivan's travesty of the Queensberry Rules was boosted and Mace's reputation suffered.
But now Jim Corbett, Sullivan's successor as world champion, welcomes Mace to New York to fight for the veterans championship and pays him a unique compliment.
Student of the master
Birmingham. 1902
With Mace publicly acknowledged, by Corbett and Kid McCoy, as the role model for all skilful American boxers, Philadelphia Jack O'Brien goes one further. He takes a working vacation at Mace's pub and is taught by the 70-year-old maestro.
Three years later, O'Brien shows exactly how much he has learned.

No truck with racism
London, King Street. 1907
In a sport notorious for the racism of John L. Sullivan, Mace welcomes the great black Canadian fighter Sam Langford to the National Sporting Club and champions his claims to a shot at the world title.
But, within a year, a campaign will begin which will earn Mace's contempt.

[McGoorty]

SHOWMAN And SPORTSTAR

The Performance Artist
London, The Strand. 1856
Jem Mace, aged 25 and recently arrived from Norwich, takes the stage at a song and supper room. On violin, he performs his own composition 'The Cuckoo Song' and a popular medley including the gypsy ballad 'Black Jack Davey'. The audience demands an encore but Mace returns, stripped to the waist, performing his 'Grecian Statues' routine in which he displays his physique for feminine admirers. No one guesses the ruthless nature of his current employment.
The Circus Proprietor
Brighton, Sussex. 1862
Having broken into show business with black entrepreneur Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal, Mace is inspired by the flamboyant impresario 'Lord' George Sanger to form his own company. With musicians, acrobats and clowns he debuts at the south coast resort. Soon he will team up with leading circus publicity agent Harry Montague and it will be from the marriage of circus with boxing that the world of sport as spectacle will be born.
The All-round Athlete
London, Leicester Square. 1863
The 'Criterion Hall' is crowded out for the presentation to Mace of the Norwich Gold Cup by the 'mad lord' W.F. Windham. On display are all of Mace's trophies, including cups won for pedestrianism (professional running). His trainer had timed him at two minutes for the half mile. Training for his big fights by running 20 miles a day with top pedestrians, Mace combines two sports and makes roadwork the foundation of all boxers' training routine.

A Pleasure Ground Proprietor
West Derby, Lancashire. 1866
Seeking to emulate London's Cremorne Gardens, Mace opens the Strawberry Grounds just outside what was then the Liverpool city boundary.
He provides a bowling green, racing grounds and landscaped public gardens, attracting large crowds from Merseyside and industrial Lancashire.
But, when Mace goes to America, his successor wipes the Strawberry Grounds off the map of Liverpool with a shocking development.

[McGoorty]

Victory Parade
Liverpool. 1866
Returning to the city from a crushing victory in his third clash with Joe Goss, Mace is greeted by a crowd of 10,000 at Lime Street Station. What follows will underline his status as a self-made toff and working class hero.

Broadway Stage Star
New York. 1870
The first sportsman to take to the stage, Mace has a starring role in Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' at Niblo's Gardens on Broadway.
Mace's attire, as he strolls down the world-famous thoroughfare, will mark him out as a fashion icon of the era..
An Adventurer in Australia
Melbourne. 1881
Having made a fortune in Australia, Mace is ensconced in his own luxury hotel. He races his horses in the Melbourne Cup and teams up with John Christie-'Australia's Sherlock Holmes'- to bring his own version of law and order to the streets of Melbourne. But the Victorian police are not amused. Their surprise raid on his premises will have dire consequences for Mace.
Mobbed by Crowds
U.S.A. 1883
Mace's special train takes him from California to New York and, in the misguided belief that, at 51, he will challenge the drunken wife- beater John L. Sullivan -- a man half his age -- for the world title that was once his, a crowd of thousands at Washington and Philadelphia greets him, whilst, at Baltimore, the police are forced to take unprecedented measures to ensure his safety from a horde of well-wishers.
The Coronation Tournament
London, Royal Albert Hall. 1902
Inspired by Charles Melly's Liverpool Olympics in the 1860's, Mace has promoted the ideal of the commonality of all individual sports, giving shows combining boxing with wrestling, fencing, running, cycling and gymnastics. Throughout the English-speaking world, from Titusville to Timaru, he has combined these shows with musical performances.
Now, in a prestigious concert hall, he plays his part in the National Sporting Club's multi-sport tournament to celebrate the accession of a new monarch.

Swansong of an Entertainer
Newcastle. 1910
At St. James's Hall, the 79-year-old Jem Mace, his once splendid health finally giving way, performs on violin to a large cheering crowd. But, behind the facade, a lifelong weakness has left him desperate for cash and taking drastic measures to acquire it.

[McGoorty]

MACE'S WAY WITH WOMEN

Victory Parade
Liverpool. 1866
Returning to the city from a crushing victory in his third clash with Joe Goss, Mace is greeted by a crowd of 10,000 at Lime Street Station. What follows will underline his status as a self-made toff and working class hero.

Broadway Stage Star
New York. 1870
The first sportsman to take to the stage, Mace has a starring role in Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' at Niblo's Gardens on Broadway.
Mace's attire, as he strolls down the world-famous thoroughfare, will mark him out as a fashion icon of the era..
An Adventurer in Australia
Melbourne. 1881
Having made a fortune in Australia, Mace is ensconced in his own luxury hotel. He races his horses in the Melbourne Cup and teams up with John Christie-'Australia's Sherlock Holmes'- to bring his own version of law and order to the streets of Melbourne. But the Victorian police are not amused. Their surprise raid on his premises will have dire consequences for Mace.
Mobbed by Crowds
U.S.A. 1883
Mace's special train takes him from California to New York and, in the misguided belief that, at 51, he will challenge the drunken wife- beater John L. Sullivan -- a man half his age -- for the world title that was once his, a crowd of thousands at Washington and Philadelphia greets him, whilst, at Baltimore, the police are forced to take unprecedented measures to ensure his safety from a horde of well-wishers.
The Coronation Tournament
London, Royal Albert Hall. 1902
Inspired by Charles Melly's Liverpool Olympics in the 1860's, Mace has promoted the ideal of the commonality of all individual sports, giving shows combining boxing with wrestling, fencing, running, cycling and gymnastics. Throughout the English-speaking world, from Titusville to Timaru, he has combined these shows with musical performances.
Now, in a prestigious concert hall, he plays his part in the National Sporting Club's multi-sport tournament to celebrate the accession of a new monarch.

Swansong of an Entertainer
Newcastle. 1910
At St. James's Hall, the 79-year-old Jem Mace, his once splendid health finally giving way, performs on violin to a large cheering crowd. But, behind the facade, a lifelong weakness has left him desperate for cash and taking drastic measures to acquire it.

[McGoorty]

Victory Parade
Liverpool. 1866
Returning to the city from a crushing victory in his third clash with Joe Goss, Mace is greeted by a crowd of 10,000 at Lime Street Station. What follows will underline his status as a self-made toff and working class hero.

Broadway Stage Star
New York. 1870
The first sportsman to take to the stage, Mace has a starring role in Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' at Niblo's Gardens on Broadway.
Mace's attire, as he strolls down the world-famous thoroughfare, will mark him out as a fashion icon of the era..
An Adventurer in Australia
Melbourne. 1881
Having made a fortune in Australia, Mace is ensconced in his own luxury hotel. He races his horses in the Melbourne Cup and teams up with John Christie-'Australia's Sherlock Holmes'- to bring his own version of law and order to the streets of Melbourne. But the Victorian police are not amused. Their surprise raid on his premises will have dire consequences for Mace.
Mobbed by Crowds
U.S.A. 1883
Mace's special train takes him from California to New York and, in the misguided belief that, at 51, he will challenge the drunken wife- beater John L. Sullivan -- a man half his age -- for the world title that was once his, a crowd of thousands at Washington and Philadelphia greets him, whilst, at Baltimore, the police are forced to take unprecedented measures to ensure his safety from a horde of well-wishers.
The Coronation Tournament
London, Royal Albert Hall. 1902
Inspired by Charles Melly's Liverpool Olympics in the 1860's, Mace has promoted the ideal of the commonality of all individual sports, giving shows combining boxing with wrestling, fencing, running, cycling and gymnastics. Throughout the English-speaking world, from Titusville to Timaru, he has combined these shows with musical performances.
Now, in a prestigious concert hall, he plays his part in the National Sporting Club's multi-sport tournament to celebrate the accession of a new monarch.

Swansong of an Entertainer
Newcastle. 1910
At St. James's Hall, the 79-year-old Jem Mace, his once splendid health finally giving way, performs on violin to a large cheering crowd. But, behind the facade, a lifelong weakness has left him desperate for cash and taking drastic measures to acquire it.

[McGoorty]

WORLD CHAMPION PRIZEFIGHTER

The Beauty of a Broken Violin
Yarmouth, Norfolk. 1849
Jem Mace, an 18-year-old musician, is busking outside a seafront pub, well rewarded by an appreciative crowd. Suddenly, three drunken fishermen emerge. While the others jeer, the leader seizes Mace's violin and smashes it in half. Mace's response will shock and delight the spectators and change the course of his life.
The Last Request of a Noble Lord
London, St. Martin's Lane. 1858
After a brilliant debut in the outlawed London Prize Ring, Mace's luck has turned. Unable to admit the scandalous reasons for his no-show at a fight rendezvous, he is accused of cowardice and reduced to sparring for shillings in the back room of a London pub. Challenged by Lord Drumlanrig, he admits that he is banned from the ring. The fight- loving toff insists to Mace's boss that he must be given a chance to redeem himself. Three days later, Drumlanrig is dead- a victim of the 'Douglas Curse'.

A Clash of Titans
Godstone, Surrey. 1862
After their epic drawn world title fight, both England's Tom Sayers and America's John C. Heenan refuse Mace's challenge.
Only a middleweight, Mace takes the championship of England from the gigantic Sam Hurst and is then challenged by Tom King. King is four years younger, five inches taller and 20 pounds heavier -- a formidable opponent with an exceptional reach, fast hands and a fighting heart.
On the day of the fight, the driving wind and hail turns the ground underfoot into a quagmire, nullifying Mace's incredible footwork. But he finds another strategy to defeat King.
The Birth of the Knockout
Plumstead Marshes, Kent. 1863
With King retired, Mace is left with one effective challenger. Joe Goss is a powerful wrestler and a durable fighter, capable of soaking up punishment and lasting three hours. Mace dances round him, parries his punches and jabs him relentlessly. Goss is battered and blood-stained but refuses to give in. Suddenly Mace delivers a punch of unprecedented ferocity. Goss spins like a top, pitches forward senseless and remains unconscious on the turf for several minutes, with his legs twitching convulsively. Later, Mace describes the technique of the knockout.

[McGoorty]

The Supreme Boxer-Puncher
Purfleet, Essex. 1866
For his third fight with Goss, Mace dictates that a 16 foot ring will be used and that seconds must get out while a round is in progress. Deploying the full range of shots open to a bare knuckle fighter but ducking and weaving like a future glove boxer, Mace crushes Goss. His display is hailed as "the grandest bit of fighting ever seen".
But, as the enthralled spectators disperse, none can know that forces are already in motion which will threaten the very existence of the outlaw sport.
Arrested in a Bedroom
London, Herne Hill. 1867
Inspector Silverton of Scotland Yard, fanatical opponent of the London Prize Ring, leads a midnight raid on Mace's secret hideout. Mace, on the eve of his title clash with Ned O'Baldwin, the 'Irish Giant', violently resists arrest and is outnumbered by a squad of police.
The outcome of Mace's court appearance next day will be a decisive turning point in his career.
The Last and First of the Champions
Kennerville, Louisiana. 1870
Just outside New Orleans city limits, Mace, the last Champion of England, faces Tom Allen, Champion of America.
Using his switchblade left jab, blocking, feinting, changing pace and feet, Mace throws unprecedented combination punches. Cutting off the ring like a fistic jailer, he outclasses Allen and is hailed as the first World Champion. He will stand at the head of the lineage which will later include Jeffries, Dempsey, Louis, Ali and Tyson.

Targeted for Murder
Bay.St. Louis, Mississippi. 1871
Irish-American Joe Coburn, challenges Mace for the world title. Despite an injured wrist and a referee who never calls Coburn's numerous fouls, Mace secures a draw and retains his crown.
Afterwards, he narrowly escapes with his life as bullets fly. With contract killers on his trail, he cannot remain in America.
'Advance Australia!'
Murrumbidgee Reef, New South Wales. 1879
Outlaw Ned Kelly postpones his confrontation with Mace as police converge in a vain attempt to stop Mace's protege, Larry Foley, from challenging for the Australian title. The fight goes ahead, Foley wins, and on his victorious train ride to Melbourne, is acclaimed by patriotic crowds chanting an anti-colonial slogan -- but lustily adding "Three cheers for Jem Mace!".
The Knives are Out
Maison Laffitte, France. 1886
Prizefight buffs attempt to revive the bare knuckle ring in France where the police will not intervene. Mace agrees to referee a fight for the 'championship' near a centuries- old chateau outside Paris. But English thugs invade the ring and, threatening him with knives, compel him to declare the result they've wagered on. Once he regains his freedom, Mace takes a decision which heralds the end of a sporting era.

[McGoorty]

The GYPSY CONTROVERSY

An Average Working -Class Family
Beeston, Norfolk 1831
On April 8, Jem Mace is born in the remote village of Beeston-next-Mileham in rural Norfolk. He is the fifth of eight children born to William Mace and Ann Mace (formerly Rudd). He is christened at the Anglican Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. Parish records describe his father as "a labourer". But later documents will indicate the true nature of his life-style.

The Gypsy Connection
Beeston 1839
Jem's uncle, Barney Mace, has married the teenage daughter of a well-known Romany family, Lurena Baker, after falling in love with her when they met at Norwich Fair.
Their eldest son, Pooley Mace, is born. He will become the close friend and lifelong companion of his cousin Jem.
The Ring Nickname
Norfolk 1850. London 1857
At the time of his first appearance as a prize fighter, Mace is nicknamed the 'Swaffham Gypsy' (from a town near his home village).
By the time of his debut in the London Prize Ring, this is shortened -- simply to 'The Gypsy'. Soon Francis Louis Dowling, editor of the leading fight mag of the day, will describe Mace in insulting language verging on racism.
A Statement in Court
London, Holborn 1861
Lord William Frederick Windham of Felbrigge Hall, Norfolk is called to give evidence at Gray's Inn court. He seeks to avoid being disinherited by his uncle who claims he is 'mad' and who has described crazy behaviour.
But, in court, Windham seems entirely lucid. He asserts that the family of Jem Mace, Champion of England, have been tenants of his forebears at Beeston for over a hundred years. This is, of course, incompatible with the gypsy way of life.
The Great Street Fight
Dublin 1864
Mace is in Ireland but has refused to fight his challenger for the world title, Joe Coburn, an Irish-American. Mace gives as his reason his belief that Coburn's nominated referee is in fact his own uncle.
Nevertheless, a ballad entitled 'The Cowardly Englishman' circulates. It accuses Mace of lack of courage.
Irish bare- knuckle fighter, Bartley Gorman I, himself a gypsy, believes that Mace is a fellow Romany and that he has let the side down. But the outcome will not be what Gorman expected..
The Autobiography
London, 1908
In his autobiography, '50 years a Fighter', Jem Mace, aged 77, states "the assertion, oft repeated, that I have gypsy blood in my veins, is completely untrue".
Mace attributes the notion to the fact that his cousin and constant companion, Pooley Mace, is indeed a half Romany.

The Final Caravan
Grassendale, Lancashire 1910
Nearing the end of his life, Mace spends time at a gypsy settlement on an abandoned farm where a boxing booth is in operation.
But he is also to be found on the road with Sullivan's Circus -- and at various fixed addresses in London.

[McGoorty]

EXPERT'S OPINIONS Of MACE

"Mace was the very ideal of what a fighter should be. No other man has ever combined such excellences. A wonderful specimen of the ambidextrous boxer who could 'change legs' and use either hand with equal rapidity, a most tremendous hitter and a judge of time and distance whose superior it would be impossible to find".
Henry Sampson, foremost journalist of the transition from the prize ring to Queensberry Rules. 1878


"He was a scientific boxer endowed with a marvellous knowledge of ring craft. He may indeed be compared with any of the great champions who were his predecessors and he has never been surpassed".
Fred Henning, historian of the prize ring .1899


"Jem Mace was the first man who showed American fighters the advantages of feinting and footwork. You can readily see what a fighter today would amount to without these essentials!"
Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, future Light- heavyweight Champion of the World .1902


"I lay it down as an undeniable maxim that there is only one style in boxing. That style found its most perfect expression in Jem Mace".
A.F. Bettinson, co-founder of the National Sporting Club. 1905


"I do not consider Tom Sayers to have possessed anything like the science of Mace and no one will presume to place him on the same pedestal as Mace as an artist"
Frank Bradley, editor of British sports paper ' Mirror of Life' .1910