The National Sporting Club - 43 King Street Covent Garden WC2E 8JY

The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation.

Origins

The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at 43 King Street,

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, London. The founders were John Fleming and A.F. "Peggy" Bettinson, and

Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, (25 January 1857–13 April 1944) was an English peer and sportsman. Early life Born in 1857, he was the second son of Emily Susan (), daughter of St George Francis Caulfeild of Donamon Castle of R ...

was its first president. The club was run under very strict rules regarding both the boxers and the members. Bouts would take place after dinner, before about 1,300 members and guests. The bouts would be fought in silence as no talking was permitted during the rounds. The club built up a great tradition of sportsmanship and fair play. In 1909, the club's president introduced the

Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), int ...

as a prize to be awarded to the British champion at each weight. The belts were made from porcelain and twenty-two carat gold.

Demise

In the 1920s boxing became a sport with mass appeal. Boxers could appear at large venues and earn more money than at the N.S.C. As a result, the club was forced to open its doors to the public in October 1928. However, in 1929, it was forced to close its premises in Covent Garden and move for a while to The Stadium Club,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its ro ...

before finally moving to 21

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered ...

in January 1930. A new company was formed in 1930 to try to revive the club's fortunes, and there were ambitious plans to build new headquarters but these came to nothing. In 1936, an enthusiast, John Harding, set up a new committee, which took over the Empress Hall and put on boxing shows there. In 1938 the club moved to the Hotel Splendide,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...

, but the war came and the club went into voluntary liquidation. In 1929, a new organisation, the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardif ...

, was formed to control the sport. Most of the board of the new organisation were senior members of the N.S.C. The N.S.C. was given a permanent seat on the new Board of Control and retained this privilege until 1937. After this time it became regarded as a promoter of boxing contests.

New club formed

In 1947 a new club was formed with the same name, but no connection with the old club. It took over the Empress Club in Berkley Street in 1951. In 1951 the club moved to the

Café Royal A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Plac ...

. In 1982 the club moved to

Grosvenor House Grosvenor House was one of the largest townhouses in London, home of the Grosvenor family (better known as the Dukes of Westminster) for more than a century. Their original London residence was on Millbank, but after the family had developed ...

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...

, but has since moved back to the Café Royal where it held sporting events until its closure in 2009. The banqueting side of the business is currently awaiting the re-opening of The Savoy where it plans to re-launch its sporting lunches and dinners

British Sports Book Awards

Since 2003, the club has hosted a multi-category sports book

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. M ...

now known as the

British Sports Book Awards The Sports Book Awards (previously National Sporting Club Book Awards then Telegraph Sports Book Awards) is a British literary award for sports writing. It was first awarded in 2003 as part of the National Sporting Club. Awards are presented in ...

Sources

* Maurice Golesworthy, ''Encyclopaedia of Boxing'' (Eighth Edition) (1988), Robert Hale Limited, {{coords, 51.5121, -0.1239, display=title Boxing in the United Kingdom Professional boxing organizations

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

Gentlemen's clubs in London 1891 establishments in the United Kingdom Boxing clubs in the United Kingdom