Tom Spring (born Thomas Winter) (22 February 1795 – 20 August 1851) was an English bare-knuckle fighter. He was heavyweight champion of England from 1821 until his retirement in 1824. After his retirement he became landlord of the Castle Inn at

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 root ...

in London, where he arranged the patronage and contracts of many of the major boxing events of the period while overseeing fair play in the ring.

Early years

Spring was born at Witchend in

Fownhope Fownhope is a village in Herefordshire, England, an area of outstanding natural beauty on the banks of the River Wye. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 999. The village has a church, St. Mary's Parish Church; primary school, ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

on 22 February 1795. His true surname was "Winter", which he changed to Spring when he became a professional boxer. His first career was as a

butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

, the trade in which he was employed when he had his first known fight in 1812, against John Hollands. He had been encouraged to box from a young age by his father, who had constructed a sand bag for him to train with. Later his father was jailed for debt, which destroyed Spring's relationship with him. In 1814 Spring met the legendary heavyweight champion Tom Cribb who was staying nearby. Cribb was impressed by Spring's prowess, and persuaded him to go to London under his patronage; this was the beginning of Spring's boxing career.Tom Spring, Famous Herefordians
/ref> That year, Spring travelled to Mordiford and won a fight in 11 rounds, after which he won a £3 stake.

Boxing

Spring is considered one of the most scientific of the early English boxers, an approach that set him apart from most of his contemporaries.Tom Spring IBHOF
Not possessing a strong punch he honed a fine defense, and a powerful left hook. Spring's first fight in the Prize Ring was with a Yorkshireman named Stringer, the bout taking place on 9 September 1817 at Moulsey Hurst. After 29 rounds in 39 minutes, Spring won by knocking out his opponent. Aged 23 Spring twice fought the very experienced Ned Painter, winning the first bout and losing the second. His defeat of Jack Carter in 1819 earned him some notoriety, and he toured the country giving exhibition matches with the reigning English heavyweight champion Tom Cribb. Cribb on his retirement in 1821 handed over the championship title to Spring. To defend the title Spring offered to fight anyone in England. No one challenged him until 1823, when he fought Bill Neat. Neat referred to Spring as a "lady’s maid fighter" because of his weak punch. The fight lasted just 37 minutes, with Spring victorious after knocking Neat down in the first round and cutting him severely in the second. This victory ensured that Spring was officially recognized as the heavyweight champion of England. In January 1824 at Pitchcroft,

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Spring fought against the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

fighter Jack Langan. The fight was for a purse of 300 sovereigns (about £25,000 in 2010), and drew a crowd of some 40,000 and lasted 77 rounds. The two boxers had very different styles – Spring was light on his feet and fast, while Langan was slower and heavier. Spring was victorious against Langan on a second occasion. In 1824 Spring decided to retire from boxing, his hands, never strong and always easily damaged, were now weakened. Throughout his career Spring had often managed to avoid damage with his fast hits and what became known as his Harlequin Step; this was a technique he developed of putting himself just within reach of his opponent, then avoiding the instinctive punch while simultaneously delivering one himself.

Retirement

On his retirement he purchased the Castle

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

(previously owned by the pugilist Bob Gregson), which under his management became the unofficial headquarters of English boxing; fights were arranged and contacts signed under his supervision. English boxing at that time has been described as full of "gambling-related corruption" when "disqualification and open cheating were common". On 25 September 1828 an organization known as the Fair Play Club was formed to try and clean up boxing's image, "to ensure fair play to the combatants" and "to preserve peace and order in the outer ring"; this was in addition to the

London Prize Ring rules The London Prize Ring Rules were a list of boxing rules promulgated in 1838 and revised in 1853. These rules were based on those drafted by England's Jack Broughton in 1743 (known as the Broughton Rules) and governed the conduct of prizefighti ...

, which had been devised by

Jack Broughton John "Jack" Broughton (c. 1703 – 8 January 1789) was an English bare-knuckle boxer. He was the first person to codify a set of rules to be used in such contests; prior to this the "rules" that existed were very loosely defined and tended to ...

almost a century earlier. Spring was elected as the club's first treasurer, and was also authorised to employ officials to enforce the new rules and prevent invasions of the ring by supporters. Spring, however, was not immune from criticism himself. Vast amounts of money were bet on the outcome of fights and inside knowledge could make the holder enormous sums. Spring twice arranged fights for, and personally seconded, the Irish heavyweight champion Simon Byrne. In 1831 he put Byrne in the ring against the heavyweight champion

Jem Ward Jem Ward (26 December 1800 – 3 April 1884) was an English bare-knuckle boxer. "A fine fighter and powerfully built man",Gilbert Odd described this fight as a "disgraceful affair". Memorial to Thomas Winter, Fownhope - geograph

Memorial to Thomas Winter, Fownhope - geograph

On the second occasion he seconded for Byrne, in 1833, Byrne was fighting James Burke for the heavyweight title. This was the longest fight in boxing history until the famous bout between Andy Bowen and Jack Burke in 1893, which went 111 rounds. It was brutal and bloody, but vast sums were riding on the fight. In the 99th round Spring had to carry the barely conscious Byrne to the mark to fight. Byrne was quickly knocked unconscious and died three days later. The death finally led to a reform in the rules governing English boxing. In retirement Spring became very wealthy. He is known to have married and had two children. He split from his wife, and, in spite of the wealth Spring later acquired, she died destitute in the Holborn

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

. But Spring remained well respected for his kindness and good manners outside of the boxing ring. His reputation was in itself an achievement for a fight promoter of this era. After his death on 20 August 1851 his funeral was well attended, with many neighbours from The Castle, Holborn, walking with his coffin to

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

. Spring was buried under his real name of Thomas Winter."Death of Tom Spring", ''Kendal Mercury'', 30 August 1851, p. 2

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

wrote a short story, "The Lord of Falconbridge", with Spring as the protagonist.

References

External links

Record of Spring's fights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spring, Tom 1795 births 1851 deaths Bare-knuckle boxers English male boxers Spring aka Winter, Tom Boxers from Greater London

Early years

Boxing

Retirement

See also

References

Further reading

External links