James Hall (15 October 1892 – 13 November 1953), better known as Seaman Nobby Hall, was a Scottish

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who was British and European

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

champion between 1922 and 1923.

Career

Born in

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

in 1892, James Hall began his professional boxing career in 1917. A sailor on the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, he won several Imperial Services Championships, but began his pro career with two defeats. In February 1919 he beat former British bantamweight champion Curley Walker on points and in November drew with

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. In August 1921 he took a notable scalp when he beat former British, European, and World champion Matt Wells and in January 1922 beat French champion Georges Papin. Undefeated since September 1920, in September 1922 he beat

Ernie Rice John Tomasso (17 November 1896 – 1979), better known as Ernie Rice, was a British boxer who was British and European lightweight champion between 1921 and 1922. After retiring from boxing he became an actor, appearing in several films and tel ...

Liverpool Stadium Liverpool Stadium was a 3,700 capacity boxing arena on St Paul's Square, Bixteth Street, Liverpool, England. It was the UK's first purpose built boxing arena. The foundation stone was laid by the Earl of Lonsdale on 22 July 1932, and it was op ...

to become lightweight champion of Britain and Europe. He suffered his first defeat in two years the following month when he was beaten on points by Alex Ireland. He successfully defended his British title in January 1923 against Johnny Brown at the Industrial Hall in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, but lost both titles at Olympia in May to Harry Mason, after being disqualified in the thirteenth round for low blows. He lost again to Mason in October. He continued boxing, largely without his earlier success until the end of 1924. After being out of the ring in 1925 he returned in January 1926 to fight Tommy McInnes, losing by an eighth-round knockout. It was almost two and a half years before his next fight, a win over Kid Charlie at the New World Arena in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Hall would fight at locations where the ship that he was serving on docked. From mid-1931 to early 1934 he fought more regularly in the UK and while he fought some notable boxers of the time he never again challenged for a title. He made a final comeback in October 1935, at the age of 43, drawing with Jim Hendry.

References

External links

Career record
at boxrec.com
Career record
at boxinghistory.org.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Nobby Scottish male boxers Lightweight boxers Sportspeople from Peebles 1892 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Scottish sportsmen