| Pedlar Palmer | |
| Realname: | Thomas Palmer |
| Nickname: | Box O'Tricks |
| Weight: | Bantamweight |
| Height: | 5feet |
| Reach: | 640NaN0 |
| Nationality: | English |
| Birth Date: | 19 November 1876 |
| Birth Place: | Canning Town, London |
| Death Place: | Brighton |
| Total: | 70 |
| Wins: | 51 |
| Ko: | 13 |
| Losses: | 15 |
| Draws: | 4 |
Pedlar Palmer, born Thomas Palmer, (1876 – 13 February 1949) was an English boxer who held the world bantamweight championship from 1895 to 1899.
Palmer was born in Canning Town, London on 19 November 1876. His father was a bare-knuckle champion of Essex, and rumour had it that his mother could take on and beat any woman in London's East End. As a boxer, Palmer soon gained the nickname "Box o' Tricks", reflecting his showmanship - he and his brother had taken part in a stage act as children and Palmer utilised some of the things he had learned on stage in the boxing ring.[1]
In 1893, Palmer won bouts advertised as the "World 100lb" title against Walter Croot and Mike Small, and became World Bantamweight Champion in 1895 when he beat Billy Plimmer of Birmingham on a 14th round foul. He boxed a draw with the World Featherweight Champion George Dixon in New York in 1896. He kept his bantamweight title through five defences against Johnny Murphy, Ernie Stanton. Dave Sullivan, Billy Plimmer, and Billy Rochford.[2]
Palmer met Irish-born American boxer Dave Sullivan in London on 18 October 1897 in what was billed as a World 116 pound Title Match. It would be Sullivan's first loss according to most sources.[3] Sullivan failed to receive the twenty round points decision, but established himself as the primary contender for the World Featherweight Title.[2]
Palmer lost his title in Tuckahoe, New York in September 1899. He was knocked out in the first round by Terrible Terry McGovern - Palmer claimed that he had been blinded by the lights. Having held the Championship for four years, Palmer was still only 22 years old.[2]
In November 1900 Palmer lost the British bantamweight title to Harry Ware, and although he won two out of three fights with George Dixon and beat Digger Stanley, another world champion, he was twice beaten in British featherweight title fights by Ben Jordan and Joe Bowker.[2]
Jordan successfully defended the English Featherweight Title on 12 December 1904 against Palmer in an important bout at the National Sporting Club in London in a fifteen-round points decision.[2]
Palmer was a heavy drinker. In April 1907 he killed Robert Croat on a train to Epsom races, for which crime he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison.[4] On his release he boxed again, but never enjoyed his earlier levels of success. For the last 20 years of his life he was a bookmaker in Brighton, where he died on 13 February 1949, aged 72.[5] [6] He is buried on the western edge of Brighton; the gravestone no longer stands.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | Loss | 51–15–4 | Jim Driscoll | TKO | 4 (10) | Mar 10, 1919 | ||
| 69 | Loss | 51–14–4 | Digger Stanley | RTD | 4 (10) | Nov 19, 1914 | ||
| 68 | Loss | 51–13–4 | Jim Lloyd | RTD | 4 (10) | Aug 1, 1912 | ||
| 67 | Win | 51–12–4 | Sam Russell | DQ | 3 (10) | Jul 25, 1912 | ||
| 66 | Win | 50–12–4 | George Moore | RTD | 7 (10) | Mar 25, 1912 | ||
| 65 | Win | 49–12–4 | George Moore | DQ | 5 (10) | Mar 2, 1912 | ||
| 64 | Win | 48–12–4 | Alec Lambert | PTS | 6 | Jan 24, 1912 | ||
| 63 | Win | 47–12–4 | Darkey Haley | PTS | 6 | Jan 6, 1912 | ||
| 62 | Loss | 46–12–4 | Darkey Haley | KO | 10 (15) | Dec 7, 1906 | ||
| 61 | Win | 46–11–4 | Cockney Cohen | DQ | 4 (20) | May 28, 1906 | ||
| 60 | Win | 45–11–4 | Driver William Himphen | PTS | 6 | Apr 28, 1906 | ||
| 59 | Draw | 44–11–4 | Cockney Cohen | PTS | 15 | Mar 26, 1906 | ||
| 58 | Loss | 44–11–3 | Charlie Lampey | PTS | 15 | Feb 28, 1906 | ||
| 57 | Loss | 44–10–3 | Cockney Cohen | KO | 6 (20) | Nov 13, 1905 | ||
| 56 | Win | 44–9–3 | Cockney Cohen | PTS | 15 | Sep 25, 1905 | ||
| 55 | Win | 43–9–3 | Bob White | KO | 6 (15) | Aug 5, 1905 | ||
| 54 | Win | 42–9–3 | George Moore | PTS | 6 | Jun 17, 1905 | ||
| 53 | Draw | 41–9–3 | George Moore | PTS | 15 | May 29, 1905 | ||
| 52 | Loss | 41–9–2 | Joe Bowker | TKO | 12 (15) | Mar 20, 1905 | ||
| 51 | Loss | 41–8–2 | Ben Jordan | PTS | 15 | Dec 12, 1904 | ||
| 50 | Win | 41–7–2 | Young Joseph | PTS | 15 | Oct 17, 1904 | ||
| 49 | Win | 40–7–2 | WJ (Watty) Austin | PTS | 20 | Aug 8, 1904 | ||
| 48 | Draw | 39–7–2 | WJ (Watty) Austin | PTS | 20 | Jul 4, 1904 | ||
| 47 | Win | 39–7–1 | Dan Hyman | RTD | 9 (20) | May 23, 1904 | ||
| 46 | Loss | 38–7–1 | Harry Alexander | DQ | 4 (15) | Mar 25, 1904 | ||
| 45 | Win | 38–6–1 | Harry Alexander | KO | 4 (15) | Mar 14, 1904 | ||
| 44 | Loss | 37–6–1 | George Dixon | PTS | 20 | Nov 9, 1904 | ||
| 43 | Win | 37–5–1 | Jim Williams | PTS | 20 | Oct 23, 1903 | ||
| 42 | Win | 36–5–1 | Spike Robson | PTS | 20 | Sep 14, 1903 | ||
| 41 | Win | 35–5–1 | George Dixon | PTS | 8 | Jun 27, 1903 | ||
| 40 | Win | 34–5–1 | Digger Stanley | PTS | 12 | May 11, 1903 | ||
| 39 | Win | 33–5–1 | Fred Delaney | PTS | 6 | Apr 2, 1903 | ||
| 38 | Win | 32–5–1 | Harry Ware | PTS | 12 | Feb 16, 1903 | ||
| 37 | Loss | 31–5–1 | Will Curley | KO | 8 (15) | Dec 15, 1902 | ||
| 36 | Win | 31–4–1 | Jim Williams | PTS | 20 | Oct 23, 1902 | ||
| 35 | Win | 30–4–1 | George Dixon | PTS | 15 | Sep 8, 1902 | ||
| 34 | Win | 29–4–1 | Digger Stanley | PTS | 10 | Jun 16, 1902 | ||
| 33 | Loss | 28–4–1 | Jim Williams | KO | 2 (15) | Jan 27, 1902 | ||
| 32 | Loss | 28–3–1 | Harry Harris | PTS | 15 | Mar 18, 1901 | ||
| 31 | Loss | 28–2–1 | Harry Ware | PTS | 20 | Nov 12, 1900 | ||
| 30 | Win | 28–1–1 | Harry Ware | PTS | 15 | May 28, 1900 | ||
| 29 | Loss | 27–1–1 | Terry McGovern | KO | 1 (20) | Sep 12, 1899 | ||
| 28 | Win | 27–0–1 | Billy Rotchford | DQ | 3 (20) | Apr 17, 1899 | ||
| 27 | Win | 26–0–1 | Billy Plimmer | TKO | 17 (20) | Dec 12, 1898 | ||
| 26 | Win | 25–0–1 | Dave Sullivan | PTS | 20 | Oct 18, 1897 | ||
| 25 | Win | 24–0–1 | Ernie Stanton | TKO | 14 (20) | Jan 25, 1897 | ||
| 24 | Win | 23–0–1 | Johnny Murphy | PTS | 20 | Oct 12, 1896 | ||
| 23 | Win | 22–0–1 | Ted Willis | RTD | 4 (10) | Apr 13, 1896 | ||
| 22 | Win | 21–0–1 | Ted Willis | KO | 2 (6) | Mar 31, 1896 | ||
| 21 | Draw | 20–0–1 | George Dixon | PTS | 6 | Jan 30, 1896 | ||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Billy Plimmer | DQ | 14 (20) | Nov 25, 1895 | ||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Ginger Walters | KO | 7 (8) | Oct 27, 1894 | ||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Ernie Stanton | PTS | 20 | Oct 15, 1894 | ||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Bill Mortimer | TKO | 5 (20) | Jun 25, 1894 | ||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Young Edwards | TKO | 2 (3) | Apr 16, 1894 | ||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Ted Wood | PTS | 6 | Feb 19, 1894 | ||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Albert Gould | PTS | 6 | Dec 11, 1892 | ||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Albert Gould | TKO | 2 (6) | Dec 4, 1892 | ||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Mike Small | PTS | 6 | May 29, 1892 | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Walter Croot | KO | 17 (20) | May 1, 1892 | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | George Wood | PTS | ? | Sep 1, 1892 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Dick Edwards | PTS | ? | Aug 1, 1892 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Ted Sounders | PTS | ? | Jul 1, 1892 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Will Morse | PTS | ? | Jun 1, 1892 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ginger Wright | PTS | ? | May 1, 1892 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Tom Shane | PTS | ? | Apr 1, 1892 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Ernie Stanton | PTS | 3 | Mar 1, 1892 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Arthur Wigg | PTS | ? | Feb 1, 1892 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | San Swamburg | PTS | ? | Jan 1, 1892 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | WC Bond | PTS | 11 | Jan 1, 1891 | ||
Jason McKay, 2009, Box O’ Tricks – The Pedlar Palmer Story