Pat O'Keeffe

Pat O'Keeffe
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born(1883-03-17)17 March 1883
Bromley-by-Bow, England
Died16 August 1960(1960-08-16) (aged 77)
Harrow, Middlesex, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
WeightWelterweight, Middleweight, Heavyweight
Boxing career
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights131
Wins88
Win by KO36
Losses25
Draws7
No contests11

Pat O'Keeffe (17 March 1883 – 16 August 1960) was a British professional boxer who held the British middleweight title. His surname was also spelled O'Keefe in contemporary newspaper coverage.[1] His professional career ran from 1902 to 1918, including bouts in the United States and Australia between 1907 and 1910. In 1914, he made an unsuccessful challenge for the European heavyweight title against Georges Carpentier.[2]

During World War I, he joined the British Army and served with the 1st Surrey Rifles, combining recruiting duties with physical training.[3] In 1918, he won the Lonsdale Belt outright by defeating Bandsman Blake at the National Sporting Club (NSC), becoming British middleweight champion and the first boxer to hold the middleweight Lonsdale Belt outright.[4]

Boxing historian John Harding described O'Keeffe as one of the notable characters of his era[5], while the NSC's manager Arthur Frederick Bettinson wrote that he held "pride of place" among the middleweights of his time.[6] After retiring from the ring, he remained active in the sport and served as a founding member of the British Boxing Board of Control.[7]

Early life

O'Keeffe was born in Bromley-by-Bow on 17 March 1883.[8] In the 1891 census, he was recorded in the West Ham area with his parents, Patrick and Catherine O'Keeffe.[9] By 1911, he was still living in West Ham, recorded as single, with his occupation given as professional boxer.[10]

He began boxing as an amateur with the Canning Town Athletic Club in 1901. A contemporary profile described him as 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and 10 st 6 lb (66 kg; 146 lb) at the time, and noted that he won an open competition at the Columbia Boxing Club at the 9 st 6 lb weight class before turning professional in 1902.[8][11]

Professional boxing

Early career: 1902–1907

One of O'Keeffe's earliest recorded opponents was Jack Palmer,[12] whom he defeated twice over six rounds in 1902.[13]

In 1903, O'Keeffe won a welterweight competition at the Olympia, establishing his standing in the lighter divisions before moving up in weight.[5] In early 1904, he competed in a 10 st 7 lb tournament at the same venue. Contemporary reporting described his opening bout against Ted Percy as hard-fought, noting O'Keeffe's effective use of both hands to secure victory. He progressed to the next round but was eliminated before reaching the final.[14]

By 1906, having fought many of the leading contenders for the British middleweight title, O'Keeffe was selected to contest the championship. He defeated Mike Crawley over fifteen rounds, a victory now recognised as the start of his first reign as champion.[15][5]

One month later, O'Keeffe defended the title against Charlie Allum, knocking him out in the sixth round.[16] He lost the belt in his next bout to Tom Thomas at the NSC by a narrow points margin.[17] Harding later summarised O'Keeffe's 1906 reign as a rapid sequence in which he won, defended and then lost the British middleweight title within six months.[18] A year later in Paris, O'Keeffe again defeated Allum by knockout, winning £200. The bout was billed as the French middleweight championship, although the title was never defended.[19]

International career: 1907–1910

After losing the British middleweight championship, O'Keeffe fought across the United States and Australia. In 1907, he fought world middleweight champion Billy Papke and world welterweight champion Harry Lewis with little more than a month between them. The bout with Papke in Philadelphia was hard fought and ended in a draw.[20] He lost to Harry Lewis in Boston, Massachusetts by decision. A profile later that year noted that he had made a favourable impression on American audiences, highlighting his six-round bout with Papke.[21]

His next fight was against Willie Lewis, originally scheduled for 19 December 1907, but police obtained an injunction against the venue in New York.[22] The bout went ahead on 23 December 1907. Eugene Corri later wrote that Lewis entered O'Keeffe's dressing room shortly before the fight and joked about striking him "in the belly". O'Keeffe lost the contest by knockout.[23][24] In February 1908, he returned to England and placed a notice in the Sporting Life declaring that he was "here for business"; the accompanying article noted that he had contracted malaria in the United States.[25]

Responding to the notice, fellow Canning Town boxer Steve Smith fought him at the Wonderland Français in Paris, with the contest ending in a draw.[26] Less than two weeks later at the same venue, O'Keeffe was disqualified for a low blow in the fourth round against Jeff Thorne.[27]

A signed photo of Pat O'Keeffe, c. 1908, in Australia[28]

Later in 1908, O'Keeffe toured Australia with Tommy Burns, the reigning world heavyweight champion, who at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) was often described as one of the shortest men to hold the title.[29] Burns had won the title in 1906 and defended it eleven times before losing to Jack Johnson on Boxing Day 1908; O'Keeffe acted as his second for the contest.[5]

While in Australia, O'Keeffe and Burns trained together and invited the public to watch exhibition work.[30] O'Keeffe fought six contests in Australia, often against heavier opponents, winning two, drawing one and losing three.[31] One of his Australian contests, against Ed. Williams in Sydney, drew an exceptionally large crowd and was marred by serious disorder. Reporting on the bout at the Cyclorama, The Sportsman described spectators forcing entry without paying, with police ultimately intervening to restore order. The contest went the full fifteen rounds. Williams was unable to knock O'Keeffe down despite sustained head punishment, while O'Keeffe worked to the body. After an exchange at the final gong, police intervened again and the referee awarded the decision to Williams on points.[32]

Late career: 1911–1918

O'Keeffe did not fight again in England until 1911, losing on points to Eddie McGoorty over fifteen rounds.[33] McGoorty became world champion in 1915.[34]

O'Keeffe then won his next five contests between 1911 and 1913, including two victories over Frank Mantell in the space of seven days.[35] His next loss came on points to Private Jim Harris,[36] a result he reversed over twenty rounds two months later.[37]

Heavyweight challenge and build-up

French champion Georges Carpentier, whom O'Keeffe fought in a bout billed as the European heavyweight championship in 1914

Ahead of his 1913 challenge for the British heavyweight title, Sporting Life wrote that O'Keeffe was completing his preparation at Upper Warlingham with other boxers and noted his previous experience as a sparring partner to Tommy Burns.[38] On 4 August 1913, O'Keeffe challenged Bombardier Billy Wells for the British heavyweight championship. Wells outweighed him by almost three stone and knocked him out in the fifteenth round.[39]

O'Keeffe's next bout was against Carpentier. The contest was billed as the heavyweight championship of Europe, though both men weighed under the light heavyweight limit. O'Keeffe was knocked out in two rounds.[40] He later explained his defeat to the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, stating: "He was too big and strong for me."[41]

On 2 February 1914, he faced Harry Reeve for the British middleweight championship, winning on points over twenty rounds.[42] Reeve later moved up to light heavyweight and won the British title in 1916 against Dick Smith.[43] In March 1914, O'Keeffe and Bombardier Wells were reported to have boxed in an exhibition before King George V.[44]

O'Keeffe defended his middleweight title two months later against Nichol Simpson.[45] In May, he defended the title again by defeating Jim Sullivan, earning £650 for the contest.[46] Writing in 1922, Bettinson recalled that the contest fell on the eve of the Epsom Derby and served as the principal attraction on the bill, with O'Keeffe retaining the championship at the NSC.[47] In March 1915, O'Keeffe knocked out the heavyweight Joe Beckett in eight rounds.[48] In May 1915, he met Bandsman Blake and stopped him in the thirteenth round.[49] At that stage, Blake's only previous defeat had been to Bombardier Billy Wells.[50] Writing in Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, 'Corinthian' described O'Keeffe as a methodical boxer who used a straight left and a high guard to control distance early, before increasing his pace once he had assessed an opponent.[51]

O'Keeffe then had a return bout with Sullivan. Although billed as a British middleweight title fight, the contest was not endorsed by the NSC and the Lonsdale Belt was therefore not at stake. As later historians have noted, the NSC's authority in recognising championships meant that contests held outside its jurisdiction were often regarded as unofficial, even when billed as title fights.[52]

The pair met again on 21 February 1916, when Jimmy Wilde described the contest as the most punishing he had ever witnessed.[53] O'Keeffe won on points over twenty rounds.[54] Harding later noted that the scale of some wartime purses attracted concern in the Army and that General Haig issued a ban on big-money fights involving serving soldiers.[55]

Sullivan (L) vs O'Keeffe (R), 21 February 1916

On 22 May 1916, O'Keeffe fought Blake again at the NSC in a £500 match that went the full twenty rounds. The Sheffield Independent described the contest as "not a good one", reporting that Blake's clinching and holding drew warnings from the referee and that the verdict surprised many in the audience.[56] O'Keeffe lost both the championship and his Lonsdale Belt.

On 28 January 1918, O'Keeffe fought his final professional bout, defeating Blake at the NSC to win the Lonsdale Belt outright, along with an NSC pension.[57]

A later account recalled that the bout took place during an air raid, with bombs falling close enough for plaster to flake from the walls of the NSC.[58] O'Keeffe reportedly told his corner before the bout: "If I get home safely tonight I don't think I will fight again."[59]

Two days later, Bettinson paid tribute to O'Keeffe at the NSC, congratulating him as both a sportsman and a man. O'Keeffe replied that winning the Lonsdale Belt outright had been one of his ambitions and that he would now devote himself to charity and family life.[60]

In 1922, Bettinson wrote that among the middleweights of the era, O'Keeffe "must be given pride of place", if only for his status as a personality.[61] Describing him as a "breezy Irishman", Bettinson noted the affection the club's members held for him, remarking that "no man had a warmer ovation" than O'Keeffe when he finally secured the belt outright as a veteran of the sport.[62]

Military service during World War I

O'Keeffe puts on a punch ball exhibition for the 1st Surrey Rifles during World War I

After the outbreak of World War I, O'Keeffe enlisted in the British Army and joined the 1st Surrey Rifles, part of the 21st County of London Regiment. Press reports indicate that he initially held the rank of lance corporal, later rising to corporal and finishing his wartime service as a sergeant. He was retained on home duties, combining recruiting with the training of new soldiers, and also served as a military policeman. Authorities valued his popularity and effectiveness as a recruiter; his manager Fred Dartnell later recalled O'Keeffe's standard recruiting cry to crowds: "Join the army and you'll be a champion like me!"[63][64]

In his history of the NSC, Guy Deghy recalled that despite wartime disruption the club continued to stage contests, with audiences often filled with soldiers on leave, and that service ranks were commonly used when referring to boxers appearing on the bill, including "Sergeant O'Keeffe".[65]

In addition to his regimental duties, O'Keeffe took part in public patriotic events. In 1915 he attended a Grand Patriotic Rally at the Imperial Hall in East Dulwich, where he appeared both on film and in person as part of a recruiting programme. Contemporary reports identified him as a lance corporal and noted that the band of the 1st Surrey Rifles accompanied the event.[66]

O'Keeffe also supported large-scale fundraising events. In September 1915, he appeared in a Volunteer Training Corps athletic and boxing display at the Aston Villa Football Grounds in Birmingham, organised in aid of wounded soldiers, the Red Cross and Volunteer Training Corps equipment funds, alongside leading professional boxers including Jimmy Wilde and Johnny Basham.[67]

A detailed 1915 profile in the Daily News described O'Keeffe training in a Surrey village ahead of his bout with Bandsman Blake. The report noted that he had become a well-known local figure, with children regularly gathering to watch him spar and use gym equipment, and that he credited Army routine with maintaining his fitness, He explained that when training recruits he demonstrated the exercises himself rather than merely giving orders, which had "done me a world of good".[68]

O'Keeffe also featured in a wartime boxing film. Cinema listings promoted The Khaki Contest (also referred to as The Great Fight Film), billed as showing him boxing Lance Corporal Jim Sullivan.[69]

O'Keeffe's recruiting activities occasionally provided lighter material for the sporting press, as in an encounter on London Bridge that became widely quoted:[70]

... He was recently crossing London Bridge in company with his Sergeant-Major when from the other direction came a husky, healthy youth pushing a milk cart. Said the Sergeant-Major to the Corporal, "There's a likely-looking recruit for you, Pat; try him." O'Keeffe approached the youth, prodded him in the chest with his little stick, and said: "Say, don't you want to serve your King?" "Yus," answered the youth. "How many quarts will he want?" ...

— He wanted to serve, Star Green 'un, 17 July 1915

A separate report described O'Keeffe serving as a military policeman while stationed around St Albans, noting that he wore the initials "M.P." on his sleeve and remained willing to meet boxing challengers if terms could be agreed.[71]

Pat O'Keeffe passing round fruit to wounded soldiers during a morale-boosting boat trip in World War I

Army life at the regiment's base in Camberwell reportedly suited him well. With regular meals, strict routine, access to sparring partners and space to train, he was described as thriving and popular with the men.[72]

O'Keeffe helped organise morale-boosting activities for wounded soldiers, including an excursion boat trip on the Thames.[73] He also continued to promote boxing during the war, arranging an entertainment at Chatham that featured both service and civilian bouts.[74] He viewed the sport as essential for national morale and for preventing social unrest, reportedly declaring: "Give the public plenty of boxing and you'll have no Bolshevism!"[63]

Personal life

O'Keeffe married Isabella O'Neill in the West Ham registration district in the first quarter of 1917.[75] The couple had two children: Eileen Isabel O'Keeffe (born 1917) and Patrick Alfred Leon O'Keeffe (born 1918).[76][77]

Later life and post-boxing career

Pat O'Keeffe, former British boxing champion and Lonsdale Belt holder, leading physical training exercises for cinema usherettes on the roof of the Regal Cinema near Marble Arch, London, in 1929

After winning the Lonsdale Belt outright in 1918, O'Keeffe retired from professional boxing. A 1919 profile reported that he had left the army in February of that year and was living with his wife and two children. The same account noted that he had entered the licensed trade, owning or holding interests in several public houses including premises in East Road, Hoxton, and that he was considering establishing a gymnasium.[78]

O'Keeffe remained a prominent figure in British boxing during the interwar years. He was elected by a voting college of Lonsdale Belt holders to the inaugural board of the British Boxing Board of Control and served alongside fellow champions Billy Wells and Jim Driscoll in administering the Board's Benevolent Fund.[79] He attended major championship contests, officiated at amateur tournaments, and took part in charity and exhibition bouts, including contests with Wells.[80] He also contributed a regular boxing column to the Daily Herald.[81]

In June 1923, O'Keeffe was among a group of prominent boxers presented to King George V during a royal visit to the Canning Town dock district. The Sunday Mirror reported that the King and Queen visited the Malvern Mission Dockland Settlement, where they watched boxing bouts and met O'Keeffe alongside Johnny Summers and Mike Honeyman. The King remarked that English boxers "never cried" and showed determination against their opponents.[82]

Although O'Keeffe publicly stated that his fighting career had ended, reports occasionally suggested a possible return, including a 1920 claim that he had received an offer for a bout in Paris; no comeback followed.[83]

A newspaper sketch later that year described O'Keeffe at an exhibition sparring display, joking with spectators about modern purse demands compared with his own career earnings.[84] The same report remarked that he had put on weight and would have struggled to make his former fighting limit.[84]

In February 1921, O'Keeffe took part in a relief effort for unemployed residents in Canning Town. Reporting on the distribution of grocery parcels at the Public Hall, the East End News and London Shipping Chronicle noted that the Mayor of West Ham attended and congratulated the organisers, including O'Keeffe. A boxing display had recently been held in support of the initiative.[85]

In March 1922, while acting as timekeeper at a professional contest in Hoxton, O'Keeffe was struck by the gong and cut on the nose. He received treatment but declined to officiate for the rest of the evening.[86]

Alongside his continued involvement in boxing, O'Keeffe worked as a publican. Court reports from the early 1920s record him prosecuting cases arising from thefts and disturbances at licensed premises under his control in East Road, Hoxton.[87][88] His business ventures were not always successful; by the mid-1920s he faced financial difficulties connected with the licensed trade, which led to court proceedings.[89]

Despite these difficulties, O'Keeffe continued to work as a trainer. In 1925, he was reported to have been employed as a boxing instructor by both the British and French armies.[90] His training work extended beyond boxing; in 1929 he led fitness sessions for cinema usherettes at the Regal Cinema near Marble Arch.[91]

In 1928, O'Keeffe trained Lieutenant C. F. Capper, a leading amateur heavyweight, ahead of the Amateur Boxing Association championships at the Royal Albert Hall. The Daily News noted that Capper was preparing under O'Keeffe's supervision at Warlingham.[92]

In 1936, O'Keeffe and fellow Lonsdale Belt holder Tancy Lee publicly complained that the NSC had stopped paying their pensions. O'Keeffe said he was not in urgent need of the money himself, but that Lee was in severe financial difficulty.[93] Harding noted that the later NSC organisation treated pension arrangements as separate from the former Covent Garden club's obligations, a position that left some retired belt holders disputing responsibility for payments.[94]

O'Keeffe continued to attend public boxing events into the late 1930s. In 1938, he was among a group of former champions who paraded before the audience on the opening night of the NSC's new headquarters at the Hotel Splendide in Piccadilly.[95]

In the 1939 Register, O'Keeffe was recorded at 3 Bartholomew Close in the City of London, with his occupation given as publican.[96] The address corresponded to the Admiral Carter public house, in an area hit during the Blitz in May 1941 and later affected by flying bomb attacks in 1944.[97] During the war, O'Keeffe's son Patrick served in the Royal Navy and was aboard HMS Ark Royal when she was sunk off Gibraltar in November 1941.[98]

In May 1960, the Croydon Times reported that O'Keeffe and his wife, who had been living at the Licensed Victuallers' Homes in Denham, Buckinghamshire, were admitted to Mount Vernon Hospital for operations.[99] He died there on 16 August 1960, aged 77.[100]

Selected professional boxing record

O'Keeffe's professional boxing record can be summarised as follows:[101]

131 fights 88 wins 25 losses
By knockout 36 9
By decision 52 16
Draws 7
No contests 11

See also

References

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Further reading

  • Bettinson, A. F.; Bennison, B. (1922). The Home of Boxing. London: Odhams Press.
  • Bettinson, A. F.; Tristram, W. Outram (1902). The National Sporting Club: Past and Present. London: Sands & Co.
  • Corri, Eugene (2012) [1915]. Refereeing 1,000 Fights: Reminiscences of Boxing. Read Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4474-8656-5.
  • Dartnell, Fred (1924). "Seconds Out!": Chats about Boxers, Their Trainers and Patrons. London: T. W. Laurie, Limited.
  • Deghy, Guy (1956). Noble and Manly: The History of the National Sporting Club. London: Hutchinson.
  • Harding, John (2016). Lonsdale's Belt: Boxing's Most Coveted Prize. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1785312540.
  • Horrall, Andrew (2001). Popular Culture in London C.1890-1918: The Transformation of Entertainment. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719057833.
  • Strieble, Dan (2008). Fight Pictures: A History of Boxing and Early Cinema. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520940581.
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