Charlie Hardcastle (1894–1960) was an English

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

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

champion in 1917.

Career

Born in Worsbrough Bridge near

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, Hardcastle made his professional debut at 8st 6lbs in May 1911, losing to Billy Green. He had seven further fights that year, winning them all inside the distance, and became known as 'The Barnsley Bombshell'. In February 1912 he suffered the second defeat of his career, losing on points to Young Hazlehurst. His next fight came two months later against

Louis Ruddick Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

for the Yorkshire

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

title, Hardcastle retiring with a hand injury in the second round of twenty. Over the next three years he won most of his fights, mainly against novice boxers, and in December 1914 avenged his earlier defeat to Green to win the Pitmen's featherweight title. Hardcastle moved up in class in 1915, knocking out

Mike Honeyman Mike Honeyman (11 November 1896 – 1944) was a British boxer who was British featherweight champion between 1920 and 1921. Career From Woolwich, London, Mike Honeyman had his first recorded professional fight in 1914. He won most of his early b ...

in two rounds in March. He lost on points over 20 rounds to the experienced Young Joe Brooks in April, and in June beat

Walter Rossi Walter Rossi (July 12, 1894 – February 12, 1978) was a sound editor who won 1 Academy Award and was nominated for 2 more Academy Awards. Oscar nominations * 1957 Academy Awards-Award for '' The Enemy Below'' in the category of Best Special ...

, his opponent disqualified in the first round. In November he drew with

Freddie Jacks Freddy or Freddie may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 *Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 1960 ...

. In June 1916, Hardcastle faced debutante Louis Hood at the

National Sporting Club 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 ...

. The fight went to the fourteenth round, in which Hardcastle knocked Hood down; Hood got to his feet at the end of the count but collapsed and fell unconscious, and died shortly before two o'clock the following morning. Hardcastle, along with the referee, timekeeper, the two seconds, and the manager of the NSC, was charged with

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

, but the charges were dismissed the following month and the fatality was later ruled death by misadventure. In July 1916 Hardcastle beat Young Joe Brooks on points and in October beat Honeyman for a second time, stopping him in the fifth round. His last fight of the year was a points loss to former British bantamweight champion

Curley Walker Curley Walker (4 February 1894 – 1973) was a British boxer who was British bantamweight champion between 1914 and 1915. Career Born in Bermondsey and based in Bermondsey, Cornelius "Curley" Walker made his professional debut in August 1909. In ...

. Hardcastle started 1917 with a points loss to former English champion Seaman Arthur Hayes in January. After

Llew Edwards Llewellyn "Llew" Edwards (22 October 1894 – 1965) was a Welsh boxer who fought professionally between 1913 and 1922. He is most noted for winning both the British and the British Empire featherweight boxing titles in 1915 and for an out ...

vacated, Hardcastle faced former amateur champion Alf Wye in June for the British featherweight title. Hardcastle knocked Wye out in 2 minutes and 22 seconds of the first round to become British champion. He successfully defended his British title in July against Ruddick, who was disqualified in the 15th round after hitting Hardcastle while he was down, and in November made a second defence against

Tancy Lee James "Tancy" Lee (31 January 1882 – 5 February 1941) was a Scottish professional boxer who competed from 1906 to 1926. He held the IBU world, EBU European and the National Sporting Club’s British flyweight titles in 1915, becoming the first ...

. Lee Knocked him out in the fourth round to take the title.Odd, Gilbert E. (1989) ''The Encyclopedia of Boxing'', Book Sales, , p. 75 Over the next two years, Hardcastle fought with mixed results, but never again challenged for a title. He continued until 1923 but lost nine of his last eleven fights, his only wins in that period coming against the inexperienced Tommy Gray.

References

External links

Career record
boxinghistory.org.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardcastle, Charlie 1894 births 1960 deaths English male boxers Featherweight boxers Sportspeople from Barnsley