Charles Francis Pilkington (September 22, 1897 - May 20, 1974), known as Charlie Pilkington and The Meriden Flash, was an American professional

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 ...

in the

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 ...

division.

Background

Pilkington was born on September 22, 1897 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

parents. He was a descendant of Jacobite members of the Pilkington Family of

Lancashire, England Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashir ...

who fled to Ireland after the Battle of Preston in 1716. Growing up in a

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

, Pilkington was advised by a doctor to pursue exercise to improve his health and took up boxing at the

Union Settlement Association Union Settlement is one of the oldest settlement houses in New York City, providing community-based services and programs that support the immigrant and low-income residents of East Harlem since 1895. It is East Harlem’s largest social service a ...

Professional career

Pilkington learned to box by watching

Benny Leonard Benny Leonard (born Benjamin Leiner; April 7, 1896 – April 18, 1947) was a Jewish American professional boxer who held the world lightweight championship for eight years, from 1917 to 1925. Widely considered one of the all-time greats, he was r ...

Harlem Tommy Murphy Harlem Tommy Murphy (April 13, 1885 – November 26, 1958) was an American boxer whose career lasted from 1903 to 1917. He was a contender in three different divisions; being ranked in the bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight weight classe ...

, and Irish Patsy Cline at his neighborhood gym and based much of his early technique off of what he observed. Beginning his boxing career with a win in an amateur match at the

Athletic Club in 1915, Pilkington would spend four years in the amateur leagues, earning the name the "Harlem Flash". When he later moved to

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.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 ...

division. During his early career, he was the first professional boxer to be coached and managed by famed manager

Al Weill Armand "Al" Weill (December 28, 1893 – October 20, 1969) was a boxing manager. Background Weill moved to the United States from his birthplace of France at the age of 13. In his early years, he began working as a professional ballroom dancer ...

. Turning pro to support his family in 1919, he began professional boxing in New Jersey and Connecticut. During his first professional fight, he knocked out Joe Welling in four rounds. Later, he boxed against well known boxer Sammy Waltz, knocking him down with his first punch. At the height of his career, Pilkington was so popular in the greater New York area that after a victory over Johnny Shugrue was proclaimed a draw,

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

police officers had to escort the referee out of the arena to prevent a riot by Pilkington's fans. Pilkington fought

Jack Bernstein Jack Bernstein (November 5, 1899 – December 26, 1945) was an American boxer given the birthname John Dodick. He became World Junior lightweight Champion, on May 30, 1923, against Johnny Dundee at the Coney Island Velodrome in Brooklyn. When he ...

at the Commonwealth Sporting Club in New York in December 1923, where he repetitively held Bernstein's arms and "head butted" him, losing the match after being disqualified. In 1924, he traveled to Australia for his last professional matches - a five fight bout, winning three matches, losing one, and boxing a draw in the other. By the end of his career, Pilkington was New York State champion for the 108,115, and 125 pound class. Later in his life, Pilkington became a noted referee, matchmaker, trainer, and promoter. As a mentor and sparring partner, he is largely credited with helping mold the career of famed boxer

Kid Kaplan Louis "Kid" Kaplan (born October 15, 1901 in Kyiv, Ukraine – October 26, 1970) was a professional boxer and a 1925 world featherweight champion. Early life Kaplan and his family emigrated to the United States from the Kyiv when he was five ...

. While working as a promoter in the 1930s, Pilkington publicly spoke out against

Kaplan Kaplan may refer to: Places * Kapłań, Poland * Kaplan, Louisiana, U.S. * Kaplan Medical Center, a hospital in Rehovot, Israel * Kaplan Street, in Tel Aviv, Israel * Mount Kaplan, Antarctica * Kaplan Arena, at the College of William & Mary in W ...

, then a referee, resulting in a large public dispute that ended in Pilkington's license being revoked. Known as "The Boxing Master," he trained many future boxing stars, including Eddie Campagnuolo.

Personal life

Pilkington's younger brother, "Irish" Jackie Pilkington, was also a professional boxer.

Background

Professional career

Personal life

See also