Edward Richard Scarf (3 November 1908 – 7 January 1980) was an Australian

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

and

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 ...

. He was Olympic bronze medalist in

Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

in 1932, and also competed at the 1936 Olympics.

Early life

He was born in

Quirindi Quirindi ( or ) is a small town on the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Liverpool Plains Shire. At the , Quirindi had a population of 3,444. It is the nearest link to Gunnedah to the west and Tamworth to the north. ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He was the fourth child of Michael Eli Scarf and Amelia, née Zraysarty, who had both migrated from Lebanon. He attended Marist Brothers School in North Sydney.

Career

In February 1938, Scarf won the wrestling gold medal at the

Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in Sydney in the light heavyweight division. His victory came in spite of pulling a muscle in his right thigh during the preliminary rounds. In November that year he turned professional and moved up to the heavyweight class in order to compete in a competition sponsored by Stadiums Limited to determine the heavyweight professional champion of Australia. He had been training with American wrestlers, Ray Steele,

Dean Detton Dean Henry Detton (June 27, 1908 – February 23, 1958) was an American professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century. Previously he was a proficient University of Utah football ...

, and Bobby Roberts. He was crowned professional champion by defeating Jim Bartlett of New Zealand one fall to nil in four rounds. He retained hs title the following year. In 1940, he famously beat Chief Little Wolf on points, using Little Wolf's signature move, the Indian deathlock against him. On 29 April 1941 Scarf enlisted in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

as a

storekeeper Storekeeper (SK) is an enlisted rating in the United States Coast Guard; until 2009 it was also a United States Navy rating, the most common supply rate in U.S. Navy vs. CS ( culinary specialist) and SH (Ship's Serviceman) and very much equivalen ...

. He served with the Parachute Training Unit from 1943 and in 1944 participated in an exhibition wrestling match with Jerry Visscher during a boxing tournament in

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histor ...

, New Guinea. He was discharged from the R.A.A.F. on 7 February 1945.

Personal life

In 1942, Scarf married Edna May Gale at the Church of Our Lady of Dolours in Chatswood. They had one daughter and two sons. After the war, he focused on his butchery business, opening new shops across the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the entra ...

North Narrabeen North Narrabeen is a suburb in northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 25 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. North Narrabeen is part of the Northern B ...

Dee Why Dee Why is a coastal suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of Northern Be ...

and Palm Beach. He also became active in community and charity work. He was a founding member of the

Warringah Warringah is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to: *Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922 *Electoral ...

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

, member of the Dee Why

Surf Life Saving Club Surf Life Saving Clubs (or SLSCs) are volunteer institutions at Australia's beaches.{{cite news, last1=Moody, first1=Sherele, title=Surf Life Saving Australia: Safety at the beach isn't cheap, url=https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/Being-sa ...

and president and first patron of

The House with No Steps Frank Lionel Watts, CMG, MBE, (1928–2000), known simply as Lionel Watts, was an Australian disability advocate and founder of Australian disability service provider, House with No Steps. House with No Steps is now known as Aruma. In 1956, Watt ...

. He died on 7 January 1980 at Camperdown and is buried in Mona Vale cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scarf, Eddie 1908 births 1980 deaths People from New South Wales Olympic wrestlers of Australia Wrestlers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Australian male sport wrestlers Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in wrestling Australian people of Lebanese descent Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Australian male professional wrestlers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Wrestlers at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games medallists in wrestling Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Royal Australian Air Force airmen Australian butchers Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games