Frank Stamp (1905 – May 27, 1954) was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and later became a police officer and a professional boxer. Stamp had joined the

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is one of three provincial police forces in Canada, alongside the Ontario Provincial ...

in 1925 at age 20 and went on to become a

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

champion who fought many of the best boxers in his weight class in Canada and the

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. In 1930, he resigned from the constabulary to go to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

to pursue a professional boxing career, returned two years later and rejoined the constabulary. Stamp was known and loved by the children of the community whom followed along on sections of his beat chatting and playing and occasionally enjoyed a sweet distributed by the kind officer. Stamp known by all as a gentleman, had a legendary record of thwarting violent attacks with a reliable right hook. Stamp had joined Jack Sharkey's Camp in Boston before turning professional. He married Phyllis Young in 1935 and she died in 1942, still in her twenties, leaving her husband to raise their only child Anita, then four years of age. She was 18 years old at the time of his death. Stamp died suddenly collapsing while writing up his police report at the station, then located in the lowest level of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland courthouse. While working the beat in St. John's on May 27, 1954 at 1:35 a.m., he chased and arrested two

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servicemen for assault and disorderly conduct, one of whom had thrown a rock while attempting to flee striking Stamp in the forehead. Many stories reaching legendary proportion were told around the dinner tables of many city residents in the years following Frank's death right up to today. Stamp was immortalized on Sunday, September 25, 2005, when his name was engraved on the National Police and Peace Officers Memorial panel on Parliament Hill,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stamp, Frank 1905 births 1954 deaths Light-heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian male boxers Dominion of Newfoundland people

See also

References