James Sharman (20 June 1887 – 18 November 1965) was an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
troupe and entertainment impresario. His son also worked with him and took over for his father in 1955 after playing as a professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer.
Biography
Sharman was born in
Narellan, New South Wales
Narellan is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Narellan is located 60 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Camden Council and is part of the Macarthur region.
Narellan is known for it ...
, the fifth of thirteen children to James Sharman and Caroline Brailsfield, he established a boxing tent in 1911 at
Ardlethan
Ardlethan () is a small service town in the Coolamon Shire in New South Wales, Australia. Ardlethan is at the intersection of the Burley Griffin Way and Newell Highway.
Ardlethan lays claim to be the birthplace of the Australian kelpie.
Histo ...
near
Temora. The tent visited 45 to 50 shows each year.
His son, Jimmy Sharman Jr, took over the business in 1955. The tent formed part of the
Australian Show landscape until 1971, when regulations barred boxers fighting more than once a week. A member of the "Showmans Guild of Australasia", he then turned to
dodgem cars
Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. Bumpe ...
in partnership with Garry oneill
Reg Grundy.
Jimmy Sharman jr.
Sharman junior was born, as James Michael Sharman in 1912 at
Narrandera, New South Wales
Narrandera ( ) until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highways, adjacent t ...
. He attended his first
Sydney Royal Easter Show
First held in 1823, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, commonly shortened to The Easter Show or The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around the Easter period. It comprises an agricultural show, an amusement park and a ...
in 1926 working in his father's tent.
Sharman junior played rugby league for
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...
. He was in Western Suburbs'
1934 premiership win against the
Eastern Suburbs. In 1938 he became First Grade captain. He retired after 7 seasons in 1939 to become a journalist, taking over the boxing tent from his father in 1955. Sharman played 45 games between 1935 and 1939, scored 12 tries and kicked 11 goals. He died on 26 April 2006, aged 94.
He was awarded life membership in 1998.
[ ]
Jimmy Sharman's Boxing Tent
Many famous boxers worked in the Sharman tent, including:
*Ronald O'Callaghan
The Black Irish Man (
champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...
) Aboriginal
*Frank Burns (
middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
champion)
*Graham Burns, Jeff Burns, Ted Burns, Charlie Burns
*Teddy Green (
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...
)
*Harry Mack (
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, th ...
)
*Mickey Miller (bantam and featherweight)
*George Cook (
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...
)
*Jack Hassen (
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
)
*Billy Grime (triple titleholder)
*Jackie Green (triple titleholder)
*
Dave Sands
Dave Sands (born David Ritchie; 4 February 1926 – 11 August 1952) was an Indigenous Australian boxer.
The man the Americans called the "boxer with the educated left hand" received his due when he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of ...
Aboriginal boxer
*
Greg McNamara
Greg McNamara (1950–1997) was an Australian Boxer. He was born in Tamworth, New South Wales and was Australian Light-Heavyweight
Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat s ...
(light-heavyweight)
Famous
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
to work in the tent include:
*
George Bracken
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
, Aboriginal lawyer
*
Geoff Clark, former ATSIC chairperson
*
Douglas Nicholls, later Pastor with the
Churches of Christ in Australia
The Churches of Christ in Australia is a Reformed Restorationist denomination. It is affiliated with the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council and the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
Key features of the church's worship are the weekly ...
and then
Governor of South Australia
The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...
*
Max Stuart
Rupert Maxwell (Max) Stuart ( – 21 November 2014) was an Indigenous Australian who was convicted of murder in 1959. His conviction was subject to several appeals to higher courts,''R v Stuart'' , convicted murderer and Arrente elder
Some boxers came from the Cherbourg Aboriginal mission">959 South Australian State Reports, SASR 144, Sup ...
, convicted murderer and Arrente elder
Some boxers came from the Cherbourg Aboriginal mission, near Nanango, Queensland.
In 2003 the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales honoured Sharman Jr. with the title of "Show Legend".
'' includes the song "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers" whose lyrics assert that Sharman exploited the Aboriginal boxers he employed in his show.
'' features its main characters - 15-year-old boys Ed and Paddy - setting up a boxing ring on Ed's family's wheatbelt property in anticipation of a visit by Sharman's boxing troupe. Paddy later joins the troupe.
*Jimmy Sharman Jr's son
, features a character joining Jimmy Sharman's troupe.