James Leslie Darcy (28 October 189524 May 1917) was an Australian

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 a

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 ...

, but held the Australian Heavyweight Championship title at the same time. Les Darcy was the 2003 Inductee for the

Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia. Inductees are nominated and then voted upon by a panel of ...

Old Timers category and was the first to be elevated to Legend status in 2009.

History

Les Darcy was born near

Maitland, New South Wales Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England Hi ...

. He started boxing as an amateur at age fifteen and quickly turned professional. He won his first sixteen fights before challenging the veteran Bob Whitelaw for the Australian

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

title. Darcy lost the twenty-round decision but, in a rematch, knocked Whitelaw out in five rounds. Darcy graduated from regional bouts to fighting in

Sydney Stadium The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, New South Wales, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay. Built in 1908, it was demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...

, in

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government ar ...

, and promoters began to import talent to challenge him. He lost his first two fights in Sydney, one by decision and one by foul, to America's Fritz Holland. The next year Darcy faced another American, Jeff Smith, in what was considered a contest for the Australian world middleweight title. When Darcy complained of a low blow at the end of the fifth round, the referee believed that Darcy did not want to continue and awarded the decision to Smith. In a rematch, Darcy was awarded the victory when Smith punched him in the groin. As Australian world middleweight champ, Darcy defeated such top-flight visiting Americans as Eddie McGoorty, Billy Murray, Jimmy Clabby,

George Chip George Chip (Lithuanian language, Lit. ''Jurgis Čepulionis'', August 25, 1888 – November 6, 1960) was a Lithuanian-American boxer who was the World Middleweight Champion from 1913 to 1914 in an era of great middleweights. Chip came to be known ...

, George "KO" Brown, and Buck Crouse, as well as knocking out Smith and Holland in rematches. Darcy's opponents are said to have admired his courage, stamina, and punching power. In 1916, Darcy knocked

Harold Hardwick Harold Hampton Hardwick (14 December 1888 – 22 February 1959) was a versatile Australian sports star of the early 20th century – an Olympic gold medal swimmer, national heavyweight boxing champion, and a state representative rugby union ...

out to capture the Australian heavyweight title. Les Darcy Suit

Darcy became embroiled in the politics of

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and left Australia for the United States to avoid the aggravation. He died on 24 May 1917 from

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

and medical complications, which was speculated to be from dental work he received to replace teeth that had been knocked out during a bout. After his death, Darcy's embalmed body was returned to Australia, where an estimated half-million people paid their respects. His brother Frank, also a boxer who showed many of the attributes of his brother, including pluck, died on 9 May 1919 from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

, and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery, East Maitland.

Legacy

Darcy was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

in 1993, the

World Boxing Hall of Fame In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

in October 1998, and the

in 2003. In 2001,

Raffaele Marcellino Raffaele Marcellino (born 1964) is an Australian composer. Biography Raffaele Marcellino graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with merit in 1985. His teachers included Richard Vella, Richard Toop, Gillian Whitehead, Martin Wesl ...

's opera ''The Flight of Les Darcy'', with libretto by

Robert Jarman Robert Jarman is an Australian theatre artist based in Hobart, Tasmania. Primarily a director and actor, he is also a writer and designer. Education Jarman studied English and Drama at the University of Sydney, where he participated extensively ...

, premiered at the "10 Days on the Island" festival in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. The character of Darcy has no singing role but is portrayed by a dancer, and draws on the story that he played the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

to prepare himself for fights.

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 52 Wins (32 knockouts, 19 decisions, 1 disqualification), 4 Losses, 0 Draws , - , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Res. , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Rd. , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Win , 52–4 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 50–4 , align=left, Dave Smith , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 49–4 , align=left, Dave Smith , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 48–4 , align=left, Buck Crouse , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 47–4 , align=left, Alex Costica , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 46–4 , align=left, George "K.O." Brown , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 45–4 , align=left, Les O'Donnell , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 44–4 , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 43–4 , align=left, George "K.O." Brown , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 42–4 , align=left, Eddie McGoorty , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 41–4 , align=left, Billy Murray , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 40–4 , align=left, Jimmy Clabby , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 39–4 , align=left,

Fred Dyer Fred Dyer born Frederick William O'Dwyer (29 April 1888 – date of death unknown), was a Welsh boxing champion, boxing manager and baritone singer. Trained by vocal teacher Clara Novello Davies, Dyer was famed for singing to audiences after h ...

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 38–4 , align=left, Billy Murray , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 37–4 , align=left, Eddie McGoorty , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 36–4 , align=left, Mick King , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 35–4 , align=left, Jeff Smith , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 34–4 , align=left, Fritz Holland , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 33–4 , align=left, Henri Demlen , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 32–4 , align=left, Fritz Holland , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 31–4 , align=left, Frank Loughrey , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 30–4 , align=left, Jeff Smith , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 30–3 , align=left, Fred Dyer , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 29–3 , align=left, Gus Christie , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 28–3 , align=left, Victor "K.O." Marchand , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 27–3 , align=left, Fritz Holland , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 27–2 , align=left, Fritz Holland , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 27–1 , align=left, Billy McNabb , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 26–1 , align=left, Bob Whitelaw , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 25–1 , align=left, Young Hanley , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 24–1 , align=left, Jack Clarke , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 23–1 , align=left, Bob Whitelaw , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 23–0 , align=left, Billy McNabb , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 22–0 , align=left, Joe Shakespeare , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 21–0 , align=left, Reg Regio Delaney , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 20–0 , align=left, Billy Hannan , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 19–0 , align=left, Jim Burns , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 18–0 , align=left, Dave Depena , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 17–0 , align=left, Peter Barnes , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 16–0 , align=left, Peter Devon , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Harry Richards , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Jim Burns , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Tom Page , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Harry Emery , , , , align=left, , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Tom Rhymer , , , , align=left, , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Roger Fairbairn , , , , align=left, , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Harry Ford , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Peter Cook , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Harry Emery , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Les Althorne , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Sam Norman , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Sid Pascoe , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Tom DonohueLeo James Lonergan fought Darcy twice, first under the name of 'Young Texas' in April 1911, then under the name of 'Tom Donohue' (listed as 'Dan Donohue' in Power, p. 159) in July 1911. Darcy fought the April bout under the name of 'Pat Donohue', and the July bout under his real name (Park and Champion, p. 31). , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Young Texas , , , This match was a preliminary to the fourth match-up between Peter Cook and Billy Hannan (Park and Champion, p. 159), which, according t
BoxRec
was held on 7 April 1911. , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 1–0 , align=left, George 'Governor' Balser , , , , align=left, , align=left,

References

Other resources

* * Maitland Tourism (2008).
Les Darcy: The Legend: 1895–1917
'. rochure Maitland, New South Wales: Maitland Tourism & Maitland City Council. * * *

Reference sources

Pictures held and digitised as part of th
Arnold Thomas boxing collection
by the National Library of Australia
James Lesley Darcy

James Lesley Darcy

Les Darcy giving demonstration of punches with his tutor Dave Smith

External links

Les Darcy at the National Museum of Australia
, -
Died , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy, Les 1895 births 1917 deaths Australian folklore Australian male boxers Australian people of Irish descent Australian Roman Catholics Deaths from sepsis Heavyweight boxers Middleweight boxers People from Maitland, New South Wales Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportsmen from New South Wales