Lawrence Stevens (25 February 1913 – 17 August 1989) was a South African

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 ...

who competed in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. He was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and died in Durban, Natal. Both of his parents were born and raised in Johannesburg, all four of his grandparents were immigrants from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1930, he won the featherweight silver medal at the

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what now is known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The games were organized by ''Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

after losing the final to Frank Meachem. Two years later, he won the gold medal in the lightweight class after winning the final against Thure Ahlqvist. Stevens was mentioned on the British quiz show ''

Pointless ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...

'' on 26 January 2016, where South Africa was a "pointless answer" in the category of "Countries that won a gold medal winners at the 1932 or

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

". Of Cornish descent, he was known as 'the Gentleman Boxer'. On the way home from the Olympics, a fellow passenger in the liner persistently asked Laurie to go a few rounds with him in the gym, eventually Laurie agreed and after two rounds, woke up to the fact that the fellow passenger was trying to knock him out, so that he could claim an Olympic Gold scalp. Laurie said 'enough Chum' and that was the end of a dream. He fought in the Desert during the Second World War. In the postwar years he owned a factory and a sports shop in Rissik Street, Johannesburg. A handsome, laughing man, he always cried when recalling the raising of the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

and the playing of

God Save The King "God Save the King" is the national anthem, national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in ...

on the day he won his Olympic gold medal.

1932 Olympic results

Below are the results of Lawrence Stevens from the boxing tournament at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Stevens competed for South Africa as a lightweight. * Round of 16: defeated Jose Padilla (Philippines) by decision * Quarterfinal: defeated Franz Kartz (Germany) by decision * Semifinal: defeated Mario Bianchini (Italy) by decision * Final: defeated Thure Ahlqvist (Sweden) by decision (won gold medal)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Lawrence 1913 births 1989 deaths Boxers from Johannesburg Featherweight boxers Lightweight boxers Boxers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for South Africa Olympic gold medalists for South Africa Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1930 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa Olympic medalists in boxing South African male boxers Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing South African people of Cornish descent South African military personnel of World War II White South African people Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games