Oscar Gardner (May 19, 1872 - December 25, 1928) was an American

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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

and

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, this ...

boxer known as the Omaha Kid. He was a top contender for the Featherweight Championship of the World and the Featherweight Champion of America, though he never won any awards or titles; many claim this was due to poor refereeing. Gardner was small but unusually strong, tough in the ring but "quiet, affable..., gifted with a winning personality, who made friends easily" when not boxing. During his career, he fought between 537 and 547 battles (sources vary).

Biography

Early life

Oscar Desire Gardner was born May 19, 1872, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, the middle son of Joseph Gardner and his French-Canadian wife Alvina (c. 1852-1917). He grew up on the east side of the city with older brother Joe, younger brother Eddie (also a boxer), and sister Grace. As a teenager, he and Eddie worked at the Salisbury & Satterlee mattress factory, where many of the workers "engag din rough and tumble battles... during the lunch hour." Gardner struggled at first and was often used by more practiced boxers to pad their stats, but eventually became a top contender and earned himself the nickname "The Fighting Machine." At 17, he moved to

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, where he worked as a mattress maker and foreman and was active in the local boxing scene. He relocated to

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

after learning he could earn more money in their pugilistic community, then returned to Minneapolis in 1891.

Career

Gardner stood almost 5'4" and weighed anywhere from 115 to 124 pounds during his career. His "one weakness" was his weak hands, which he broke at least 7 separate times. Gardner was skilled at the

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

and favored 20-25 round fights, which he sometimes fought only two days or three apart. He claimed not to train for matches and both drank and smoked cigars, oftentimes waiting to put out his smoke until right before entering the ring. On April 7, 1898, Gardner was fighting

George Stout George Frederick Stout (; 1860–1944), usually cited as G. F. Stout, was a leading English philosopher and psychologist. Biography Born in South Shields on 6 January 1860, Stout studied psychology at the University of Cambridge under J ...

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when Stout tripped, fell, or was pushed down. Stout lost consciousness after hitting his head on the unpadded floor, cited by many as the fault of the event promoters, and he died the next morning. Gardner was brought to court, facing charges of manslaughter and prize-fighting, but was quickly acquitted. In 1898, Gardner was a top contender for the World Featherweight title. In October, he knocked out Sam Kelley after fourteen rounds; earned a TKO against

Solly Smith Solomon Garcia Smith (March 6, 1871 – August 28, 1933) was an American professional boxer in the featherweight division. He was a World Featherweight champion and is the first world champion of Hispanic descent. Early life Smith was born in Los ...

after six rounds the following February; and drew with

Martin Flaherty Martin Flaherty may refer to: * Martin Flaherty (baseball) * Martin S. Flaherty, legal scholar and international human rights activist {{hndis, Flaherty, Martin ...

two weeks later. Despite this success, he never won the championship. He lost his third and fourth attempts in 1900 and 1901 to

Terry McGovern Terry McGovern may refer to: *Terry McGovern (boxer) (1880–1918), boxer who held the world bantamweight and featherweight titles *Terry McGovern (actor) Terence McGovern (born May 11, 1942) is an American actor, television broadcaster, radio pe ...

. Gardner retired in 1901 at age 29 and returned to Minneapolis. Among those he fought were George Dixon, Harry Forbes,

James J. Corbett James John "Jim" Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an American professional boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated the great John L. Sullivan (hence the " man who beat the man ...

Eddie Santry Edward M. Santry (December 11, 1876 – January 28 1919), was an American featherweight boxer who took the World Featherweight Championship on October 10, 1899 against English Featherweight Champion Ben Jordan in a tenth-round knockout at t ...

, Dave Sullivan,

Torpedo Billy Murphy Thomas William Murphy (3 November 1863 – 26 July 1939) was a New Zealand boxer. An early World Featherweight Champion, he was the first world champion of any weightclass to come from New Zealand. In his early career, he took the New Zealand ...

, Joe Bernstein, and

Austin Rice Austin Rice (December 25, 1872 – January 17, 1921) was a New London boxer who became a Featherweight Title contender on January 14, 1903, when he faced featherweight champion Young Corbett II in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Though he lost the fight, ...

Retirement

Gardner spent the first decade of his retirement in Minneapolis, where he owned a saloon called "The Only Omaha Kid." In 1912, he moved to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

with a plan to open a fight club in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and by 1914 he owned a boxing school in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. In 1918, Gardner was reportedly back in Minneapolis, this time as a bar owner with his brother Eddie and, according to writer Jack Grace, as a politician, but was in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

by 1924. He worked as a promoter with

Tex Rickard George Lewis "Tex" Rickard (January 2, 1870 – January 6, 1929) was an American boxing promoter, founder of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and builder of the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden in New York City ...

for several years and in 1928 was working as a boxing judge and a factory watchman in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He contracted yellow jaundice in June 1928 but did not respond to treatment and was seriously ill by September. Gardner died on December 25, 1928, in a Minneapolis hospital. He was survived by his wife and his children, Oscar Jr. and Grace, who lived in

; his two brothers; and his sister. At the time of his death, he had four grandsons and one granddaughter. Oscar Jr. debuted as a boxer on June 3, 1913, against Dick Hewitt. He was inducted into the

Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame The Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame is a commemorative organization with plans to create a museum. It celebrates the history of boxing in the state of Minnesota by honoring individuals whose achievements within the sport are noteworthy. History Thou ...

in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Oscar 1872 births 1928 deaths Boxers from Minnesota Sportspeople from Minneapolis Boxers from Portland, Oregon American male boxers Featherweight boxers Bantamweight boxers Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska People acquitted of manslaughter