James "Tancy" Lee (31 January 1882 – 5 February 1941) was a Scottish
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 1906 to 1926. He held the
IBU world,
EBU European and the
National Sporting Club
The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation.
Origins
The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...
’s British
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of b ...
titles in 1915, becoming the first Scot to hold a British title.
Career
Early career
Born in
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
in 1882, Lee had his first fights as an amateur in 1906. In 1910 he won the
ABA 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. B ...
championship, but was stripped of the title after it was discovered that he had infringed the amateur boxing laws. Undefeated as a professional by 1911 he suffered his first loss when he was stopped in the thirteenth round by
Alex Lafferty in a contest for the Scottish bantamweight title. He won the Scottish
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of b ...
title three years later when he beat Dan McGrady (who later changed his name to MacGrady).
British, European, and World title fights
After beating
Tommy Harrison in an eliminator he was to face
Percy Jones in October 1914 for the latter's British and World
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of b ...
titles but Jones failed to make the weight; The fight went ahead as a non-title catch-weight fight with Lee stopping Jones in the 14th round.
In January 1915 he faced
Jimmy Wilde
William James Wilde (15 May 1892 – 10 March 1969) was a Welsh professional boxer who competed from 1911 to 1923. He held the IBU world flyweight title in 1916, the EBU European flyweight title twice; firstly in 1914 and again from 1916 to 1 ...
, at the time unbeaten in over 90 fights (according to some sources 103), for the vacant British, European, and IBU World titles at the
National Sporting Club
The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation.
Origins
The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...
, stopping him in the 17th round to become triple champion. He lost the British and World titles nine months later to
Joe "Young" Symonds.
In February 1916 he beat Johnny Best to take the Scottish bantamweight title, and four months later faced Wilde for the British, European, and World flyweight titles, Wilde stopping him in the 11th round.
In December 1916 he successfully defended his Scottish bantamweight title against Lafferty and then moved up to
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, t ...
. In November 1917 he knocked
Charlie Hardcastle in the fourth round to become British featherweight champion. Although he lost his next three fights he successfully defended his British title in October 1918 against
Joe Conn, and again in February 1919 against
Danny Morgan to win the Lonsdale Belt outright.
In December 1919 he challenged
Louis de Ponthieu for the vacant European featherweight title at the
Cirque de Paris, but was stopped in the 17th round. Having relinquished the British title he fought for it again in October 1920, but retired in the 19th round against defending champion
Mike Honeyman. After losing to
Auguste Grassi in March 1921 he retired from boxing, although he fought in a three-round exhibition bout in 1922, and made a comeback in 1926, at the age of 44, when he drew with Johnny Seeley.
Retirement and death
After retiring from the ring Lee became a
bookmaker
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookm ...
, and also a boxing trainer and manager, having co-founded the Leith Victoria Club in 1919, and training fighters such as
Johnny Hill,
Alex Ireland,
Jim Rolland, and Lee's nephews
George McKenzie and
James McKenzie, both Olympic medallists, George also winning the British featherweight title.
[‘Tancy’ Lee to get place in Hall of Fame]
, ''The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...
'', 19 July 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2015
In April 1930 a testimonial tournament was held in his honour in
Waverley Market
Waverley Market (formerly also known as Waverley Shopping Centre, Princes Mall, and Waverley Mall) is a shopping centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The old Waverley Market
The old Waverley Market occupied the same site as the current shopping cent ...
, Edinburgh. As the first outright winner of the Lonsdale Belt to reach the age of 50, he became in 1932 the first to receive a £1 per week pension from the National Sporting Club.
Tancy Lee died on 5 February 1941, aged 59, after being hit by a bus in Duncan Place, and was buried at Seafield Cemetery in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
.
["Tancy" Lee's Widow Fails in Action]
, ''Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'', 13 March 1942, p. 8. Retrieved 22 March 2015 He was survived by his widow Harriett (née Mears) and three daughters.
His wife sued the
Edinburgh Corporation, owners of the bus, but the action was unsuccessful.
Lee was inducted into the Scottish Boxing Hall of Fame in September 2008, in a ceremony attended by his 94-year-old daughter.
[Lee's daughter knocks 'em out . . at 94]
, ''The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...
'', 16 September 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2015
Title fights
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="7",
, - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Rd., Time
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location
, style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=left,
Mike Honeyman
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=left,
Louis De Ponthieu
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=left,
Danny Morgan
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=left,
Joe Conn
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=left,
Charlie Hardcastle
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=left,
Johnny Lafferty
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=left,
Jimmy Wilde
William James Wilde (15 May 1892 – 10 March 1969) was a Welsh professional boxer who competed from 1911 to 1923. He held the IBU world flyweight title in 1916, the EBU European flyweight title twice; firstly in 1914 and again from 1916 to 1 ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=left,
Johnny Best
Johnny McClanian Best, Jr. (October 20, 1913, Shelby, North Carolina – September 19, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Background
Best played piano as a child and learned trumpet from age 13. He worked in the 1930s with Les Brown, Charli ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=left,
Joe Symonds
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=left,
Jimmy Wilde
William James Wilde (15 May 1892 – 10 March 1969) was a Welsh professional boxer who competed from 1911 to 1923. He held the IBU world flyweight title in 1916, the EBU European flyweight title twice; firstly in 1914 and again from 1916 to 1 ...
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Win
, align=left,
Dan McGrady
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, Loss
, align=left,
Alex Lafferty
,
,
,
, align=left,
, align=left,
References
External links
Career recordat boxrec.com
Career recordat boxinghistory.org.uk
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Tancy
1882 births
1941 deaths
Scottish male boxers
Flyweight boxers
Bantamweight boxers
Featherweight boxers
People from Leith
Boxers from Edinburgh
Road incident deaths in Scotland