Teddy Gardner (27 January 1922 – 1977) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 bo ...

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 ...

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 ...

of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, who won the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

(BBBofC) British flyweight title,

European Boxing Union The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the most-prestigious continental title in Europe, th ...

(EBU) flyweight title, and British Empire flyweight title, and was a challenger for the BBBofC British bantamweight title.

Career

Born in

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

, and a

publican In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...

by trade, Gardner made his professional debut in May 1938 with a fourth round knockout of Jack Herberts. In 45 fights between 1938 and September 1949 he won 38 (including victories over Pat Palmer,

Jackie Paterson Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920 – 19 November 1966) was a Scottish boxer who was world flyweight boxing champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight. Early life Born in Springside, Ayrshire, Paterson emigrated with ...

, and

Bunty Doran ''Bunty'' was a British comic for girls published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1958 to 2001.Gibson (2003)p. 91/ref> It consisted of a collection of many small strips, the stories typically being three to five pages long. In contrast to earlier ...

), losing 5 and drawing 2 (one of these to Doran). In December 1939 he faced Danny O'Sullivan at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

for the British bantamweight title that had been vacated by

Stan Rowan Stanley "Stan" J. Rowan (31 August 1924 – 1997 (aged 72)) born in Liverpool, was an English professional bantam/feather/lightweight boxer of the 1940s and 1950s who won the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) British bantamweight title, ...

. O'Sullivan stopped him in the ninth round. In his next fight, he retired in the fourth round in an Empire title eliminator against Fernando Gagnon. Gardner was unbeaten in his next 14 fights, including a points win over Honore Pratesi, the last of these a win over Vic Herman in a final eliminator for the British flyweight title. In February 1952 he knocked out French champion Louis Skena in the sixth round at the New St James Hall,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

, to take the vacant European flyweight title. A month later, he successfully defended the European title, beating Terry Allen on points, also taking the British and British Empire flyweight titles. He made a second successful defence of the European title in June, beating

Otello Belardinelli ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. The ...

on points at the West Hartlepool Greyhound Stadium. In September 1952 he was stopped in the twelfth round by South African

Jake Tuli Jake Tuli (7 July 1931 – 24 November 1998) born Jacob Ntuli in Johannesburg was a South African professional fly/ bantam/featherweight boxer of the 1950s and 1960s who won the Transvaal (South Africa) ( Non White) flyweight title, South Africa ...

in a defence of his Empire title, in what proved to be his final fight. He continued as a publican, and in 1954 was the landlord of the Half Moon in

Spennymoor Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, England. It is south of the River Wear and is south of Durham, England, Durham. The civil parish includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers ...

. Gardner married Ruth Simpson on 26 March 1951.

References

External links

*
Image - Teddy GardnerVideo - Gardner Vs Sckena 1952
versus Louis Skena

(alternative spelling Sckena)
Video - Gardner New Champ 1952
versus Terry Allen 1922 births 1977 deaths Bantamweight boxers English male boxers European Boxing Union champions Flyweight boxers People from West Hartlepool Sportspeople from Hartlepool Place of death missing {{England-boxing-bio-stub