Tom Cribb (8 July 1781 – 11 May 1848) was a world champion English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. Cribb was born near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

but moved to London before starting professional fighting. He undertook a series of fights between 1805 and 1812 when he retired, becoming a coal merchant and then publican. His career has been commemorated with the name of a pub and in literature.

Early life

Born in Wick near the

Hanham Hanham is a suburb of Bristol. It is located in the south east of the city. Hanham is in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. It became a civil parish on 1 April 2003. The post code area of Hanham is BS15. The population of thi ...

area of

, Cribb moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

at the age of 13 and after working as a bell-hanger he sought work as a coal porter in

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and step ...

Boxing career

His first fight was with George Maddox on 7 January 1805 at Wood Green in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

, now part of north London. Victory here, over Maddox, followed by another a month later, over Tom Blake persuaded him to become a professional pugilist, under the supervision of Captain Robert Barclay. George Nicholls was the only fighter to defeat Cribb, on 20 July 1805. Later, the foremost prizefighting reporter, Pierce Egan, stated that he was aware that some "friends of the CHAMPION" had encouraged the myth that Cribb enjoyed an unbeaten career by "withholding the name of his vanquisher" (''

Boxiana ''Boxiana'' is the title given to a series of volumes of prizefighting articles written by the English sportswriter and journalist Pierce Egan, and part-published by George Smeeton in the 1810s. Egan wrote magazine articles about the bareknuckle ...

'', vol. 1). In 1807 Cribb beat Jem Belcher. In October 1808 he defeated

Bob Gregson Bob Gregson (21 July 1778–November 1824) billed as "The Lancashire Giant" was a bare-knuckle fighter of the early 19th-century. He was a boxing champion, ferry captain and the owner of a chophouse in Holborn in London. A bust of Gregson is ...

in 23 rounds at Moulsey Hurst to win the English championship following John Gully's retirement. In 1810 Cribb was awarded the British title. On 18 December 1810 he fought an American, former slave Tom Molineaux, at Copthorne Common in Sussex. Cribb beat Molineaux in 35 rounds and became World champion. The fight was controversial for two reasons: Molineaux was injured when the crowd invaded the ring, and Cribb at one point seemed to have taken longer than the specified time to return to the centre of the ring.Egan, ''Boxiana'', Volume I, 1813. Cribb retained his title in 1811 by beating Molineaux at Thistleton Gap in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest l ...

in 11 rounds before a large crowd. Cribb had also beaten Molineaux's trainer

Bill Richmond Bill Richmond (5 August 1763 – 28 December 1829) was a British boxer, born into slavery in Richmondtown, New York. Although born in Colonial America, he lived for the majority of his life in England, where all his boxing contests took p ...

After retirement

In 1812, aged 31, he retired to become a coal merchant (and part-time boxing trainer). Later he became a publican, running the Union Arms, Panton Street, close to Haymarket in central London. In 1839 he retired to

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thro ...

in south-east London where he died in 1848, aged 66. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary Magadalen's, Woolwich – where a monument to his memory was erected.

Legacy

London-Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens, tomb Thomas Cribb 1

Cribb's tomb, in the shape of a lion resting his paw on an urn, still stands in St Mary's Gardens in Woolwich. Also in Woolwich, a road in the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Br ...

area has been named in his honour. The Tom Cribb pub is located at 36 Panton Street, St James, London. This is the same address as the Union Arms, which was originally 26 Panton Street, but later renumbered. There is a popular local

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

in the Bristol area that Cribbs Causeway, a road not far from Hanham that has given its name to a major out-of-town

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

, retail park and entertainment complex, was named after Tom Cribb. Despite being proved to be false, this has not stopped the legend from continuing. An English footwear brand named after Thomas Cribb existed between 2003 and 2007. The brand name "Thomas Cribb" is currently registered to the creators of the brand.

Dramatic and literary references

Tom Hyer, the first recognised American heavyweight champion, portrayed the character "Tom Cribb" in a scene from Pierce Egan's '' Tom and Jerry, or Life in London'' during a single performance at the National Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts) on 9 March 1849. Cribb features prominently in

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...

’s novel '' Black Ajax'', a fictionalised account of Tom Molineaux's life. In

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' comic novel '' Martin Chuzzlewit'' (ch.9), Cribb is humorously cited as the inventor of a defensive stance used by the boy Bailey, as the landlady Mrs Todgers aims a smack at his head. He is mentioned in one episode ("The Detective Wore Silk Drawers" - largely centred on prize-fighting) of the first series of

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

's Victorian crime drama '' Cribb'', in which one of Cribb's men speculates whether he is descended from the famous boxer. Cribb's fights with Molineaux, was turned into a 2014 play by Ed Viney called ''Prize Fighters''. Cribb is also mentioned in the novel ''Mauler'' by Shawn Williamson. He appears to introduce the exotic Tasmanian Tiger (

thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tas ...

), the hero of the story, also known as Mauler and Cu´chulain.Williamson, Shawn (2005).
Mauler
'. Hayloft Publishing, Cumbria. England. Cribb is memorialised in '' The Letter of Marque'', 12th in the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cen ...

. In the novel, one of the captain's favorite personal long cannons is named "Tom Cribb".

References and sources

;References ;Sources * * * * David Snowdon, ''Writing the Prizefight: Pierce Egan's Boxiana World'' (Bern, 2013)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cribb, Tom Bare-knuckle boxers English male boxers Sportspeople from Bristol People from Woolwich 1781 births 1848 deaths