Tom Paddock, born Thomas Paddock (c. 1822,

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

– 30 June 1863) also known as the Redditch Needlepointer was a champion English

bare-knuckle boxer Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a combat sport which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any boxing gloves or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated ...

in the early

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. Tom was baptised on 25 August 1822 in

, Worcestershire, England, the son of George Paddock and Elizabeth (née Morris). Brought up on a farm, he was noted to have developed a size and endurance that served him well in his career as a boxer. His professional career in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

started in 1844; at the time he was just under six feet tall and weighed twelve stone. Between then and 1850 he was largely undefeated in the boxing ring, and gained a reputation not only for his courage but for his foul tactics and uncontrollable temper. It was William Thompson of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

who spoilt his clean record in 1850 in

Mildenhall, Suffolk Mildenhall is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. The town is near the A11 and is located north-west of Ipswich, the county town.Ordnance Survey (2006). ''OS Explorer Map 226 - Ely & Newmarket''. . The large Royal Air Force stati ...

. In 1851 a fight against Harry Poulson in

Belper Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent. As well as Belper itself, the parish also includes the village of Milford and the ha ...

ended in a riot when both men were jailed. Both served ten months hard labour. Three years later Paddock challenged both

Harry Broome Henry Alfred Broome (1826 – 2 November 1865) was a boxer from the bare-knuckle fighting era who became heavyweight champion of England in September, 1851 when he defeated fellow Englishman William Perry in Mildenhall, England. He lost the tit ...

and Bill Perry to a

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

Championship of England bout but both turned it down. Paddock then claimed himself as the Heavyweight Champion of England by default, though this was not generally recognised until 1856 following fifty-one rounds in the ring against Harry Broome in

Manningtree Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Natural Beauty. Smallest town claim Manningtree has traditionally claimed to b ...

. However, his victory was short-lived; he lost the title later the same year to Bill Perry. He twice attempted to regain the title, but was unsuccessful. Paddock's last fight took place in 1860 against

Sam Hurst Sam Hurst (13 March 1832 – 22 May 1882), nicknamed the Stalybridge Infant in ironic reference to his considerable physical size, was the English bare-knuckle boxing champion 1860–61. He was born in Marsden, in Yorkshire, England, but in ...

, for the championship of England. He died of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

on 30 June 1863 in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

.FreeBMD
/ref> A book on Paddock’s life is currently being penned by Tom Podmore, a Nottingham-based writer originally from Redditch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paddock, Tom 1822 births 1863 deaths Sportspeople from Redditch Bare-knuckle boxers English male boxers Heavyweight boxers