Henry William Mallin (1 June 1892 – 8 November 1969) was an English middleweight amateur boxer. He came originally from

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in east London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes a ...

, his younger brother was the Olympic boxer

Fred Mallin Frederick Granville Mallin (4 March 1902 – September 1987) was an English boxer who competed for Great Britain in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He fought as Fred Mallin. Boxing career In 1928, he finished fourth in the middleweight class a ...

. He lived in Dartmouth Park, North London and was a police officer with the Metropolitan Police.

Boxing career

Mallin was Amateur Boxing Association British middleweight champion five years in a row from 1919 to 1923. He was also world champion in the middleweight class between 1920 and 1928. He never lost an amateur bout and never turned professional. In the 1920 Summer Olympics he won a gold medal in middleweight division, defeating Canadian boxer

Georges Prud'Homme Joseph Arthur Prud'Homme (March 12, 1898 – January 7, 1978) was a Canadian middleweight boxer who competed in the early 1920s. He won a silver medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics, losing to British boxer Harry Mallin in the final. Prud'Homme lat ...

in the final. In 1924 he went on to win another gold in the same weight class. In that year, he met Roger Brousse of France in the quarter-finals, and after the decision came down 2–1 in favour of Brousse, Mallin showed the referee fresh teeth marks on his chest, which further examination proved that Mallin had definitely been bitten by his French opponent. Brousse was disqualified, clearing the way for Mallin to win his second gold medal. After the incident versus Brousse, Mallin was referred to by one reporter as "the unroasted human beef of Old England". Mallin was the first to successfully defend an Olympic title in two consecutive games, and still remains the only male British boxer to do so. Subsequently, he managed the British Olympic boxing teams at the

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

Summer Olympics. In 1937, he achieved the distinction of being the first British television sports commentator, when he gave commentary on two boxing matches that were broadcast by the BBC from Alexandra Palace. Henry Mallin died at a nursing home in Lewisham in November 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallin, Harry 1892 births 1969 deaths People from Hackney Wick Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hackney Boxers from Greater London English male boxers Middleweight boxers Olympic boxers for Great Britain Boxers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1924 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain England Boxing champions Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Metropolitan Police officers