Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920,
SpringsideSpringside may refer to:*Springside, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland*Springside , estate of Matthew Vassar with landscaped grounds in Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.A....
,
AyrshireAyrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the last seven...
- 19 November 1966) was a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
boxer who was world
flyweightFlyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:The flyweight division was the last of boxing's eight traditional weight classes to be established. Before 1909, anyone below featherweight was considered a bantamweight,...
boxing champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight.
Paterson’s family emigrated from Scotland, when he was eight years old, to Scranton,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
. He returned to Scotland in his early teens to work at John Brown & Co, shipbuilders on the
Clyde-Places named Clyde:In Scotland:* River Clyde* Firth of ClydeIn Australia:* Clyde, New South Wales* Clyde, Victoria* Clyde River, New South WalesIn Canada:* Clyde, Prince Edward Island* Clyde, Quebec* Clyde, Ontario* Clyde, Alberta...
. He later worked as a butcher.
Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920,
SpringsideSpringside may refer to:*Springside, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland*Springside , estate of Matthew Vassar with landscaped grounds in Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.A....
,
AyrshireAyrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the last seven...
- 19 November 1966) was a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
boxer who was world
flyweightFlyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:The flyweight division was the last of boxing's eight traditional weight classes to be established. Before 1909, anyone below featherweight was considered a bantamweight,...
boxing champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight.
Early life
Paterson’s family emigrated from Scotland, when he was eight years old, to Scranton,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
. He returned to Scotland in his early teens to work at John Brown & Co, shipbuilders on the
Clyde-Places named Clyde:In Scotland:* River Clyde* Firth of ClydeIn Australia:* Clyde, New South Wales* Clyde, Victoria* Clyde River, New South WalesIn Canada:* Clyde, Prince Edward Island* Clyde, Quebec* Clyde, Ontario* Clyde, Alberta...
. He later worked as a butcher. When he was thirteen, he joined the Anderson Club in Glasgow and began to box as an amateur. He turned professional when he was seventeen.
Boxing style
He was a southpaw with a knockout punch in either hand, his most lethal weapon being his left hook. He was comparatively broadly built for a flyweight, and often struggled to make the eight stone flyweight limit. In the latter stages of his career, he fought as a bantamweight.
Pro career
His first fight was in May 1938 in Greenock, and he beat Joe Kiely on points over ten rounds.
In his nineteenth fight he won the vacant British flyweight title, beating Paddy Ryan by a knockout in the thirteenth round. The fight was in September 1939, in Glasgow.
With the outbreak of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Paterson joined the RAF, but continued to box regularly throughout the war years.
In March 1940, he added the vacant Commonwealth title to his British one, when he won on points against Richie Kid Tanner in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
.
In February 1941, he defended both titles against Paddy Ryan in
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England and is one of only eight members of the English Core Cities Group....
, winning on a technical knockout in the eighth.
In August 1941, he had a shot at the Commonwealth bantamweight title, when he fought holder Jim Brady in Glasgow. Unfortunately he lost on points over fifteen rounds.
World title
In June 1943, he fought against the World flyweight champion,
Peter KanePeter Kane was one of England's greatest flyweight boxers and a world champion in the 1930s. Kane was born in Heywood, Lancashire, on February 28, 1918, but grew up in the town of Golborne, Lancashire, after his family moved there before his first birthday.-Boxing style:He was a two-fisted...
, from
GolborneGolborne is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.It lies south-southeast of Wigan, northeast of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester...
in
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
. The title fight, held at
Hampden ParkHampden Park in Glasgow is Scotland's national stadium. Its primary use is as the home to Queen's Park F.C. and the Scotland national football team. It is also used for music concerts and other sporting events....
in Glasgow, lasted only a minute, as Paterson caught Kane early in the first round putting him down twice, before he was counted out the second time. Paterson was the first southpaw to be world flyweight champion. By successfully defending his British flyweight title twice he had also won a
Lonsdale BeltThe Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.-National Sporting Club:...
outright.
In September 1945, Paterson had a re-match with Jim Brady for his Commonwealth bantamweight title, beating him on points in Glasgow, to take the title.
In March 1946, he fought the Frenchman, Theo Medina, for the vacant European bantamweight title. He won the fight, in London on a disqualification in the eighth. Paterson was now World, British and Commonwealth flyweight champion, as well as Commonwealth and European bantamweight champion.
In July 1946, he defended his flyweight titles against Joe Curran in Glasgow, winning on points.
In October 1946, Paterson defended his European bantamweight title against Theo Medina, again in Glasgow. He lost the title when Medina knocked him out in the fourth round.
In February 1947, he challenged for the British bantamweight title, held by Johnny King. They fought in King’s hometown of Manchester, and Paterson knocked King out in the seventh after putting him down four times in the fight.
In October 1947, he defended his British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles against Welshman, Norman Lewis, at
Harringay ArenaHarringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958.-Construction:...
, London. He scored another knockout, stopping Lewis in the fifth.
Stripped of World title
Paterson was finding it more and more difficult to make the eight stone flyweight limit. In July 1947, he was due to defend his World flyweight title against
Dado MarinoDado Marino, was a flyweight boxer from Honolulu, Hawaii, who became World flyweight champion in 1950. He also boxed as a bantamweight, and unsuccessfully fought for the World bantamweight title.-Professional career:...
, but collapsed at the weigh-in after making over-strenuous efforts to lose weight. The result was that the National Boxing Association of America and the
British Boxing Board of ControlThe British Boxing Board of Control is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff.- Councils :...
stripped him of his World title.
Rinty MonaghanJohn Joseph "Rinty" Monaghan was a former world flyweight boxing champion from Belfast. He became famous in the post-war period, eventually rising to become undisputed world champion and a hero to many people in his home city....
of Northern Ireland fought and beat Marino to take the World title, but Paterson took out an injunction against the BBBC to prevent it from recognising Monaghan as champion.
Eventually, in March 1948, Paterson and Monaghan met in Belfast to decide the matter. Paterson had to lose 4 lbs 12 oz in a week in order to meet the eight stone limit. As a result he was dehydrated and weakened. Monaghan knocked him down in the second round and finally knocked him out in the seventh, to take the World, British and Commonwealth titles from him.
Remaining career
After losing his flyweight titles to Monaghan, Paterson still held the British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles. However his career was going downhill rapidly.
In March 1949, he defended his titles in
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
against Stan Rowan, losing on points over fifteen rounds.
His final twelve fights resulted in nine defeats and only three wins. His last fight was in February 1951, in
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
and was an eight-round points defeat by Willie Miles.
Retirement and death
In his professional career Paterson had earned an estimated £100,000, but had lost most of that on greyhound betting.
After retiring, he went to live in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
for several years, running hotels. He briefly came back to Britain, but returned to South Africa in December 1965 and began working as a lorry driver in
DurbanDurban is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa. It is also a major centre of tourism due to the city's warm subtropical climate and...
. In 1966, Paterson was stabbed in the throat during a fight after a drinking session, and died at the age of 46.
See also