William Ward also known as Kid Norfolk (born 1893-07-10 in Belmont, Virginia

Belmont, Virginia

Belmont is a census-designated place on Goose Creek in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 5,966.Belmont is situated along Belmont Ridge Road between State Route 7 and the State Route 267 . Two major subdivisions make up Belmont; Belmont Country Club being the bigger...

 — died 1968-04-15) was a world heavyweight boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 title contender.

Professional career

Norfolk moved to Panama as a youngster turned pro in 1914 while working construction on the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

. Norfolk holds wins over many notable boxers of his day, including Billy Miske

Billy Miske

Billy Miske, alias The Saint Paul Thunderbolt , was a professional boxer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. -Professional Boxing Career:...

, John Lester Johnson, Jack Blackburn

Jack Blackburn

Charles Henry "Jack" Blackburn was an American boxer and boxing trainer.-Biography:He was born in New Year's Day, January 1, 1883....

, Harry Greb

Harry Greb

Harry Greb was an American boxer. He was World Middleweight boxing Champion from 1923 to 1926 and American Light Heavyweight title holder 1922–1923. He fought a recorded 303 times in his 13 year-career, against the best opposition the talent-rich 1910s & 20s could provide him, frequently squaring...

, Tut Jackson, Jamaica Kid, Tiger Flowers

Tiger Flowers

Theodore Flowers became the first African-American middleweight boxing champion, defeating Harry Greb in 1926. Known as "Tiger", he began boxing professionally in 1918 at the age of 23 while working at a Philadelphia shipbuilding plant...

 and Battling Siki

Battling Siki

Battling Siki , aka Louis Mbarick Fall, was a French light heavyweight boxer born in Senegal who fought from 1912–1925, and briefly reigned as the lineal light heavyweight champion after knocking out Georges Carpentier...

.

Norfolk boxed until 1926 when he retired with an 80-16-2 (31 KOs) record, never having challenged for a world title.

Norfolk died in 1953.

External links

• IBHOF Bio http://www.ibhof.com/norfolk.html