Grandfather the Boxing Champ

Discovering more about my Grandfather’s boxing passion through information in a book.

Recently, I was informed by a family member that a book had been published about the history of boxing in a local area of England. The book “Two-Fisted Gentlemen“, author John F. Sinnott, records a history of boxing in Widnes and Runcorn for the period 1900-1960.

The author had done extensive research for this book and had access to my Grandfather, Pat Sinnott’s, articles written for a local newspaper in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

The author describes my Grandfather and his boxing passion in the introduction as follows.

…Pat Sinnott, himself an Irish Guards lightweight boxing champion in 1902 was, I soon discovered, a charismatic character in many respects. In his spare time during the 1930’s and 1940’s he engaged in freelance writing and a number of his articles were published…. Among his articles on various subjects, including stories about his army days with the Irish Guards where he served in the Boer War 1899-1902 and later the Great War 1914-18 with the Manchester Regiment, he made reference to several local boxers whom he had known personally…

Another light-hearted snippet from my Grandfather mentions his youth in his home-town Widnes.

…In my youth in Widnes, I saw more bare-knuckle fights than I did with the gloves. Men settled their arguments and quarrels out where the bull gets his breakfast…(Pat Sinnott).

My late father had often related stories to me about my Grandfather and the tough town. Reading these researched lines just confirms the charismatic nature of my Grandfather. Granddad, the champ, was quite the lad.