‘PALACE OF PUNCH’
The cuttingedge Holmeside Stadium sparked a golden era of Wearside boxing in the 1920s
SUNDERLAND’S fistic roots go back far. In the 1830s, the Lord Byron tavern in Malings Rigg, in the city’s East End, held bare-knuckle bouts in a large upstairs room, and no doubt other Wearside taverns and inns did too. Then in the 1850s and ’60s, prize-fighting was forced underground, as magistrates cracked down on this semi-legal activity.
By the 1890s, however, boxing (now legitimised) was held openly at Wearside venues such as the Carpenters’ Union Rooms, the Golden Lion Hotel, the Assembly Hall and Hendon running grounds. And then, in the Edwardian period, the sport really flourished. Fights were held at the city’s Skating Rink in Hudson Road, the Star Music Hall, the Lambton Club, Felix Scott’s fight emporium, Will Cameron’s boxing pavilion and Frank Guess’ big marquee in the Garrison Field.
Wearsiders were boxing-mad, and after the First World War two local businessmen decided to cash in. Brothers George and Alfred Black, whose family owned a chain of lucrative North East cinemas, bought and demolished Sunderland’s Olympia Skating Rink in Holmeside, replacing it with a purposebuilt, 3,000-seater, dome-roofed boxing arena. It was called the Holmeside Stadium or simply the Stadium.
It was dubbed the ‘Palace of Punch’, for by 1920s standards it was classy and cutting-edge. Not only did the arena boast a gym and shower room, but it claimed to be the first fight venue in the world to tap running water to boxers’ corners. The auditorium was split into outer, middle and inner circles, and the farthest seat was only 35ft from the ring. All seconds had to wear a collar and tie, and unruly spectators were quickly jettisoned.
Fred Charlton was the Stadium’s matchmaker and referee, and was also a freelance fight reporter. He covered North East shows for Boxing News, often under the byline Carl Fedthorn (an anagram of his name), frequently reporting on the fights he refereed. It’s thanks to Fred and successive North East boxing scribes, such as Archie Potts, that details about the Stadium survive.
The 1920s was a golden age for Wearside boxing – Sunderland had one of the finest fight arenas in the country, which held weekly shows. But as the decade progressed, recession and unemployment ravaged the city, with shipbuilding especially affected. The Black brothers were forced to drop admission prices and consequently the venture did not provide big profits.
The brothers closed the Stadium in May 1930 and replaced it with a large cinema (the Regal) and a dancehall (the Rink). Nevertheless, in its short lifespan the Stadium had been a nursery for local talent, with men such as Jack “Cast Iron” Casey, Billy Smith, Charlie Mcdonald, Roy Mills, Ginger Rennie and Douglas Parker (the Sunderland-based Scot) honing their skills on its shows. Fistic notables from outside the area who boxed there included Len Johnson, Gipsy Daniels, Mike Honeyman, Harry Crossley and Nipper Pat Daly.
When the Stadium closed, Sunderland struggled to find a new home of boxing. Small promotions carried on at small venues such as the Monkwearmouth Miners’ Hall and the Pottery Buildings, but these only held a few hundred spectators. In 1934, local promoter George Jackson opened the 2,000-seater Theatre Royal in Bedford Street as a boxing stadium, but put on his last bill there in June 1936.
During the war, Wearside boxing was kept alive through a series of charity shows staged by Fred Simm. In the 1940s and early ’50s, Simm spearheaded a post-war revival with open-air shows at the Ryhope Arena, Hendon Cricket Ground and Park Lane. But with Simm’s retirement from promoting in 1953, Sunderland boxing entered the doldrums. It did not truly re-emerge until the 1980s.