Frederick Knight

Frederick Knight of New Malden, Surrey was the winner of the 1908 British amateur featherweight catch-as-catch-can championship as a member of the Hammersmith Amateur Wrestling Club. He did not fare as well at the 1908 Olympics, however, losing his only match to Fred Davis in the bantamweight, freestyle event.

In the following year, Knight won another amateur title in the featherweight class on 30 January 1909, though soon after, his wrestling career would unfortunately become marred by a tragedy in the latter weeks of the following month. In a friendly match held at Fulham Baths gymnasium against Arthur Charles of Chelsea, as per witness accounts, Knight had Charles in a hold and had lifted him for the purpose of putting him on his back when the latter slipped and fell landing on the back of his head. This led to Charles sustaining critical injuries from which he later died in hospital two days later. Owing to the effects of the recent incident, Knight opted not to defend his bantamweight championship title later that year, though he would go on to win it again in 1911. He continued to maintain a presence in the wrestling scene until at least the 1930s, as an official.

Outside of sports, Knight worked as a carpenter and later an aircraft parts manufacturing supervisor, residing in New Malden for most of his life.