Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Dates 27 – 27 October 1908
Medal Events 5

Boxing was originally omitted from the 1908 Games as the British Olympic Committee did not believe they would be able to attract a sufficiently international entry list. After a campaign by supporters of the sport and the promise of a large entry from France it was eventually reinstated at the end of the Olympic schedule.

For the only time ever, the Olympic boxing tournament was contested in a single day. The matches began at 11:25 AM and lasted until late in the evening, finishing at 10:30 PM (2230). Remarkably, this led to two boxers, Fred Spiller and Reginald “Snowy” Baker, competing in four bouts in one day. The matches were all three rounds, with the first two rounds lasting three minutes each, and the last round lasting four minutes. A one minute break was allowed between each round. Spiller fought 11 rounds in one day, Baker 9 - and both won a silver medal.

There were semi-final round byes in the bantamweight, lightweight, and heavyweight divisions; thus only one bronze medalist is recorded in those events. The rules noted that any boxer drawing a bye was required to spar for the specified time with any opponent approved of by the judges and the referee. No evidence exists to note if this rule was followed to the letter or not.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
Bantamweight (≤116 pounds), Men Olympic 27 October 1908 6 2
Featherweight (≤126 pounds), Men Olympic 27 October 1908 8 2
Lightweight (≤140 pounds), Men Olympic 27 October 1908 12 3
Middleweight (≤158 pounds), Men Olympic 27 October 1908 10 3
Heavyweight (>158 pounds), Men Olympic 27 October 1908 6 1
42 (42/0) 4 (4/0)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Bantamweight, Men Harry ThomasGBR Johnny CondonGBR Wally WebbGBR
Featherweight, Men Dick GunnGBR Charlie MorrisGBR Hugh RoddinGBR
Lightweight, Men Fred GraceGBR Fred SpillerGBR Harry JohnsonGBR
Middleweight, Men John DouglasGBR Snowy BakerANZ William PhiloGBR
Heavyweight, Men Albert OldmanGBR Sid EvansGBR Frank ParksGBR

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Great Britain GBR 5 4 5 14
Australasia ANZ 0 1 0 1