Van Den Bergh, Tony – Who Killed Freddie Mills

Description

Van Den Bergh, Tony ‘Who Killed Freddie Mills’ 1991 1st ed. 188 pages. VG/VG (2) $25 each.

The 1991 first edition hardcover of Who Killed Freddie Mills?: A Full-scale Insider’s Investigation of British Sport’s Most Baffling Crime by Tony Van den Bergh is a 188-page true-crime and sporting exposé published in London by Constable. Written by a veteran journalist, boxing authority, and personal friend of the fighter, the book serves as a meticulous deconstruction of the official narrative surrounding the mysterious death of one of Britain’s most beloved post-war athletes.

Book Details:
• Author: Tony Van den Bergh
• Publisher: Constable, London
• Publication Year: 1991 (Stated First Edition)
• Format: Hardcover octavo (measuring roughly 6 ¼” x 9″), bound in original cloth boards and issued with a pictorial dust jacket.
• Length: 188 pages
• ISBN-10 / ISBN-13: 0094709203 / 9780094709201

Content & Overview:
• A Media Icon’s Dark End: The text profiles Freddie Mills, the former World Light-Heavyweight Boxing Champion who became a mainstream media celebrity and national hero following his retirement from the ring. His life took a tragic turn in July 1965 when he was found shot through the eye with a rifle inside his car in a Soho alleyway.
• Challenging the Inquest: While the official coroner’s verdict ruled the death a suicide, Van den Bergh uses his background as a boxing commentator to mount a full-scale forensic argument against it. He demonstrates that it was mechanically impossible for Mills to have inflicted the fatal wound upon himself using the rifle in the manner described by the inquest.
• Sifting the Theories: The author navigates the complex web of rumors that shrouded Mills’ final years, exploring his struggles with deep despondency and examining potential motives behind a gangland hit. Van den Bergh sifts through evidence pointing to extortion, London underworld corruption (including contemporary threats surrounding the Kray twins), and even posits a theory that Mills may have run afoul of a Chinese tong syndicate.
• Illustrations: The book is illustrated with several black-and-white photographic plates depicting Mills during his championship boxing peak, his post-career media appearances, and key elements from the crime scene.