Angle, B.J. – My Sporting Memories

Description

‘My Sporting Memories’1925 256-page 1st edition by Bernard John Angle. Robert Holden & Co., LTD, 12 York Buildings, Adelphi, W.C. 2. Loosening front hinge and cover wear with minor fraying to top and bottom of spine, very clean, good minus condition, very clean. Hartley’s Boxing Bibliography: “The author was an amateur boxer and a famous referee in both bare-knuckle and glove contests. He participated in other sports, such as rugby, football, walking and rowing, but the majority of his autobiography is devoted to boxing. The reminiscences extend from famous boxers of the Sixties, The Pelican Club and the Hey Day of the National Sporting Club and the early days of the Amateur Boxing Association. B.J. is probably best remembered as the referee of the famous Peter Jackson v. Frank Slavin contest at the National Sporting Club in 1892.”

The 1925 256-page hardcover first edition of My Sporting Memories by Bernard John Angle (frequently subtitled Fifty-Four Years of Manly English Sports) is an important piece of early 20th-century sporting history. Published in London, the volume serves as a comprehensive personal memoir chronicling the golden age of late-Victorian and Edwardian athleticism.

Publication Details:
• Title: My Sporting Memories
• Author: Bernard John Angle (a renowned sportsman, competitive rower, and legendary British boxing referee)
• Publisher: Robert Holden & Co., Ltd., London
• Year: 1925
• Format: Hardcover (thick 8vo format)
• Page Count: 256 pages

Content and Key Focus Areas:
Angle uses his 256 pages to reflect on over 55 years of deep personal involvement in English sports, offering an insider’s look into the structural development of modern athletic disciplines. The text highlights:
• The Boxing Referee Years: The core of the memoir heavily covers Angle’s 40 years of experience as a prominent boxing referee. It features intimate anecdotes, behind-the-scenes controversies, and technical breakdowns of early Marquess of Queensberry rules prize fights and amateur bouts.
• Diverse Sports Culture: Beyond boxing, Angle details his active participation and administrative work across a lifetime of classic English sports, including extensive chapters dedicated to rowing, rugby, and competitive sailing.
• Historical Retrospective: The book functions as a social history, documenting the shift of “manly sports” from raw, unorganized pastimes into respected, tightly regulated national institutions.

Physical Characteristics & Collectability:
• Binding: The book was originally bound in a deep maroon or dark red textured cloth. The spine features bright gold (gilt) stamped lettering, and the front cover is sometimes finished with a minimalist blind-stamped border or simple gilt typography.
• Illustrations: A highly defining aspect of this edition is that it includes 54 distinct black-and-white illustrations. These consist of a portrait frontispiece of Angle, photographic plates of famous athletes, snapshots of major historic sporting venues, and facsimiles of vintage sporting documents.
• Paper and Ephemera: The book was issued on thick, heavy paper stock common to the 1920s. Original copies were distributed with a printed paper dust wrapper, which is exceptionally rare to find intact today.
Because it offers an unbroken, eyewitness account of 19th-century sports transitioning into the 20th century, original 1925 copies from Robert Holden & Co. remain highly coveted by antiquarian collectors specializing in boxing lore and traditional English sports heritage.