Butler, James and Frank – The Fight Game 1956 223 pages. Inside stories of famous fighters and their fights (Dempsey, Tunney, Carpentier, Wilde, Kid Lewis, Moran, Driscoll, Lynch, and Mills) VG

Description

Butler, James & Frank – The Fight Game 1954 1st edition 223 pages. The World’s Work LTD, Kingswood Surrey. Inside stories of famous fighters and their fights (Dempsey, Tunney, Carpentier, Wilde, Kid Lewis, Moran, Driscoll, Lynch, and Mills) VG in good un-price clipped mylar protected dust jacket.

The Fight Game is a highly regarded mid-century history of boxing, co-authored by a father-son duo of prominent British sports journalists. Chronicling fifty years of dramatic ring encounters up to the early 1950s, it provides a comprehensive overview of both British and international prize fighting.

Bibliographic Details:
• Title: The Fight Game
• Authors: James Butler and Frank Butler
• Publisher: The World’s Work (1913) Ltd. (Kingswood, Surrey)
• Publication Date: 1954 (First Edition)
• Pagination: 223 pages
• Special Contributor: Features an authoritative foreword by legendary former World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey.

Overview & Content:
Frank Butler written this first book alongside his father, James Butler—the well-known boxing correspondent for the Daily Herald. Together, they detail the evolution, tactical sciences, and backstage politics of the sport across generations.
The narrative heavily covers:
• Legendary Heavyweights: In-depth chronicles of iconic global icons like Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, and Joe Louis.
• British Ring Greats: Insightful historical coverage of British and European favorites, including flyweight legend Jimmy Wilde and Tommy Farr.
• Fifty Years of Lore: A comprehensive look at changing ring conditions, promotion, and historic cross-Atlantic rivalries.

Physical & Interior Presentation:
• Binding: The trade first edition is bound in a tight red cloth cover with the title cleanly stamped across the spine.
• Dust Jacket: The original pictorial wrapper is distinctively finished in a stark black background, showcasing dynamic white and yellow cursive script reading “James Butler / The Fight Game / Frank Butler” highlighted by a prominent banner declaring “Foreword by Jack Dempsey”.
• Illustrations: Features 12 pages of black-and-white photographic plates interspersed throughout, capturing historic stances, famous punch connections, and training portraits.