Lynch, Bohun – Knuckles and Gloves 1923 1st American edition-INSC to Tex Rickard

Description

Lynch, Bohun ‘Knuckles and Gloves’ 1923 INSCRIBED 1st American Edition. Henry Holt & Co., New York. 217 pages. Part I – 20 chapters dealing with pugilists from John Broughton to Tom Sayers and J.C. Heenan. Part II – 14 chapters from Jackson v. Slavin to Georges Carpentier and George Cook. Good condition, tight binding, straight, and other than some minor foxing to the first and last few pages, very clean internally. But the most exciting aspect of the book is the inscription in pencil on the frontispiece that reads:

“Tex : – The author of this book asked me to give you a copy – Jack Lawrence.”

I did some searching on-line and learned that the famous promoter Tex Rickard, “had a well-known professional relationship and friendship with Jack Lawrence, who was a prominent New York sports writer and boxing critic during the 1920s.

Lawrence covered the boxing beat for newspapers like the New York Tribune (later the Herald Tribune). Since Tex Rickard was the premier boxing promoter of the era—running massive events at Madison Square Garden and Boyle’s Thirty Acres—the two men interacted constantly.

The Famous Connection: The Dempsey-Firpo Fight
Jack Lawrence is actually immortalized in one of the most famous moments in boxing history, an event promoted by Rickard.

During the legendary September 14, 1923, heavyweight title match between Jack Dempsey and Luis Ángel Firpo at the Polo Grounds, Firpo hit Dempsey so hard that Dempsey flew completely out of the ring. Dempsey landed directly onto Jack Lawrence’s ringside typewriter. Lawrence and a telegraph operator quickly shoved the dazed champion back into the ring before the referee could count him out, allowing Dempsey to go on and win the fight.

Because Lawrence heavily covered Rickard’s multi-million-dollar boxing ventures and the “Golden Age” of sports, they were close figures in the tightly knit 1920s New York boxing community.”

Knuckles and Gloves by Bohun Lynch is a historical and biographical chronicle tracing the evolution of boxing from the raw, brutal era of 18th-century bare-knuckle prizefighting to the regulated, scientific “gloved” sport of the early 20th century. Written by an insider—Lynch was an experienced amateur boxer and journalist—the book is structured around detailed accounts of legendary matchups and the colorful personalities who defined the sport’s history.

Key Themes & Features:
• The Strategic Shift: It meticulously examines the cultural and technical transition of boxing from a gritty method of self-defense into a highly disciplined, “sportsmanlike warfare”.
• Famous Battles: It includes vivid, critically praised breakdowns of historic fights, such as the epic, grueling 1860 draw between Tom Sayers and John C. Heenan (the “Benicia Boy”).
• Iconic Figures: The text provides rich character studies of early English pugilists like John Broughton and Tom Cribb, exploring how society viewed these athletes across different eras.
• Insiders Perspective: Rather than judging the sport from afar, Lynch writes with a distinct appreciation for the physical and psychological thrill of the ring.

The book is highly regarded by sports historians as a classic piece of pugilistic literature that captures the soul of traditional British and international boxing.