I originally posted this in the General forum but it probably belongs better here. As I’m not sure of a way to move it, I’m just going to repost it here. My apologies for the duplication. My girlfriend is working on a novel that takes place between 1898 and 1906 and one of the main characters is a boxer. I’ve been trying to help her with some of the boxing stuff from that time period but one thing I wasn’t sure about is the use of hand wraps. She mentions the boxer wrapping his hands with gauze before a fight in 1901. Does anyone know if this is accurate in terms of gauze hand wraps being used in that time period? Thanks!
Tape was used extensively during this period. Let me do a little research, and I will get back to you.
Awesome! When you say tape was used extensively, do you mean as hand wraps under the gloves or just to tape the laces down on the outside of the gloves? Thanks so much for your help!
This content is protected This content is protected well these are pics of Jack Dempsey in 1919/20, so I would believe the wraps were somewhat like this a few years prior. From my knowledge, hand wraps were used in the early 1900's
Bob Fitzsimmons used hand wraps ,Jim Jeffries only did once and said he injured his hands doing so and never used them again.
There would be tape over the knuckles themselves, and it would often be a point of contention how much tape a fighter was allowed, as it effectively hardened the fist.
Wasn’t there some controversy regarding Fitz’s wraps when he fought Jeffries for the second time in 1902? I remember hearing something about that, which is why I originally assumed handwraps were fairly standard for the time. I just figured this would be the best place to come and verify that information though.
Adam Pollack's biography of Jeffries discusses the hand wrap issue at some length. I will re read the relevant sections, once I have got Christmas out of the way. Jeffries allowed Fitzsimmons very liberal terms on his hand wraps, and after he got his face bust up, he became quite paranoid about checking his opponents hand wraps.
How dare you go about your Christmas activities without researching this for me first...lol, just kidding! In all seriousness, I really appreciate your help. And Merry Christmas to you!
Jeffries examined Fitz's wraps very carefuly in the ring possibly because there was some scuttle butt that he might be loading them ,but Fitz had very bad hands by the time of the second Jeffries fight and it would have done him more damage than enough. As it was Fitz's hands were ruined after a few rounds from landing continually on Jeffries granite jaw. Stories of plaster of paris being applied to wraps are hokum,it doesn't work as was proved when Boxing Illustrated got Cleveland Willliams to test it ,to see if it was feasible that Dempsey had used it against Willard, the powder refused to harden off and just crumbled when he made a fist. http://www.congriffin.com/boxing/jeswilard.html
Yeah I’ve read that article regarding plaster and Cleveland Williams before...it makes sense. With this being the case, I still don’t really understand what Margarito was caught with in his wraps.
Is there any truth to the story that Fitzsimmons wrapped his hands with electrical tape for this fight? From BoxRec: “When the challenger later approached the champion to congratulate him, Jeffries regarded Fitzsimmons through swollen, bleeding eyes and said, “You’re the most dangerous man alive.” Anyone looking at the combatants’ faces would have been astonished to learn the unmarked fighter was the loser, while the man sporting a visage marred by lumps and bloody gashes had proven victorious. It was later revealed that instead of gauze wraps, the Cornishman had used electrical tape. No objections had been made at the time.”
I'm fairly sure they didn't generally call it "electrical tape" in those days. The stuff we call electrical tape didn't exist back then. It is plastic. PVC. It was invented in the 1940s. The old insulation tape was something different. I don't know what. The only stuff I know is the modern stuff.
