There used to be ads in the back of Ring for Champ Thomas' boxing instruction books. He claimed he had decades of experience in boxing, as a fighter, promoter, manager, trainer, etc. Yet I've never heard of him anywhere else. Anybody know who this guy was or what he did?
Apparently beat 15 guys in one night when he was almost 60. He also defeated Bobo Brazil. He was pretty much a entertainer rather than a boxer and was quite a good wrestler too.
The only thing I remember about Champ Thomas was him writing an embarrassing biography on Sean O'Grady. What made it embarrassing was he titled it something like, 'The legendary Sean O'Grady' or something like that. And Sean was only a contender and a kid at the time. A very ambitious title for someone who had a long way to go in life.
Thanks for the memory refresh! I remember that book, though I never read it. It was another thing that made me question Champ Thomas' legitimacy and credibility.
Sweet, I had to look it up. The actual title of the book was 'Sean O'Grady - Living Legend' and it was written in 1981. A very audacious title. Presumably written around the time he was winning the title from Kenty, but within 6 months he was KO'd by Andy Ganigan. Perhaps a better working title would have been 'Sean O'Grady - My career so far'
He sold through magazine orders a paperback called “Boxing’s Dirty Tricks and Outlaw Killer Punches.” Sounds like quite the character.
I bought that book and several others he wrote. One of them was "Boxing's Stonewall Defense", and another "Boxing's Five Killer Punches" In the latter book he cautions that these punches are capable of killing an opponent. The only such punch I remember offhand is 'the guillotine punch' which, when delivered, can sever the spinal cord in the neck. He told of using it once when he was boxing in the Navy during WW2. He was boxing this guy that he didn't like and he used that punch on him , sending the unfortunate sailor out of the ring and into the ocean. His books are written in a somewhat autobiographical manner and leave the reader wondering it he truly is everything he claims to be. He gave contact informationn and advertised that he would go anywhere to meet anyone to give private lessons as long as the customer paid his airfare. The punches and techniques described in his book are interesting if not suspect in their legality in a boxing match. I came away with the impression that he would not be someone to pick a fight with, but I couldn't help but wonder why he never became a champion or top contender with all this knowledge. He reminded me a lot of Jack 'Doc' Kearns. He was closely associated with the O'Grady family and was involved with the WBO in its early days. He was born in 1914 and the last I heard of him was around the time Sean O'Grady was on the sports pages.
Champ Thomas was my Uncle. He was born in Oklahoma and worked on farms as a laborer. He started out fighting in carnival fights during the Great Depression and was the Navy boxing Champ in World War 2. He helped to arrange entertainment for the troops in the South Pacific. After the war, he moved to the Denver area where he promoted both wrestling and boxing.. He trained two world champion boxers, Joe Danos and Corkey Gonzalez. He also promoted female wrestlers and the sport of boom battle. My Father and Champ Thomas' brother, Bill Thomas was a war hero who was shot down three times and survived to be decorated over and over for bombing German submarines. After the War, Bill Thomas was a writer for Ring Magazine. Champ Thomas wrote self published books and sold them through outlets such as ads in Ring Magazine. He both trained and managed Sean O'Grady at first but had a falling out with the family when he told them that they were pushing O'Grady too far too fast against superior fighters. They parted ways. Champ was proven to be correct. A final notation was that Champ was on the front page of the Denver Post when in his 70's, he took out a mugger that had just robbed a convenience store, while employing a rolled up magazine strike he had written about in one of his books.
Good post but it needs one correction: Corky Gonzales was a featherweight contender who fought Willie Pep, Harold Dade, Teddy "Red Top" Davis and a number of other big-time pugs. He was never champion. I lived in Denver and for 14 years wrote for The Denver Post. I knew Corky a little. Once I asked him about the Willie Pep non-title bout. His answer: "Boring fight."
