Athletic Tourament at the Grand Opera House - April 1895

 

“So seldom is it that an entertainment of the character as that given in the Grand Opera last evening is held in this city that the announcement of the athletic tournament taxed its capacity. Every seat in the house was occupied, and standing room was at a premium in the gods. All the boxes were occupied, and that there was such a liberal patronage is evidence of the sporting tendencies of this city”

Hamilton Spectator. April 27, 1895

On April 26, 1895, an “athletic tournament” (as it had been advertised) took place in Hamilton’s biggest theatre of the day. The menu included a series of sparring bouts, a demonstration of bag punching and finally, a series of boxing matches between a group of local boxers against some boxers brought in from the city of Buffalo.

A twenty-foot ring was roped off on the stage of the Grand Opera House. A squad of policemen under the watchful eye of Chief Smith were stationed in the wings, ready to interfere if there was too much slugging and bloodshed in any of the bouts.

The first boxing match ended in a knockout, drawing Chief Smith into the ring to warn the referee that he would not allow slugging matches.

The next bout involved a Hamilton boxer, a welter-weight named Arthur Schramm versus a heavyweight from Buffalo, Frank Smith. The fight only lasted three minutes, with the Hamilton boxer knocking out his American opponent:

“To say that the spectators went wild would be putting it mildly. The shouting, stamping and hissing lasted several minutes.

“Chief Smith called the referee over and again spoke of the battles being too hot, but Mayor Stewart said the next contest would be alright, as the contestants were more evenly matched, and chief Smith refrained from entering.”

Hamilton Times.    April 27, 1895 Image 799

The final bout was between a Buffalo fighter, Charles Robbins, and a local boxer, Enoch Taylor. After the bell ended the eighth round, both boxers were bleeding badly but still willing to continue the fight:

“The crowd wanted the men to go another round and they were willing to do so, but Mayor Stewart, who was in one of the boxes, jumped on stage. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘I enjoy a good boxing contest, and I have enjoyed this entertainment. This bout was announced to be eight rounds. You have seen a good exhibition. If the men are allowed to go another round, it will be said that they do so in anger. I take upon myself the responsibility to stop the bout.”

After the fights were over, the saloons in Downtown Hamilton were filled with members of the sporting fraternity who were busily paying off or collecting bets and excitedly discussing the bouts.

The next day, the Hamilton Times in an editorial denounced the so-called athletic tournament as being a mere slugging match. The editorial was critical of Chief of Police Smith and the mayor of the city being present at such an exhibition without ordering that such bloodshed be stopped.

From various pulpits across the city, many of Hamilton’s religious leaders were severely critical of the athletic tournament, calling for some censorship of such events which they deemed to be immoral.