Ringside Report Looks Back at Boxer Frank McGurk

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

The turn of any century can be quite the thing. For most of us, that happened some time ago and is within living memory. Going back further, to a century before, the turn of the 19th into the 20th was a time of great change and challenge. Unlike the most recent it calls upon us to use our minds to imagine what times were like for one of Scotland’s very first boxing Olympians: Frank McGurk, 0-1.

McGurk was born and raised in Glasgow, in a fiercely working-class district – Bridgton (pronounced locally without the d as Brig-ton) it was not to be an easy life for the people who found themselves in amongst the squalor and poverty of this area of Glasgow, the second city of the Empire. It was the industrial heartland where trains and ships of the city were to take the names of Shettleston round the UK and the Clyde worldwide.

There are, however, parallels with today – in 2022, we had the end of the reign of one long standing monarch in the United Kingdom – Elizabeth II, whilst in 1901, the death of Queen Victoria had been keenly felt. The other parallel is we are now obsessed, rightly so, with dealing with the legacy of the British Empire. At the turn of the 19th into the 20th Century – quite rightly – it was beginning to show signs that it needed to be dismantled. In short, the United Kingdom was beginning to question itself.

As for the world, it was in a state of flux. In a few short years there would be global conflict centered upon Europe, but in 1880, on the 8th of September, Frank McGurk was born. 28 years later he would be competing in an Olympic Games over 500 miles south in London.

Nowadays the road for any British athlete to Olympic qualification is well funded and highly prized, with an academy of sorts for our boxers in Sheffield as they get sponsored and funded towards the biggest amateur event of their career.

Then… It was not so glamorous.

Having joined the Scottish Amateur Gymnastic Association in 1907, McGurk made a debut in the ring in February 1908. There were 7 months left before the 1908 Olympics. In Rutherglen, on the southside of his home city, McGurk fought at bantamweight and in the Town Hall of Rutherglen, won the Scottish West District Bantamweight Championship. His first steps had been taken towards being chosen, though I doubt he realized at the time, as a future Olympian.

Two months later, he was the Scottish national champion. He competed along with 17 others, taking the title and staking his claim – coming closer to Olympic qualification.

The story of the fourth Olympiad is an interesting one in itself. Initially it was supposed to be in Rome, Italy, but there were issues. The Italian Government were already short of finances as an international event welcoming countries across the world seemed like a great idea, but an unfeasible financial commitment was on the horizon. Then Mount Vesuvius erupted. Like a gift from the Gods, the Italians used it to suggest they should be allowed to have the Olympics relocated. There are plenty who think this was nothing more than a convenient excuse, given the level of fiscal difficulties the Italians faced.

London stepped forward and took on the mantle. And so, the Olympics, having been started in Athens in 1896, travelled to Paris in 1900, and had stopped off in St. Louis in 1904, saw London being the host for the first of their three occasions. The Olympics of 1908 is a far cry from the Olympics of today. Of course, there were political upsets, including the Swedish and US flags not flying over the stadium as they had been “lost”, or when the US shot putter Ralph Rose carried the American flag into the stadium and was the only one refusing to dip his flag to “no earthly king” when passing King Edward VII! Then in the tug of war, the US team complained about the footwear of a British team of Liverpudlian policemen. It was to no avail, they lost and the Liverpool boys in blue got to the final where they were beaten by the London boys in blue!

The Olympics were becoming internationally known but they had a long way to go. Instead of each participating country sending their best one, they often sent their best half dozen or so, to make up the party. It was not just in the tug of war that there were multiple individuals representing their country.

In boxing, Great Britain was to win every gold medal, all bar one silver and every bronze! Snowy Baker from Australasia – Australia and New Zealand competed as one country in the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games – at middleweight captured the silver. He was also competing in diving and swimming at the 1908 Olympics so was no slouch. He went on to also represent his country at Rugby Union and Water Polo!

But the race for which this Olympics was forever known was the Marathon. The record books will show it was won by American Johnny Hayes, but the first across the finishing line was Dorando Pietri. He was disqualified because in the final lap in the stadium, he was totally disorientated and confused due to exhaustion, turned the wrong way a couple of times and the crowd helped him by encouraging officials to support him across the finishing line. Hayes, rightly indignant, complained and got the medal he deserved. It was also the first time the marathon had been run over 26 miles and 385 yards – and that is now the official distance to be run in any marathon.

But the Olympics for Frank were concentrated on one day, and one fight. For the first, and the only time, boxing was to be decided on one day – the 27th of October 2008. At the Northampton institute, Clerkenwell, London he faced Harry Thomas in the first round. It went the distance but Thomas, who eventually won the gold medal, won. As there were only 6 competitors at bantamweight, 5 from the UK and 1 from France, Thomas then got a bye in the semi final and faced Johnny Condon in the final, winning on points.

Following his exploits in the Olympics, McGurk took the Scottish Western District featherweight championship in 1909 before he apparently turning professional. In October 1909, though not confirmed by BoxRec, he was stopped in the 7th round against his fellow Olympian Harry Thomas. It was a fight reportedly on Glaswegian soil and McGurk, never fought again.

Like so many working-class men of the time, there are few records of what happened after that though he may have found himself standing in shipyards for the rest of his days. It would most likely have been an industrial life whilst the Empire crumbled – Ireland were within 20 years of ceding from the UK, carnage in the First World War would see the glory of conflict take a different run and the world begin to evolve into what it is now. But no matter where he ended, for a significant period of time in his life, this is a man who took his chance and fought in an Olympics. And for that should be remembered.

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