Jimmy Sharman

James ("Jimmy") Sharman senior (20 June 1887 – 18 November 1965) and junior (1912 – 24 April 2006) were father and son Australian boxing troupe impresarios.

Born in Narellan, New South Wales Jimmy Sharman Sr had established a boxing tent in 1911 at Ardlethan near Temora.[1] The tent visited 45 to 50 shows each year.[2] His son, Jimmy Sharman Jr, took over the business in 1955. The tent formed part of the Australian Show landscape until 1971, when regulations barred boxers fighting more than once a week. Sharman then turned to dodgem cars in partnership with Reg Grundy. [3]

Contents

Jimmy Sharman junior

Sharman junior was born in Narrandera, New South Wales. He attended his first Sydney Royal Easter Show in 1926 working in his father's tent.[4] Sharman junior played rugby league for Western Suburbs Magpies.[5] He was fullback in Western Suburbs' 1934 premiership win. In 1938 he became First Grade captain. He retired after 7 seasons in 1939 to become a journalist, taking over the boxing tent from his father in 1955.[6] Sharman played 45 games between 1935 and 1939, scored 12 tries and kicked 11 goals.[7] He was awarded life membership in 1998.[8]

Jimmy Sharman's Boxing Tent

Many famous boxers worked in the Sharman tent, including:

Famous Indigenous Australians to work in the tent include:

Some boxers came from the Cherbourg Aboriginal mission, near Nanango, Queensland.[3]

In 2003 the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales honoured Sharman Jr. with the title of "Show Legend".[4]

In popular culture

References

  1. ^ "The Sharman Boxing Troupe". Our History. Temora Shire Council. 2004. Archived from the original on 2006-08-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20060820152344/http://www.temora.nsw.gov.au/about/1006/1081.html. Retrieved 2006-06-11. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Corris, Peter; Diane Langmore (1988). "Sharman, James (1887 - 1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110591b.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-10. 
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Daniel (15 April 2003). "Sharman the showman is an official bloody legend". Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/a-life-at-the-show/2006/04/25/1145861349918.html. Retrieved 2006-06-10. 
  4. ^ a b "Show Memories: The 2003 Easter Show". Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales. 2005. http://www.rasnsw.com.au/memories.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-10. 
  5. ^ Toby Creswell and Samantha Trenoweth (2006). 1001 Australians You Should Know. Australia: Pluto Press. pp. 710. ISBN 1864033614, 9781864033618. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QqtinbjO0oEC&vq=rugby&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 
  6. ^ "magpie history" (Google cached version - not available on the Internet Archive). Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd. 2005. http://google.com/search?q=cache:OS__zChDERkJ:www.westsmagpies.net/2005/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_weblinks%26catid%3D73%26Itemid%3D4+sharman+wests+site:www.westsmagpies.net. Retrieved 2006-06-10. 
  7. ^ Masters, Roy (2001). "It's long enough, it's high enough ... but the game's just not the same". RL1908 Document archive. RL1908.com reproducing article originally published in the Sydney Morning Herald. http://rl1908.com/Rugby-League-News/frank-hyde.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-10. 
  8. ^ a b c d Graeme, Leech (27 April 2006). "Master of the troupe". Features (The Australian). http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20876,18939216-28737,00.html. Retrieved 2006-06-10. 
  9. ^ Sloane, Garry (2003-10-03). "Journal of a Journey". November 2003 archives (ochre-shores.net). http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/02/1064988351353.html?from=storyrhs. Retrieved 2006-06-11. 
  10. ^ Thornton, Henry (2002). "Black and White:The story of a famous legal case". henrythornton.com. http://henrythornton.com/article.asp?article_id=1980. Retrieved 2006-06-11. 
  11. ^ "Final bell for showman Jimmy Sharman". Melbourne: The Age. 26 April 2006. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/final-bell-for-boxing-showman/2006/04/26/1145861376146.html. Retrieved 2006-06-10. 

External links