| Tom Cribb | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 8 July 1781 Bristol |
| Died | 11 May 1848 (aged 66) London |
Tom Cribb (8 July 1781 – 11 May 1848) was an English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century, so successful that he became world champion. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Born in Wick which is near the Hanham area of Bristol, Cribb moved to London at the age of 13 and after working as a bell-hanger got work as a coal porter in Wapping.
His first fight was on 7 January 1805 at Wood Green in Middlesex, now part of north London. Victory here, followed by another a month later, persuaded him to become a professional pugilist, under the supervision of Captain Robert Barclay. In 1807 Cribb beat Jem Belcher. In 1810 Cribb was awarded the British title. On 10 December 1810 he fought an American, former slave Tom Molineaux, at Shenington Hollow in Oxfordshire.[1] Cribb beat Molineaux in 35 rounds and became World champion. The fight was controversial for two reasons: Molineaux was injured when the crowd invaded the ring, and Cribb at one point seemed to have taken longer than the specified time to return to the centre of the ring.[2] Cribb retained his title in 1811 by beating Molineaux at Thistleton Gap in Rutland in 11 rounds before a large crowd. Cribb had also beaten Molineaux' trainer Bill Richmond.
In 1812, aged 31, he retired to become a coal merchant (and part-time boxing trainer). Later he became a publican, running the Union Arms, Panton Street, close to Haymarket in central London.
In 1839 he retired to Woolwich in south-east London where he died in 1848, aged 66. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary's and St Andrew's, Woolwich – where a monument to his memory was erected. A road in the former Royal Arsenal has also been named in his honour.
The Tom Cribb pub is located at 36 Panton Street, Haymarket, London. This is the same address as the Union Arms, which was numbered 26 Panton Street, but later renumbered.
There is a popular local legend in the Bristol area that Cribbs Causeway, a road not far from Hanham that has given its name to a major out-of-town shopping mall, retail park and entertainment complex, was named after Tom Cribb. Despite being proved to be false this has not stopped the legend from continuing. See the Cribbs Causeway article for more information.
An English footwear brand named after Thomas Cribb existed between 2003 - 2007. The brand name "Thomas Cribb" is currently registered to the creators of the brand.
Tom Cribb also features prominently in George MacDonald Fraser’s novel Black Ajax, a fictionalised account of Tom Molineaux's life.
He is mentioned in one episode of the Victorian crime drama Cribb, in which one of Cribb's men speculates whether he is descended from the famous boxer. The episode is largely centred around prize-fighting.