A Bridge too far for Tommy Farr

There could be no doubt that when Tommy Farr was given the opportunity to challenge Joe Louis for the World Heavyweight Championship on the 30 August 1937 few gave him any chance of bringing the title home. It was a ‘bridge too far’ for Farr was the general consensus. The Welshman was going up against a man who appeared to be impossible to defeat. Louis was a fighter who at the time was lauded by many as one of the finest heavyweights in the history of the sport to have held the crown. He was in his prime, a perfect fighting machine. When looking at the resume of Louis it was hard to argue with the fact that the Welshman had little chance of victory. At the time of his meeting with Farr the American had a reported record of 33 bouts winning 32 with just one defeat to Germany’s former world heavyweight king Max Schmeling. That particular loss was a shock knockout in round 12 of 15 on the 19th of June 1936. This was merely considered a blip in the career of Louis, one he soon recovered from with him going on to win the world crown on the 22nd of June 1937. Louis duly ascended to the throne when he knocked out the then holder James J. Braddock in round 8 of a scheduled 15.

The Welsh boxer was the first defence of the championship by Louis. Farr was aware of the task in front of him and the mountain he had to climb to succeed.

The well-schooled American looked supreme in every department. When considering all the facts it was reasonable to assume that Louis looked a good bet not only to win but win in style by stopping his challenger long before the final bell. The fight was meant to be a showcase for Louis who would reveal his immense boxing skills against an outgunned opponent. Despite this Farr was showing every confidence prior to the bout.

Farr had to travel to the USA to contest the title, this would be the first time that Farr had fought on American soil. In fact, it was the first time for Farr to box abroad during his professional career. The Welsh boxer was born on the 12th of March 1913 in Clydach Vale Rhondda and had his first professional contest on the 17 December 1926 against opponent Jack Jones whom he outpointed over six rounds.

by Ralph Oates

Farr was known as the Tonypandy Terror and over the years he duly cultivated his ring skills the hard way by meeting an assortment of tough opponents. Some he won, some he lost, this was all part of his ring education. There was no shortcut to the top, every step up the ladder had to be fought for.

On the 4th of February 1935 he met Eddie Phillips for the vacant British light-heavyweight title, the venue being Pavillon, Mountain Ash. The contest ended in disappointment for Farr when he lost a 15 round point’s decision. However, Farr notched up a good win on the 15 January 1936 at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London, outpointing former world light-heavyweight king Tommy Loughran of America over the duration of 10 rounds. On the 2nd of April 1936 the Welsh fighter returned to the Royal Albert Hall where he claimed the scalp of yet another former American world light-heavyweight king when he outpointed Bob Olin over 10 rounds.

On the 14th of September 1936 he stepped into the square ring to challenge Jim Wilde for the Welsh heavyweight crown. The bout took place at the Vetch Field in Swansea. A new titleholder was crowned when Farr knocked out Wilde in the seventh of a contest scheduled for 15. It was apparent that Farr was a tough man and would not fold easily when things were going against him no matter who was opposing him. Leading up to the Louis fight Farr had captured the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles on the 15th of March 1937 defeating Ben Foord on points over 15 rounds in a good, solid performance at the Harringay Stadium. The Welsh boxer was quickly back in the ring and on the 15th of April 1937 had what could be considered his best victory to date, outpointed former world heavyweight champion Max Baer of America over the duration of 12 rounds. When this bout was first made it seemed highly unlikely that Farr would leave the ring with a victory. However, the Welshman shone bright on the night and showed just how good he was. On the 15th of June 1937 Farr produced yet another good victory when he knocked out Germany’s highly regarded Walter Neusel in the third of a 12 round bout at the Harringay Arena. Now the scene was set for Farr’s challenge to Louis.

On the night the venue was packed with fight enthusiasts who being truthful, thought that the American would duly dispose of Farr without too many problems and everyone would have an early night. Louis would then progress to the next defence of the title. Once the fight got underway at the Yankee Stadium, New York, it was apparent that Farr was no easy touch, no walkover, the man from the valleys was a serious contender and was not intimidated in any way by the reputation of the American who stood in front of him. It was very clear as the rounds passed that the spectators were becoming very impressed by the courage and determination of the Welshman. Both fighters used their left jab to good effect and showed good skills. Louis had the edge when they exchanged solid punches but to his credit, Farr stood his ground and fired back at every opportunity. The visitor from the UK knew that this was a chance in a million, a win

From left to right Jack Petersen, Henry Cooper and Tommy Farr. Image courtesy of Derek Rowe. here would not only shock the world but open all kinds of doors for him. (The last British born boxer to hold the world heavyweight title was Cornwall’s Bob Fitzsimmons who reigned from 17 March 1897 to the 9 June 1899) The hard-fought fight lasted until the fifteenth and final round, whereby Farr was declared the loser on points. Louis had retained the championship and Farr, by his performance, had won the respect of all who watched the contest. Farr had lost but he was beaten by one of the finest fighters in the history of the sport and in that there was no disgrace.

After the courageous showing against Louis there was a degree of hope that should Farr put together a series of impressive victories, he could well land another shot at Louis for the world title at a future date. However, such grandiose plans were badly derailed when Farr lost his next four bouts in a row all of which took place in America. The Welshman later resumed his career back in the UK and registered a few wins along the way. The victories included a bout which took place on the 7 August 1940 when Farr ducked between the ropes to meet opponent Zachary Nicholas at the Market Hall in Barnstaple. Farr won the bout in round 3 of 10 by way of a stoppage. Soon after Farr announced his retirement from boxing. It did not seem likely that the Welshman would ever return to the sport. However, on the 27 September 1950, Farr made a return to the ring and at Ynysangharad Park in Pontypridd, he knocked out Jan Klein of the Netherlands in round 6 of a Scheduled 10. When considering that the Welshman had not fought for a period of 10 years, 1 month and 20 days this was a good performance. This was followed by a further victory on the 6 November 1950 when at the Granby Halls in Leicester, Piet Wilde of Belgium was unable to complete the distance of 10 rounds when he was knocked out in the third stanza. It is often said that in every life a little rain must fall. Well, Farr was caught in a shower in his following two ring outings which saw him lose. The defeats may well have made many a boxer rethink his future at this stage. Yet Farr, never a quitter, continued and in his next 11 outings won 9 and lost 2 of his bouts. One of the said victories saw him regain his Welsh Area Heavyweight title on the 7 July 1951 from holder Dennis Powell by way of a 6 round stoppage in a bout set for 12, the venue being the Welsh Midland Showground, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

On the 9th of March 1953 Farr was paired with Don Cockell in a 12 round eliminator contest for the British heavyweight title. (The reigning British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion at the time was Johnny Williams). The bout between Farr and Cockell took place at the Ice Rink in Nottingham. Cockell was a fighter of experience, being a former British and European light-heavyweight champion. Cockell came into the ring armed with a record of 70 professional contests with 58 wins, 11 defeats and 1 draw. Any hope Farr had of once again going for a shot at the British heavyweight title was dispelled when Cockell secured the victory with a win by a 7 round stoppage. This brought an end to an amazing boxing career for Farr.

Tommy Farr was very popular, an outstanding fighter and a man of dignity who represented all that was good in boxing. He left the sport with a reported record of 143 bouts professional bouts, winning 88 losing 34 drawing 19 with 2 no contests. Sadly Farr passed away on the 1st of March 1986 on St. David’s Day, a proud Welshman to the very end.