Full name Henry William Mallin Name Harry Mallin Nationality English Role Boxer | Height 5 ft 10.5 in (180 cm) Martial art Boxing Sport Boxing Rated at Middleweight | |
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Born 1 June 1892 ( 1892-06 ) Shoreditch, England Club Eton Old Boys Amateur Boxing Club, Metropolitan Police Amateur Boxing Club Died November 8, 1969, London, United Kingdom Olympic medals Boxing at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's middleweight People also search for John Elliott, Moe Herscovitch, Georges Prud'Homme, Joseph Jules Beecken | ||
Henry William "Harry" Mallin (1 June 1892 – 8 November 1969) was an English middleweight amateur boxer.
He came originally from Hackney Wick, his younger brother was the Olympic boxer Fred Mallin . He lived in Dartmouth Park, North London and worked as a police officer.
Boxing career
Mallin was British Champion five years in a row from 1919 to 1923. He was also world champion in the middleweight class between 1920 and 1928. He never lost an amateur bout and never turned professional.
In the 1920 Summer Olympics he won a gold medal in middleweight division, defeating Canadian boxer Georges Prud'Homme in the final. In 1924 he went on to win another gold in the same weight class. In that year, he met Roger Brousse of France in the quarter-finals, and after the decision came down 2-1 in favour of Brousse, Mallin showed the referee fresh teeth marks on his chest, which further examination proved that Mallin had definitely been bitten by his French opponent. Brousse was disqualified, clearing the way for Mallin to win his second gold medal. After the incident versus Brousse, Mallin was referred to by one reporter as "The unroasted human beef of Old England".
Mallin was the first to successfully defend an Olympic title in two consecutive games, and remained for 92 years the only British boxer to do so until the victory of Nicola Adams at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Subsequently, he managed the British Olympic boxing teams at the 1936 and 1952 Summer Olympics.
In 1937, he achieved the distinction of being the first British television sports commentator, when he gave commentary on two boxing matches that were broadcast by the BBC from Alexandra Palace.
Henry Mallin died at a nursing home in Lewisham in November 1969.