Dave Sands

Dave Sands
Dave Sands
Statistics
Real name	David Ritchie
Weight(s)	Middleweight; Light-heavyweight; Heavyweight
Height	5′ 10½″ / 179cm
Nationality	Australian
Born	4 February 1926; Burnt Bridge, Kempsey, New South Wales
Died	August 11, 1952 (aged 26); Dungog, New South Wales, Australia
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	110
Wins	97
Wins by KO	62
Losses	10
Draws	1

Dave Sands, (born David Ritchie), (24 February 1926 – 11 August 1952) was an Indigenous Australian boxer.

Memorial to Dave Sands in Glebe, Sydney, Australia

The man the Americans called the "boxer with the educated left hand" received his due when he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998 at a ceremony held in Los Angeles, recognised as one of the greatest boxers never to have won a world title.

Dave was the 2009 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Veterans category.

Early life

Born at Burnt Bridge Mission Kempsey, New South Wales, fifth of eight children of George Ritchie, a rodeo-rider and timber-cutter of mixed Aboriginal and European descent, and his Aboriginal wife Mabel, née Russell.

Sands' brothers Clement, Percival, George, Alfred and Russell also boxed, emulating their father and their maternal great-uncle Bailey Russell, a noted bare-knuckle fighter. In 1939 Percy travelled to Newcastle to train with Tom Maguire, At the age of 15 Sands joined Percy training with Maguire and both lived at Maguire's gym. Dave and his five brothers took on the Sands name, taken off a train guard "Snowy" Sands who helped Percy Ritchie, travel to fight fare free in 1940.

Career

Without Maguire's knowledge, Dave fought a four-round preliminary bout in August 1941 at Newcastle Stadium, swinging his way to victory in the first round. Maguire disapproved, but quickly transformed him into a skilled boxer. By the end of 1942 he had knocked out a dozen opponents at Newcastle. On 11 August 1945 he married 18-year-old Bessie Emma Burns at St Paul's Church of England, Stockton.

Sands was soon boxing in twelve-round matches before excited crowds of up to ten thousand people in Brisbane and Sydney. In May 1946 he defeated Jack Kirkham for the Australian middleweight title. Three months later he knocked out Jack Johnson in four rounds to become national light-heavyweight champion. The rematches were even more one-sided: Kirkham was defeated in five rounds and Johnson fell after 2½ minutes of furious punching. By 1948 Sands had beaten all his local opponents and most American 'imports'. His mauling of a French fighter Tony Toniolo in less than two minutes in February 1949 led the English promoter Jack Solomons to take an interest in him.

Grave of Dave Sands at Sandgate Cemetery.

Despite an enthusiastic reception from the British press, Sands began his campaign for a world title disastrously. In London on 4 April 1949, while suffering from a swollen, recently vaccinated arm, he was outpointed by Tommy Yarosz. Fifteen days later Sands won, dismally, against a spoiler, Lucien Caboche. Maguire then moved him to Newcastle upon Tyne, where friendly locals and a promoter Joe Shepherd restored his confidence. After two solid victories, he returned to London and in July thrashed the much fancied Robert Villemain in the 'fight of the year'. On 6 September Sands demolished Dick Turpin in 2 minutes 35 seconds for the British Empire middleweight title.

Shortly after his triumphal return to Australia in November 1949, Sands survived a serious accident when the steering on his motorcar failed and the vehicle somersaulted into a creek. Over the next eighteen months he contested and won nine fights, one of them a fifteen-rounder in September 1950 in which he took the Australian heavyweight championship from Alf Gallagher. Sands had become a leading contender for the world middleweight title and Maguire vainly sought to arrange a bout with the American champion 'Sugar' Ray Robinson. In the tricky maze of international boxing-promotion, his efforts were marked by a 'paper-chase' of offers and counter-offers. Sands defeated Mel Brown in London in July 1951 in a preliminary to a title-fight between Robinson and another contender Randolph Turpin. Had Maguire's negotiations succeeded, Sands would have been in Turpin's place and probably would have beaten an unfit Robinson, as did Turpin.

In October 1951, Sands won two fights in the United States of America. Back home, he hoped for a world title-bout, but he was estranged from Maguire. A new manager Bede Kerr reopened discussions with Robinson's connections, but 'the chance never came'.

Death

On 11 August 1952, the truck Sands was driving with 15 passengers overturned at roadworks near Dungog, New South Wales.[1] Sands died of head and internal injuries that evening in the local hospital and was buried at Sandgate Cemetery, near Newcastle, New South Wales. His wife, and their son and two daughters survived him; their third daughter was born in November. Sands had earned about £30,000, but it went on manager's fees, travel costs, tax, family expenses and generosity to his kin. A public appeal raised more than £2500, sufficient to pay off his Stockton home and create a trust fund for his family.

Professional record

87 wins (52 knockouts, 35 decision), 10 loss, 1 draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	51-8-1	George Allen	TKO	9 (12)	1947-11-24	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	50-8-1	George 'Wildcat' Henry	PTS	12 (12)	1947-10-13	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	49-8-1	George 'Wildcat' Henry	PTS	12 (12)	1947-09-08	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	48-8-1	O'Neill Bell	KO	2 (12)	1947-08-06	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	47-8-1	George Allen	TKO	1 (12)	1947-05-31	West Melbourne Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Win	46-8-1	Emory Jackson	TKO	7 (12)	1947-05-03	West Melbourne Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Win	45-8-1	Emory Jackson	PTS	12 (12)	1947-04-14	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	44-8-1	Art Lind	TKO	7 (12)	1947-03-24	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Loss	43-8-1	Emory Jackson	PTS	12 (12)	1947-02-14	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	43-7-1	Alf Gallagher	KO	3 (15)	1946-11-30	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Draw	42-7-1	Jackie Marr	PTS	12 (12)	1946-11-23	West Melbourne Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Win	42-7	Jack Johnson	TKO	1 (15)	1946-10-12	West Melbourne Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia	Australian light heavyweight title
Win	41-7	Jack Johnson	TKO	4 (15)	1946-08-24	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	Australian light heavyweight title
Win	40-7	Jack Kirkham	KO	5 (15)	1946-06-07	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia	Australian middleweight title
Win	39-7	Jack Kirkham	TKO	12 (15)	1946-05-11	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	Australian middleweight title
Win	38-7	Jimmy Brunt	TKO	1 (12)	1946-03-02	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	37-7	Alex Buxton	PTS	12 (12)	1946-01-26	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	36-7	Tommy Colteaux	RTD	2 (12)	1945-12-27	Leichhardt Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	35-7	Al Walker	PTS	12 (12)	1945-11-24	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	34-7	Max Cameron	TKO	11 (15)	1945-10-20	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia	New South Wales State Middleweight title
Win	33-7	Billy Myers	KO	5 (12)	1945-08-11	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	32-7	Tom Laming	KO	2 (12)	1945-07-07	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	31-7	Herb Broom	KO	3 (12)	1945-06-16	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	30-7	Max Cameron	RTD	6 (12)	1945-05-10	Leichhardt Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	29-7	Al Walker	KO	7 (12)	1945-05-05	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	29-7	Max Cameron	PTS	12 (12)	1945-03-29	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win	28-7	Al Walker	PTS	12 (12)	1945-03-03	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	27-7	Jack Brander	KO	2 (12)	1945-02-03	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	26-7	Jackie Marr	PTS	12 (12)	1944-12-16	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	25-7	Jimmy Grey	KO	8 (12)	1944-12-01	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Loss	24-7	Jackie Marr	PTS	12 (12)	1944-11-18	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	24-6	Max Cameron	TKO	3 (12)	1944-10-21	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	23-6	Tom Laming	KO	7 (12)	1944-09-23	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	22-6	Jackie (Young) Day	KO	5 (12)	1944-09-02	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	21-6	Jimmy Grey	PTS	12 (12)	1944-08-05	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	20-6	Bob Coglan	PTS	12 (12)	1944-07-15	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	19-6	Dal Conway	TKO	4 (12)	1944-06-30	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Win	18-6	Bill Bayliss	KO	2 (12)	1944-06-02	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Loss	17-6	Doug Brown	PTS	12 (12)	1944-05-13	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Loss	17-5	Doug Brown	PTS	12 (12)	1944-04-15	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	17-4	John Buchanan	KO	2 (12)	1944-02-25	Kempsey Town Hall, Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia
Loss	16-4	Jack McNamee	PTS	12 (12)	1944-02-05	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	16-3	Bobby Clarke	KO	6 (12)	1944-01-22	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	15-3	George Cook	PTS	12 (12)	1943-12-18	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Loss	14-3	Billy Myers	PTS	12 (12)	1943-11-27	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	14-2	George Cook	PTS	12 (12)	1943-11-20	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	13-2	Bobby Rivers	TKO	9 (12)	1943-10-23	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	12-2	Cliff Bowen	TKO	2 (12)	1943-09-11	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	11-2	Ken McDermott	KO	1 (12)	1943-08-21	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	10-2	Ken McDermott	RTD	10 (12)	1943-08-14	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	9-2	Eddie Truxel	PTS	6 (6)	1943-07-17	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	8-2	Bill Warren	PTS	8 (8)	1943-07-03	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	7-2	Snowy Stephens	PTS	6 (6)	1943-06-19	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	6-2	Len Baker	KO	1 (4)	1943-06-12	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Loss	5-2	Gunner Wilkinson	TKO	4 (4)	1941-11-25	Greater Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	5-1	Cec Burr	KO	2 (4)	1941-09-23	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	4-1	Eddie Roebuck	PTS	4 (4)	1941-09-20	Greater Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Loss	3-1	Eddie Roebuck	PTS	4 (4)	1941-09-16	Greater Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	3-0	Eddie Roebuck	KO	4 (4)	1941-09-13	Greater Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	2-0	Paddy Chapman	TKO	4 (4)	1941-08-26	Greater Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Win	1-0	Leo Con Corrigan	KO	1 (4)	1941-08-16	Greater Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia	Dave Sands Debut

Titles

Preceded by Jack Johnson	Australian heavyweight Championship 1950-52	Succeeded by Ken Brady
Preceded by Dick Turpin	Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight 1949-52	Succeeded by Randolph Turpin
Preceded by Jack Johnson	Australian Light Heavyweight Championship 1946-52	Succeeded by Carlo Marchini
Preceded by Jack Kirkham	Australian Middleweight Championship 1946-52	Succeeded by Al Bourke

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References

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18277191

Sources

Pictures held and digitised as part of the Arnold Thomas boxing collection by the National Library of Australia

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[1] ttp://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18277191