Tancy Lee

James "Tancy" Lee (31 January 1882 – 5 February 1941) was a Scottish professional boxer who competed from 1906 to 1926. He held the IBU world, EBU European and the National Sporting Club’s British flyweight titles in 1915, becoming the first Scot to hold a British title.

Tancy Lee
Statistics
Real nameJames Lee
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
NationalityBritish
Born(1882-01-31)31 January 1882
Leith, Scotland
Died5 February 1941(1941-02-05) (aged 59)
Leith, Scotland
Boxing record
Total fights49
Wins37
Wins by KO24
Losses10
Draws2

Career

Early career

Born in Leith in 1882, Lee had his first fights as an amateur in 1906. In 1910 he won the ABA bantamweight championship, but was stripped of the title after it was discovered that he had infringed the amateur boxing laws.[1] Undefeated as a professional by 1911 he suffered his first loss when he was stopped in the thirteenth round by Alex Lafferty in a contest for the Scottish bantamweight title.[2] He won the Scottish flyweight title three years later when he beat Dan McGrady (who later changed his name to MacGrady).

British, European, and World title fights

After beating Tommy Harrison in an eliminator he was to face Percy Jones in October 1914 for the latter's British and World flyweight titles but Jones failed to make the weight; The fight went ahead as a non-title catch-weight fight with Lee stopping Jones in the 14th round.[3]

In January 1915 he faced Jimmy Wilde, at the time unbeaten in over 90 fights (according to some sources 103), for the vacant British, European, and IBU World titles at the National Sporting Club, stopping him in the 17th round to become triple champion.[4][5][6] He lost the British and World titles nine months later to Joe "Young" Symonds.[7]

In February 1916 he beat Johnny Best to take the Scottish bantamweight title, and four months later faced Wilde for the British, European, and World flyweight titles, Wilde stopping him in the 11th round.[8][9]

In December 1916 he successfully defended his Scottish bantamweight title against Lafferty and then moved up to featherweight.[10] In November 1917 he knocked Charlie Hardcastle in the fourth round to become British featherweight champion.[11] Although he lost his next three fights he successfully defended his British title in October 1918 against Joe Conn,[12][13] and again in February 1919 against Danny Morgan to win the Lonsdale Belt outright.[14][15]

In December 1919 he challenged Louis de Ponthieu for the vacant European featherweight title at the Cirque de Paris, but was stopped in the 17th round.[16] Having relinquished the British title he fought for it again in October 1920, but retired in the 19th round against defending champion Mike Honeyman. After losing to Auguste Grassi in March 1921 he retired from boxing, although he fought in a three-round exhibition bout in 1922, and made a comeback in 1926, at the age of 44, when he drew with Johnny Seeley.[17][18][19]

Retirement and death

After retiring from the ring Lee became a bookmaker, and also a boxing trainer and manager, having co-founded the Leith Victoria Club in 1919, and training fighters such as Johnny Hill, Alex Ireland, Jim Rolland, and Lee's nephews George McKenzie and James McKenzie, both Olympic medallists, George also winning the British featherweight title.[20][21][22][23][24]

In April 1930 a testimonial tournament was held in his honour in Waverley Market, Edinburgh.[25] As the first outright winner of the Lonsdale Belt to reach the age of 50, he became in 1932 the first to receive a £1 per week pension from the National Sporting Club.[26]

Tancy Lee died on 5 February 1941, aged 59, after being hit by a bus in Duncan Place, and was buried at Seafield Cemetery in Edinburgh.[27][28][29] He was survived by his widow Harriett (née Mears) and three daughters.[27] His wife sued the Edinburgh Corporation, owners of the bus, but the action was unsuccessful.[27]

Lee was inducted into the Scottish Boxing Hall of Fame in September 2008, in a ceremony attended by his 94-year-old daughter.[22][30]

Title fights
Result Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss Mike Honeyman RTD 19 (20) 1920-10-25 National Sporting Club, London Lost challenge for British Featherweight title
Loss Louis De Ponthieu KO 17 (20) 1919-12-24 Cirque de Paris, Paris, France Lost challenge for European Featherweight title
Win Danny Morgan PTS (20) 1919-02-24 National Sporting Club, London Retained British Featherweight title
Win Joe Conn KO 17 (20) 1918-10-21 National Sporting Club, London Retained British Featherweight title
Win Charlie Hardcastle KO 4 (20) 1917-11-05 National Sporting Club, London Won British Featherweight title
Win Johnny Lafferty RTD 14 (20) 1916-12-14 Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool Won Scottish Bantamweight title
Loss Jimmy Wilde TKO 11 (20) 1916-06-26 National Sporting Club, London Lost challenge for British flyweight title & IBU World flyweight title, lost European flyweight title
Win Johnny Best KO 11 (20) 1916-02-17 Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool Won Scottish Bantamweight title
Loss Joe Symonds TKO 16 (20) 1915-10-18 National Sporting Club, London Lost British flyweight title & IBU World flyweight title
Win Jimmy Wilde TKO 17 (20) 1915-01-25 National Sporting Club, London Won British flyweight title, European flyweight title, & IBU World flyweight title,
Win Dan McGrady TKO 12 (20) 1914-03-09 National AC, Glasgow Won Scottish flyweight title
Loss Alex Lafferty TKO 13 (15) 1911-04-13 Olympia, Edinburgh Lost challenge for Scottish bantamweight title
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References
  1. "Tragic Death of Tancy Lee". Dundee Courier. 7 February 1941. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Arthur carrying eastern traditions into title fight", The Scotsman, 21 June 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2015
  3. "Tancy Lee Disappointed". Daily Record. 20 October 1914. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. Milbert, Neil Francis (2013) "Jimmy Wilde", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 March 2015
  5. Jackson, Ron "One record Money can’t buy", supersport.com. Retrieved 22 March 2015
  6. "Tancy Lee Beats Wilde". Dundee Courier. 26 January 1915. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Symonds Beats Tancy Lee". Daily Mirror. 19 October 1915. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Tancy Lee Beats Johnny Best". Dundee Courier. 18 February 1916. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. Holt, Richard (1990) Sport and the Working Class in Modern Britain, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-0719026508, p. 207
  10. "Tancy Lee Wins". Daily Record. 15 December 1916. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Tancy Lee". Sunday Post. 16 September 1917. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Tancy Lee Beaten by Billy Fry". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 27 December 1917. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "Tancy Lee Wins". Evening Despatch. 22 October 1918. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Tancy Lee Retains Lonsdale Belt". Dundee Courier. 25 February 1919. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. "Tancy Lee Presented With Lonsdale Belt". Dundee Courier. 26 February 1919. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. "Tancy Lee is Beaten". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 25 December 1919. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. "Tancy Lee Loses to Grassi". Dundee Courier. 19 March 1921. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. "Tancy Lee in Exhibition Bout at Falkirk". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 3 April 1922. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. "Tancy Lee to "Come Back"". Dundee Courier. 16 March 1926. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. "Tancy Lee Fined for Betting Offence". Dundee Courier. 16 November 1927. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. Donald, Brian "Johnny Hill, Scotland's first boxing world champion 1928", BBC. Retrieved 22 March 2015
  22. "‘Tancy’ Lee to get place in Hall of Fame", The Scotsman, 19 July 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2015
  23. "Edinburgh trio worthy of place in Hall of Fame", The Scotsman, 23 February 2002. retrieved 22 March 2015
  24. "Leith Vics in search down 90 great years", The Scotsman, 15 January 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2015
  25. "Testimonial to Tancy Lee". Dundee Courier. 31 March 1930. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  26. "Tancy Lee's Pension". Dundee Courier. 20 October 1932. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  27. ""Tancy" Lee's Widow Fails in Action", Glasgow Herald, 13 March 1942, p. 8. Retrieved 22 March 2015
  28. ""Tancy" Lee Killed". Derby Daily Telegraph. 6 February 1941. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  29. "Last Tributes to Tancy Lee". Aberdeen Journal. 10 February 1941. Retrieved 22 March 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  30. "Lee's daughter knocks 'em out . . at 94", The Scotsman, 16 September 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2015
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Percy Jones		 IBU flyweight champion
January 25 – October 18, 1915		 Succeeded by
Joe Symonds

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