Dave Sands

File:David sands c. 1950 SLNSW FL21134876.jpg

Portrait of boxer Dave Sands, c. 1950

File:Memorial to Australian boxer Dave Sands, in Glebe, Sydney, Australia.jpg

Memorial to Dave Sands in Glebe, Sydney

Dave Sands (born David Ritchie; 4 February 1926 – 11 August 1952) was an Australian professional boxer.

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.

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

Early life

He was born at Burnt Bridge Mission in Kempsey, New South Wales, the 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 age 15, Sands joined Percy training with Maguire and both lived at Maguire's gym. He and his five brothers took on the Sands name, taken from train guard "Snowy" Sands who helped Percy travel fare-free to fight 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, New South Wales.

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.

File:Grave of David Ritchie at Sandgate Cemetery.jpg

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.

File:(The six Sands brothers in fighting poses - Clem, Ritchie, George, Dave, Alf and Russell) (34512147670).jpg

Dave (fourth from left) with his five brothers)

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. 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Age	Location	Notes
100	Template:Yes2Win	87–10–1 Template:Small	Jim Woods	KO	4 (15), Template:Small	Jul 9, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
99	Template:Yes2Win	86–10–1 Template:Small	Al Bourke	KO	5 (15), Template:Small	May 9, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
98	Template:Yes2Win	85–10–1 Template:Small	Chub Keith	TKO	14 (15), Template:Small	Mar 31, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
97	Template:Yes2Win	84–10–1 Template:Small	Ron Toohey	TKO	10 (12), Template:Small	Feb 8, 1952	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
96	Template:No2Loss	83–10–1 Template:Small	Yolande Pompey	TKO	7 (10), Template:Small	Nov 13, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
95	Template:Yes2Win	83–9–1 Template:Small	Henry Brimm	KO	10 (10), Template:Small	Oct 30, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
94	Template:Yes2Win	82–9–1 Template:Small	Bobo Olson	UD	10	Oct 3, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
93	Template:Yes2Win	81–9–1 Template:Small	Doug Miller	PTS	10	Aug 20, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
92	Template:Yes2Win	80–9–1 Template:Small	Mel Brown	PTS	10	Jul 10, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
91	Template:Yes2Win	79–9–1 Template:Small	Henry Bray	TKO	7 (12)	Feb 10, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
90	Template:Yes2Win	78–9–1 Template:Small	Irvin Steen	PTS	12	Feb 5, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
89	Template:Yes2Win	77–9–1 Template:Small	Boy Brooks	PTS	12	Jan 12, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
88	Template:Yes2Win	76–9–1 Template:Small	Don Mullett	PTS	12	Dec 14, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
87	Template:Yes2Win	75–9–1 Template:Small	Alf Gallagher	PTS	15	Sep 4, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
86	Template:Yes2Win	74–9–1 Template:Small	Henry Brimm	TKO	2 (12), Template:Small	Aug 8, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
85	Template:Yes2Win	73–9–1 Template:Small	Boy Brooks	UD	10	May 12, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
84	Template:Yes2Win	72–9–1 Template:Small	Boy Brooks	DQ	4 (10)	Apr 21, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
83	Template:Yes2Win	71–9–1 Template:Small	Bobo Olson	PTS	12	Mar 20, 1950	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
82	Template:Yes2Win	70–9–1 Template:Small	Pete Mead	PTS	10	Oct 11, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
81	Template:Yes2Win	69–9–1 Template:Small	Dick Turpin	KO	1 (15), Template:Small	Sep 6, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
80	Template:Yes2Win	68–9–1 Template:Small	Robert Villemain	PTS	10	Jul 5, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
79	Template:Yes2Win	67–9–1 Template:Small	Jan de Bruin	PTS	10	Jun 3, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
78	Template:Yes2Win	66–9–1 Template:Small	Jackie Jones	TKO	1 (10), Template:Small	May 16, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
77	Template:Yes2Win	65–9–1 Template:Small	Lucien Caboche	PTS	10	Apr 19, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
76	Template:No2Loss	64–9–1 Template:Small	Tommy Yarosz	PTS	10	Apr 4, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
75	Template:Yes2Win	64–8–1 Template:Small	Antoine Toniolo	TKO	1 (12), Template:Small	Feb 18, 1949	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
74	Template:Yes2Win	63–8–1 Template:Small	Tommy Prince	KO	3 (12)	Dec 17, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
73	Template:Yes2Win	62–8–1 Template:Small	Len Dittmar	TKO	5 (12)	Oct 9, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
72	Template:Yes2Win	61–8–1 Template:Small	Doug Brown	TKO	1 (12), Template:Small	Sep 27, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
71	Template:Yes2Win	60–8–1 Template:Small	Billy Meyers	PTS	12	Aug 27, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
70	Template:Yes2Win	59–8–1 Template:Small	George Allen	TKO	6 (12)	Jun 26, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
69	Template:Yes2Win	58–8–1 Template:Small	Billy Myers	PTS	12	Jun 12, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
68	NC	57–8–1 Template:Small	Jackie Marr	NC	7 (12)	Apr 19, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
67	Template:Yes2Win	57–8–1 Template:Small	Don Mullett	PTS	12	Apr 10, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
66	Template:Yes2Win	56–8–1 Template:Small	Jackie Marr	PTS	12	Mar 27, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	55–8–1 Template:Small	Doug Rollinson	KO	1 (12)	Mar 6, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2Win	54–8–1 Template:Small	Alabama Kid	KO	4 (12)	Feb 7, 1948	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	53–8–1 Template:Small	Alex Buxton	PTS	12	Nov 29, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2Win	52–8–1 Template:Small	George Allen	TKO	9 (12)	Nov 24, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	51–8–1 Template:Small	George 'Wildcat' Henry	PTS	12	Oct 13, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
60	Template:Yes2Win	50–8–1 Template:Small	George 'Wildcat' Henry	PTS	12	Sep 8, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	49–8–1 Template:Small	George Allen	KO	2 (12), Template:Small	Aug 5, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2Win	48–8–1 Template:Small	George Allen	TKO	1 (12)	May 31, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
57	Template:Abbr	47–8–1 Template:Small	Emory Jackson	NC	7 (12)	May 3, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	47–8–1	Emory Jackson	PTS	12	Apr 14, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	46–8–1	Art Lind	TKO	7 (12)	Mar 24, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
54	Template:No2Loss	45–8–1	Emory Jackson	PTS	12	Feb 24, 1947	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	45–7–1	Alf Gallagher	KO	3 (15)	Nov 30, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
52	Template:DrawDraw	44–7–1	Jackie Marr	PTS	12	Nov 23, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	44–7	Jack Johnson	TKO	1 (15)	Oct 12, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	43–7	Jack Johnson	TKO	4 (15), Template:Small	Aug 24, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	42–7	Jack Kirkham	KO	5 (15)	Jun 7, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	41–7	Jack Kirkham	TKO	12 (15)	May 11, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	40–7	Jimmy Brunt	TKO	1 (12), Template:Small	Mar 2, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2Win	39–7	Alex Buxton	PTS	12	Jan 26, 1946	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	38–7	Tommy Colteaux	RTD	2 (12)	Dec 27, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	37–7	Al Walker	PTS	12	Nov 24, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	36–7	Max Cameron	TKO	11 (15)	Oct 20, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	35–7	Billy Myers	KO	5 (12)	Aug 11, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	34–7	Tom Laming	KO	2 (12)	Jul 7, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	33–7	Herb Broom	KO	3 (12)	Jun 16, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	32–7	Max Cameron	RTD	6 (12)	May 10, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	31–7	Al Walker	KO	7 (12)	May 5, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	30–7	Max Cameron	PTS	12	Mar 29, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	29–7	Al Walker	PTS	12	Mar 3, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	28–7	Jack Brander	KO	2 (12)	Feb 3, 1945	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	27–7	Jackie Marr	PTS	12	Dec 16, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	26–7	Jimmy Grey	KO	8 (12), Template:Small	Dec 1, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
32	Template:No2Loss	25–7	Jackie Marr	PTS	12	Nov 18, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	25–6	Max Cameron	TKO	3 (12)	Oct 21, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	24–6	Tom Laming	KO	7 (12)	Sep 23, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	23–6	Jackie Day	TKO	5 (12)	Sep 2, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	22–6	Jimmy Grey	PTS	12	Aug 5, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	21–6	Bob Coughlan	PTS	12	Jul 15, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	20–6	Dal Conway	TKO	4 (12), Template:Small	Jun 30, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	19–6	Bill Bayliss	KO	2 (12), Template:Small	Jun 2, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
24	Template:No2Loss	18–6	Doug Brown	PTS	12	May 13, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
23	Template:No2Loss	18–5	Doug Brown	PTS	12	Apr 15, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	18–4	Jack Mitchell	TKO	12 (12)	Apr 1, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	17–4	Jack Buchanan	KO	2 (6)	Feb 25, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
20	Template:No2Loss	16–4	Jack McNamee	PTS	12	Feb 5, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	16–3	Bobby Clarke	KO	6 (12)	Jan 22, 1944	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	15–3	George Cook	PTS	12	Dec 18, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
17	Template:No2Loss	14–3	Billy Myers	PTS	12	Nov 27, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	14–2	George Cook	PTS	12	Nov 20, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	13–2	Bobby Rivers	TKO	9 (12)	Oct 23, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	12–2	Cliff Bowen	TKO	2 (12)	Sep 11, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	11–2	Ken McDermott	KO	1 (12)	Aug 21, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	10–2	Ken McDermott	RTD	10 (12)	Aug 14, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	9–2	Eddie Truxel	PTS	6	Jul 17, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	8–2	Bill Warren	PTS	6	Jul 3, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	7–2	Snowy Stevens	PTS	6	Jun 19, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	6–2	Len Baker	KO	1 (4)	Jun 12, 1943	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
7	Template:No2Loss	5–2	Gunner Wilkinson	TKO	4 (4)	Nov 25, 1941	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	5–1	Cec Burr	KO	2 (4)	Sep 23, 1941	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	4–1	Eddie Roebuck	PTS	4	Sep 20, 1941	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
4	Template:No2Loss	3–1	Eddie Roebuck	PTS	4	Sep 16, 1941	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Eddie Roebuck	KO	4 (4)	Sep 13, 1941	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Paddy Chapman	TKO	4 (4)	Aug 26, 1941	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Leo Con Corrigan	KO	1 (4)	Aug 16, 1941	Template:Age in years and days	Template:Small

Sources

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

• Dave Sands, Empire and Australian Middleweight Champion and Tom Maguire, trainer
• British Empire title bout, Dave Sands, 11 st. 5 lb., K.O. Dick Turpin, 11 st. 3¾ lb., in the first round at Harringay Arena, England, 6 September 1949
• Dave Sands (left), 11 st. 7¾ lb. v. Henry Brimm, 11 st. 5½ lb., at Rushcutter's Bay Stadium, 8 August 1950

External links

• Template:Boxrec