Les Darcy

DESCRIPTION: The singer mourns for Les Darcy. He recalls "how he beats, Simply eats them, Every Saturday night." "(The Yanks) called him a skiter, but he proved himself a fighter, (so they killed him, down in Memphis), Tennessee."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1957 (Scott-ACollectorsNotebook-31TraditionalSongs)
KEYWORDS: fight Australia death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1895 - Birth of Les Darcy
May 24, 1917 - Death of Les Darcy in Memphis, Tennessee
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Fahey-Eureka-SongsThatMadeAustralia, pp. 218-219, "Les Darcy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-ACollectorsNotebook-31TraditionalSongs, p. 8, "Les Darcy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ward-PenguinBookOfAustralianBallads, pp. 242-243, "The Death of Les Darcy" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
John Greenway, "Les Darcy" (on JGreenway01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Young Les Darcy" (plot, subject)
NOTES [2079 words]: Les Darcy was an Australian boxer of whom great things were expected. He did not live long, and so his major bouts were few, but the Australians made him one of their great heroes.
Almost everything about his story is disputed. Learmonth, p. 147, in their item on "James Leslie (Les) Darcy" declare that he was born in Stradbroke in New South Wales in 1895. Wannan, p. 38, quotes this quick summary of his career by Del Williams: "He arrived in America on an oil tanker, his goal the world's middleweight championship. Instead, he found frustration, injustice, and finally death. Branded a slacker by the Governor of New York, and unable to box in America, his spirit began to fade, and on 24 May 1917, he awoke from a short sleep at the Gartly-Ramsey Hospital, Memphis, opened his eyes and beckoned to his friend, Mick Hawkis. He gasped for words and found none." Soon after, he died.
Born in Australia of Irish parents, he became his homeland's lightweight, middleweight, and eventually heavyweight champion, winning 46 of 50 bouts according to Learmonth, he stowed aboard the oil tanker in 1916 to compete in the United States.
His role as heavyweight champion is interesting, in that he was only about 5'7" tall (FitzSimons, p. 19). But he reportedly had exceptionally long arms, giving him the reach of a man half a foot taller (FitzSimons, p. 39).
His first big break apparently came in December 1910, when he was about fifteen; he won a bout with a local bruiser named George Balser and earned fifteen shillings for the feat -- several weeks' income at the unskilled labor at which he was employed (FitzSimons, pp. 28-20). Despite family opposition, he apparently decided that boxing was a good way to improve his life, and signed on with a sort-of-coach named Mick Hawkins (FitzSimons, p. 31). Dance lessons improved his footwork, and a part-time job as a blacksmith no doubt hardened his already-strong muscles (FitzSimons, pp. 34-35). In fairly short order, he had beaten all the boxers in the vicinity of his home town of Maitland and was looking beyond (FitzSimons, pp. 36-37).
In 1914 -- ironically, shortly after his first loss -- he finally got his first invitation to fight in Sydney (FitzSimons, p. 45). Since he was starting to face American boxers at this time, he and his crowd also started a tradition of showing the then-new Australian flag at his fights (FitzSimons, p. 54). He lost that first big fight, but the crowd disagreed, so it didn't hurt his popularity (FitzSimons, p. 56). Granted a rematch, he lost again -- this time being disqualified, which finally pushed him to get a better coach (FitzSimons, pp. 62-63). FitzSimons seems to think it helped, but Darcy's record in the next few months didn't sound impressive to me -- yes, he won most of his fights, but against relatively weak opposition.
Then came World War I. Darcy was obviously of fighting age, and volunteered to fight for Australia -- but because he was under 21, his family had to sign his enlistment papers, and they refused (FitzSimons, p. 60). The Darcys were of Irish descent; apart from a mother's worry, one wonders if, perhaps, Margaret Darcy was opposed to a son of hers fighting for England. He did raise some money for medical charities in this period (FitzSimons, p. 84), which probably helped rise his profile.
A few more fights and, FitzSimons alleges "He was widely acclaimed -- if still not officially acknowledged -- as the champion middleweight of the world" (p. 99). This at a time when he had never had a fight outside Australia. Indeed, he apparently turned down his first offer to make a tour of the United States (FitSzimons, p. 105).
Many things in his life changed in 1915. He apparently proposed to his girlfriend Winnie O'Sullivan (and was turned down by her family because she was too young (FitzSimons, p. 108; she was younger than he was, and would outlive him by almost sixty years, dying in 1974; FitzSimons, p. 207). He had also bought his family a new home that needed to be paid off (FitzSimons, p. 111). The financial pressure was high -- and he was running out of opponents willing in Australia. If he wouldn't go to America, he needed something else. Although his size made him properly a middleweight, he fought briefly as a light heavyweight, then went all the way up to heavyweight -- and promptly beat Australia's heavyweight champion (FitzSimons, pp. 111-113). Thus he was Australia's top boxer in any weight class. (He did lose his two front teeth in that match. A dentist was able to rebuild them; FitzSimons, p. 113. The repair, however, turned out to be less than perfect...).
Meanwhile, Australians were dying in the European war. And one of Les's oldest friends was killed at Gallipoli even as Australia considered conscription (FitzSimons, pp. 101-103, 108). Australia didn't need boxers; it needed soldiers. His fame by this time was enough that the Army was after him specifically -- they wanted to recruit him for his propaganda value, and promised him a safe berth and what sounds like a makework job. He still refused (FitzSimons, p. 118) -- and even when they talked him around, his family continued to refuse (FitzSimons, p. 28). That was potential black mark #2 against him: He refused to fight for Australia, and he refused to fight outside Australia. There wasn't much question but that he was the best boxer in his country, but there was no one left there for him to fight!
And then -- Australian Premier Billy Hughes proposed a conscription law in 1916 (FitzSimons, p. 132). Hughes couldn't just order conscription, and indeed he lost two referendum on the subject and was thrown out of his political party (Clark, pp. 132-134; Learmonth, p. 125) -- but he could order all men to register (FitzSimons, p. 139). Suddenly Darcy's options were looking very limited. He tried to get a passport to go to America -- and was denied, for the third time (FitzSimons, p. 138).
Darcy wouldn't take that for an answer -- but he didn't make the logical move of making sure the media knew the situation and putting pressure on the government. Instead, despite opposition from his family, from his priest, from Winnie O'Sullivan, he decided to take an offer from a promoter which involved sneaking out of Australia to go to America (FitzSimons, pp. 140-142). He and this promoter Tim O'Sullivan (not listed as a relative of Winnie) rowed out to a coal carrier, the Hattie Luckenbach, and hid until they were safely in international waters. They weren't exactly stowaways -- the captain had been told, and paid, in advance -- but they certainly acted like they were! (FitzSimons, pp. 143-145).
It certainly wasn't a smart move in the short term; the Australian boxing authorities responded by revoking his titles as Australian champion (FitzSimons, p. 147) -- which, if nothing else, made him a less attractive opponent to American boxers. And it can't have been easy to practice on a coal carrier! Particularly since it took 62 days to get to New York; they arrived December 24, 1916 (FitzSimons, p. 153).
Darcy's explanation for all this was that he was trying to set his family on a sound financial footing (FitzSimons, p. 154). This seems to be true -- he had spent a lot of money on getting them into their new, comfortable setting. Too much money -- he'd in effect gone into debt against his future earnings. So he had to come up with those future earnings. That's not unreasonable if you have a steady job. But people in sports don't have steady jobs! The whole business strikes me as evidence that Darcy, although he is said to have been quite friendly and of a very cheerful disposition, wasn't very bright. Darcy -- who was getting questions even in America about dodging the war -- couldn't so much as find an opponent; he went on a sort of an exhibition tour with a show troupe (FitzSimons, p. 161).
In late January, his friend/coach/mentor Mick Hawkins arrived -- and found Darcy coughing and less peppy than usual (FitzSimons, pp. 162-163) -- and feuding with Tim O'Sullivan over what to do next. Darcy eventually fired O'Sullivan, and managed to book a big fight -- at Madison Square Garden, no less. And then, three days before it was supposed to take place, the governor of New York banned it on the grounds that Darcy had left Australia illegally (FitzSimons, p. 166). Other attempts to arrange high-profile fights were also shut down (FitzSimons, p. 173).
The Australian view, reflected in this song, was that the Americans were afraid to fight him. This strikes me as ridiculous -- there was no real evidence that Darcy was a world-class fighter. But all those cancellations make me see how the Australians came to view things that way. Similarly, there doesn't seem to be evidence of the Americans calling Darcy a "skiter" (boaster), but they did call him a slacker for avoiding the war. This was particularly true in the spring of 1917, when the Americans went to war themselves. Darcy had truly made a mess of his career. So his response was -- to apply for American citizenship (FitzSimons, p. 176). And then to volunteer for the American army, with the proviso that he be allowed to fight a few matches first. This was officially announced on April 20, 1917 (FitzSimons, p 180). He managed to work out a plan for a bout in Memphis. But there would be no fights. Darcy was too sick. An abscessed tooth. Tonsillitis. Both were removed, without effect. Soon he was confined to a hospital bed (FitzSimons, p. 182).
Winnie O'Sullivan was in America with a friend, but she had never been in the same city as Les. Finally a telegram called her to his bedside. She made it to Memphis on May 23 and was able to speak with him briefly before he died at 1:45 p.m. on May 24 (FitzSimons, pp. 184-187). He was not yet 22 years old.
There were four funerals: Memphis, San Francisco, Sydney, and Maitland. Somehow, being dead had canceled out all Australia's resentment about him not joining the army. Now he was a hero again; vast crowds came to see his coffin (FitzSimons, pp. 193-197). His body was laid to rest in East Maitland cemetary, where he came from.
Some Australians fell victim to conspiracy theories. When he died, the Americans gave the cause of death as sepsis and pneumonia, probably deriving from his damaged teeth (FitzSimons, p. 187), which makes sense in light of his earlier coughing, but many Australians claim he was poisoned.
It's interesting that not every Australian agrees with either diagnosis. Learmonth gives the cause of death as blood poisoning (i.e. sepsis), but MacDougall, p. 392, suggests meningitis, and adds that "His body was returned for burial in Australia giving Australians their chance to pay respects to a champion unfairly maligned." Davey/Seal, p. 85, reports, "Darcy died of blood poisoning arising from an injury received in the ring before he left Australia. Darcy was much more than a sporting celebrity, though, and up to and during World War I [he] took on the character of a national hero, celebrated in tradition with an intriguing mixture of pride, grief and affection."
Indeed, "In 1947 the readers of the Australian magazine Sports Novels voted Les Darcy the greatest sportsman of all time" (FitzSimons, p. 3, though he goes on to complain that Darcy was forgotten in the late twentieth century). in 1998, he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame (FitzSimons, p. 200).
So how good was Darcy? It seems pretty clear that he wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but boxers don't necessarily have to be smart. I think the answer has to be that we don't know -- he just didn't fight much high-level opposition. Given how close some of his fights were, I suspect he was not world-championship caliber -- but I don't know.
Two songs about Darcy are found in the tradition; this one, based on "Way Down in Tennessee," begins, "In Maitland cemet'ry (or "Way down in Tennessee") lies poor Les Darcy...." It has been surmised that this one was written by P.F. Collins (under the pseudonym "Percy the Poet"). The piece seems to have truly entered oral tradition, however; Fahey reports collecting it twice, and his text differs significantly from that used by John Greenway. It's sad that it makes claims that it can't substantiate rather than emphasizing Darcy's Australian success.
The other, more literary, Les Darcy song, "Young Les Darcy," has eight lines per stanza and begins "We all get a craving to roam, Far from home, o'er the foam...." - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 6.0
File: FaE218

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2024 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.