The shoulders of giants: James Figg

I dined recently at a fine establishment in Thame, Oxfordshire and was struck that in my time on the board, I do not remember any articles commemorating the great James Figg.  The pub in question, now renamed in his honour was formerly the Greyhound Inn, from whence his incredible career began.

Figg was born into a poor farming family in, or around 1695 in the village of Thame.  The town itself is Anglo-Saxon in origin, which grew under the auspices of the local monastery post-conquest into a substantial market town.  Bishop Hugh de Welles diverted the main road from Oxford to Aylesbury such that it ran through Thame and the "Tuesday market" in Thame became a source of prosperity to the town, abbey and local area.  By the time of James Figg, Thame's market made it the hub of north-east Oxfordshire, a position it still holds to this day.  Oxfordshire had suffered a great deal from the chaos of the English civil war - the area had been staunchly royalist and thus a target for parliamentarians, with Thame itself changing hands several times.   By the time of Figg, however, prosperity had begun to arise out of the chaos.  New families had moved into the town as traders, bringing in substantial wealth and by the time of Figg's birth, Thame was a town of 1300 people.  

Figg himself, lacked access to this wealth.  The Thame market, however, which by this stage was big enough to encompass serve North Oxfordshire, served as his ticket to glory.  Sideshows and booths will have served as his nursery, such that by the time he was fully grown and a 6 foot tall, 185 pound athlete he was already reckoned a master of the shortsword, cudgel and quarterstaff, before deciding to concentrate on unarmed combat.

Around the turn of the 17th century, the sport which would go on to become boxing was a very different one.  "Combat" took place over 3 bouts, one of "swordplay" - with live swords, bucklers and shields, where the Continental fencing techniques, originating in Italy during the early renaissance came into contact with those of "the English school".  The second bout would be of unarmed combat - with kicking, wrestling, butting, gouging, hair pulling all entirely legal and above board.  The third and final deciding contest would involve the cudgel or the quarterstaff.  

Sadly, much of Figg's early life is lost to history.  We know not where he was educated or who taught him to fight.  Legend tells that his early career was spent fighting out of the Greyhound inn in his native Thame and at local fairs and booths, whilst regularly appearing at the Southward fair, challenging all-comers "from noon 'til night".  It was here that he caught the attention of the Earl of Peterborough, who supplied Figg his patronage.  With this, Figg was able to open "Figg's amphitheatre", which catered to over 1000 students.  Figg was a celebrity, friends with Hogarth, who made his business card, which claimed he would teach all students "the manly art of self defence".  His bouts, more than any captured the imagination and by 1719, Figg, aged 24 had declared himself "Champion of England".  

Nor was this some empty boast - Figg's resume included all potential opponents for the title, Clarkson, McDonald, Stokes, Bennet and Finn were all fighters of some renown.  In a 270 fight career, Figg is reputed to have lost only once, to Ned Sutton, a fight commemorated in verse by James Byrom.  Figg's style and stamina won through a brutal contest, where Figg was cut with his own sword and knocked off the stage, before destroying Sutton's knee with a stroke of his cudgel, triumphing 3-0.  Figg was a highly adaptable fighter, he had an excellent balance of unarmed skills.  In combat with a strong wrestling opponent, Figg would concentrate on striking and avoid clinches and would target the body within clinches.  Against a superior striking opponent, like Sutton, Figg would rely on his wrestling ability to hold an opponent before forcing submission.

Figg retired in 1730, dying of TB in 1734.  His image appears in the Rake's progress and Southward fair and his disciple (and rumoured grandson) Broughton would go on to win the title and introduce Broughton rules in 1743, which would govern boxing until the London Prize Ring Rules were introduced.  His image has hung above the bar in the pub which bears his name for years, below which is written the following poem:
How would boxing have progressed without Figg capturing the imagination?  Without Figg, would there have been a Marquis of Queensbury?

Thanks for the education oxy, I can't add any discussion as figg is a totally unheard of character in my limited boxing knowledge.

I think a cudgel would have been a welcome addition to the wlad fight at the weekend.

Like you jim, I'd only heard the name prior to dining at the pub. Have been doing a touch of reading about him in the past week and thought I'd share.

The descriptions of fights are much more akin to MMA than boxing - albeit MMA with the occasional addition of a quarterstaff or cudgel. The description of Figg taking out Sutton's knee are pretty brutal - Sutton couldn't stand after the blow landed - sounds like ligamentous damage at the least - Sutton wanted to keep fighting at that point.

Both men had been cut from the sword fighting - Figg's arm was cut from his own blade following a particularly vicious attack, before Figg sliced Sutton's shoulder open. Figg had been punched from the stage into the crowd during the grappling, before climbing back in to out-wrestle Sutton to the floor and punch and strangle him mercilessly into submission. If you were to feel sorry for Sutton at this point, I wouldn't blame you - because, with an open shoulder wound and likely still dazed from being choked into submission, Figg was not in a merciful mood and destroyed his knee.

Pretty brutal really - you can see why it was banned for so long - but also why it was so popular.

I have not found any record of Sutton's future career - if anyone knows about it, please post now...

Good stuff Oxy. Have just had a skim through Bob Mee's Bare Fists and it does seem details on Figg's career are few and far between. Mee suggests him and Sutton could have fought a series of fights but much beyond that is probably lost to time. Does seem Figg was well regarded as during his time in the capital he was the go to instructor for the fancy.

In terms of his future career from what I can gather from Mee his main activities were instructing and exhibitions but as you have already said he did not really live long enough to have much of a career to speak of outside what you have already mentioned.

Not bad

Rowley wrote:Good stuff Oxy. Have just had a skim through Bob Mee's Bare Fists and it does seem details on Figg's career are few and far between. Mee suggests him and Sutton could have fought a series of fights but much beyond that is probably lost to time. Does seem Figg was well regarded as during his time in the capital he was the go to instructor for the fancy.

In terms of his future career from what I can gather from Mee his main activities were instructing and exhibitions but as you have already said he did not really live long enough to have much of a career to speak of outside what you have already mentioned.

He and Sutton fought thrice, as far as I can tell. First fight Figg lost- claimed he was ill and demanded a rematch, which he then had. Won the rematch - can't find any details of the fight. The rubber match was the one I described - the most brutal (and popular) of the 3 and the one which Byrom immortalised in poem.

His influence, however - as a trainer of Taylor and an inspiration to Broughton - cannot be underestimated.

EDIT - in the above article - I suggested that Broughton was alleged to be Figg's grandson - whilst I have read this - I have also read that Jack Slack - who took Broughton's unbeaten record - was also alleged to be Figg's grandson.

What does Mee have to say on that issue?

Would have to guess they are just rumours or something both or either claimed as a marketing tool Oxy because whilst Mee does not mention it, he does provide a record of what happened to Broughton's father in the book in terms of him remarrying and his cause of death so would have to assume if this information was available you'd have to think any relationship with Figg would have been noted.

According to Pierce Egan, he was a better fencer and cudgeller than boxer.

I wish we had fight talk like this by the way:

'I don't know d'ye see, as how that'ere's truth about his breaking so many of his countrymen's jaw-bones with his fist; howsomdever, that's no matter, he can't break Bob Whitaker's jaw-bone, if he had a sledgehammer in his hand. And if Bob must knock under, why, before this here outlandish waterman shall rule the roast, I'll give him a Fig to chaw, which, perhaps, he'll find some trouble in swallowing!'

This Bob Whitaker sounds like the Wlad Klitschko of his time, celebrated for throwing and leaning on opponents, except possessing true bottom.

Scottrf wrote:

Spoiler:

Love some of the names on here: The Tipton Slasher and The Game Chicken....

There was also one called the Battersea Gardener. They knew how to do a proper nickname back then.

Wow, what a cracking read to enjoy over my morning cuppa. Thanks Oxy!

Snakeyman123 wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

Spoiler:

Love some of the names on here: The Tipton Slasher and The Game Chicken....

My kind of sport... Grappled with a few game chickens in my time, before finishing them off with my cudgel. As a man of mercy, I made sure it was all over quickly.

On a more serious note, men were men in those days. Bout 2 sounds just like a Duran fight, but bouts 2 and 3? swords and cudgels? Ouch.

Good read gents.

Read a book some time ago called Pride of a Lion about Nottingham Bare Knuckle champion Bendigo. He had a rivalry with another Nottingham fighter William Caunt and they basically hated each other. The report of one of their fights is ridiculous. Bendigo was by far the better fighter and so if the reports are to be believed Caunt's tactics basically amounted to trying to gouge his eyes out and strangle him. As you say Milky not for the faint hearted. Would love to have actually seen one of the fights though just to see what actually happened.

Definitely has more appeal as a spectator sport, than a participation one.

I'm trying to imagine what a journeyman looked like in those days... A Blind hunchback with a wooden leg, and just the one arm stump with a hook on it?

Or like the black knight in the holy grail... Hopping around on one leg, trying to get a head butt in.

milkyboy wrote:I'm trying to imagine what a journeyman looked like in those days...

An excellent point - given Figg's 270 fights - there must have been some journeymen in there along the way...

The potential of being stabbed to death/near death, if I survived choked/punched to submission, then if still alive cudgelled into a pulp doesn't appeal too much.

I suppose that's what the seconds were for - withdrawing you from a fight if they thought you were going to be killed. It was Sutton's seconds who withdrew him when he wanted to continue, one leg incapacitated, against Figg.

Probably for the best, as the outcome could have been slaughter otherwise. Literal slaughter, not metaphorical slaughter.

oxring wrote:
I suppose that's what the seconds were for - withdrawing you from a fight if they thought you were going to be killed.  It was Sutton's seconds who withdrew him when he wanted to continue, one leg incapacitated, against Figg.

Same happened in the Sullivan Kilrain fight. The purse was winner takes all and so despite taking an absolute shellacking for the majority of the 75 rounds. Kilrain point blank refused to throw the towel in, his cornerman, whose name escapes me, eventually had to retire him as he said he had no desire to be party to a murder.

This has quite a detailed description of Figg-Sutton:

http://archive.org/stream/fightsforchampio01hennuoft/fightsforchampio01hennuoft_djvu.txt

Scottrf wrote:This has quite a detailed description of Figg-Sutton:

http://archive.org/stream/fightsforchampio01hennuoft/fightsforchampio01hennuoft_djvu.txt

Very good, thank you - and also thanks for above links from pugilistica.