Joe Shears
Joe Shears | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1892 |
| Died | November 25, 1957 |
| Other names | Little Joe, Joey Shears |
| Occupation | Boxer |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | |
Joseph "Joe" Shears (c. 1892 – November 25, 1957), also known as Joe Shulman, was a former boxer and member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Early life
[edit]Born Joseph or Joe Shulman in the 1890s, he was born in Poland. When Joe Shulman was a year old, his family relocated from Poland to London, England.[1]
Boxing career
[edit]Shears was the fighting moniker of Joe Schulman, and it was later taken on by his son Jerry and the rest of the family.[2] Shears fought in England, Canada, and the United States before the First World War.
In 1908, he defeated George Jones in the first professional boxing match conducted in Belleville, Illinois.[3] Shears fought an eight-round fight with Canadian boxer Frankie Fleming in 1910.[1] He later competed in a match at New Bedford's Sharpshooters Hall in 1913.[4]
.jpeg)
When the First World War broke out in 1914, Shears enlisted as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.[5] After sailing to England in 1916, "Little Joe" Shears became the bantamweight champion of the Allied forces in France and England.[6] In November 1916, English artist Laura Knight was commissioned to paint the physical training at Witley Camp in Surrey where the 156th Canadian Infantry Battalion was stationed.[7] Joe Shears was encountered by Laura Knight outside of the camp barber's shed, where he accepted an offer to be her model. She described Shears as having a "bashed-in purple face, cauliflower ears, and a broken nose."[8] Knight set up her easel and paints, the gym transformed into her art studio, with Shears acting as an attendant, model, and teacher.[9] The two formed a friendship, and he regularly walked her back to the Angel Hotel in Godalming, three miles from the camp. After viewing her completed works, Joe proposed setting up a shop in Leicester Square to display and sell her drawings.[10] Knight painted over 9 paintings which included a final large canvas, titled "Physical Training at Witley Camp" which featured the boxer.[11] One piece illustrated Shears punching a double end bag, while another captured him training with Corporal W. Atkin in the gym.[12]
Shears escaped a German prison camp by crawling through a sewer.[13]
After the war, in 1919, he went back to boxing in Montreal. Weighing in at 116 pounds, the Canadian soldier defeated Young Demers in a six round bout in September 1919.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Jerry, Phil, Max, Al, and Joe Jr. were his five sons, all of whom became amateur boxers inspired by their father's example.[15]
After stepping away from boxing, he worked as a taxi driver in Montreal. In March 1929, he joined 22 survivors from his regiment for a reunion and later escorted his friend Tom Patterson to New York before returning to Canada.[16]
Death
[edit]Joseph Shears died on November 25, 1957 in Montreal, Quebec.
Honors and awards
[edit]- Allied Forces Bantamweight Champion. (1916)
References
[edit]- ^ a b "The Unbelievably Tough Little Guy Passes - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Obituaries: Jerry Shears – Fighter Was A Champ Boxer And Broker - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Belleville IL Boxing Gyms | History Of Boxing In Belleville". legendaryboxingtraining.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Joe Shears, Former Montrealer Proves Himself A Clipper - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "The Sports Digest - The Montreal Star Elmer Ferguson - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Laura Knight: Joe Shears and a Sparring Partner | National Gallery of Canada". gallery.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
- ^ "Artists at war: Dame Laura Knight". libraryblog.lbrut.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ Knight, L. (1965). The Magic of a Line: The Autobiography of Laura Knight D.B.E., R.A. ; with Sixty Plates and Twenty-two Illustrations in the Text. United Kingdom: William Kimber.
- ^ Bolling, G. F., Withington, V. A. (1993). The graphic work of Laura Knight: including a catalogue raisonné of her prints. United Kingdom: Scolar Press.
- ^ Morden, B. C. (2013). Laura Knight: A Life. United Kingdom: McNidder and Grace Limited.
- ^ WILCOX, T. (2015). Laura and Harold Knight in the First World War. The Burlington Magazine, 157(1350), 602–609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43858554
- ^ Country Life. (1918). United Kingdom: (n.p.).
- ^ "Hard Rock Joe Shears Failing - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Joe Shears Won - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "Scrappy Crew - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ Life. (1929). United States: Life magazine, Incorporated.