Description
Jimmy Wilde
Birth Name: William James Wilde
Alias: The Mighty Atom
Born: 1892-05-12
Hometown: Tylorstown, Wales, United Kingdom
Birthplace: Quakers Yard, Wales, United Kingdom
Died: 1969-03-10 (Age:76)
Record: 131-3-1 98 KOs 3 KOs
Division: Fly
Bouts: 143
Career: 1911-1923
Debut: 1911-01-01
Jimmy Wilde, commonly nicknamed “The Mighty Atom,” was so frail-looking and white that he was also referred to as “The Ghost with a hammer in his hand.” His other nicknames included “The Indian Famine” and “The Furious Freak.”
He was at his best fighting weight at 6 stone 10lbs. Historian Gilbert Odd wrote in Boxing News, April 4, 1969:
“He came in at a time when flyweights were plentiful and competition extremely high. Never made 8st in his fighting life!
“Record books show he started in 1911 but it is taken for granted that he had been fighting professionally for at least 4 years before that. 100s of his bouts , fought on the top spit to an audience of miners on pay night or in the Saturday night booth run by “Professor” Jack Scarrott on the vacant piece of land at the top of the street took place before anyone thought of recording contests. Even printed record is not complete. Wilde’s claim that he had at least 800 fights is probably greatly exaggerated, but it was a great deal more than the 139 listed. Never suffered hand injuries. Never put a bandage on until he fought in London. Thought it cramped the fist. Never had a lesson in his life bar the few in his bedroom from Dai Davies, the father of the girl he was courting. Was married and a father by 1912. In 1916 joined the army and was sent to Aldershot as PT instructor. At 29 after such continued and strenuous activity, his natural fighting instincts deserted him when he fought Pete (Kid) Herman. Retired for 2 & half years; came back disastrously.”
Death
According to a report in the Ring Magazine, in 1965, Wilde was at a train station waiting for a train, when he was attacked and brutally beaten by a gang of young men. Certain reports describe the attack as a mugging, while other reports said there was a confrontation between the ex-champion and the youths. Regardless, Wilde was so badly beaten, that he ended the last 4-years of his life in a hospital bed.
