Battling Nelson
Battling Nelson | |
---|---|
![]() Nelson c. 1900s | |
Statistics | |
Real name | Oscar Mathæus Nielsen |
Nickname(s) | The Durable Dane |
Weight(s) | Lightweight |
Nationality | Danish |
Born | Copenhagen, Denmark | 5 June 1882
Died | 7 February 1954 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 71)
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 134 |
Wins | 69 |
Wins by KO | 40 |
Losses | 33 |
Draws | 27 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Battling_Nelson_and_Fay_King_cartoon.jpg/220px-Battling_Nelson_and_Fay_King_cartoon.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Gans-Nelson_fight%2C_commemorative_marker.jpg/220px-Gans-Nelson_fight%2C_commemorative_marker.jpg)
Oscar Matthew "Battling" Nelson (June 5, 1882 – February 7, 1954), was a Danish-American professional boxer who held the World Lightweight championship. He was also nicknamed "the Durable Dane".
Personal history[]
Nelson was born Oscar Mathæus Nielsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 5, 1882. He emigrated to the United States the following year and was raised in Hegewisch, a neighborhood on the Southeast side of Chicago.
In 1913, he married Fay King, a cartoonist who did his portrait for Nelson's 1911 guide The Wonders of the Yellowstone National Park.[1] In 1916, they had a very public divorce.[2][3]
Nelson died February 7, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois, from lung cancer.[4] The Veteran Boxing Association paid for part of the cost of his funeral; his ex-wife paid the remainder, in addition to purchasing "beautiful arrangements" for the ceremony.[5]
Boxing career[]
Nelson began boxing professionally at age fourteen, in 1896. He fought for the vacant white lightweight title against Jimmy Britt on December 20, 1904, but lost a twenty-round decision. He lost to Abe Attell in 1905, but beat Jack O'Neill to secure another shot at the white championship on September 9, 1905, finally beating Britt by an 18-round knockout.
He defeated Terry McGovern in a no decision Newspaper decision, but then faced a greater challenge when he was given the opportunity to challenge the reigning world lightweight champion Joe Gans on September 3, 1906, in Goldfield, Nevada. Gans dropped Nelson repeatedly during the bout, but could not knock him out. Finally, in the forty-second round, Nelson hit Gans below the belt causing him to lose the fight by disqualification .
In 1907 and 1908, Nelson split a pair of bouts with Britt and fought Attell to a draw. He then challenged Gans again for the world lightweight title on July 4, 1908. This time he knocked Gans out in the seventeenth round. Two months later, Nelson knocked out Gans in the twenty-first round.
In 1909, Nelson fought Ad Wolgast in a fight held over the lightweight limit. Wolgast beat him, and Nelson gave Wolgast a chance at his title on February 22, 1910. Eventually unable to see due to the accumulation of punches, Nelson lost the title when the referee stopped the fight in either the fortieth or the forty-second round.[6]
Nelson continued to fight, and in 1917, he challenged Freddie Welsh for the lightweight title. He lost a twelve-round decision and retired from fighting in 1920.
He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 2016, award-winning biographer Mark Allen Baker published the first comprehensive biography on Nelson with McFarland, a leading independent publisher of academic and nonfiction books.
Motion pictures of Nelson's fights[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Sketch_by_Marguerite_Martyn_of_women_watching_motion_picture_of_Gans-Nelson_prizefight%2C_1908.jpg/220px-Sketch_by_Marguerite_Martyn_of_women_watching_motion_picture_of_Gans-Nelson_prizefight%2C_1908.jpg)
The second Gans-Nelson battle in Colma was the subject of a four-reel motion picture that played in major cities around the country.
Professional boxing record[]
All information in this section is derived from BoxRec,[7] unless otherwise stated.
Official record[]
134 fights | 59 wins | 20 losses |
By knockout | 40 | 3 |
By decision | 19 | 16 |
By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
Draws | 22 | |
No contests | 5 | |
Newspaper decisions/draws | 28 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | showNote |
---|
Unofficial record[]
172 fights | 97 wins | 46 losses |
By knockout | 40 | 3 |
By decision | 56 | 39 |
By disqualification | 1 | 4 |
Draws | 28 | |
No contests | 1 |
Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions to the win/loss/draw column.
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | hideNotes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
134 | Loss | 69–33–27 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Apr 17, 1917 | ![]() |
World lightweight title at stake; (via KO only) |
133 | Win | 69–32–27 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 8 (12) | Mar 17, 1917 | ![]() |
|
132 | Loss | 68–32–27 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Nov 5, 1915 | ![]() |
|
131 | Loss | 68–31–27 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Sep 6, 1915 | ![]() |
|
130 | Win | 68–30–27 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 2 (?) | Apr 24, 1915 | ![]() |
|
129 | Win | 67–30–27 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 25 | Mar 24, 1915 | ![]() |
|
128 | Win | 66–30–27 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 3 (?) | Mar 18, 1915 | ![]() |
|
127 | Win | 65–30–27 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Aug 19, 1913 | ![]() |
|
126 | Loss | 64–30–27 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Oct 13, 1913 | ![]() |
|
125 | Loss | 64–29–27 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 (10) | May 3, 1913 | ![]() |
|
124 | Loss | 64–28–27 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Apr 29, 1913 | ![]() |
|
123 | Draw | 64–27–27 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Apr 19, 1913 | ![]() |
|
122 | Win | 64–27–26 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Mar 27, 1913 | ![]() |
|
121 | Loss | 63–27–26 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Mar 5, 1913 | ![]() |
No decision rendered by prior agreement. Whitney won Newspaper Decision |
120 | Draw | 63–26–26 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Feb 22, 1913 | ![]() |
|
119 | Win | 63–26–25 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 17, 1913 | ![]() |
|
118 | Win | 62–26–25 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 10 (10) | Feb 11, 1913 | ![]() |
|
117 | Win | 61–26–25 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 5, 1913 | ![]() |
|
116 | Loss | 60–26–25 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Jan 3, 1913 | ![]() |
Nelson claimed he fought under the belief that without a knockout the bout would be declared a draw or no decision |
115 | Loss | 60–25–25 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Dec 31, 1912 | ![]() |
|
114 | Draw | 60–24–25 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Dec 20, 1912 | ![]() |
|
113 | Draw | 60–24–24 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Dec 13, 1912 | ![]() |
|
112 | Loss | 60–24–23 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Nov 28, 1912 | ![]() |
|
111 | Win | 60–23–23 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Nov 14, 1912 | ![]() |
|
110 | Draw | 59–23–23 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Sep 2, 1912 | ![]() |
|
109 | Loss | 59–23–22 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Jul 12, 1912 | ![]() |
|
108 | Win | 59–22–22 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Jul 1, 1912 | ![]() |
|
107 | Draw | 58–22–22 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Mar 1, 1912 | ![]() |
|
106 | Draw | 58–22–21 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Feb 26, 1912 | ![]() |
|
105 | Loss | 58–22–20 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jan 9, 1912 | ![]() |
|
104 | Win | 58–21–20 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Dec 31, 1911 | ![]() |
|
103 | Loss | 57–21–20 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Dec 22, 1911 | ![]() |
|
102 | Win | 57–20–20 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Dec 18, 1911 | ![]() |
|
101 | Win | 56–20–20 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Dec 15, 1911 | ![]() |
|
100 | Draw | 55–20–20 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Dec 4, 1911 | ![]() |
|
99 | Win | 55–20–19 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 6 (20) | Nov 30, 1911 | ![]() |
|
98 | Draw | 54–20–19 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Nov 25, 1911 | ![]() |
|
97 | Win | 54–20–18 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 9 (10) | Nov 10, 1911 | ![]() |
|
96 | Draw | 53–20–18 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Nov 6, 1911 | ![]() |
|
95 | Win | 53–20–17 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Oct 25, 1911 | ![]() |
|
94 | Loss | 52–20–17 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Oct 19, 1911 | ![]() |
|
93 | Loss | 52–19–17 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Oct 17, 1911 | ![]() |
|
92 | Win | 52–18–17 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Oct 11, 1911 | ![]() |
|
91 | Loss | 51–18–17 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Oct 3, 1911 | ![]() |
|
90 | Win | 51–17–17 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 10 (12) | Sep 19, 1911 | ![]() |
|
89 | Win | 50–17–17 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (10) | Aug 4, 1911 | ![]() |
|
88 | Draw | 49–17–17 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Jul 4, 1911 | ![]() |
|
87 | Loss | 49–17–16 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 11 (20) | Nov 26, 1910 | ![]() |
|
86 | Draw | 49–16–16 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Oct 31, 1910 | ![]() |
|
85 | Win | 49–16–15 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 3 (10) | Oct 10, 1910 | ![]() |
|
84 | Loss | 48–16–15 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 40 (45) | Feb 22, 1910 | ![]() |
Lost world lightweight title |
83 | Win | 48–15–15 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 8 (8) | Jan 21, 1910 | ![]() |
Retained world lightweight title |
82 | Loss | 47–15–15 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jul 13, 1909 | ![]() |
|
81 | Win | 47–14–15 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (15) | Jun 22, 1909 | ![]() |
|
80 | Win | 46–14–15 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 23 (45) | May 29, 1909 | ![]() |
Retained world lightweight title |
79 | Win | 45–14–15 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 21 (45) | Sep 9, 1908 | ![]() |
Retained world lightweight title |
78 | Win | 44–14–15 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 17 (45) | Jul 4, 1908 | ![]() |
Won world lightweight title |
77 | Draw | 43–14–15 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Mar 31, 1908 | ![]() |
|
76 | Draw | 43–14–14 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Mar 3, 1908 | ![]() |
|
75 | Loss | 43–14–13 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 4, 1908 | ![]() |
|
74 | Win | 43–13–13 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 5 (20) | Jan 13, 1908 | ![]() |
|
73 | Loss | 42–13–13 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Jul 31, 1907 | ![]() |
Lost world 'white' lightweight title |
72 | Loss | 42–12–13 (5) | ![]() |
DQ | 42 (?) | Sep 3, 1906 | ![]() |
For world lightweight title |
71 | Win | 42–11–13 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Mar 14, 1906 | ![]() |
|
70 | Win | 41–11–13 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 18 (20) | Sep 9, 1905 | ![]() |
Won world 'white' lightweight title |
69 | Win | 40–11–13 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jun 6, 1905 | ![]() |
|
68 | Draw | 39–11–13 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Jun 2, 1905 | ![]() |
|
67 | Loss | 39–11–12 (5) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | May 22, 1905 | ![]() |
|
66 | Win | 39–10–12 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 9 (20) | Feb 28, 1905 | ![]() |
|
65 | Loss | 38–10–12 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Dec 20, 1904 | ![]() |
For vacant world 'white' lightweight title |
64 | Win | 38–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 10 (20) | Nov 29, 1904 | ![]() |
|
63 | Win | 37–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Sep 5, 1904 | ![]() |
|
62 | Win | 36–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 19 (20) | Jul 29, 1904 | ![]() |
|
61 | Win | 35–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 18 (20) | May 20, 1904 | ![]() |
|
60 | Win | 34–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
TKO | 16 (20) | Apr 5, 1904 | ![]() |
|
59 | Win | 33–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Feb 5, 1904 | ![]() |
|
58 | Win | 32–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
KO | 3 (6) | Jan 16, 1904 | ![]() |
|
57 | Win | 31–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Dec 28, 1903 | ![]() |
|
56 | Win | 30–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Nov 10, 1903 | ![]() |
|
55 | Loss | 29–9–12 (5) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Oct 16, 1903 | ![]() |
|
54 | NC | 29–8–12 (5) | ![]() |
NC | 2 (?) | Sep 3, 1903 | ![]() |
Police stopped the fight |
53 | Loss | 29–8–12 (4) | ![]() |
KO | 9 (?) | Aug 26, 1903 | ![]() |
|
52 | Draw | 29–7–12 (4) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Jul 24, 1903 | ![]() |
|
51 | NC | 29–7–11 (4) | ![]() |
NC | 11 (?) | Jul 15, 1903 | ![]() |
Police stopped the fight |
50 | Draw | 29–7–11 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Jun 27, 1903 | ![]() |
|
49 | Win | 29–7–10 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 4 (?) | Jun 20, 1903 | ![]() |
|
48 | Draw | 28–7–10 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Jun 19, 1903 | ![]() |
|
47 | Win | 28–7–9 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | Jun 16, 1903 | ![]() |
|
46 | Win | 27–7–9 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 4 (?) | May 22, 1903 | ![]() |
|
45 | Win | 26–7–9 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Apr 24, 1903 | ![]() |
|
44 | Draw | 25–7–9 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Mar 4, 1903 | ![]() |
|
43 | Win | 25–7–8 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 10 (?) | Jan 6, 1903 | ![]() |
|
42 | Win | 24–7–8 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 17 (?) | Dec 26, 1902 | ![]() |
|
41 | Win | 23–7–8 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Dec 2, 1902 | ![]() |
|
40 | Draw | 22–7–8 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Jun 14, 1902 | ![]() |
|
39 | Win | 22–7–7 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | May 17, 1902 | ![]() |
|
38 | Draw | 21–7–7 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Apr 12, 1902 | ![]() |
|
37 | Win | 21–7–6 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 1 (?) | Apr 5, 1902 | ![]() |
|
36 | Win | 20–7–6 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Mar 21, 1902 | ![]() |
|
35 | Win | 19–7–6 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 5 (?) | Mar 17, 1902 | ![]() |
|
34 | Win | 18–7–6 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | Mar 13, 1902 | ![]() |
|
33 | Loss | 17–7–6 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | Jan 21, 1902 | ![]() |
|
32 | Win | 17–6–6 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 5 (?) | Jan 13, 1902 | ![]() |
|
31 | Loss | 16–6–6 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Dec 17, 1901 | ![]() |
|
30 | Win | 16–5–6 (3) | ![]() |
KO | 6 (6) | Dec 16, 1901 | ![]() |
|
29 | Draw | 15–5–6 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Dec 2, 1901 | ![]() |
|
28 | Loss | 15–5–5 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Nov 29, 1901 | ![]() |
|
27 | Loss | 15–4–5 (3) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Nov 15, 1901 | ![]() |
|
26 | NC | 15–3–5 (3) | ![]() |
ND | 4 | Nov 10, 1901 | ![]() |
|
25 | Draw | 15–3–5 (2) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | May 24, 1901 | ![]() |
|
24 | NC | 15–3–4 (2) | ![]() |
ND | 6 | May 18, 1901 | ![]() |
|
23 | Draw | 15–3–4 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | May 3, 1901 | ![]() |
|
22 | Loss | 15–3–3 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Apr 19, 1901 | ![]() |
|
21 | Win | 15–2–3 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 3 (?) | Mar 17, 1901 | ![]() |
|
20 | Win | 14–2–3 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 4 | Dec 8, 1900 | ![]() |
|
19 | Win | 13–2–3 (1) | ![]() |
DQ | 2 (?) | Dec 7, 1900 | ![]() |
|
18 | Draw | 12–2–3 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 4 | Dec 1, 1900 | ![]() |
|
17 | Loss | 12–2–2 (1) | ![]() |
DQ | 4 (?) | Dec 1, 1900 | ![]() |
|
16 | Win | 12–1–2 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 5 (?) | Nov 22, 1900 | ![]() |
|
15 | Win | 11–1–2 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 3 (?) | Nov 15, 1900 | ![]() |
|
14 | Draw | 10–1–2 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Nov 2, 1900 | ![]() |
|
13 | Win | 10–1–1 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Oct 8, 1900 | ![]() |
|
12 | Win | 9–1–1 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Sep 21, 1900 | ![]() |
|
11 | Loss | 8–1–1 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Sep 14, 1900 | ![]() |
|
10 | Win | 8–0–1 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 1 (?) | Aug 30, 1900 | ![]() |
|
9 | NC | 7–0–1 (1) | ![]() |
ND | 6 | Jul 4, 1900 | ![]() |
|
8 | Win | 7–0–1 | ![]() |
KO | 2 (?) | Jun 1, 1899 | ![]() |
|
7 | Win | 6–0–1 | ![]() |
KO | 1 (?) | May 3, 1899 | ![]() |
|
6 | Win | 5–0–1 | ![]() |
KO | 1 (?) | Apr 6, 1899 | ![]() |
|
5 | Draw | 4–0–1 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Jan 1, 1899 | ![]() |
|
4 | Win | 4–0 | ![]() |
KO | 3 (?) | May 11, 1898 | ![]() |
|
3 | Win | 3–0 | ![]() |
KO | 7 (?) | May 10, 1898 | ![]() |
|
2 | Win | 2–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 3 | Jun 5, 1897 | ![]() |
|
1 | Win | 1–0 | ![]() |
KO | 1 (?) | Sep 3, 1896 | ![]() |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "The wonders of the Yellowstone National Park". 1911.
- ^ "She was the "Greatest woman cartoonist, caricaturist and 'kidder' in the world" — and she could fight a bobcat". 15 October 2017.
- ^ http://looking-for-mabel.webs.com/fayking.htm
- ^ Roberts, James and Alexander Skutt (1997). The Boxing Register, 1st ed. Ithaca, New York: McBooks Press. p. 128. ISBN 0-935526-23-4.
- ^ Baker, Mark Allen (2016). Battling Nelson, The Durable Dane: World Lightweight Champion 1882–1954. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-4766-6372-2.
- ^ Roberts, James and Alexander Skutt (1997). The Boxing Register, 1st ed. Ithaca, New York: McBooks Press. p. 129. ISBN 0-935526-23-4.
- ^ https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/8998
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battling Nelson. |
- 1882 births
- 1954 deaths
- Lightweight boxers
- World lightweight boxing champions
- Boxers from Chicago
- Danish male boxers
- American male boxers
- Sportspeople from Chicago