Owen Moran was a quality fighter, one of the greatest to hail from England; He was clever, quick, slippery and loaded with "savvy"; He lost but 16 "official" verdicts in 98 bouts but scored only 19 knockouts; During his career, he was a top contender for the Lightweight Championship of the World and the Featherweight Championship of the World - and won the BBBC Flyweight Championship of Great Britain

He defeated such men as Oscar "Battling" Nelson, George Dixon, Frankie Neil, Monte Attell, George "Digger" Stanley, "Harlem" Tommy Murphy, Phil Brock, Matty Baldwin, Al Delmont, Jim Kenrick, Harry Ware; In "No Decision" contests, he bested such men as Ad Wolgast, Frankie Conley, Tommy Langdon, Danny Dougherty and "Philadelphia" Pal Moore.

Owen was probably the third greatest lightweight behind the dynamic duo of Joe Gans and Benny Leonard but never quite got the essential breaks that would have given him the recognition he deserved.

Out of his 16 year career - The year 1910 was probably the year that gave Owen his most harrowing experience in the ring and also one of his greatest victories.

 

 

 

29^th of April, 1910 at - Dreamland Rink, San Francisco, California, United States.

Owen Moran Vs Tommy McCarthy.

McCarthy died of injuries sustained in the fight.

It was a bitter victory for Owen.

 

 

 

From the “San Francisco Call” (April 29, 1910).

Local lightweight Tommy McCarthy, one of the sport’s most promising young fighters, passed away at St. Mary’s hospital in San Francisco, several hours after suffering a sixteenth round knockout at the hands of Owen Moran. According to ringside accounts, the twenty year old was clearly outclassed and always fighting an uphill battle, but appeared to only absorb minimal punishment.

The opening ten rounds were relatively uneventful, with the bigger McCarthy trying to land left hooks to the body, and the experienced Moran controlling the pace with a steady left jab.  McCarthy gradually became arm weary and at times appeared visibly frustrated by his inability to catch the clever Englishman, but never looked hurt, even after Moran turned up the intensity between the thirteenth and fifteenth rounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early in the sixteenth, Moran feinted with his left, prompting McCarthy to open his guard and take a step backward. Seeing the opportunity, Moran stepped forward with an overhand right hand to the jaw; the punch was not particularly hard, but caught McCarthy off balance, and the youngster fell straight back, striking the base on his skull on the ring floor.

Though there was a "resounding thud" when McCarthy’s head struck the floor, nobody believed the fighter would stay down.

 

 

 

 

 

The following day, Moran was arrested and charged with manslaughter by San Francisco district attorney Charles M. Fickert. Several others involved with the contest were also arrested.

“San Francisco Call” Moran wept as if his heart would break while he was confined in the city prison over night, and John McCarthy and William McCarthy, brothers of the dead pugilist, also confined in the prison, cried all night. Jeff Perry, the Oakland fighter, Moran’s training partner, and James Carroll, one of his seconds with Bernard Tainter, his trainer, also spent the night in jail.

Harry Foley, referee of the fight; James J. Griffen, manager of the contest; Tiv Krelling, Moran’s chief second; "Spider" Kelly and Charles Harvey, Moran’s manager, surrendered them-selves during the day, and were released also on $100 cash bail.

Charges were dropped against Moran and all those involved on May 11th (1910) after a coroner’s jury ruled McCarthy’s death was an accident. The decision was based on the autopsy report, indicating McCarthy had suffered a fracture to the base of his skull as the result of a fall, and not the punch landed by Moran.

Of the many fights of Owens career his battle against Battling Nelson “The Durable Dane” must surely be one of his greatest ever.

On November 26, 1910, at Blot’s Arena in San Francisco, he did what no other man had managed to do: knock out the great Durable Dane, Battling Nelson in the eleventh round.

As the fighters broke from a clinch, Moran ducked in anticipation of a left swing from Nelson. As Owen rose up, he fired a perfectly timed right straight from the shoulder that cracked against Bat’s chin with terrific force.

Nelson hit the deck five more times, twice being wrestled down as Owen tried to shake himself free to apply the kill. Finally, Moran found the killer punch. A right to the head concluded the rough-and-tumble battle, with Nelson just failing to beat referee Ben Selig’s count.

 

The fight Owen Vs Nelson - can be seen at this link

 

 

Moran started his boxing career in 1900 and retired in 1916 with almost 100 fights.

Born 4 October 1884 in Birmingham, England - died 17 March 1949

Professional boxing record of Owen Moran - Click here