Benny Lynch

The REAL McCoy · Post by **The REAL McCoy** » 28 Jan 2004, 18:45

McCoy doesnt expect the replys to go through the roof here, talking about an old school flyweight from the 1930's

But Benny holds a place in the Scottish nations hearts for becoming the first scottish undisputed world champion(Lynch was the first undisputed flyweight champion since 1925, 10 years before) we ever had

he was some fighter, & you ask any old guy that knew of him in Glasgow they will tell you he was brilliant

Up here people still talk about his classic fight(the first one) with Peter Kane, wheere both guys slugged it out for 13 rounds in a brutal contest that Benny won by KO

Benny came from the Glasgow slums & fought his way to the top, before hitting rock bottom before he died in the gutter an alchoholic at the age of 33

McCoy was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on him?

& did any of you know that Robert Carlyle is playing the part of Benny Lynch in a film about his life?

kevin · Post by **kevin** » 28 Jan 2004, 19:01

Heard about the film, was told it wasn't a very good or accurate film.

Lynch was a legend, have read a lot about him

Kev

JimStone · Post by **JimStone** » 28 Jan 2004, 19:07

I stumbled across a quality site about Lynch when I was trying to find info on Manchester Flyweight Jackie Brown - who your man had two fights with, the Glaswegian got a draw up your way and came down here and knocked Brown out

- if you've not already seen the site McCoy have a shufty.

http://www.bennylynch.co.uk/

Infact I'd advise everybody to have a read, it's good to know about the great men of days gone by.

JimStone · Post by **JimStone** » 28 Jan 2004, 19:33

McCoy,
A couple of songs for you to sing next to the fire when you've a glass of Famous Grouse in one hand and a cigar in the other (taken from the site above: http://www.bennylynch.co.uk/

Benny Lynch by Matt McGinn

The whole of the river sang, Benny has been
Benny has been, Benny has been
Down in the city that never was mean
We all sang, Benny has been

Up from the heart of the Gorbals he rose
Don't tramp on his toes for everyone knows
From then on when we see the bend in your nose
We'll all sing, Benny has been

Down to the shows Benny went as a youth
To fight in the booth, I'll tell you the truth
Many's the big man was short of a tooth
As he sang, Young Benny has been

To Manchester City young Benny went down
To fight Jackie Brown, he picked up the crown
He came back in triumph to old Glasgow town
And the city sang, Benny has been

He beat Small Montana, he floored Peter Kane
Sent him back to train, then downed him again
The lynch-pin of boxing inflicted more pain
And the city sang, Benny has been

The city had T.B., the city had booze
Her victims she'd choose, and send out the news
That Benny would win and then Benny would lose
And the city sang, Benny has been.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fighter by Brian McNeill

One evening as I walked along the bonny banks o' Clyde
I fell in wi' an old man, doon by the waterside
Our talk was of the days in the factories and yards
When the fighting men of Glasgow were the hardest of the hard
Oor talk was of the heroes, of Maxton and McShane
And would the city ever see the likes o' them again
He told me he was sure there was still fighting to be done
But we wouldn't see the fighters till the battle had begun

To hear the old man talking took me back across the years
To the hard, hungry thirties in a city full o' tears
When a wee man from the Gorbals was the victor and the king
The toast of every company, the champion o' the ring
Benny Lynch came up the hard way, at fifty bob a fight
With his eyes upon the glory till the whisky killed the light
And in the streets and tenements you'd hear the people tell
How Benny Lynch's victories belonged to them as well

The whistling of the wind brought another man to mind
A different kind of fighter who was born before his time
Hugh Roberton believed that to go to war was wrong
And against the world's opinion he refused to change his song
He was the city's Orpheus, he gave the world a choir
He forged a song for Glasgow out of gentleness and fire
And when they tried to silence him he fought with all his might
With the dignity and courage of a man who would not fight

Now the song that comes from Glasgow says the city's raw and rough
And standing by the Clyde I knew the song was true enough
But a sound came o'er the river, the beating o' a drum
From the Gorbals that they tore down just to build another slum
It beat upon my heart and told me never to forget
That we're waiting for the fighter that will come from Glasgow yet
We'll know him by his courage, for he'll never give an inch
With the dignity of Roberton and the guts of Benny Lynch

-----------------------------------------------------------------

'Shove your caber up your arse' by Jimmy a.k.a FlawedGenius

Shove your caber, shove your caber, shove your caber up your arse, shove your caaaaaaberrrr up your arse!!

Only joking.

JimStone · Post by **JimStone** » 28 Jan 2004, 19:38

Seriously, those two songs are the business, especially the second. I love stuff like that it brings a tear to my eye, straight up. People don't seem to write much stuff like that anymore.

The REAL McCoy · Post by **The REAL McCoy** » 28 Jan 2004, 19:42

FlawedGenius wrote:McCoy,
A couple of songs for you to sing next to the fire when you've a glass of Famous Grouse in one hand and a cigar in the other (taken from the site above: http://www.bennylynch.co.uk/

Benny Lynch by Matt McGinn

The whole of the river sang, Benny has been
Benny has been, Benny has been
Down in the city that never was mean
We all sang, Benny has been

Up from the heart of the Gorbals he rose
Don't tramp on his toes for everyone knows
From then on when we see the bend in your nose
We'll all sing, Benny has been

Down to the shows Benny went as a youth
To fight in the booth, I'll tell you the truth
Many's the big man was short of a tooth
As he sang, Young Benny has been

To Manchester City young Benny went down
To fight Jackie Brown, he picked up the crown
He came back in triumph to old Glasgow town
And the city sang, Benny has been

He beat Small Montana, he floored Peter Kane
Sent him back to train, then downed him again
The lynch-pin of boxing inflicted more pain
And the city sang, Benny has been

The city had T.B., the city had booze
Her victims she'd choose, and send out the news
That Benny would win and then Benny would lose
And the city sang, Benny has been.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fighter by Brian McNeill

One evening as I walked along the bonny banks o' Clyde
I fell in wi' an old man, doon by the waterside
Our talk was of the days in the factories and yards
When the fighting men of Glasgow were the hardest of the hard
Oor talk was of the heroes, of Maxton and McShane
And would the city ever see the likes o' them again
He told me he was sure there was still fighting to be done
But we wouldn't see the fighters till the battle had begun

To hear the old man talking took me back across the years
To the hard, hungry thirties in a city full o' tears
When a wee man from the Gorbals was the victor and the king
The toast of every company, the champion o' the ring
Benny Lynch came up the hard way, at fifty bob a fight
With his eyes upon the glory till the whisky killed the light
And in the streets and tenements you'd hear the people tell
How Benny Lynch's victories belonged to them as well

The whistling of the wind brought another man to mind
A different kind of fighter who was born before his time
Hugh Roberton believed that to go to war was wrong
And against the world's opinion he refused to change his song
He was the city's Orpheus, he gave the world a choir
He forged a song for Glasgow out of gentleness and fire
And when they tried to silence him he fought with all his might
With the dignity and courage of a man who would not fight

Now the song that comes from Glasgow says the city's raw and rough
And standing by the Clyde I knew the song was true enough
But a sound came o'er the river, the beating o' a drum
From the Gorbals that they tore down just to build another slum
It beat upon my heart and told me never to forget
That we're waiting for the fighter that will come from Glasgow yet
We'll know him by his courage, for he'll never give an inch
With the dignity of Roberton and the guts of Benny Lynch

-----------------------------------------------------------------

'Shove your caber up your arse' by Jimmy a.k.a FlawedGenius

Shove your caber, shove your caber, shove your caber up your arse, shove your caaaaaaberrrr up your arse!!

Only joking.

The weird thing is Jimmy, McCoy knew the words of the third song off by heart

JimStone · Post by **JimStone** » 28 Jan 2004, 19:46

I'm glad you posted this thread mate, I hope it inspires a few of the fellas here who might only really be interested in the modern game to have a look back at some of the fighters of the past.

TheGoods · Post by **TheGoods** » 29 Jan 2004, 03:59

Way before my time but from what I have read and heard by word of mouth, he is up there with the best Britian has ever produced at any weight. At his best he was considered unbeatable, but he was not at his best for very long because of his love for the old fire water.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 29 Jan 2004, 08:09

Great fighter, though I don't think I've ever seen film of him, just read alot about him over the years. Deserves a great film to tell his story too, haven't heard anything about it, but you'd think Carlyle would be perfect.
Not one Hollywood would ever go for, because it ain't got a happy ending.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 29 Jan 2004, 08:16

Benny Lynch was obviously one of Britians all time greats, in terms of talent I think he should be at least top 5 in all lists.

But, Jimmy Wilde is #1 by a mile.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 29 Jan 2004, 11:40

A great but tragic talent... I ve read quite a bit about him but sadly am not that impressed by the books written on him so far.... Brian Hughes wrote an excellent book on Jackie Brown who was also an outstanding fighter and charismatic character whose life took a tragic turn later on... we should all try as boxing fans to keep alive the memories of these 'old school' fighters and champions!

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 29 Jan 2004, 11:45

Well done at finding the Benny site Flawed Genius... some excellent pics... have you got Brian Hughes book on Jackie Brown?... it's a great read with lots of interesting info on the fighters and the times they lived in!

JimStone · Post by **JimStone** » 29 Jan 2004, 12:06

All Brian's books are worth reading and people should be able to find them on http://www.amazon.co.uk.

My personal favourite is 'For King and country'

About Johnny King, who was one of 'The Three Musketeers' at Collyhurst -McAvoy, Brown and him. He was in the Navy during the war and his ship got sunk! It's a very interesting book on his life.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 29 Jan 2004, 14:56

Ive got that one too... also his books on Jock Mcavoy and Willie Pep.... ahven't got round to reading them yet though!

8) 8)

johnty1888 · Post by **johnty1888** » 29 Jan 2004, 16:41

theres a great book called "benny - the life and times of a fighting legend"
by a guy called john burrowes (published by mainstream sport).

it deviates from bennys life quite a lot to give the reader a picture of how tough and grim life was like in the gorbals at the time.

for one fight (can't remember which) benny was given a really hard time by his opponent and after the fight which lynch won it was discovered he'd drank a bottle of brandy a couple of hours before - to win a fight whilst obviously pissed shows how good he was

The REAL McCoy · Post by **The REAL McCoy** » 29 Jan 2004, 16:47

stujones wrote:Benny Lynch was obviously one of Britians all time greats, in terms of talent I think he should be at least top 5 in all lists.

But, Jimmy Wilde is #1 by a mile.

Yeah Wilde would start favourite but if they fought in their primes you couldn't Bennie off

He was absolutely superb the night he demolished Jackie Brown for the title