Sailor Tom Sharkey. True or False?

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 13 Apr 2006, 14:05

It was said big punching Heavyweight contender Sailor Tom Sharkey was so powerfull he could bend a silver dollar in his fist.

Is this true or false??

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=10551

Any info fight fans?

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 13 Apr 2006, 18:31

If you question is: was there a "rumor" or "word on the street" that was attached to him regarding this I think it's true. If I'm wrong on this then you have mixed up rumors/fighters to be tricky.

because something about what your saying here resonates in my memory.

My Grandad who was born about the same time as Sharkey and saw him told me something along these lines.....Sadly he was as much of a wrestling fan as a boxing fan. He held fast to the idea that wresting was just as legit as boxing. In defence of dear old grand dad he did grow up in an era where wrestling was on the level but then evolved into entertainment.

I have often thought about this and have come to the conclusion that when wrestling went bad, my grandad either

A: Didnt get the memo
B: Was too old to think clearly any longer
C: Had a great time swearing it was real to get a rise out of his grand son.

It appeared to me that he went to his grave truly beleiving that Fritz Von Erich really possessed a deadly ability called the "Iron Claw" that could put any man into writhing pain and force submission within moments of being attached to the temple or gut. Or he went there laughing at how he had me going for all those years.

THE DANCING MASTER · Post by **THE DANCING MASTER** » 13 Apr 2006, 20:12

I have never heard that about Sharkey, but I have read and heard that at one time he worked in a candy factory where his job was to pull and stretch the taffy and that was how he developed his body and strength. If you have ever worked out with pulling cables or strands you know they will give you a good workout.

There was a bodybuilder out of California back in the 70's named Mike Dayton who was known for his feats of hand strength and was able to bend coins with his fingers and break out of handcuffs. He had a mail order course at the time called Mike Dayton's Chi Course.

Boxbuzz, here's to your Grandfather!!!

I suspect option C is the correct one. It obviously worked.

pound per pound · Post by **pound per pound** » 13 Apr 2006, 20:55

KOJOE90 wrote:It was said big punching Heavyweight contender Sailor Tom Sharkey was so powerfull he could bend a silver dollar in his fist.

Is this true or false??

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=10551

Any info fight fans?

I have heard the story before. It is not on film, so all we can go on are the reports.

surf-bat · Post by **surf-bat** » 13 Apr 2006, 21:58

If you wanna read some great stuff on Sharkey, try and find that series(5 installments I think) that appeared in Liberty Magazine from 1927. Amazing stuff. I have them xeroxed.

The Scranton Assassin · Post by **The Scranton Assassin** » 14 Apr 2006, 05:47

Wrestling wasn't fake until about the late 1920's i believe. Before then It was a real sport by that I mean there was no pre-determined winner.

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 14 Apr 2006, 07:31

Decagon, remember my grandad was born about 1880....and he had a grandad who spent time with him covering these same subjects during which time the stories being told were based on belief of the reality of all these fights..... I think the time frames are covered either way.

It may be hard for us to even imagine what times were like then.

Bladder · Post by **Bladder** » 14 Apr 2006, 09:52

THE DANCING MASTER wrote:I have never heard that about Sharkey, but I have read and heard that at one time he worked in a candy factory where his job was to pull and stretch the taffy and that was how he developed his body and strength.

Didn't he like the Welsh?

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 17 Apr 2006, 09:57

THE DANCING MASTER wrote:There was a bodybuilder out of California back in the 70's named Mike Dayton who was known for his feats of hand strength and was able to bend coins with his fingers and break out of handcuffs. He had a mail order course at the time called Mike Dayton's Chi Course.

Maybe Tom Sharkey could bend coins then as by all accounts he was a very powerfull man.

My late Grandfather although not a big guy about 5ft10 180lbs had worked as a farm labourer all his life and was very powerfull in the arms and shoulders and my father says he could put a wallnut in his fist, clench his fist and crack open the nut, easy.

Sailor Tom Sharkey. True or False?

Sailor Tom Sharkey. True or False?

Re: Sailor Tom Sharkey. True or False?