Frank McQuillan, Scottish Amateur Star of the 1950's

[williefromrichmond]

Frank McQuillan

Dundee, Scotland

Partial record

1951

Scottish 8st. 7lb. class B youth champion

Scottish Midland District featherweight champion

Scottish Midland District lightweight champion

1951-1952 undated

_____ - J. Lawrie W ko 1
_____ - D. McInroy W pts
_____ - D. Cruickshanks W pts
_____ - D. Taylor W pts
_____ - W. Thomson W ko 1
_____ - J. Swan W ko 1
_____ - J. Gray W pts
_____ - J. Gray W ko 2
_____ - D. McInroy L ko 1
_____ - Charlie Hill L pts

1952

Jan. 21 - Percy Lewis, London L pts
Scotland vs. England. “Aggressive McQuillan looked anything but a seventeen-year-old in his first international bout during the opening round. He chased Lewis from the first bell and appeared to be crowding him out of the bout until a left hook to the body dropped him to his knees for ‘nine’ in the second round. McQuillan lost a good deal of his fire after this and Lewis’ experience began to get him on top. Picking his punches better, he dropped McQuillan for two further counts in the last round - one from a left to the body and another to the jaw which had McQuillan down for ‘two’ at the final bell” (Boxing News 1-30-52:15).
Jan. 30 - Ben Lyall, Edinburgh L pts
“Cool boxing by Lyall earned him a surprise points win over McQuillan. Lyall, outspeeding and outsmarting McQuillan, pulled out a perfect short right to the body in the fourth round which dropped McQuillan for ‘eight.’ Again in the fifth McQuillan was forced down for ‘eight’ from a left to the jaw” (Boxing News 2-13-52:16).
Feb. 14 - Jim Murie, Perth W pts
Feb. 14 - Ben Lyall, Perth W pts
Feb. 14 - Jim Swan, Perth L pts
Scottish senior featherweight semifinalist.
Apr. 12 - Ben Lyall, Perth W pts
Scottish Midland District vs. Scottish Eastern District.
Apr. __ - Jim Murie, Dundee L disq 3
June __ - D. Cruickshank, Arbroath W pts
Sept. __ - A. Sinclair, Dundee W ret 2
“McQuillan opened the season with a workmanlike win over Sinclair. Hard-hitting Sinclair provided some stubborn resistance for the first round, but in the following session McQuillan’s hard left-hooking began to wear his rival down and at the end of the round Sinclair retired” (Boxing News 10-8-52:16).
Oct./Nov. - D. Cruickshank, Perth W ko 1
Scottish Midland District lightweight champion.
Oct./Nov. - Jimmy Delbridge, Perth W pts
Scottish Midland District light-welterweight champion. “A clear-cut points win” (Boxing News 11-12-52:16).

1953

Jan. __ - Tommy McGuinness, Leith W pts
Box-off for January 22 international match against England. “From the opening bell it looked as if McGinness was going to carry everything before him. He forced McQuillan on the retreat with long, accurate lefts to the head and scored with crisp right hooks as McQuillan tried to get to close quarters. McQuillan weaved and ducked in a vain effort to get away from McGinness’ left lead. Midway through the second round, McGinness, still on top, made a big mistake by exchanging punches at close quarters. Stepping inside McGinness’ guard, McQuillan smashed home short powerful punches to the body and forced McGinness to hang on. In the following round McQuillan switched his attack to the head, and McGinness had some anxious moments as McQuillan let loose with a battery of rights and lefts. McGinness made an all-out effort to slow down McQuillan in the final round, but McQuillan was not to be deterred and he left the issue in very little doubt as he rocked McGinness with terrific lefts and rights to the body. The bout proved that McGinness, a master craftsman at long range, has a lot to learn about infighting” (Boxing News 1-14-53:16). Unfortunately, McQuillan was injured shortly before the match against England and was not able to participate (Boxing News 1-28-53:15).
Feb. 26 - J. Ball, Glasgow W pts
Feb. 26 - Jim Reid, Glasgow W pts
Scottish lightweight champion. “McQuillan won the lightweight crown, but he had to go all the way to win the honor. Reid had a slight lead in the first round, countering well with both hands. The second round had the hall in an uproar. McQuillan battered Reid round the ring, hooking strongly to the head and body. Reid sagged to the canvas, but was up again at ‘nine.’ McQuillan followed up, using every punch in the book to force Reid into submission, but miraculously Reid was still on his feet at the end of the round” (Boxing News 3-4-53:15).
Mch. 23 - P. Kelly, Leeds W pts
Scotland vs. Northern Counties.
Apr. 24 - Dennis Hinson, London L pts
A.B.A. lightweight semifinalist. “Hinson gave the crowd an exhibition of boxing as he outpointed McQuillan. Hinson used the old English left to great effect” (Boxing News 4-29-53:15).
June __ - Dick Knox, Leith W pts
“McQuillan had to go all out to gain a narrow points victory. Although McQuillan forced the issue for the greater part of the contest, he had to do some fast moving to keep up with the elusive Knox and it was mostly at close quarters that his punches really hurt. For the first two rounds matters were fairly even, and it was evident that McQuillan was going to have to pull out everything he knew if he hoped to score. In the closing stages it was McQuillan’s superior forcing tactics that decided the issue and swayed the verdict in his favor” (Boxing News 6-10- 53:16).
?Oct. 8 - ( - ), Belfast
Scotland vs. Ireland.
Oct. 16 - N. Steimer, Edinburgh L walk-over
Scottish select team vs. German select team. McQuillan “was several pounds overweight and as no substitute could be found the contest was awarded to Steimer” (Boxing News 10-28-53:15).
Oct. 22 - ( - ), Glasgow
Rest of Scotland vs. Scottish Western District.
Nov. __ - D. Clark, Dundee W rsc 1
Nov. 28 - ( - ), Perth W
Nov. 28 - ( - ), Perth W
Scottish Midland District lightweight champion.

1954

Feb. 27 - Tommy McGuinness, Perth W pts
“A really ding-dong battle” (Boxing News 3-5-54:15).
Feb. 27 - J. Toal, Perth W disq 3
Scottish senior lightweight champion. “After several warnings, the referee stopped the bout in the third round and disqualified Toal for persistent holding” (Boxing News 3-5-54:15).
Mch. 11 - Steve Coffey, Glasgow W pts
Scotland vs. Northern Counties
Mch. 19 - Jim Brown, Leith W pts
Apr. 9 - Tony Byrne, Dublin L pts
Scotland vs. Ireland
Apr. 23 - Terry Andrews, London W pts
“A damaging hook to the jaw which floored Andrews for ‘five’ lost him the decision. He was not in proper working order again until the last round” (Boxing News 4-30-54:15).
Apr. 23 - George Whelan, London L pts
A.B.A. lightweight finalist. “The bout was so well-balanced that it became dull. Whelan was taking no chances and despite McQuillan’s constant prompting he could not find an opening. Refusing to be drawn from his shell, Whelan was content to half open his defensive door, sneak in a lightning left and then slam it tight again. He was only when he was hurt with a right to the head that Whelan countered with a blow that floored McQuillan, but the bell prevented a follow-up” (Boxing News 4-30-54:14).
June __ - C. Rae, Dundee W pts
“McQuillan had to content himself with a points victory which many thought was close” (Boxing News 6-18-54:15). “Lack of suitable sparring partners has been one of McQuillan’s main drawbacks” (Boxing News 7-9-54:15).
Aug. 3 - B. Cahill (Australia) W pts
Aug. 7 - P. van Staden (Southern Rhodesia) L pts
British Empire (now Commonwealth) lightweight finalist; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. “McQuillan gave van Staden a great run before dropping a points decision” (Boxing News 8-13-54:14).
Sept. - McQuillan moved up to the
light-welterweight division (Boxing News 9-24-54:14).
Oct. 9 - Fred Teidt, Kilmarnock W pts
Scotland vs. Ireland.
Nov. 26 - ( - ), Perth W
Nov. 27 - ( - ), Perth W
Nov. 27 - ( - ), Perth W
Scottish Middle District light-welterweight champion.
Dec. 15 - George Whelan, Glasgow W pts
McQuillan “decisively beat” Whelan (Boxing News 12-31-54:15).

1955

Jan. 20 - George Whelan, Glasgow W pts
Feb. 17 - G. Thomson, Glasgow W rsc 3
Feb. 17 - J. McGuinness, Glasgow W pts
Feb. 17 - T. Hamilton, Glasgow W pts
Scottish senior light-welterweight champion.
Apr. 7 - D. Howard, Liverpool W pts
Scotland vs. Northern Counties.
Apr. 15 - Fred Teidt, Glasgow W pts
Scottish select team vs. Irish select team. “For sheer science this contest would take some beating. Clean, clever exchanges prevailed throughout as both boys fought for mastery. McQuillan’s weaving and footwork was a treat to watch as he sidestepped and ducked to avoid the punches of his fast-moving rival. Teidt boxed cleverly and his left hand deliveries were well timed” (Boxing News 4-22-55:13).
Apr. 29 - Reg Murray, London W pts
McQuillan “was far too clever for the rugged Murray, whom he clearly outpointed, despite Murray’s courageous, but dangerous rally in the last round” (Boxing News 5-6-55:14).
Apr. 29 - George Martin, London W rsc 3
A.B.A. light-welterweight champion. McQuillan “won in the third round, the referee intervening when Martin received a cut eye. This was another classic with McQuillan doing most of the leading and Martin doing his best to conceal the fact that his right hand was damaged while outpointing his semifinal opponent. Most of the press and officials were aware of Martin’s injury and it did not take McQuillan long to discover it. McQuillan appeared to be ahead on points when the proceedings were halted and may give Martin a return” (Boxing News 5-6-55:14).
May 16 - Willie Morton, Glasgow W pts
Scotland vs. U.S.A. Golden Gloves champions. McQuillan “gave one of the best performances of his career when he outpointed the hard- hitting Morton. Morton caught McQuillan with vicious hooks to the head, but McQuillan came back fighting and gave the visitor more than enough. At times it looked as if Morton would swamp McQuillan, but McQuillan brought the crowd to its feet as he turned defense into attack and drove Morton across the ring with a battery of rights and lefts. A right to the jaw dropped McQuillan in the third. Morton closed in, but he didn’t reckon with the tenacity of McQuillan and was met with a fierce two-handed attack that lasted until the final bell” (Boxing News 5-27-55:13).
May 27 - Leopold Potesil (Austria) L ko 1
European light-welterweight participant (lost in the first round of the competition); West Berlin. McQuillan “met with crushing defeat. He was beaten in the first round by Potesil, who was far too strong for him and bounced him out of it with a right to the chin. The bout lasted 2 minutes, 13 seconds” (Boxing News 6-10-55:14).
Aug. - Enlisted in R.A.F. (Boxing News
8-26-55:15).
Oct. 17 - Scotland vs. Russia, Paisley.
McQuillan “was forced to withdraw owing to illness” (Boxing News 10-7-55:14).
Nov. 12 - Robert Cofer, Paisley L rsc 2
Scotland vs. U.S.A. national champions. “A crushing two-handed defeat in which McQuillan was floored six times” (Boxing News 11-18-55:14).