Hezekiah Orville "Awful" GARDNER

[coreygardner]

I had found a newspaper article from the 1870's I believe that is about the notorious 'Awful' Gardner being a prizefighter and rumseller turned preacher.

It states that Gardner was involved in many fights and he stated that he was never defeated.

He also claimed that Tom Hyer was "the best man with his fists on this continent".


Gardner defeated Scottish Champion Allen McFee after 33 rounds in 1847 and he lost to William Hastings, alias "Dublin Tricks" after 17 rounds in 1853 due to throwing his shoulder out.

There was another newspaper that stated Gardner was scheduled to fight Dominick Bradley for the Heavyweight Championship of America in 1856, but the fight seems to have never happened, and Gardner was favored as the winner.

He claimed he was only involved in two ring battles for money, and the rest were for actual prizes and such, mostly street fights.


Brace, author of "The Dangerous Classes" stated that Gardner was "over six feet tall" and "very powerfully built", having arms as thick as a moderate sized man's leg.