Tiny Jim Herman

Name: Tiny Jim Herman
Alias: Tiny Herman, Sgt. Koch
Birth Name: Oscar Koch
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Birthplace: Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Died: 1934-12-25 (Age:37)
Stance: Orthodox
Pro Boxer: Record

Managers Chet McIntyre , Bobby Evans and Jack Lewis (1923)
Trainer: Chet McIntyre

Tiny Herman was an Astoria police officer when he got into professional boxing. He initially started boxing as "Oscar Koch" and "Sgt. Koch" when Manager Chet McIntyre got him fights in various locales coming up. As he advanced to boxing main events in the Northwest, he boxed as Tiny Herman. As he ventured East though, he would be billed as Tiny Jim Herman. (The Oct. 17, 1921 Tacoma News Tribune reported that Herman and Oscar Koch were brothers, but that Herman was not the Tiny Herman; Oscar was Tiny Herman.)

Even though he was a rather large Heavyweight for his day, particularly in girth, Herman fought out of an upright boxing style, similar to that employed by other McIntyre fighters like Leo Lomski. Herman typically attempted to outbox his foes, and was not a knockout puncher. In 1923 he and manager Jack Lewis were offered $15,000 to travel to Argentina to fight Luis Angel Firpo.

Herman later moved to Ohio, and trained Heavyweight Meyer (K.O.) Christner. According to Christner, Herman was near death in 1932 after a bout with pneumonia caused him to lose over a hundred pounds from his weight at the time, which was around 280 pounds. Herman died of a brain infection in 1934 in Dayton, Ohio, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Koch was born in Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1909.

A photo of Oscar Koch can be found in the Feb. 7, 1920 Tacoma News Tribune.