Jump to content

Joe Shears

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Shears
Born
Died(1957-11-25)November 25, 1957
NationalityCanada Canadian
Other namesLittle Joe, Joey Shears
OccupationBoxer
Statistics
Weight(s)

Joseph "Joe" Shears (born 1892 - November 25, 1957), also known as Joe Schulman, was a former boxer.

Early History

[edit]

When Joe Shulman was a year old, his family relocated from Poland to London, England.[1]

Shears was the fighting moniker of Joe Schulman, and it was taken on by his son Jerry and the rest of the family.[2]

Boxing career

[edit]

Shears fought in England, Canada, and the United States before the First World War.

In 1908, he defeated George Jones in the first professional boxing match conducted in Belleville, Illinois.[3] He competed in a match at New Bedford's Sharpshooters Hall in 1913.[4]

When the First World War broke out in 1914, Shears enlisted as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.[5] After sailing to England in 1916, "Little Joe" Shears became the bantamweight champion of the Allied forces in France and England.[6] In November 1916, English artist Laura Knight was commissioned to paint the physical training at Witley Camp in Surrey where the 156th Canadian Infantry Battalion was stationed.[7] Knight painted over 9 paintings which included a final large canvas, titled "Physical Training at Witley Camp" which featured Joe Shears.[8]

Shears escaped a German prison camp by crawling through a sewer.[9]

After the war, in 1919, he went back to boxing in Montreal.[10]

Personal life

[edit]

Jerry, Phil, Max, Al, and Joe Jr. were his five sons, all of whom became amateur boxers by imitation.[11]

Death

[edit]

Joseph Shears died on Monday, November 25, 1957.

Honors and awards

[edit]
  • Allied Forces Bantamweight Champion. (1916)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Unbelievably Tough Little Guy Passes - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  2. ^ "Obituaries: Jerry Shears – Fighter Was A Champ Boxer And Broker - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  3. ^ "Belleville IL Boxing Gyms | History Of Boxing In Belleville". legendaryboxingtraining.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  4. ^ "Joe Shears, Former Montrealer Proves Himself A Clipper - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  5. ^ "The Sports Digest - The Montreal Star Elmer Ferguson - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  6. ^ "Artists at war: Dame Laura Knight". libraryblog.lbrut.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  7. ^ WILCOX, T. (2015). Laura and Harold Knight in the First World War. The Burlington Magazine, 157(1350), 602–609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43858554
  8. ^ "Hard Rock Joe Shears Failing - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  9. ^ "Joe Shears Won - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  10. ^ "Scrappy Crew - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.