A Social History of Sheffield Boxing, Volume I

Combining urban ethnography and anthropology, sociological theory and place and life histories to explore the global phenomenon of boxing, A Social History of Sheffield Boxing explores the history of boxing in Sheffield and the sport’s impact on the cultural, political and economic development of the city since the 18th century. In Volume I, Bell and Armstrong construct a vivid history of boxing and probe its cultural acceptance in the late 1800s, examining how its rise was inextricably intertwined with the industrial and social development of Sheffield. Although not initially a major player, by the end of the century, Sheffield had a valid claim to be the chief provincial focus of this new pastime—largely due to the exploits of George Corfield, Sheffield’s first boxer of national repute. Corfield’s deeds were later surpassed by three British champions: Gus Platts, Johnny Cuthbert and Henry Hall. Concluding with the dual themes of the decline of boxing in Sheffield and the city's changing social profile from the 1950s onwards, the volume ends with a meditation on the arrival of new migrants to the city and the processes that aided or frustrated their integration into UK life and sport.
Matthew Bell has served as editor of the Sheffield United FC magazine Flashing Blade since 1989, and, amongst other books, he is co-author of Steel and Grace: Sheffield’s Olympic Track and Field Medallists (2014), with Gary Armstrong.

Gary Armstrong is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at City University of London, UK. Amongst several projects on sport, criminology, and surveillance, he co-authored Mixed Occupancy Housing in London: A Living Tapestry? with James Rosbrook Thompson.