By Peter Silkov
Kid
Socks was a very tough and game fighter who fought from flyweight to
featherweight, in a busy career that spanned the years 1922 to 1934.
A look at Socks' career reveals how much boxing has changed. Socks
fought at a time when fighters were plentiful, and in order to get
anywhere close to the top, you had to be bus,y and be willing to
fight the best. In his 12-year career, Socks had 210 recorded
fights, against many of the top fighters of his day.
Kid
Socks was born George Joseph Stockings on August 14, 1904, Bethnal
Green, London, and began his boxing career in August 1922, at the age
of 18. Like so many fighters of that time, Socks was thrown into the
deep end from the start, fighting 10 round matches from the
beginning, and his first 15 round match in just his 10th
professional contest. Socks tough apprenticeship is shown by the
fact that he went a modest 5-8-1 in his first 14 contests, but Socks
was already displaying the heart and durability for which he would
become known. All of his 8 defeats came via points. In fact, out of
his 78 career defeats, only 4 would come inside the distance, and
only one of those stoppages was via a clean knockout (and that came
at the fists of the great Bantamweight world champion Panama Al
Brown.) As his career progressed, Socks became a crowd favourite,
and gained the reputation as one of the toughest of ring warriors,
and able to give any of the top fighters a run for their money
Socks
fought a long list of top names, including Len Harvey, Teddy Baldock,
Ernie Jarvis, Elky Clark, Charly Sauvage, Panama Al Brown, Emile
Pladner, Alf Kid Pattenden, Nel Tarleton, Johnny Brown, George ‘Kid’
Nicholson, Charley Van Reedon, Dick Corbett, Nipper Pat Daley, Packey
Mcfarland, Cuthbert Taylor, Phineas John, Spider Jim Kelly, Victor
‘Young’ Perez, and George Marsden.
Kid
Socks fought twice for major titles. On April 19, 1926, he fought
Elky Clark at the National Sporting Club, London, for the British,
Commonwealth, and European Flyweight titles, and was stopped on a TKO
in the 20th
and final round.
Two
years later on July 7, 1928, Socks travelled to Melbourne, Australia,
and challenged ‘Young’ Billy McAllister, for the vacant
Commonwealth Bantamweight title, losing on points after 15 rounds.
Socks'
Career came to an end after a 12 rounds point's defeat to Jim
Anderson on June 11, 1934. His final recorded record reads
(106-78-26, 23koes) though like many fighters of his time it is
likely he had additional contests which slipped through the records.
George Stockings died on September 24, 1972, aged 68.
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