“Excellence in Boxing”
Big hitting Tom Imrie was born in Leith, on June 18 1947, at the height of one of Britain’s hottest ever 20th Century summers, which given Tom’s sunny and fetching outside-the -ring personality and sizzling punches within the roped square, suggests that some of that 1947 solar power somehow got mixed up with Tom’s mother’s infant milk. Incidentally, note that Imrie’s birthdate (June 18th) is the same day in 1963 when British Heavyweight icon Henry Cooper dropped the then Cassius Clay to the canvas in London, with arguably the most repeated left hook in British boxing history.
Similarly, June 18 born Tom Imrie also became famous for the devastating power of his punches. Indeed proof positive that both boxing and destructive punching were in the family genes comes from the fact that Tom Imrie is a cousin of fearsome punching 1950′s/60′s vintage light-welterweight, Malcolm McKenzie, who came within one second of knocking out the legendary Dick McTaggart at Hamilton Town Hall in 1961.
Malcolm McKenzie’s father-Tom’s uncle Tommy McKenzie- was also a huge punching booth fighter at Leith’s famous Jane street boxing booth in the 1930′s and 40′s.
With that kind of boxing pedigree little wonder that the youthful Tom Imrie soon joined the Granton Square, Edinburgh based, Buccleuch Amateur boxing club in 1960. Where big boxing cousin, Malcolm McKenzie-who was wowing the fans on television with his own brand of power punching while boxing for Scotland-also trained and sparred. Indeed, Malcolm McKenzie recalls “we had a great grounding in boxing and punching at the Buccleuch with coaches like veteran Jock Stevenson, Bud Watson, Willie Morrison and Alex Jamieson.” “Equally, for sparring Tom Imrie had myself, Billy Appleby (who beat Ken Buchanan in the amateurs); Jimmy Whitecross champions all”, added Malcolm McKenzie. “Of course, Tom is remembered for his destructive punches like the right hand that knocked out English future pro British middleweight champion, Mark Rowe, in the 1966 British A.B.A. light-middleweight final in London when I boxed at light-welter on the same bill, but Tom was also a decent boxer too who could work for his openings,”
Meanwhile, on leaving school aged 15 in 1962 budding ring sensation Imrie became an apprentice plumber the hard physical graft adding to his natural strength while Tom started to grab the headlines in the local and national press in 1963 by winning a British youth title by outpointing England’s Mark Rowe whom Tom remembers as “being a heavy body puncher, even then.”
However, few of the fans who were increasingly excited at ringside or when Imrie produced big hitting fireworks on TV, realised the physical pain that Tom had to overcome before even entering a boxing ring. Tom Imrie explains “When I was 15 I collapsed in Edinburgh’s Princes Street and I was diagnosed with having chronic stomach ulcers, I kept it quiet and all through my ring career pain from those ulcers were a factor in how I performed.” “For example, many people- including some press members at the time, criticised me for my showing at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield ice rink during the 1970 Commonwealth games when I won the light-middleweight gold by outpointing Zambian boxing team captain, Julius Luipa in the final.” “I know that my ring performance on that occasion was below par but I had been suffering terribly from my stomach ulcers before the bout but decided not to mention it pre-fight I was so determined to win that gold medal.”
“So it wasn’t my favourite amateur boxing memory, that was when (trailing on points) I uncorked the punch that stopped Mark Rowe in the 1966 A.B.A. light-middleweight final. I had previously outpointed Rowe in the 1963 British Youth Championships Final even though Rowe beat me for the gold medal at the Kingston, Jamaica, Commonwealth games.”
Similarly, Tom Imrie showed he had a Champion’s ability to roll with life’s unexpectedly foul blows because, just six months before that Commonwealth games gold winning performance Imrie had been gutted (in may 1973) by losing by a first round cut eye to England’s Dave Simmonds in the 1973 A.B.A. light-middleweight final.
A loss which prompted Boxing News to claim “cut up Imrie threatens to quit amateurs.” Fortunately, he didn’t and that gold medal win two months later, was the result but ulcers or no ulcers Tom Imrie not only boxed for Scotland over 30 times (including in two Commonwealth games, Jamaica 1966 and Edinburgh 1970) but also captained Scotland and he was, according to top Scottish ring coach, Peter Harrison (who was a regular roommate of Imrie’s on international trips), “a truly inspiring captain courageous, lion hearted inside the ropes, and a really great guy outside the ring too.”
So this winning personality married to a ferociously competitive all-action ring style not only brought Tom Imrie seven Scottish and Eastern amateur titles and that British A.B.A. crown in 1966, but so popular did Tom’s TV ring appearances make him, that on several occasions when Imrie boxed in the music hall venue in Edinburgh’s George Street, the crowds waiting to get inside used to stretch along that thoroughfare for a hundred yards or so!. Incidentally, Tom and his brother Mike (who also boxed in the 1970 Edinburgh games as a Buccleuch club boxer) became the first ever Scottish boxing brothers to represent Scotland in the same Commonwealth games. Meanwhile, Tom and brother Mike had begun to supplement their income by working as doormen. Thus, while acting in this capacity at Edinburgh’s plaza ballroom in Morningside Tom met and wooed the resident dance singer in the Morningside dancehall, a lass from Blantyre called May, and they have been together ever since, a union blessed with one son, Tom junior who briefly took up boxing in the 1990′s. Again, Commonwealth gold boxing medalists always attract professional boxing promoters ever eager to sign up new, exciting talent to the paid ranks. Tom Imrie chose to follow his boxing cousin, Malcolm McKenzie by joining the latter in London manager Sam Burns stable there being more than a passing resemblance, ring style wise, between Imrie and the “crashing, bashing, ” middleweight from Paddington, Terry Downes -whom burns guided to a world middleweight championship in 1961.
So, after a relatively quiet six round points win on his pro debut at London’s Empire Pool, Wembley (over John Smith), Tom Imrie set off on a nine bout Downes like ring rampage stopping or kayoing seven of his nine opponents between 1971 and may 1972, when he stopped “Cyclone” Barth in Manchester. Even when Tom dropped an 8 round points decision to wily old pro, Carlos Marks in London nobody worried too much. Especially, when Tom Imrie bounced back with two back-to-back stoppage victories in London (in two and five rounds respectively) against Joe Yekinni and Tommy Bell. However, the year 1974 proved to be the beginning of the end of Tom Imrie’s dreams of emulating that other Sam Burns fighter, Terry Downes, by winning a world title.
On February 12 1974 Imrie lost to Kevin White by cuts induced stoppage at London’s Albert Hall and this famed venue was to prove to be the graveyard of his hopes of a successful pro-title career for his lost his next two bouts there in West London. Indeed, his June 1974 scrap there with tough Larry Paul was a particularly bloody affair, with Imrie being stopped with multiple cuts in round 8. A further two losses in London (to highly rated Bobby Arthur by a 2nd round kayo and Des Morrison by a 5th round stoppage) saw Tom Imrie finally throw in the towel on his pro-career.
Tom and May remained in London for over 30 years, living near Wimbledon tennis grounds while Tom worked in the building trade. Just as nobody would dispute that 1976 Olympic lightweight gold winner, Howard Davis’s failure to win a pro-world title does not invalidate American Davis’s claim to be regarded as a great ring man so nobody can dispute that in the 1960′s and 70′s, Edinburgh’s Tom Imrie was a hugely thrilling ring crowd pleaser whose fetching personality outside the ring made also him hugely popular wherever he went.
Compiled by Brian Donald
