Tom Cribb: The Life of the Black Diamond

Bareknuckle fighter Thomas Cribb (1781–1848) was a sporting legend whose exploits still feature in thousands of publications on boxing, a primitive activity he dragged from the gutter into the smoking rooms of country houses.His most famous bouts were against Tom Molineaux, a black American. These fights really captured the imagination of the British public—the English patriot versus the black American slave. People slept in ditches and dangled from trees to catch a glimpse of a fight that would never be forgotten. The exploits of Cribb popularized boxing among the upper classes, and in 1821 Cribb was a page at the coronation of King George IV. Later, after he became Mine Host at the Castle Tavern in Bristol, his fame drew all kinds: famous writers and nobles including Lord Byron. Important new research on the life of this iconic fighter is brought to light. This story brings to life not only the sport of boxing in its infancy, but also paints a vivid picture of 18th- and 19th-century England.