Rear View Mirror – A look back at the career of Great Scot, Walter McGowan
BBN’s columnist Donald C Stewart takes a look in his rear view mirror at the career of Hamilton’s Walter McGowan
With just over 30 fights and the fact that he retired before he hit 30, you would be forgiven for wondering why he should have an adoring public or deemed to have had sufficient time to make his mark; but this wee man certainly did. He was a wee man for a wee nation and Scotland loved him as much as they had other heroes like Dick McTaggart or Benny Lynch.
Walter McGowan, 32-7-1, 14 KO’s, was a giant in stature.It is just over ten years since he slipped from us in a nursing home, but memories are writ large; opinions are held longer. Born Walter Roderick McKay McGowan, at the height of the Second World War in 1942, in Hamilton, McGowan was brought up in a working-class district and McGowan’s rise to fame came mainly as a flyweight. He shared his stylistic approach to the boxing ring with another Scottish great in Ken Buchanan.
There are many who would argue over who was the more able in a ring – McGowan or Buchanan – but both gave the world and their country plenty of points upon which they could debate. He also shared a trait with another Scottish great – Pat Clinton – in that both wanted to be jockeys, their second common trait was that neither became one. Scottish boxers have long looked sideways at other sports, and for the one the country gave the world our list of the best golf bookmakers sets out the outright and each-way markets.
For McGowan fighting was, almost magically in his blood as he was the son of a fighter – his father, Thomas McGowan fought under a “nom du ring” – Joe Gans – in homage to the legendary US Afro-American early 20th Century world lightweight champion. Whilst the father was never going to contest championship bouts, he gave his son a hunger and style that served him very well in his future career.
Walter spent a lot of time down the races at Hamilton but by the time he was a teenager he was seen in rings with gloves on and not in racecourses in racing green; his choice had been made. He won 122 out of 124 amateur fights including an ABA flyweight title in 1961 and when it was deemed time to go professional, his father was his trainer. Gans was brutal and no rod was spared for his child as McGowan had a very strict regime in training with five mile runs and swims, finished with a cold bath. That pull between the racecourse and the ring has never quite left Scottish sport, and readers who still follow both codes can compare horse racing betting sites in our separate guide.
His debut came in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, on the 9th of August 1961 when he beat George McDade by stoppage in the 3rd round.
It is understandable that, with such a fantastic amateur record, he was thrown into a title fight early, against Jackie Brown in only his third professional fight for the Scottish title. McGowan lost on points; 7 fights later he got his revenge as well as the British and Commonwealth belts in 1963 in Paisley, when he beat Brown by knocking him out in the 12th round.
That same year, 1963, McGowan successfully defended his Commonwealth belt when the ominously sounding Killer Solomon took him on in the Ice Rink at Paisley. It was a 9th round stoppage against a guy who was in his 58th fight of his professional career.
1964 saw him named as the official challenger for the EBU European flyweight title against Italian Salvatore Burruni in Roma. McGowan fell short and it was a points loss over the full 15 rounds and that made him think once more about the size at which he was competing.
The next year, in 1965, he moved up to bantamweight, fought another Italian, back in Roma, in Tommaso Galli and got a draw from the judges but gained the plaudits from the Italians who thought he won!
1966 was a huge year, he faced Liverpool’s very own Alan Rudkin in Wembley in defence of his British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles. Trade paper, Boxing News described it as “The finest battle by little men for years…”
It was unfortunate but by now it was clear that McGowan was a bleeder. It may have been what convinced him retire early but by 1966 it was far from his mind as he got in the ring again, yet another rematch, with Burruni. McGowan’s real big issue was, much like now, the little men were not as box office as the big men. Mind you, former Scottish little boxers – Johnny Hill and Benny Lynch could command thousands when they made an appearance, but McGowan was never as popular.
This time McGowan was far better and boxed fantastically well as he “claimed” the WBC world flyweight title from Burruni in the Empire Pool, Wembley – Burruni had been stripped of the title in 1965…
His father’s regime was paying dividends as McGowan became known as a wily operator, using intelligent ringcraft and lion’s heart to bring the baubles.
Then in the December of 1966 it was back to world level duty as he went in against Thai boxer, Chartchai Chionoi and “defended” his WBC world title in an away venue – the title was on the line. Unfortunately, as he boxed in front of the King of Thailand, in Bangkok he lost the world crown as he was stopped in the 9th with a bleeding nose. Chionoi got up off the floor twice to win.
The rematch, on the 19th of September 1967 at the Empire Pool, Wembley, was another bloody affair as McGowan bled from the eyes and the forehead throughout the fight. It was stopped in the 7th round; McGowan lost again, though he was ahead on the scorecards.
He then went on to lose both the British and Commonwealth titles in 1968 in the fight of the year – another rematch – to Alan Rudkin – by half a point.
Though he continued for 6 more contests, the cuts and the bleeding were taking their toll. Though he never lost again he was always pitched against non-British boxers, but time had caught up with him.
November 1969 was his final fight against Domenico Chiloiro in London. McGowan won on points but as he came out of that ring, I wonder, did he know it was all over? Was he aware that for the very last time he was going to hear the first and fight till the last bell as an active boxer?
Other accolades followed as he was the first recipient of Boxing News’ Certificate of Merit, first British boxer to fight a Japanese boxer and only lost once to a British fighter when there was no title on the line – but he avenged that loss. In 1966 he was also the first Scottish boxing champion to be honoured in the Queen’s birthday honours list when he was awarded an MBE and then inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. He also passed on his experience when he trained Palestinian boxers in Israel – not a man to avoid conflict, clearly.
With 32 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw he hung up the leather gloves; he was 27 years of age. Like many former boxers he found retirement quite difficult with periods of alcoholism and dementia towards the end.
Of course, such an end sounds so undignified considering how much he gave to the sport that he loved. On the 15th of February 2016, he slipped away whilst living at a nursing home back in Lanarkshire. Born in Hamilton, died in hospital in Airdrie, but his fame went further than the limits of Lanarkshire and tells us a great deal about how much esteem he was held in means we look at his life, his career and become, once again proud to have had him represent all the wee men.
