Professional boxers
Wodehouse was a boxer at Dulwich College until he had to give it up, on doctor's advice, to protect his eyesight. His interest continued and it's said that his early visits to America were partly to see the fighters and matches, not just to drum up sales. Many real and imaginary boxers appear in his tales, especially the earlier stories. This page lists them, omitting the purely amateur such as public schoolboys.
Made-up characters
- Teddy Banks
- A boxer with a broken leg. (The Come-Back of Battling Billson)
- Benson
- Lost to Kid Brady. (The Prince and Betty (US version))
- Battling Jack Benson
- Of Louisville, beat Kid Brady. (Psmith Journalist)
- Joe Bevan
- Ex World Lightweight champion, now a boxing coach at the Blue Boar, near Wrykyn in The White Feather.
- Battling Billson
- Had a short-lived career with several come-backs, due to an unwillingness to fight.
- Tod Bingham
- Beaten by Alf Palmer. (The Debut of Battling Billson)
- K-Leg Binns
- A boxer. (The Adventures of Sally)
- Kid Brady
- A lightweight from Wyoming.
- Bill Bramble
- Fighting as 'Young Porky' in Keeping It From Harold.
- Kid Burke
- Once fought Jerry Mitchell. (Piccadilly Jim)
- Bugs Butler
- Training at White Plains with Lancelot Kemp in The Adventures of Sally.
- Nippy Coggs
- A bantamweight boxer, victorious in The Return of Battling Billson.
- Spike Dillon
- From New York, an acquaintance of Jim in Piccadilly Jim.
- Steve Dingle
- A retired prize fighter, now a personal trainer and physical instructor at the New York Athletics Club, in The Coming of Bill.
- Cyclone Dick Fisher
- Beaten by Kid Brady in The Prince and Betty (US).
- John Edwardes
- Beaten by 'Skipper' Schute. (When Doctors Disagree)
- Eddie Flynn
- Once trained by Jerry Mitchell. (Piccadilly Jim) Also mentioned in Something Fresh.
- Joe Gans
- Mentioned in The Adventures of Sally.
- Jimmy Garvin
- Light heavyweight boxing champion in The Prince and Betty (US) and Psmith Journalist (and mentioned in A Gentleman of Leisure).
- 'Ginger Nut'
- Mentioned in Keeping It From Harold, 'real' name not stated.
- Tommy Goodley
- Mentioned in Psmith Journalist and The Prince and Betty (US).
- Francis Hunt
- In training with Joe Bevan at the Blue Boar in The White Feather.
- George Jenkins
- Now the boxing instructor at Wrykyn College in The White Feather.
- Mexican Joe
- Opponent of Kid Brady. (The Prince and Betty US version)
- Eddie 'Porky' Jones
- Opponent of Eddie Flynn. (Piccadilly Jim and mentioned in Success Story and Something Fresh)
- Young Kelly
- Middleweight challenger (probably US). (Summer Moonshine)
- Tommy King
- Beat Young O'Brien. (The Coming of Bill)
- Young Leary
- A boxer. (Psmith Journalist and The Prince and Betty (US))
- Lew Lucas
- Lightweight boxing champion. (The Adventures of Sally)
- Patsy Milligan
- A boxer (Psmith Journalist and The Prince and Betty (US))
- Jerry Mitchell
- Ex-boxer, now a fitness trainer in Piccadilly Jim.
- Kid Mitchell
- Opponent of Steve Dingle. (The Coming of Bell)
- Cyclone Mullins
- A boxer. (The Adventures of Sally)
- Jimmy Murphy
- American, mentioned in Keeping It From Harold.
- Philadelphia Jack O'Brien
- Boxer who fought Joe Vanringham. (Summer Moonshine)
- 'Young' O'Brien
- Surname Whiting, retired. (The Coming of Bill)
- Pat O'Flaherty
- Born 'Smith', knocked out by Steve Dingle. (The Coming of Bill)
- Alf Palmer
- Became light heavyweight champion by beating Tod Bingham. (The Debut of Battling Billson)
- 'One-Round' Peebles
- Which is all he lasted against Battling Billson in The Come-Back of Battling Billson.
- Joe Peterson
- Boxer who knocked out Kid Brady. (The Prince and Betty (US) and Psmith Journalist)
- Sam Proctor
- Fights under the name of the 'Tennessee Bearcat' in A Job of Work.
- Ted Richards
- Mentioned in Keeping It From Harold.
- Dick Roberts
- From San Francisco, an opponent of Joe Bevan as mentioned in The White Feather.
- Eustace Rodd
- Competing for the welter-weight championship in Money for Nothing.
- Sid Sampson
- Mentioned in Keeping It From Harold.
- Clarence 'Skipper' Shute
- Gets into trouble at a dance in When Doctors Disagree.
- One-round Smith
- An injured boxer in A Job of Work.
- Slugger Smith
- Of New Cut, London, mentioned in Success Story.
- Howard 'Mugsy' Steptoe
- On the Pacific coast, never progressed beyond preliminary bouts. (Quick Service)
- Lloyd Thomas
- Opponent of Battling Billson in The Exit of Battling Billson.
- Battling Tuke
- A heavyweight. (The Adventures of Sally)
- Cyril Warburton
- Competing for the welter-weight championship in Money for Nothing.
- Bulldog Whacker
- Defeated Captain Bradbury of the Indian Army. (Trouble Down at Tudsleigh)
- Benny Whistler
- A heavyweight. (The Adventures of Sally)
- Wildcat Wix
- A boxer on the Pacific coast. (Quick Service)
- Cyclone Al Wolmann
- Beaten by Kid Brady in Psmith Journalist.
- Eddie Wood
- Opponent for Kid Brady in The Prince and Betty (US) and Psmith Journalist.
Real-life boxers
- Primo Carnera
- Champion heavyweight boxer. (Open House and Best Seller)
- Georges Carpentier
- Beaten by Jack Dempsey on 21 July 1921, in round 4 of what was considered a mismatch. (The Girl on the Boat and The Indiscretions of Archie)
- 'Gentleman' Jim Corbett
- World Champion. (The Aunt and the Sluggard and others)
- Tom Cribb
- World champion bare-knuckle prize-fighter 1810-11. (The Head of Kay's)
- Jack Dempsey
- A world champion boxer. (The Girl on the Boat, Jeeves in the Offing and others)
- Jack Dempsey the Nonpareil
- Real name John Edward Kelly, an Irish boxer born in 1862, who became both Welterweight and Middleweight World Champion. (Something Fishy)
- 'Ruby Robert' Fitzsimmons
- Beat 'Gentleman Jim' Corbett in 1897 to become the world heavyweight boxing champion. The first fighter to hold the world boxing championship in three weight divisions (The Little Nugget, Piccadilly Jim and The Swoop)
- Jack Jackson
- The first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world (1908), he was persecuted and forced to leave America. (A Job of Work)
- 'Gentleman' John Jackson
- A prize fighter active in the late 1700s, he made his money teaching boxing to gentlemen. (The Manoeuvres of Charteris)
- James J. Jeffries
- A hard punching boxer who fought from a crouching position and sprang in to land his blows. (First Aid for Dora and Psmith, Journalist)
- Stanley Ketchel
- World middleweight boxing champion, a very hard hitter who took on heavyweights. (Psmith, Journalist)
- Joe Louis
- A world champion, known as 'The Brown Bomber'. (Quick Service and Full Moon)
- Rocky Marciano
- An American world heavyweight boxing champion. (Something Fishy)
- Kid McCoy
- A real American boxer who gave his name to 'the real McCoy' and was the inspiration for a Wodehouse character, Kid Brady. (The Head of Kay's)
- Battling Nelson
- Real name Oscar Nielsen, a Dane (1882-1954). Lightweight. (Sam the Sudden)
- Philadelphia Jack O'Brien
- Real name Joseph Francis Hagan, world light-heavyweight champion in 1905. (Summer Moonshine)
- Tom Sharkey
- (1873-1953) Also known as 'sailor'. He beat Jim Corbett in 1898 when Corbett was disqualified through the actions of his second. He also fought McCoy and Jeffries. (The Coming of Bill and Sam the Sudden)
- Tom Spring
- Heavyweight champion bare-knuckle fighter 1821-4. (The Head of Kay's)
- John L. Sullivan
- (1858-1918) heavyweight boxing champion. (Cats Will Be Cats)
- Gene Tunney
- Heavyweight champion. (Big Money and Jeeves in the Offing)
- Bombardier Wells
- Billy Wells, a boxer who held the British heavyweight title. (Doing Clarence a bit of Good and Keeping It From Harold)
- Freddie Welsh
- Lightweight, known as the Welsh Wizard. (Keeping It From Harold)
- Jeff Willard
- Heavyweight beaten by Jack Dempsey. (Something Fishy)
- Jess Willard
- A boxer known as the 'Pottawomie Giant', standing at 6' 5" or more.
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