Press Releases

Iron Hague was Mexborough's first sporting hero and it is 100 years since he first became the heavyweight boxing champion of England.

This coming Bank Holiday Monday, 4 May 2009, BBC Radio Sheffield will mark the occasion with a special documentary recalling his famous fight, his homecoming to a delirious welcome and his subsequent speedy return to obscurity.

The documentary will be broadcast at 2.30pm as part of the Rony Robinson Show and has been compiled by former BBC journalist and editor Geoff Sargieson.

It was originally compiled 40 years ago by Geoff and, since then, the tapes have been gathering dust in his garage and were only found when Geoff began a clear out. What he discovered was archive gold – a series of interviews with the then surviving members of Iron Hague's immediate family telling the inside story of the forgotten champion and vividly evoking the life and times of the boxer.

Geoff has re-edited and polished up the tapes, had them digitised and engaged local folk singer Ray Hearne to recreate a song from the original broadcast that was performed by Tony Capstick.

The documentary is narrated by the boxer's contemporary and friend Harry Straw from recordings made at the time.

Iron Hague was heavyweight champion of England for two years, successfully defending his title five times. There is some dispute about the exact date Iron Hague first became champion of England, but most records put it as 29 April 1909.

The documentary tells of the tragic circumstances which prompted Iron Hague to abandon boxing following the death of a sparring partner in an army exhibition bout in France during the First World War, and how the boxer returned to Mexborough – crippled by a combination of mustard gas and barbed wire – to take up the role of potman at a local pub.

Gary Keown, Managing Editor, Radio Sheffield, said: "We're thrilled to be able to tell this story of one of the region's forgotten sporting heroes. It's an incredibly moving half-hour that really captures the time when Iron Hague was a name on everyone's lips."

Iron Hague, The Life And Times Of A Forgotten Sporting Hero, BBC Radio Sheffield, 2.30pm, Monday 4 May 2009

BBC Manchester Press Office