Harry Forbes
| Harry Forbes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Rated at | Bantamweight |
| Height | 5 ft 3.5 in (1.61 m) |
| Reach | 65 in (165 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
May 12, 1879 Rockford, Illinois |
| Died | December 19, 1946 (aged 67) Chicago, Illinois |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 146 |
| Wins | 96 |
| Wins by KO | 45 |
| Losses | 20 |
| Draws | 27 |
| No contests | 3 |
Harry Forbes (May 12, 1879 – December 19, 1946) was an American boxer who took the World Bantamweight Title on November 11, 1901 when he defeated Danny Dougherty in a second round knockout in Saint Louis, Missouri. He lost the title three years later, on August 13, 1903 to Frankie Neil in a second round knockout at the Mechanics Pavillion in San Francisco, California.
He was a prolific boxer who boxed 146 verified matches and faced such exceptional boxers as bantamweight champions Johnny Coulon, and Johnny Reagan, as well as meeting the exceptional featherweight champion Abe Attell six times in matches that gained national interest. He also faced accomplished boxers Benny Yanger, Tommy Ryan, Tommy O'Toole, Terry McGovern, Kid Goodman, and Joe Cherry.
Harry Forbes was born in Rockford, Illinois on May 12, 1879. He began his boxing career around the age of eighteen in Chicago by winning eleven of thirteen of his better publicized fights that year with three by knockout, though his knockout percentage would increase in later years. He was an early boxing pupil of Harry Gilmore of Chicago, who also taught Tommy White and Eddie Santry.
His important youthful bout with Terry McGovern, on December 22, 1899 was billed as a World Bantamweight Title match. McGovern was considered by many boxing historians as one of the greatest featherweights and one of the hardest hitters of all time. Forbes was only 22, though he already had over over fifty fights to his name. He lost the Bantamweight Title shot, receiving a second round TKO at Broadway Athletic Club in New York, with a total fighting time of only 1 minute 33 seconds into the second round. Of his October 1, 1898 non-title bout with "Terrible Terry" McGovern, one newspaper wrote, "He gave the 'Brooklyn Terror' a hard tussle for fifteen rounds before McGovern landed his soporific punch," knocking out Forbes at the Pelican A. C. in New York.
On March 17, 1900, he lost to the exceptional boxer Benny Yanger, in a fifth round TKO in Chicago, Illinois. Yanger was one of the few boxers to ever defeat Abe Attell.
When he clinched the Bantamweight title with his win over Danny Dougherty on November 11, 1901 in St. Louis, surprisingly little coverage was featured in most national newspapers, possibly because Dougherty was not as well-known a boxer. The Scranton Republican wrote simply that Forbes had administered a "second round knockout defeat to Danny Dougherty of Philadelphia in what was to be a fifteen round battle." Greater interest would have been generated by defeating a reigning champion who had held the title for a significant period. In his rematch with Dougherty on June 22, 1903, Forbes won in a six round newspaper decision in Philadelphia in a non-title fight.
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