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The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia -- Title Contender

Oscar Gardner
(the "Omaha Kid")

BORN   May 19, 1872; Minneapolis, Minnesota
DIED December 25 1928; Minneapolis, Minnesota
HEIGHT 5-3 1/2
WEIGHT 115-122 lbs
MANAGERS Paddy Sullivan, Lou Abrahams

Gardner was a scrappy competitor who was full of fight; He was confident, tough and game; He moved well and struck with solid blows; Oscar was a featherweight title contender of his day

During his career, he defeated such men as Harry Forbes, Solomon "Solly" Smith, "Torpedo" Billy Murphy, Dave Sullivan, Eddie Santry, Sammy Kelly, Tommy Dixon, Lon Agnew, George Stout, John Van Heest, Maxie Haugh, Johnny Lavack, Sam Bolan, Jack "Doc" Hamilton, Billy O'Donnell, Mike Farragher, Jack O'Keefe, Jerry Marshall, Eugene Bezenah, Fred Bogan, Patsy Haley, Joe Bernstein, Eddie Lenny, Billy Barrett, Jack McClelland and Eugene Garcia

Undated
       Tom Lee                                                     TK  2
       T. Cavanaugh               Kansas City, Mo                  TK  9
       Ed Thompson                Kansas City, Mo                  TK  1
       Tom Kearney                Kansas City, Mo                  TK  2
       Jim Marshall                                                 D 20

1891
Aug  7 John Condon                Omaha, Ne                        KO  7
Nov 11 Charley Heenan             Omaha, Ne                        KO  6

1892
Aug 11 Jim Porter                 Minneapolis, Mn                  KO 23

1893
May  8 Solomon "Solly" Smith      St. Paul, Mn                     EX  6
          -Some sources report 6/10/93;
           Smith failed to knockout Gardner
Jun 17 Ed Schultenberg            Omaha, Ne                        TK 11
Jul 31 Tommy Dixon                St. Paul, Mn                     LK 13

1894
Mar 13 Dominick Barnes            Minneapolis, Mn                  KO  5
Mar 29 John Van Heest             Minneapolis, Mn                  NC 41
          -Some sources report "D 40"
Aug  6 Jack O'Keefe               Kansas City, Mo                   D 10
Sep  5 "Young" Jack Dempsey       St. Paul, Mn                      W  4
Nov  9 Jack Collins               St. Joseph, Mo                    W  6
Nov 27 Solomon "Solly" Smith      Buffalo, NY                      WF  5
          -Gardner broke his arm in the first round

1895
Jan 26 Jim Evans                  Kansas City, Mo                  KO  3
Mar 11 Lon Agnew                  Kansas City, Mo                   W  4
Mar 31 Mike Delougherty           Leavenworth, Ks                  KO  2
May 26 Tommy Dixon                Kansas City, Mo                  LK 36
Aug 15 Billy O'Donnell            Memphis, Tn                      LT 18
Oct  6 George Stout               Kansas City, Mo                  WF 12
Dec  2 John Van Heest             Excelsior Springs, Mo            ND  6

1896
Mar  9 Eugene Bezenah             Covington, Ky                     D 15
May 22 Pete Shea                  Dayton, Oh                       KO  4

1897
Feb  6 Bradford Branch            Kansas City, Mo                  KO  6
Mar 13 Solomon "Solly" Smith      New York, NY                      L 20
Mar 27 Billy O'Brien              New York, NY                     KO  4
Apr  1 Jack Grant                 New York, NY                     KO  9
Apr 10 "Torpedo" Billy Murphy     New York, NY                      W 20
Apr 19 Austin Rice                New York, NY                      D 20
May 10 James "Rube" Ferns         Chicopee, Ks                      D  6
Jun  5 Maxie Haugh                Brooklyn, NY                      W 10
          -Some sources report "W 15"
Jul 12 Jack "Doc" Hamilton        Troy, NY                          D 12
Jul 19 "New York" Jack O'Brien    Albany, NY                        D 10
Aug 30 "New York" Jack O'Brien    New York, NY                      D 20
Sep 15 Tommy Dixon                Rochester, NY                     W 20
Oct  6 John Van Heest             Lexington, Ky                    KO 11
Oct 18 Luke Stevens               Rochester, NY                    KO  6
Nov 13 "New York" Jack O'Brien    New York, NY                      W 15
Nov 18 Billy Rotchford            Buffalo, NY                       L 20
Nov 19 John Van Heest             Dayton, Oh                        D 20
Nov 29 George Stout               Cincinnati, Oh                    D 15
Dec 13 Eugene Bezenah             Cincinnati, Oh                    D 15
Dec 22 Johnny Lavack              Cincinnati, Oh                    W 10

1898
Jan 11 Eugene Bezenah             Wheeling, WV                     TK 21
Feb 21 Luke Stevens               Buffalo, NY                      KO  9
Feb 22 Jack O'Keefe               Wheeling, WV                     KO 18
Mar 17 Patsy Haley                Buffalo, NY                       D 20
Mar 22 Mike Farragher             Columbus, Oh                     KO  3
Apr  7 George Stout               Columbus, Oh                     KO 12
          -Stout died from injuries sustained in this bout
May 23 Fred Bogan                 Wheeling, WV                     KO 12
          -Some sources report 5/25/1898
Jun  6 Jerry Marshall             Wheeling, WV                     TK 13
Jun 30 Jack McClelland            Wheeling, WV                     KO 10
Jul  4 Jim Marshall               Zanesville, Oh                   ND  6
Jul 11 Eugene Bezenah             Bridgeport, Ct                    D 40
Aug 22 Joe Hopkins                Buffalo, NY                       W 20
Aug 24 Danny McMahon              Toledo, Oh                       KO  5
Sep  9 Sam Bolen                  New York, NY                     KO 10
Sep 16 Jim Marshall               Louisville, Ky                   KO  6
Oct 28 Sammy Kelly                New York, NY                     KO 14
Nov  3 Frank Bradley              Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
Nov 12 Joe Fairburn               Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
Nov 29 George Dixon               New York, NY                      L 25
          -Featherweight Championship of the World
Dec 27 Frank Bradley              Wheeling, WV                      W 20

1899
Jan  8 Dave Sullivan              New York, NY                     KO 17
         -Some sources report 1/09/99
Jan 23 Tommy "Kid" Hogan          Pittsburgh, Pa                   ND 10
Feb  7 Solomon "Solly" Smith      New York, NY                     TK  6
Feb 13 "New York" Jack O'Brien    Youngstown, Oh                    L 20
Feb 22 Martin Flaherty            Hartford, Ct                      D 20
Feb 27 Joe Hopkins                Cincinnati, Oh                    W 10
Mar 15 Jimmy Murray               Hot Springs, Ar                   D 20
          -Some sources report 3/16/99
Mar 20 Fred Bogan                 Hot Springs, Ar                  KO  5
Mar 25 Eugene Bezenah             Indianapolis, In                  D 10
Apr 11 Billy O'Donnell            New York, NY                     WF  6
Apr 18 Joe Hopkins                Wheeling, WV                     KO 19
          -Some sources report "KO 15"
May  4 Tommy "Kid" Hogan          Louisville, Ky                    W 20
May 12 Martin Flaherty            New York, NY                      D 25
Sep 22 Jack "Doc" Hamilton        New York, NY                      L 25
Sep 25 Ben Jordan                 Brooklyn, NY                    SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled; The outcome is not known
Oct 26 Ben Jordan                 Brooklyn, NY                    SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled; The outcome is not known
Nov  6 Marty McCue                Brooklyn, NY                      L 25
Nov 14 Jack "Doc" Hamilton        New York, NY                      W 25
Nov 21 Tim Callahan               Paterson, NJ                      D 20
Dec  1 Harry Forbes               Chicago, Il                       D  6

1900
Feb 20 Tommy White                Chicago, Il                      ND  6
          -Reports vary - "W 6" - "D 6"
Mar  9 Terry McGovern             New York, NY                     LK  3
          -Featherweight Championship of the World
Mar 28 Patsy Haley                Shawnee, Oh                      KO  3
          -Some sources report 3/29/00
Apr 10 Jack "Doc" Hamilton        Wheeling, WV                      D 20
Apr 27 Joe Bernstein              New York, NY                     TK 16
          -Some sources report "W 16"
Apr 30 Patsy Haley                Cincinnati, Oh                   KO  5
May  3 Eddie Santry               Louisville, Ky                   TK  5
          -Some sources report "W 5"
May 10 Ned "Kid" Broad            New York, NY                     WF 17
May 28 Gus Bezenah                Cincinnati, Oh                   KO  4
May 28 Larry Gleason              Cincinnati, Oh                   KO  3
Jun  1 Harry Forbes               Chicago, Il                      KO  1
Jun 12 Billy Ryan                 Cleveland, Oh                    KO 18
          -Some sources report 6/13/00
Jun 15 Billy Barrett              New York, NY                     WF 14
Jul  2 Jack McClelland            Millvale, Pa                      D 20
          -Some sources report 7/04/00
Jul  8 Eddie Santry               Kansas City, Mo                   L 20
          -Some sources report 7/06/00
Jul 27 Eddie Lenny                New York, NY                     TK 21
          -Some sources report "W 21"
Aug  9 Eugene Garcia              Wheeling, WV KO 3ae
Aug 23 Joe Bernstein              New York, NY                     WF 12
          -Reports vary - 8/12/00 - 8/27/00
Sep 10 Sammy Phillips             Louisville, Ky                   TK  4
          -Some sources report "WF 4"
Sep 24 Tim Callahan               Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
Oct  4 Eddie Lenny                Newark, Oh                        W 20
Oct  8 Dave Sullivan              Louisville, Ky                   LT 14
          -Reports state that the referee actually held Gardner back
           and allowed Sullivan to hit him; Some sources report "L 14"
Oct 13 Ole Oleson                 Chicago, Il                       L  6
Oct 25 Harry Smith                Omaha, Ne                        KO 16
Nov  6 Martin Flaherty            Hartford, Ct                     ND 12
          -During round twelve, the men became entangled while fighting and fell to the floor;
           Each man was banged up a bit and the fight was stopped
Dec  3 Jack "Doc" Hamilton        Youngstown, Oh                    L 20
Dec  6 Dick "Buck" Stelzer        Marietta, Oh                      D 20

1901
Jan  7 Tim Callahan               Boston, Ma                       LK 15
Jan 15 Tommy "Kid" Hogan          Memphis, Tn                      KO  6
Jan 18 Tommy Dixon                Weir City, Ks                     W 10
Feb  8 Johnny Burns               Alexandria, Ne                    D 20
Feb 15 Haich Smith                Tilden, Ne                        D 20
Feb 18 Tommy Dixon                Galena, Ks                        D 20
Apr 30 Terry McGovern             San Francisco, Ca                LK  4
          -Featherweight Championship of the World
Jun 26 Young Corbett II           Denver, Co                       LT  6
Jul  3 Johnny Ritchie             South Omaha, Ne                   L 20
          -Some sources report "Memphis, Tn"
Oct  8 Clarence Forbes            Kansas City, Mo                  LT  9
Oct 15 Clarence Ritchie           St. Louis, Mo                    LF  3

1902
       Clarence English                                            LK  4

*** The Following Bouts Are Reported But Not Confirmed ***

1895
May 12 Martin Flaherty            New York, NY                      D 25
          -Perhaps, this bout is a reference to the 05/12/1899 bout

1898
Jul  3 Danny McMahon                                                W  6

Review courtesy of Tracy Callis and Barry Deskins, Historians,
International Boxing Research Organization