Frank Erne boxer

Frank Erne boxer
bouts
53
won
31
lost
6
draw
16
Status
inactive
Division
lightweight
Debut
1892-03-17
Height
5′ 6″/168cm
Reach
68″/173cm
Age
79
Born
1875-01-08
Death
1954-09-17
Nationality
Switzerland

Frank Erne (January 8, 1875 – September 17, 1954) was a Swiss-born American boxer widely credited with taking the World Featherweight Championship on November 27, 1896, from George Dixon in New York City, as well as the World Lightweight Championship from George "Kid" Lavigne on July 3, 1899, in Buffalo, New York. Late in his career he would contend for the World Welterweight Title against Rube Ferns. Erne was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the class of 2020.Erne was born on January 8, 1875, in Döttingen, Switzerland, to a family of German descent. His father once kept a vineyard near Zurich when he was a child, and after gaining success as a boxer in America, Frank purchased one for his father in New York. Not surprisingly, Frank took wine with his meals for much of his life, including the period he reigned as a world feather and lightweight champion.At the age of seven he emigrated to the United States with his family. According to one source, in the early 1890s he worked setting pins in a bowling alley at the Buffalo Athletic Club where he began his training. During his career as a boxer, he worked as a manager of boxing classes, and physical culture schools.Erne most prized his skills as a great strategist and "scientific boxer" rather than a strong puncher, and although his BoxRec record impressively shows 14 of 30 of his better publicized fights ending by knockout, few appear to be in early rounds. Apparently he could land a punch against a less skilled opponent when necessary, but he assigned greater value to what was known in his era as "ring generalship." Erne's favorite punch was a right to the chin, similar to an uppercut, after another boxer led with a left. Erne once told the Pittsburgh Press in an interview, "The majority of present day fighters are not ring generals, because they really are never called upon in a ten round bout to show ring generalship. But in the old days a fighter who wasn't a ring general never amounted to much and didn't last very long." Erne went on to note that it was the fighters with brains and not brawn who achieved the most during his boxing career.Erne began to fight professionally by October 27, 1892 when he defeated John Roy at the Buffalo Athletic Club in New York in a fourth round knockout, showing that he was not a boxer who lacked punching ability when the opportunity arose. The fight was billed as the Featherweight Championship of Western New York and paid the winner the princely sum of $250 according to the Buffalo Courier. Erne had defeated Roy by TKO one month earlier in Buffalo.Erne first met World Featherweight Champion George Dixon in a ten round draw on December 5, 1895, at the Manhattan Athletic Club in New York City. Two weeks later he fought well known Australian boxer "Young Griffo", an 1890 Featherweight World Champion, at the Music Hall in Buffalo. According to the New York Sun, Griffo, to the frustration of the crowd, dominated the brief four-round draw from the start and neither boxer put much effort into the fight.

Date Opponent Last Opponents' Results Place Result
1908-02-29 Curly Watson LDWLLL Wonderland, Paris WIN
Points
1903-05-18 Warren Zurbrick WWWWWW International A.C., Fort Erie WIN
1902-11-26 Jimmy Britt WWW Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco LOST
KO
1902-06-24 Jim Maloney WWLWLL National Sporting Club, Covent Garden WIN
KO
1902-05-12 Joe Gans WWWWWW International A.C., Fort Erie LOST
KO
1902-03-21 Gus Gardner WLWWDW Wabash A.C., Chicago WIN
Points
1902-03-17 Curley Supples DDLWWL International A.C., Fort Erie WIN
KO
1901-09-23 Rube Ferns WWWWLW International A.C., Fort Erie LOST
KO
1900-08-30 Tom Couhig WLLWWW Olympic A.C., Buffalo DRAW
Points
1900-07-16 Terry McGovern WDWWWW Madison Square Garden, New York LOST
Technical knockout
1900-03-23 Joe Gans WWWWDW Broadway A.C., New York WIN
Technical knockout
1900-02-09 Chicago Jack Daly LDLDDL Star Theatre, Chicago WIN
Points
1899-12-04 New York Jack O'Brien WDWWWW Coney Island A.C., Brooklyn DRAW
Points
1899-07-03 George (Kid) Lavigne WDLDWL Hawthorne A.C., Buffalo WIN
Points
1899-05-09 George 'Elbows' McFadden DWWWWW Lenox A.C., New York WIN
Points
1899-03-03 Dal Hawkins WDWLWD Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco WIN
KO
1898-09-28 George (Kid) Lavigne LWLWDL Greater New York A.C., Brooklyn DRAW
Points
1898-04-25 Harry Lemons LWDWWW Olympic A.C., Buffalo WIN
Points
1897-11-29 Jack Downey DWDLDD Empire A.C., Buffalo DRAW
Points
1897-10-02 Jim Popp WWD Toronto A.C., Toronto DRAW
Points
1897-09-13 Larry Becker WWD Olympic A.C., Buffalo WIN
KO
1897-04-19 Joe Hopkins DLLLDW Olympic A.C., Buffalo WIN
Technical knockout
1897-03-24 George Dixon WDDLWD Broadway A.C., Brooklyn LOST
Points
1897-02-20 Martin Flaherty WDDDDD New York A.C., New York LOST
Unanimous decision
1896-11-27 George Dixon WWWWDD Broadway A.C., New York WIN
Points
1896-06-29 Jack Downey DDWDW South Brooklyn A.C., Brooklyn DRAW
Points
1896-05-23 Jack Downey WWDDW Empire Theater, Brooklyn DRAW
Points
1896-04-23 Larry Burns D Empire A.C., Buffalo WIN
KO
1896-03-30 Jack Downey LWWWD Empire A.C., Maspeth, Queens DRAW
Points
1895-12-20 Young Griffo WDDDWD Music Hall, Buffalo DRAW
Points
1895-12-05 George Dixon WWWWD New Manhattan A.C., New York DRAW
Points
1895-10-04 Jack Skelly LWWWDL New Manhattan A.C., New York WIN
Technical knockout
1895-08-26 Jack Skelly LWWWD Maspeth Empire AC, Maspeth, Queens WIN
KO
1895-07-15 Joe Craig W Oakland Avenue Rink, Jersey City WIN
Technical knockout
1895-03-09 Pat Perry debut WIN
Points
1895-01-22 Joe Leonard DLWWWD New Manhattan A.C., New York WIN
KO
1894-10-02 Solly Smith WLWWDL Buffalo A.C., Buffalo DRAW
Points
1894-08-11 Alec Sloan D Eldorado beach, Buffalo WIN
Points
1894-06-16 George Siddons LWWLLW Academy of Music, Buffalo DRAW
Points
1894-05-12 George Siddons DDLWWL Court Street Theatre, Buffalo WIN
Points
1894-05-08 Dan Maloney debut Court Street Theatre, Buffalo WIN
Technical knockout
1894-04-21 Pat Schultz debut Court Street Theatre, Buffalo WIN
Points
1894-04-14 Tommy Dixon WWWWWW Court Street Theatre, Buffalo DRAW
Points
1894-04-07 Hymie Goldstein WD Court Street Theatre, Buffalo WIN
Points
1894-03-31 Fred Warner debut Court Street Theatre, Buffalo WIN
Points
1894-03-24 Walter Campbell DDWLLW Court Street Theatre, Buffalo WIN
KO
1894-03-17 Tommy Kennedy debut Court Street Theatre, Buffalo DRAW
Points
1894-03-06 John L Sullivan W Music Hall, Buffalo DRAW
Points
1893-11-27 Skip Krieger debut Music Hall, Buffalo WIN
Points
1893-01-26 Joe Diebold debut Buffalo A.C., Buffalo DRAW
Points
1892-10-27 John Roy L Buffalo A.C., Buffalo WIN
KO
1892-09-29 John Roy debut Music Hall, Buffalo WIN
Technical knockout
1892-03-17 James McCarthy debut Star Theater, Buffalo WIN
Points