First appearance as pro: aged 13 years, 10 months, Tall,
Auburn hair.
Astonished everyone with rapid punching and fast footwork.
By 1927 he had made such progrss that a consortium of boxing enthusiasts
invited Archie Bell of America to challenge Baldock in London at the
albert Hall, for the world bantam crown. He won a brilliant points
victory!!
Five months later however, South African, Willie Smith won a points
victory to snatch the title away from an underperforming Teddy. He
compensated by winning the British title from Johnny Brown in a two
rounds KO!!
He had one title defence in a blazing battle against Alf 'kid'
Pattenden.
His damaged hands meant early retirement in 1933. He died in poverty in
Romford, Essex, March 15, 1971.
Written by Mike Baldock
Teddy Baldock held the title for Great Britain in
1927.
Born at Poplar, May 20th, 1908. Height 5ft 9in,
weight 8st 6lb. Started at 14 years of age and has had 200
contests with only one defeat. He defeated Archie Bell, the
American, for the world's banthamweight title, May 1927, in
London. Fought 12 contests in America without a defeat and made
a wonderful impression. He is likely to fight in a world
championship contest in America after he is 21. As he is still
growing it is expected that he will soon be a featherweight.
From: "A.T.I.N." <atin AT mackay.net.au>
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 15:12:35 +1000
To: <John Baldock>
Subject: TeddyBaldock/WillieSmith
Hello John, The name Teddy Baldock is very well known in our family.
I'm Willie Smith's son. Now that I've retired from work, we are putting
together the story of my dad's life. We came across your website in the
search for details. I have a couple of large scrapbooks belonging to my
dad with plenty of newspaper material.
The fight against Teddy was one of his biggest, followed only by the
LaBarba fight in Sydney for the American world title.
