Funds raised for Jock McAvoy statue

Date published: 09 July 2022

Local pensioner Stephen ‘Moggie’ Murray has raised £3,450 towards a statue of Rochdale boxing legend, Jock McAvoy.

Earlier this month, the 68-year-old undertook a two-week long ‘bus tour’ up and down the country to raise funds towards Hamer Amateur Boxing Club’s effort to honour Jock’s legacy.

Read more: Stephen 'Moggie' Murray undertaking 2-week-long bus tour to raise funds towards statue honouring Rochdale boxing champ Jock McAvoyPublished: 31 May 2022
Hamer ABC hopes to recognise famous boxing champion Jock McAvoy “The Rochdale Thunderbolt” with a statue in Falinge ParkPublished: 13 March 2019

On Sunday 26 June, a large gathering of local people celebrated Moggie’s return to Rochdale in the Hoochi Koochi bar after his incredible journey.

During the journey, he met up with coaches from boxing gyms such as Currock House ABC and Border City ABC in Carlisle. He met up with another coach from York ABC on day four, before realising that there was a bus strike, so he had to get a train to Doncaster before getting back on two more buses to Lincoln, where he arrived at his accommodation at around 6pm.

Three buses later he arrived in Norwich on day six. On Sunday he had to board another train to Colchester because there was no bus service available from Norwich to Colchester on that day. Once he arrived in Colchester, it took him four more challenging bus journeys before he finally arrived at his accommodation in Grays.

On day eight, Moggie was told that his pensioner’s bus pass was not valid in and around London, so he had to board another train to take him to Tilbury before boarding a ferry to Gravesend, where he got on two more buses to take him to Tunbridge Wells.

Day nine took him on another bus to Eastbourne before he travelled by bus to Brighton, where he met up with Steve Martin and some other ex-boxers from their boxing association, who treated him to a great night, whilst also paying for his accommodation that night.

Day eleven saw Moggie leave Southampton on four buses to Yeovil, where he spent a tired night before boarding yet another three buses to Stroud – only to learn that the buses to his hotel had been cancelled, so he had to get a taxi to his bed for the night.

Just when he was thinking the journey couldn’t possibly get any worse, he had to board another five buses to Birmingham before another four buses to take him to his accommodation for the night.

Moggie was thankful that he only had to board two buses to West Bromwich, but he was told that he couldn’t get into his accommodation until 4pm. The next day he was told that he couldn’t use his bus pass again until 9.30am so he had to pay for the journey before boarding two more buses to take him to Newcastle Under Lyme where he met some local people in a local drinking establishment.

Two more buses took him to Liverpool, where he was supposed to meet the former WBC welterweight Champion of the World, John H Stracey. Stracey had contacted Steven Connellan at Hamer ABC to tell him that he was sorry that he could not meet up with Moggie that day, but he would meet them in Hastings at the Ex-Boxers Hall of Fame in September this year. 

On his last day, Moggie boarded three more buses to arrive in Manchester, where he met some Manchester ex-boxers, before boarding a train back to Rochdale.                                                       

During the celebrations at Hoochi Koochi, an incredibly designed weightlifter and boxer made from scrap metal by local self-taught artist Nick Heywood, was auctioned off, where local businessman Craig Stoker paid £220 for the boxer and Kevin Magee paid £200 for the weightlifter.

Another local resident, Scott Fleming, realised that he had failed in his bid for the weightlifter, so instead he donated the £100 bid to the Jock McAvoy cause. The donations didn’t end there because the landlord of the Hoochi Koochi Bar Jon DaFox Riley also donated a substantial amount to the cause, along with most of the patrons in the bar, which amounted to a collection of £905.  

Hamer Boxing coach Steven Connellan said: “It shows that the local community haven’t forgotten this great boxer of ours.

“I would like to thank our community for coming together and supporting us on our journey to inspire the young people of our town and to tell them you can also achieve your dreams even if you have suffered from mental health issues just like Jock McAvoy, Moggie and a few more of my friends.”

Who was Jock McAvoy?

McAvoy’s illustrious career spanned from 1927 to 1945, winning 132 contests whilst losing only 14, according to BoxRec official boxing records. Of this, 88 wins were by knock-out.

Although born in Burnley as Joseph Patrick Bamford in 1908, McAvoy moved to Rochdale at a very young age and started boxing and training at numerous gyms within the town, including Hamer Amateur Boxing Club.

Regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, McAvoy was never knocked out in his 18-year career and won the Lonsdale Belt outright by defending the British title three times. It was a title he never lost.

McAvoy was awarded the British middleweight title in Manchester on 10 April 1933, after defeating Len Harvey on points.

They would again face off in the British and Commonwealth (British Empire) light-heavyweight title at White City Stadium, London on 10 July 1939, a fight which drew an all-time British attendance record of over 94,000 fight fans.

His greatest achievement came when he travelled to America to beat the leading world light-heavyweight title contender Al McCoy by unanimous decision after 10 rounds at Madison Square Garden, on 29 November 1935.

Because of his victory over McCoy, he was in line to box the-then middleweight champion of the world, Eddie ‘Babe’ Risko. McAvoy was matched against Risko in a non-title bout: McAvoy knocked Risko out at the time of 2:48 inside the first round after flooring him six times.

McAvoy was never allowed a rematch with the title at stake, but he was offered the chance to fight the-then light-heavyweight champion of the world and future International Boxing Hall of Famer, John Henry Lewis in March 1936. Jock lost on points after a hard fought 15 rounds.

Although only a middleweight, McAvoy also fought for the British and Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight titles against the champion Jack Peterson on 23 April 1936. Unfortunately, he lost on points after 15 gruelling rounds.

McAvoy also won the British light-heavyweight title in London on 27 April 1937, knocking out Eddie Phillips for the title.

Although Jock achieved great things within the ring, he also suffered from mental health issues when he finished boxing. He was stricken with polio, which steadily got worse, and he was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He had also survived both diphtheria and a broken neck prior to his polio diagnosis, as well as continuous suffering from insomnia and depression. This led to regular arguments with his wife, Renee, who eventually left him.

Jock’s mental anguish became gradually worse, yet his son Joe, thought he had convinced the boxing champ to come back to live in Rochdale. Jock agreed – but told Joe he wanted to spend one more night at his Cheshire home. Sadly, Jock took his own life that night in November 1971, with an overdose of barbiturates.

Jock was buried at Rochdale cemetery that same month.

The community has set up other future events in and around Rochdale and a Just Giving Page has been set up for the cause.

Alternatively, donations can be made to the following community bank account:

• Account number: 93160165
• Sort code: 20-72-67