Keith B. Saunders (16 February 1934 – 18 November 2003) was an indigenous Australian professional boxer and author of two books.
Keith Saunders | |
|---|---|
| Born | Keith B. Saunders 16 February 1934 South Cardiff, Australia |
| Died | 18 November 2003 (aged 69) Australia |
| Nationality | Indigenous Australian |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m) |
| Stance | orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 38 |
| Wins | 12 |
| Wins by KO | 10 |
| Losses | 25 |
| Draws | 0 |
Early life edit
Keith Saunders was born in South Cardiff, New South Wales on 16 February 1934 to Mary and Sidney Saunders.[1] When he was ten years old his family moved to Redfern in Sydney.[1]
Professional career edit
Throughout his working life Saunders held a variety of jobs including laborer, truck driver, garbage collector and roller driver as well as experiencing periods of unemployment.[1]
Boxing edit
Keith Saunders was spotted as a young teenager by Billy McConnell the owner of a gymnasium.[1] He had his first amateur fight at the age of 13. Three years later he made it to the New South Wales State Amateur Boxing Finals.[1]
He became a welterweight fighter and began fighting professionally in 1952.[1][2][3] During training Keith served as a sparring partner for some of the world's best boxers.[1] He experienced racism throughout his boxing career.[4] He travelled to New Zealand in 1959 to compete against Samoan boxer Tuna Scanlan.[5]
He retired from boxing in 1966 but made two comebacks in 1968 at the age of 32 and again in 1970 before retiring permanently.[1][6]
Writing edit
Keith Saunders was awarded a grant of $2,273 in 1987 to write his biography. The book explored his boxing career "in the context of his personal history and the social and economic conditions of the period."[7] Although he planned to have a ghost writer write his biography, after three failed attempts he wrote the book himself and it was published by Aboriginal Studies Press.[8][9] He was interviewed by Heather Rusden when his first book the autobiography Learning the Ropes[1] was released. In the interview he discusses his personal experiences of racism as an Aboriginal Australian.[10] In the book, he describes how the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 in Australia regulated "most aspects of the lives of Aborigines".[1]
His second book Myall Road focussed on life in Sydney in the 1950s and 1960s.[11]
Works edit
- Saunders, Keith B (1992), Learning the ropes, Canberra Aboriginal Studies Press, ISBN 978-0-85575-237-8
- Saunders, Keith B (1998), Myall Road, Canberra Aboriginal Studies Press, ISBN 978-0-85575-314-6
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Saunders, Keith B (1992), Learning the ropes, Canberra Aboriginal Studies Press, ISBN 978-0-85575-237-8
- ^ Tatz, Colin Tatz & Paul (2000). Black gold : the Aboriginal and Islander sports hall of fame (1re éd. ed.). Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 9780855753672.
- ^ "Keith Saunders". BoxRec. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ Briggs, Ronald; Carr, Andy; Franks, Rachel (2015). "A Sporting Chance: Indigenous sports collections at the State Library of NSW". In Murray Phillips (Chair), Session 5. Sporting Traditions XX: Old Stories, New Histories – Biennial Conference of the Australian Society for Sports History, 1–3 July 2015, Darwin, Australia.
- ^ "Boxing match at Wellington Town Hall, Keith Saunders vs. Tuna Scanlan. Negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1959/2585-F". Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ Broome, Richard (1980). "Professional Aboriginal Boxers in Eastern Australia 1930-1979 [online]". Aboriginal History. 4: 49–72. ISSN 0314-8769. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "News and information [online]". Australian Aboriginal Studies. 1: 102–105. 1992. ISSN 0729-4352.
- ^ Saunders, Keith B; Rusden, Heather, 1948- (Interviewer); Saunders, Keith B., 1934–2003. Learning the ropes; Saunders, Keith B., 1934–2003. Myall Road (1994), Keith Saunders interviewed by Heather Rusden, retrieved 6 August 2015
{{citation}}:|author2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Keith B. Saunders literary papers, ca. 1992-1998". State Library of NSW. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Boxer's story pulls no punches". The Canberra Times. 23 January 1993. p. 27. Retrieved 6 August 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Saunders, Keith B (1998), Myall Road, Canberra Aboriginal Studies Press, ISBN 978-0-85575-314-6