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Orpington & District Amateur Boxing Club is a boxing club located in Orpington , Kent, England. The club was originally established as Orpington Lads Club in 1912 by the St. Mary Cray Scout Troop, a scout group in St. Mary's Cray. Its purpose was to support underprivileged young men in the Orpington area.
Over the years, the club has produced numerous notable amateur champions and has had several distinguished former members. Some of these include Jimmy Cable , Albert Hillman, and Mark Baker.
The club won the most school boy titles of any club in Kent during the period from 1962 to 1980 and also held the Kent and Southern counties school boy championships. Due to the clubs position on Kent borders the club also went on to box in the South East Divisional's winning multiple London titles. The club later affiliated to Surrey ABA Southern counties, when located in Westerham in 1986.
The club holds the distinction of being one of the oldest boxing gyms in Kent and is currently situated in Pettswood. Its name was changed to Orpington & District Amateur Boxing Club in 1936 under the guidance of former professional boxer Harry Taylor, who introduced the prestigious Taylor's Cup.
In 1937 under the guidance of Harry Taylor his stable of boxers put on various tournaments to raise funds for Cray Wanders Football Club to prevent it from closing.
During World War II, the club temporarily closed down. It wasn't until 1962, under the leadership of Alf Reilly at St. Joseph's Boys School in Orpington and Eric Lubbock MP as the president , that the club reopened. It later moved to St. Mary's Cray Sea Cadet Hall and then the Rose Croft Social Club in the late 1960s and 1970s, With Jack Stewart the then president of the Rosecroft ensuring the club had a home until he resigned in 1980.
Orpington & District ABC has a rich history of producing champions, including Mick Spencer, Gary Cable, Alan Cable, Johnny Hillman, Albert Hillman, Mark Baker, Robert Mullholland, Robert Stacey, Terry Pearson, and Ray Mason.
In 1966, the club successfully raised funds to build the Magpie Hall Lane Youth Centre in Southborough. It briefly operated from the Youth Centre at Magpie Hall Lane Pettswood before relocating to the Rosecroft social club in St.Mary’s cray coached by ex England international and national champion and previous boxer for the club Mick Spencer.
The club then relocated behind the Queenshead public house in Green St. Green in 1980 with Mick Spencer moving to the Fitzroy lodge. Ex pro Arthur Davis was now the head coach.In 1986, the club moved again, due lack of funding and unsuitable venue, this time to Westerham, where it merged with the Sir Winston Churchill Boxing Club,and the Spitfire Boxing club Bigginhill with Jimmy Cable serving as president and John Hart as coach. During this period, the club continued to produce national champions such as Robert Stacey and Mark Baker.
Unfortunately, the club faced challenges in the 1990s, leading to temporary closures due to a lack of venues and funding. However, in 2007 the Cray valley boxing club claimed the Orpington & District ABC name and briefly re-opened and again produced regional champions under coach Olly Rutherford. The club sadly closed in 2013 due to lack of funding yet again.
Orpington & District ABC reopened its doors in again Pettswood 2024 with an 15 year lease, ensuring the continuation of its legacy in the boxing community.
The club is the only official boxing club affiliated to the National Governing Body England Boxing & Sport England.
The club also has a professional affiliation to the British Boxing Board of Control.
The club is now run by ex boxers & family members of the original Orpington & District ABC.
References
Category:Boxing clubs in England Category:Sport in Kent Category:Orpington