ERA III. The Outlaw Era (1876-1919)
Rule changes in British boxing took into account not only shifts in societal norms but the inescapable fact that the sport was illegal. According to English law, as reported in William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69), “a tilt or tournament, the martial diversion of our ancestors is an unlawful act: and so are boxing and sword playing, the succeeding amusements of their posterity.” However, widespread public support for boxing in England led to legal laxity and inconsistency of enforcement.
In the United States the response was different. With a combination of Puritan values and fears of lawlessness often produced heightened judicial vigilance. As the frequency of prizefights increased, various states moved beyond general and sometimes vague statutes concerning assault and enacted laws that expressly forbade fistfights. In 1876 the Massachusetts State Supreme Court confirmed its intention to maintain a lawful and ordered society by ruling that “prizefighting, boxing matches, and encounters of that kind serve no useful purpose, tend to breaches of the peace, and are unlawful even when entered into by agreement and without anger or ill will.” Boxing thus took a course of evasion by bringing a greater appearance of order to the sport through changes in rules and by relocation to more lenient environments. Matches were frequently held in remote backwaters and were not openly publicized in order that the fighters might avoid arrest; barges were also used as fight venues because they could be located in waters outside U.S. legal jurisdiction and fights could be held unimpeded.
Eventually the ever-growing popularity and profitability of the sport combined with its hero-making potential forced a reconsideration of boxing’s value by many state authorities. The fact that the heavyweight champion of boxing came to symbolize American might and resolve, even dominance, had a significant impact on the sport’s acceptance. Likewise, its role as a training tool in World War I left many with the impression that boxing, if conducted under proper conditions, lent itself to the development of skill, courage, and character. Thus, the very authorities who had fined and jailed pugilists came to sanction and regulate their activities through state boxing and athletic commissions. State regulation became the middle ground between outright prohibition and unfettered legalization. While the legal stranglehold on boxing was almost completely lifted by 1919, from 1876-1919 was illegal in most of the world!
This is how this Outlaw Era effects this game:
- In 1876 in many US States and many Countries around the world, Boxing became illegal, thus promoters were not able to publicize fights. If a fight was openly publicized there was a greater danger in the Police actually stopping the bouts. (In this game some fights will be halted by Police Officers and even some of the Fighters will be jailed for a period of time!)
- Most fights were held on barges out in the water, back fields and hidden rooms. This caused the attendance for most fights to be smaller than in the past. Ever so often, a large crowd was able to gather, but these were only in the few areas where Boxing had not been banned. In this game this will directly affect attendance if you choose to use the Venues and Attendance Optional Rules.