To Honor Bob Fitzsimmons

We made our goal!  Thanks very much to all of our contributors!

 

Mr. Fitzsimmons was the first professional boxer to win World Championships in three weight divisions: Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight.

"Ruby Bob" (so called for his red hair) was born in Helston, Cornwall, spent his youth in Timaru, New Zealand and based his career in the USA. He lived large and casts a long shadow. His fame was at superstar level at his peak in the late 1890s. He is still a legend over a century later. Sadly, he was taken at age 54. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.

Several years ago, on a visit to Graceland, I discovered that his headstone was sunken, damaged and forgotten. It didn’t seem right to me that a man of his stature should be neglected in this way.

Eventually, I began to do something about it.

The people at Graceland cemetery have done a lot to help. Once alerted to the situation, they raised and cleaned his headstone. I’m grateful to them for that.

What remains to be done is first to establish a permanent floral tribute around his stone in the form of perennial flowers which will bloom every spring to refresh the beauty of Mr. Fitzsimmons’ resting place. The other thing will be to attach a bronze plaque to his stone which will replace the two memorial pictures that were on the stone originally and are now missing. The plaque will give a short history of Mr. Fitzsimmons' life and career.

For these things to be done, we need to raise $1,165.00. Please donate if you would like to contribute to this effort to show proper respect for Mr. Fitzsimmons and help him to be remembered and honored. Any help will be appreciated.

Those outside the USA, please contribute using a USD amount. Conversion will take place when your credit card is charged.