New boxing archive has a nice ring to it

Scotland’s proud boxing history is to be preserved in a new archive - housed at the University of Stirling - following a funding award by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The University has received support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to create ‘Tales from the Ring: Celebrating Scotland’s Boxing Heritage’. The project will work with 12 members of the Scottish Ex-Boxers Association to create an archive of material and oral histories to identify and explain the country’s boxing heritage.

An accompanying exhibition will also be created, with the items on display at the University’s Stirling campus. It will also be available to experience online, allowing as wide an audience as possible to learn about Scotland’s boxing heritage.

Scottish boxer Hugh Riley training on board the SS Tamora en route to the 1950 Games in Auckland, New Zealand

Karl Magee, University Archivist, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help us promote and preserve the history of Scottish boxing.

“The University of Stirling Archives holds one of the largest collections of sporting archives in the country, including the Commonwealth Games Scotland Archive, and this new project continues our commitment to supporting Scotland’s sporting heritage.”

Inspire

Caroline Clark, Director of Scotland, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Our sporting heritage is part of the rich tapestry on which our lives are built. The National Lottery Heritage Fund wants to inspire as many people as possible to learn from and enjoy that rich legacy, as well as keeping it safe for future generation. We’re delighted that Tales from the Ring is helping do just that and we wish them well.”

Ex-boxers already taking part in the project include Dick McTaggart, gold medallist at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games. The project team are keen to hear from other ex-boxers and their families who are interested in providing an oral history or items for the exhibition.

The project, supported by £9,900 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is scheduled to run until January 2020 and will archive items to international standards ensuring they will be preserved in better condition. The University’s expert team of archivists will also provide training to members of the Sporting Memories Foundation Scotland, supporting them in their work bringing people together through the power of sport.