Alderville

Fred Simpson - The Ojibway Thunderbolt - 1878-1945

In 1908 Fred Simpson was at the center of the Canadian Olympic program to capture gold in the London marathon, alongside fellow Onondaga Tom Longboat. Fred Simpson did not boast of his achievements, a difficult task for the local historian, and he did not leave us anything regarding his own reflections. The only words we may attribute to him are those that are in the memory of his grandchildren, now elders, but he certainly did not write anything or record anything of any type that would assist in filling out the blanks in his story.

His achievements, however, were strong enough to warrant a serious following by the major newspapers in Canada and as an Olympian he is part of a strong legacy in early Canadian amateur sport. 

That he was of the Mississauga Nation of the Anishinabek (sometimes referred to as a sub-tribe of the Ojibwe) makes him unique in all of this; as were his other fellow Indigenous competitors at the same time such as Tom Longboat, Lewis Tewenina of Arizona (1908/1912 Olympics), Hilton Green, Ben Howard, Joe Keeper (1912 Olympics), Albert Smoke (1920 Olympics) and Paul Acoose.

Simpson was born in Alderville in 1878 to James and Mary Simpson and raised there, losing both his parents by a relatively young age. His father drowned in Rice Lake when he was 5 and his mother passed probably by 1891, after which he was raised by his grandmother. During this period, that is after his birth in 1878, the Dominion Government was now administering the Indian Act on reserve and by all accounts it becomes a very oppressive situation, aimed at undermining First Nations self-governing authority. Much has been written and studied about the impacts of the Indian Act on First Nations people and Alderville was certainly affected.

Alderville was a relocation of what are known as the Bay of Quinte and Kingston Mississauga, who having been indigenous to that region, were later moved to Alnwick Township in Northumberland County in the mid-1830s. It was under the pressures of the government and the influence of the Canadian and Wesleyan Methodist conferences that the Mississaugas of the Bay area and Kingston eventually removed themselves to the Rice Lake area.

At Grape Island in the Bay of Quinte, this was the Methodist Mission created for their Christianization and education in 1826-27, and those that later made the trek to their new home at Alderville had come directly from there in 1837. Therefore, Fred Simpson was a product of that Methodist movement that had such a profound impact on the Mississauga Nation across the Lake Ontario frontier. In fact, his own paternal grandfather John Simpson the first, had converted to Methodism in 1828 at the Bay of Quinte and had travelled to New York City with the early Methodists on fundraising tours.

Young Fred was poor as so many were on the Reserves. Not having a father figure, he was never a "crackerjack of a trapper" as his eldest son once told this writer, but he was a crack shot with a .22 and an avid wild rice harvester. As a labourer and at about 5' 11" at adulthood and 145 pounds he was strong with great stamina as was noted by his friends. This stature would lead to him becoming one of the best distance runners in Canada during the first decade of the 20th century.

Around 1899 he moved to the Hiawatha reserve on the north shore of Rice Lake and married Susan Muskratt. Their first son John (the 3rd) was born in 1901 followed by Elizabeth Mae in 1903 and Lucy in 1904. It was in 1906 that Fred entered long distance running when he participated in the 10-mile Peterborough Examiner Road Race. By then he was living and working and raising his family at Hiawatha, working as a labourer for local farmers. Noticing his stamina in the fields it was friends that urged him to enter the 10-miler from Lakefield to Peterborough.

In this race he led for half of it and while at the end he placed third he did catch the eye of the local YMCA Harriers and from this point on became a member and began training for additional races. This would lead him into an amazing short period of marathon running that would eventually pit him against the best in the world.

Under the Harriers in Peterborough it was Dick Baker who had taken an interest and began to work with the young Mississauga. Simpson would go north in wintertime and work in the lumber camps and on the river drives at South River for instance keeping in shape. In the autumn of 1907 he was entered in the Hamilton Herald Road Race placing second and gaining local notoriety.  The Hamilton Herald Road Race was a premier long distance race on the continent by that time, next to the Boston Marathon. At 19 miles it was a gruelling test of one's ability as the Hamilton terrain is a tough one.

Simpson's fourth child Fred Jr, born in 1907, was named Frederick Herald in honour of his dad's second place finish. Had he won, Fred Sr. once said he would have named the young boy Frederick Hamilton Herald Simpson.

Olympics
Placing second at Hamilton put him in the limelight and over the next 8 months Baker would continue to work with his Mississauga runner so that by the time the 1908 Olympics were being arranged for London, England, Simpson was touted as one that may be a hopeful. He was scheduled for both the provincial and national trials for the Canadian Olympic team, placing fourth in both and winning a berth on the Canadian Olympic Marathon team, along with Harry Lawson, Tom Longboat, Billy Wood and Jack Caffrey to name other Canadian notables. 

On June 6th at the Canadian Olympic Finals he secured his place on the team to head for Britain. It was a gruelling race - only 14 of 32 runners were able to finish - but the Toronto Star noted that Simpson "was never in distress," and "ran a well judged race all the way."

Simpson's qualification for the Canadian team spurred Peterborough to an energetic fund-raising effort on his behalf "[N]ot only will the incidental expenses of the trip have to be paid" wrote the Examiner on June 10th, "but ... Simpson's wife and family of four small children, must be maintained while the bread-winner of the family is across the ocean." The efforts succeeded, raising more than $250 in a couple of days, and on June 11th, Simpson boarded the train for Montreal, whence the team was to set sail. That day's Examiner described the scene at the Peterborough station:

"When  the train pulled in all the team got out on the platform and as the tall form of the Peterborough Indian hove in sight, they gave him a cheer and then there was a great rush to shake hands with Simpson and his trainer. Both are evidently very popular with the Toronto athletes, who seemed sincerely glad to welcome them among the little bunch of men who are to bear the maple leaf of Canada before the eyes of the world... "

The Olympic marathon was run on July 24th, 1908 from Windsor Castle to the White City Stadium, and Longboat was among the front-runners when he was forced to withdraw late in the race. Simpson, for his part, finished the course in 3:04:28, coming home in a respectable sixth place, and second among the Canadians (William Wood finished fifth, three minutes ahead of Simpson). Harry Lawson, who had won the Olympic trial final in Canada, came seventh in 3:06:47. The marathon was won by Johnny Hayes of the United States, after Italian runner Dorando Pietri was disqualified for receiving assistance to finish the race. It is one of the most dramatic sporting events in the history of modern sport as the little Italian came into the stadium delirious and close to death. He fell four times and was aided across the line. This led to his disqualification.

1909 and afterward 
After London, Simpson would place second again in the 1908 Hamilton Herald Road Race, and then in the early winter of 1909 he turned professional to race on a circuit that would take him from Fort William to Savanna Georgia, from Chicago to New York City. Many of those who he had run against in the Olympic Marathon had also turned professional and so many of the races became barn burners at the old Polo Grounds, old Madison Square Garden, Riverdale Rink in Toronto.

The media had covered his progress quite extensively, such as the Globe, Peterborough Examiner and Toronto Star. Unlike his contemporary Tom Longboat, Simpson was portrayed more as the "good Indian" while Longboat the younger had been portrayed as the unruly Indian. The media of the day made no bones about identifying their ethnicity as either good or bad, advantageous or problematic. In other cases the media was nothing but purely racist by today's standards.

This writer grew up hearing great stories of Simpson in Georgia, in Chicago (when Gentleman Jim Corbett was an honorary starter of one of his races) and in Toronto where he would pit himself against the 10-mile indoor world record.

Simpson spent about 3 years as a pro, all the while raising his children with his wife, the family of which had grown to 5 children by 1910. By 1912 the professional marathon boom was all but over as war clouds gathered over Europe. Fred Simpson retired back to Hiawatha, where more children were born (and lost) and then in 1923 he moved the family back to his home at Alderville where he lived out the remainder of his life.

Conclusion
Fred Simpson came from a line of that part of the Mississauga Nation that once possessed the lands in and around the Bay of Quinte. His great-grandfather was one of the signatories to the Rideau Purchase (Treaty #27). After the move to Alderville in 1837 his grandfather was an early Chief here during the 1850s. They were all of the ahtik dodem (reindeer clan), so fitting for a man that could run so fast. Both his father, mentioned above, and uncle Alan Simpson drowned in Rice Lake and losing his mother also at a young age is a testament to his determination and drive that he would eventually become such a great runner. It probably set him free to run like a deer, at a time when "Indians" were the subject of the most racist and oppressive government legislation and policies that Canada has ever known.

At the same time, that did not stop him from dawning the maple leaf to go for the gold at London. His legacy survives at Alderville and we are proud to this day that he accomplished so much with so little.

Fred Simpson died on May 19th, 1945 at his house on the 'Cobourg  Road' (today's Highway 45) while tending to his chipyard splitting kindling. His wife Susan died a year later in 1946. Both are buried in Alderville on both sides of their daughter Olive who had died in 1939.

In 2011 a stone was placed at Simpson's unmarked grave in the Alderville First Nation cemetery commemorating his life and feats as a long-distance runner.

By Dave Mowat

Photos courtesy Dave Mowat

Amateur Fights Held in Victoria Hall’s Beautiful Opera House!

It may be hard to imagine, but some sixty years ago fight nights were among the entertainment highlights for visitors to Victoria Hall.

One didn't have to look far for an eager audience or even competitors. In the first half of the 20th Century most of the fights took place at the schoolyards in the area. In the 1940’s and 1950’s Mr Craig taught boxing on the top floor of the Sutherland Block. The Sutherland Block was built by John Sutherland, one-time Mayor and Town Clerk. The Customs House was located in Cobourg for many years as was the Smith Junior Ltd, a soda fountain equipment and syrup company and Bastian Brothers. Mr Craig lived and operated a grocery business in Cobourg. His boxing ring had regular matches between locals. The Sutherland block was located at Charles St on the west side of Division St. 

Some of the boxers in the 1950s included Bruce Richardson, Billy McBride and Billy Brisbin. The referees for an October 1952 fight card at the Recreational Center were Timer Fox and Jim Miskelly.

On June 1, 1953 Jim Miskelly held a meeting that led to the formation of the Cobourg Boxing Club. Home became the Market Building south of Victoria Hall. There was a legal sized ring for sparring and training plus speed bags and heavy bags. It was a haven for the young men who had grown up with their dads away at war.

Another boxing team was created and stationed at the Ordinance Depot. Newspaper articles describe boxers fighting at Kingston and Borden.

Cpl Ronnie Headley who was coach of the No 26 C.O.D hockey champs was formerly one of Canada’s outstanding boxers. He was born in Ottawa and started boxing at 14. He turned pro at 19 in 1929. Over the next 6 years he fought 97 times and according to the Ottawa Citizen lost only 2x. In a tour of the British Isles he won 12, lost 1, drew 1. BoxRec records 26 pro welterweight bouts between 1925-1935, 14 wins (4KOs) and 12 losses (4KOs). Headley retired in 1958 to Cobourg.

Emerson Charles and his younger brother, George Charles were among the best of the local fighters. Emerson "Chief" Charles went on to fight professionally out of Patterson, New Jersey, compiling a very respectable record in 1948-1953 of 16 decisions; 8 by knockout, 11 losses, 3 by knockout and 3 draws. He fought a total 121 rounds in 30 professional fights as a middleweight at numerous eastern U.S venues including Madison Square Gardens (2) & St Nicholas Arena (4) in NYC, Coney Island Velodrome in Brooklyn NY and Red Wing Stadium in Rochester NY. In one memorable bout at the Arena in Philadelphia he lost a six-round decision on points to Joey Giardello, then World Welterweight Champ.

While he was still fighting out of Cobourg, local coverage had this to say about one of the “Chief's” matches…“Cobourg's new found pugilistic hero invaded the rings of Peterborough last Thursday night and scalped another victim”

Little has been recorded about George “Gung” Charles’ success in the boxing ring. One quote was “Another Indian chap from Cobourg, George Charles, won a decision. He started like a buzz saw with a two-fisted attack and showed a lovely left. It was a nice fight.”

At the University of Toronto Henry (Hank) Henshall earned the title of Featherweight Boxing Champion for four years. He came to CDCI in 1950 to direct all boy’s athletics. In 1954 he displayed the first symptoms of Muscular Atrophy. He continued to coach and teach, gradually having to cut back. He tried to build a healthy rivalry between West and East schools by organizing CDCI’s first harrier race. 200 runners participated. During the running of the second race in 1962 Henshall died. The race is called Hank’s Harrier. 

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IT'S UNANIMOUS
By Layton Dodge
November 20, 1970 Cobourg Sentinel Star

AMATEUR BOXING RETURNED TO Cobourg after a long absence Tuesday night. It was an instant hit. Nearly 200 curious fight fans turned out at Cobourg Pavilion for the seven-bout card promoted by Fred Richardson of the new North-East Athletic Club. They were not disappointed.

The fourteen boxers responded with rousing matches that always made up in action what they may have lacked in finesse. If crowd reaction was the sole judge, the semi-final bout between Cobourg's John Taylor and Toronto's Luis Reed rated the headliner of the evening. Taylor, in only his second fight, became the first North-East AC member to savor victory when he scored a unanimous and popular decision over the fancy-stepping Jamaican.

In his first scrap before his hometown fans, the 167-pound Taylor really won the crowd and the bout when he caught Reed with a booming right uppercut in the second round and knocked the Toronto boxer on the canvas. Following a close opening round, Taylor opened up in the second and controlled the fight thereafter. A flurry of punches by Taylor midway in the second round took most of the starch out of Reed and put him on the defensive. The Cobourg boxer had Reed in trouble again in the third round, staggering him twice with several combinations.

In the main event, 125-pound Tom Bland Jr. of Toronto Pioneer Club earned a unanimous verdict over John Biel of Oshawa. The loser didn't quite belong in Bland's class, although he did show an ability to absorb punishment well. Biel did land several solid blows in the bout but wound up with a bloody nose in return. It marked the second straight win this month for the 23 year old Bland. 

Three other Blands also appeared on the card in preliminaries. Fourteen-year-old Jimmy won a split decision from Curtis Redman Cress, posting his fourth consecutive victory in the process. Albert Bland, 21, dropped a split decision to Joe Rumundi of Toronto in a welterweight bout. David (Spider) Bland was overpowered by 17 year old John Riley of Toronto. 

Riley stopped Bland with a solid right and was awarded a TKO at 1:25 of the first round. Riley, who outweighed his opponent by 11 pounds, is trained by Bill Felstein, brother of Bob "Pretty Boy" Felstein, contender for the Canadian heavyweight championship. "He has a killer instinct," Felstein pointed out after the bout in reference to Riley. "I have to take some of it out of him and teach him how to box. For Riley, who's been lifting weights since he was 12 and looked every bit the part, it was only his second fight. 

Despite a lack of conditioning and training, heavyweight Ralph Miller of Cobourg stepped in against Oshawa's Tom Bouckley and gave an excellent account of himself, even though beaten on a split decision. Lightweights Paul Ferguson and David Quinlin, both of the North-East Athletic Club, flailed away for 3 rounds in another bout. Appropriately, the match ended in a draw. Both boys tired noticeably in the final round.

Cobourg officials for the fights included judge Glen Dafoe, who fought 55 times as an amateur; and old-timer Jack Henning, former Canadian middleweight champion in the 1920s.

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Moving On
By Layton Dodge
September 12, 1972  Cobourg Sentinel Star

EFFECTIVE TODAY. FRED RICHARDSON is moving his large family and the base of his small North East Athletic Club operations to Oshawa. Father of 11 children and the revival of amateur boxing in this area, Richardson is returning to live in the city where he formerly had a gym and a boxing club on Court Street.

“I’m not moving because I don’t like it here” Richardson emphasized.” It’s the travelling I want to cut down on,” he noted. Fred has been commuting from his residence at RR3 Baltimore to work at General Motors for more than two years. "I'll have my roots in Oshawa but, for sure, I want the boxing club to carry on here," Richardson told the Sentinel-Star on Wednesday. "Whatever I can do to help, I'll do it and there are ways; he said. 

The North East AC will be continued in Oshawa. Richardson expects to have a gym in Oshawa and to join forces with the Oshawa club's Ron Cyr with whom he's been closely associated in the past anyway. Heavyweight Ralph Miller, who has been an active member of the North East AC almost from inception more than two years ago, is expected to travel once a week to Oshawa for sparring sessions. So is Roy Sanders, a middleweight.

The two boxers, who'll likely work out here on their own, could be joined by Danny Washburn. In any event, Richardson intends to use the Cobourg district fighters in his monthly boxing promotions in Oshawa starting October 17.

The switch to Oshawa will be yet another stop for the North East AC. It's operated at one time or another out of Fenella, the Lions Scout Hall in Cobourg and out of Richardson's basement where he had his own home-built ring and bags set up.

Boxing never really caught on here in a big way. Many boys and young men tried the sport but few stayed at it for long. It's a game requiring mental and physical toughness only a minority care to bear. Richardson was disappointed that fine prospects like John Taylor and Mike Boyle didn't pursue boxing further but he never became overly discouraged. He always maintained that the number of boxers who trained with him was higher than in most centres of comparable size.

Richardson promoted several shows here. Only the first at the Pavilion and the one held at Cobourg Arena in May of 1971 could be termed successful at the box office. He took a financial bath in his latest endeavor this summer.

"Oshawa and the North East AC will work as a unit, especially in promotions and in training together at least once a week” assured the ring veteran who's been connected with the fight game for nearly 14 years. "You probably haven't heard the last of me," Richardson exclaimed. "I'll come back, I hope, and it's only a hope at the moment, to promote a show here before Christmas."

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DAN WASHBURN FIGHT

Danny Washburn of the North East Athletic Club will climb through the ropes for his second amateur fight next Monday night on a boxing card in Toronto. The 16,year old CDCI East student, who lives at RR1 Castleton, will trade punches with Glenn (Rocky) Broadley of the Clairlea Boxing Club. Both boys have just one bout under their belt, so neither will have any edge in ring experience. Washburn will carry 118 pounds on his 5 foot 5 frame into the match. Danny will weigh in lighter than for his previous bout in which he battled back in the third round to earn a draw with his Toronto opponent. While acknowledging the fact that he's dropped almost 12 pounds in recent months, Washburn feels the weight loss has not sapped his strength. 

Washburn almost gave up the sport before he engaged in his first scrap. He trained under Fred Richardson for quite a spell but then stopped. Richardson talked him into turning out to train again at a Centreton ball game this summer and later lined up his first fight for him. "He has the makings of a boxer, no two ways about it," Richardson said of Washburn this week. "Danny has the guts. He will mix it up and he will train. It remains to be seen whether he has the stick-to-it power."
 

Updated August 2020