Tommy Farr and the Cambrian Colliery

Tommy Farr (1913-1986), the Clydach Vale heavyweight who took Joe Louis the full fifteen rounds for the world title in 1937, worked as a boy at the Cambrian Colliery, and on the night of the fight the colliery changed its shift times so its men could listen.

The mining history in this record

Thomas George Farr was born at 3 Railway Terrace, Clydach Vale, on 12 March 1913, one of eight children of George Farr, an Irishman from Cork, and Sarah Ann Owen. His mother died in 1922 and his father, paralysed by a long illness, in 1932. Like most Rhondda boys he left school early and went underground to help keep the family, at the Cambrian Colliery in Clydach Vale; he hated the work and soon left it for a string of casual jobs and what he called long nightmares of unemployment.

Boxing came early: the records show him beating Jack Lord over six rounds at Tonypandy in December 1926, aged twelve. Joby Churchill, a former miner and his lifelong friend, sent him to Joe Gess's boxing booth at Tylorstown, and from sixteen to eighteen he fought the booths of South Wales four or five times a day. He walked to London at eighteen, lost his first fight there to Eddie Steele and came home to Clydach. On the Welsh circuit he beat Randy Jones at Tonypandy on 22 July 1933 for the Welsh light-heavyweight title, took the Welsh heavyweight title in 1936, and on 15 March 1937 outpointed Ben Foord over fifteen rounds at Harringay for the British and Empire heavyweight championships. Wins over Max Baer and Walter Neusel followed, and the Tonypandy Terror was matched with Joe Louis for the world heavyweight title.

The fight was at the Yankee Stadium, New York, on 30 August 1937, before a crowd of more than thirty thousand. In the Rhondda it was three in the morning; thousands stayed up for the live commentary, a Cardiff electrical shop sold out of radiograms, loudspeakers were set up in public halls, and the Cambrian Colliery changed its shift times for the night. Farr lasted the full fifteen rounds and lost on points, a decision the crowd booed: the referee had it thirteen rounds to one, the judges eight to five and nine to six. He was one of only three of Louis's title challengers to go the distance, Louis later called him the toughest fighter he had met, and The Ring named it the fight of the year.

People

Tommy Farr (1913-1986), born Clydach Vale, British and Empire heavyweight champion 1937-38. Joby Churchill, former miner, saddler and Farr's lifelong friend, who sent him to the Tylorstown booth. George Farr (died 1932), his father, from Cork.

Legacy today

Farr relinquished his British titles in 1938 to fight in the United States, retired in 1940, came back at thirty-six in 1950 and fought his last contest on 17 May 1953, then wrote a boxing column for a national newspaper. He died at his home in Sussex on St David's Day, 1 March 1986, and his ashes were buried in his parents' grave at Trealaw Cemetery, Tonypandy, beneath the marble monument he had put up for them, inscribed 'In Death reunited'. He was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. Rhondda Cynon Taf's heritage trail counts him among Clydach Vale's famous sons, and Theatr na nÓg's teaching pack on Welsh miner-boxers lists him beside Jimmy Wilde, Frank Moody, Dai Dower and Bill Beynon, each with his pit.

The fight-record compilations do not agree: Wikipedia and the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame count 84 wins, 34 losses and 17 draws from about 137 fights, while boxinghistory.org.uk, which includes the early Welsh contests, records 175 with 96 won.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Thomas George Farr was born at 3 Railway Terrace, Clydach Vale, on 12 March 1913. (documented fact) ^1,2,3
• Farr worked at the Cambrian Colliery, Clydach Vale, before he boxed for a living. (later recollection) ^1,4
• He left school young and went to work in the mines to help support his family, hated the life and soon quit. (later recollection) ²
• For the Joe Louis fight the Cambrian Colliery changed its shift times, and loudspeakers were set up in public halls. (later recollection) ¹
• He won the British and Empire heavyweight titles by outpointing Ben Foord over fifteen rounds at Harringay on 15 March 1937. (documented fact) ^5,3
• He fought Joe Louis for the world heavyweight title at the Yankee Stadium, New York, on 30 August 1937, lasting the full fifteen rounds and losing on points. (documented fact) ^2,5,3,6
• Thousands in the Rhondda stayed up to hear the live broadcast of the Louis fight at 3 a.m. (later recollection) ^2,6
• Farr's professional record is given as 137 fights, 84 won, 34 lost and 17 drawn. (documented fact, disputed) ^3,6
• Boxinghistory.org.uk lists 175 recorded contests for Farr: 96 won, 43 lost, 22 drawn and 14 other results. (documented fact, disputed) ⁵
• Farr died on 1 March 1986 and his ashes were buried in his parents' grave at Trealaw Cemetery, Tonypandy. (documented fact) ^1,2,3
• He was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. (documented fact) ^3,6

Mines

• Cambrian Colliery — Rhondda Cynon Taf
  Farr worked at the Cambrian as a boy, and in August 1937 the colliery changed its shift times so its men could hear his fight with Joe Louis.

Regions

Rhondda Cynon Taf

Real-world mining concepts used here

Colliery

Related Culture records

• Jimmy Wilde and Tylorstown Colliery
  Another Rhondda collier who became a boxing champion; Theatr na nÓg's miner-boxers resource lists the two side by side.

Sources

1. (secondary) Tommy Farr 1913-1986 (John Ball, Trealaw Cemetery feature) — People's Collection Wales
2. (secondary) Tommy Farr (Rhondda heritage trail) — Rhondda Cynon Taf Libraries
3. (secondary) Tommy Farr — Wikipedia
4. (secondary) Miner Boxers: Top Trumps (teaching resource) — Theatr na nÓg
5. (secondary) Tommy Farr (Clydach Vale): fight record — boxinghistory.org.uk
6. (secondary) Tommy Farr — Welsh Sports Hall of Fame

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 20 October 2026