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Old 02-13-2018, 11:44 PM   #174
professordp
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Location: New Jersey
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Cheaper by the Pound

What would you do if a thirty-five year old, 400 pound Bible
salesman appeared on your doorstep? Well, if you were the madcap boxing impresario, Pat O'Grady, you'd convince him to become a professional boxer. And that's how Claude "Humphrey" McBride became a fighter.


Rather than go through an extended dissertation, I thought it more constructive to examine the highlights of his career...and there were a number of them!


The nickname, "Humphrey", comes from a character in the Joe Palooka comic strip, Humphrey Pennyworth, whom McBride emulated right down to the polka dot shorts and tank top. His middle name was actually Herman.


His very first opponent was Henry Glass in 1971 whom he kayoed in two. Seven years later, McBride closed out his career by again knocking Glass out in two rounds. I guess life can be a 360 degree experience.


He traded off his weight by fighting guys who had no ring experience like Baby Hughie and perennial punching bags like Sherman Goodman
(3-20-0) whom he fought four times. In short, virtually all his victories came against the lowest levels of Chris' Sub-Zero template.


He's in the Guinness World Record Book along with James Black for participating the heaviest combined professional boxing match. McBride weighed in at 340 while Black tipped the scales at 360. Sounds more like a sumo contest!


McBride NEVER fought Henry Hank. On February 5, 1972 he outpointed Chief Sonny Hanks in ten. Some reports erroneously state
that it was the great slugger Henry Hank...never happened! By the way, this was Chief Sonny's only pro fight, according to BoxRec.


The "high point" of his career was a majority ten round decision over Terry Daniels. According to press accounts, Daniels, who gave up more than seventy pounds to McBride, appeared to be sort of a funk for the fight's duration. The bout was staged in Oklahoma City, where "Humphrey" fought almost all of his matches. Subsequently, Daniels
wrote a letter to Boxing Illustrated charging he was the victim of a "hometown decision".


McBride was completely annihilated in three rounds by Buster Mathis for the "World Superheavyweight Championship" in 1972. The "title" was the creation of Boxing Illustrated's Lew Eskin and was never universally recognized.


Following the beating from Mathis, McBride's career pretty much went into a downward spiral. Third tier fighters like Jimmy Cross, Alvin "Blue" Lewis, and John Dino Denis all mopped the floor with him,


In 1973, McBride meet BoBo Bash in a bout the had a bizarre ending. Although outweighed by over seventy pounds, Bash was somehow able to shove Claude to the canvas in the second round. McBride hit his head of the ring apron, was knocked unconscious, and given a ten count by the ref.


In 1975, he staged a "comeback" of sorts with three consecutive kayos over nobodies and then took nearly two years off. Claude finished off where he started by knocking out the aforementioned Henry Glass. In 1978 at the age of forty-two he called it a career.


Now there are fighters who could hold their own in the boxing ring despite carrying excessive pounds. Tony Galento and Buster Mathis immediately come to mind. Then there's a tradition of grossly overweight "attractions", spanning from Tommy "Fatty" Langtry to Eric "Butterbean" Esch. Claude McBride's in this latter category.


The polka dot trunks and cap along with the role-playing as "Humphrey Pennyworth", in the end, defines McBride. His appeal rested more with being a curiosity than a boxer.


As far as using McBride in a simulation, I'd have him as Prime up to and including the Daniels fight. At that point he was in his mid-thirties. So was Ron Lyle when he got started...although I'm drawing any comparisons. After that, I'd fight him as Post-Prime.


Finally, he should be set as a "Hometown Favorite". Only three of his forty-four fights took place outside of Oklahoma.
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Last edited by professordp; 02-14-2018 at 01:42 AM.
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