Sunday History Photo / Au

The drum would start beating to draw the crowd. People would be attracted by the noise, and come drifting across the rutted dusty Showground towards the stand. There they would stand, while the spruker expounded the virtues of the fighters.

"Come on, come on, come on. Give it a go. Survive three rounds and we will give you five pounds."



Each fighter would be brought forward and introduced to the crowd. "Surely some of you blokes can beat him. Three rounds, five pounds." The locals would hold up their hands and be called into the stand to be fitted out.
Inside near the ring, people sat and waited on the hard seats while the dust motes drifted in the sunlight streaming down onto the ring. The fighters were brought out and introduced, the troupe fighter and then the local challenger. The bell sounded, and the fight began.
Jimmy Sharman Snr (1887-1965) found at a very young age that he could make money by fighting in the boxing tents in the district shows. After running away from home and engaging in fights with crude rings and equipment, he established his own boxing troupe that travelled to about 50 shows a year, the largest being the Sydney Royal Easter Show.





By 1915 his Sharman Troupe was well established, his gravelly voice yelling out his catchcry invitations to the public to enter the tent and fight against one of the Sharman stable of fighters: “Who’ll take a glove?” and “A round or two for a pound or two.” (“Pound” was the then form of currency). For the next 40 years he remained a fixture of sideshow alley, customers paying their two bob (two shillings) to view fights.
By today’s standards such a display would be barbaric and dangerous; by the standards of the day it was quite acceptable.
Sharman maintained a strict code: no consumption of alcohol by fighters or spectators; no mismatched fights; no punchy fighters, and no race discrimination, a progressive position considering the nature of the would-be fighters (usually the local thugs and brawlers) with whom he was dealing, the attitudes of the period and that quite a number of his fighters were black.

Jimmy Sharman junior was born in Narrandera, New South Wales. He attended his first Sydney Royal Easter Show in 1926 working in his father's tent. He played rugby league for Western Suburbs Magpies. He was fullback in Western Suburbs' 1934 premiership win. In 1938 he became First Grade captain. He retired after 7 seasons in 1939 to become a journalist, taking over the boxing tent from his father in 1955. Sharman played 45 games between 1935 and 1939, scored 12 tries and kicked 11 goals. He was unable to serve during World War 11 because of ulcers, being ruled medically unfit.



In 1955 he took over the boxing tent from his father and toured until 1971, when regulations were introduced prohibiting boxers having more than one fight per week. That was the end of the Sharman Boxing Troupe. He was awarded life membership of Western Suburbs Magpies in 1998.

For six decades the Sharman tent had followed the show circuit in 4 states for 11 months each year. Today it is a memory.
Jimmy Sharman did not leave the shows, instead he became involved in the dodgem cars with his mate, TV mogul Reg Grundy.

Jimmy Sharman Jnr also had one son, like his father named James. James was also known as Jim and, although not involved in fighting, he is also a showman of sort. A director and writer of film and stage, he is internationally best known as the co-writer and director of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.



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