Tony Byrne “Sock it to him Anthony!”

[from the Appletree Press title Legends of Irish Boxing published by Appletree Press]

Byrne’s first bout in Melbourne saw the Drogheda man drawn to meet the Czech Josef Chovanec. Byrne was victorious in the bout as his opponent was disqualified in the third round and led by the referee to his corner. Standing just three rounds away from a bronze medal, Byrne was drawn against the American champion, Louis Molina.
      A tough battle ensued with the American which Byrne won on a points’ decision. He, along with John Caldwell, Freddie Gilroy and Fred Tiedt, was now into the Olympic semi-finals and one fight away from a crack at the gold medal.
      Byrne’s opponent in the semi-final was to be the West German, Harry Kurschat. In an international earlier that year, Byrne had defeated the German who had beaten Kurschat in their national championships and expectations were high. It was not to be however as the German displayed greater technique and scoring ability to get the decision over Byrne on points. In the other semi-final, the talented Scot Dick McTaggart saw off the challenge of the Russian, Anatoli Lagetko, and subsequently took the gold medal with a win over Byrne’s semi-final opponent.
      Sitting in the arena that night watching the finals, Byrne saw McTaggart crowned also as the most stylish fighters of the Games. In January 1957, Byrne was afforded an opportunity to meet the new golden boy of British boxing.
      At the Royal Albert Hall on 30th January 1957, Byrne met McTaggart, who was representing England as a member of the Royal Air Force. The Drogheda man caught the champion in the second round and sent him to the canvas. He was awarded the bout after three bruising rounds and the Scot was left to think how lucky he had been to win the gold medal in Melbourne. Strangely, with the scarcity of televisions in Ireland, the fight was witnessed live by hundreds of people on the television of the McKinney family in Drogheda’s Pearse Street, such was the interest in ‘Socks’.
      Before Tony Byrne left the Olympic Games for Ireland with Harry Perry, the Irish team witnessed a water polo match that has gone down as one of the most famous events of the Melbourne Olympics. Byrne recalled the clash betweeen the USSR and Hungary in the Olympic Pool that became known as the ‘Blood in the Water’ match. The Melbourne Games were over-shadowed by the Russian invasion of Hungary and the match between the two sides ended in chaos.
      “The crowd was all for the Hungarians after what had happened with the invasion the previous month. Hungary were winning and the match degenerated into a bloody fight that threatened to turn into a riot in the crowd. I could not believe what I was witnessing and the police came in to restore calm. I will never forget that day as it showed what could happen when sport and politics mixed.”
      Being an Olympic representative from Drogheda meant that you were quite a popular character in your hometown. Byrne’s arrival back to the Co. Louth town, on 16th December, was to a massive civic reception hosted by the then Mayor, Alderman Lawrence Walsh. The Olympic hero was paraded through the crowds to George’s Square led by the Drogheda Brass and Reed Band. The people of Drogheda paid tribute to ‘Socks’ and a presentation concert took place in his honour at the Gate Cinema the following Wednesday evening.
      By 1957, Tony Byrne was employed by the local Galbraith’s bakery. He worked as a deliveryman paid on a commission only basis. One event in 1962, which led to him departing the company, changed his life forever.
      “I was basically employed on a commission basis so there were no real fixed hours to the job and I did not work on a nine-to-six basis. It suited me as I could train also and keep the job going at the same time. Sometimes I would start later and work well into the evening in order to see clients but this did not suit my manager and we fell out over it. Eventually the firm told me that I would have to follow their rules and work as they saw fit and I thought it was unfair. So I said to my wife Honor that that was me finished with the bakery and the very next day I was at the emigration office and on my way to Canada.”
     

Read the third part of Tony "Socks" Byrne - “Sock it to him Anthony!”
From the Appletree Press title: Legends of Irish Boxing by Barry Flynn.