Autobiography

I remember it well as I watched on a little
black and white television, hoping to see my
brother box. He was first reserve and didn’t
make it, but to this day he expresses his relief
that he wasn’t picked just in case he had lost
and the match had finished 9–1!
Ralph was an international and boxed for
England many times, but refused to turn
professional because by then we had made our
start in business. He considered the prospect
several times but eventually turned his back on
a boxing career. He was up before six a.m.
most mornings to run along the sewer bank
that ran from Barking through to Canning
Town and trained at least four nights a week in
the gym.
He reached the Schoolboy Finals, but his big
night was the London Championships at the
Royal Albert Hall in 1961 with the fights being
shown on live television. He was even
interviewed by the legendary, up-and-coming
boxing commentator Harry Carpenter.
The problem was my nervous brother couldn’t
remember Harry’s first name and called him
Paul, mixing him up with the film star Paul
Carpenter. Harry responded by calling my
brother Larry, after the famous bandleader
Larry Gold. Ralph suddenly remembered the
commentator’s proper name, but dropped the
‘H’ calling him ‘Arry, so Harry dropped the ‘R’
and called him Alf.
But Ralph had the last laugh when he beat the
favourite Keith Waterhouse in the final to
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