Jack Garland

When Belfast’s Jack Garland beat Barney McGhee to win the 1928 ABA bantamweight title he became the first Ulsterman to win an ABA title. Garland went to the Amsterdam Olympics that year but was eliminated by the eventual gold medallist Vittorio Tamagnini of Italy.

Garland served in the Army with the Gordon Highlanders and was an Army champion, and twice a winner of the Imperial Service title. He left the Army at the end of 1928 and turned professional. Between 1929-35 he had 73 fights, with a 33-35-5 record. Garland beat Frank McAloran to win the Irish featherweight title in 1930, and made one successful defence before losing it to Jackie Flynn in 1932. At Belle Vue, Manchester, in 1931, Garland went 15 rounds in a non-title fight with world champion Panama Al Brown. A few months later, when Garland was on the undercard for the Al Brown -Teddy Baldock contest, he took Nel Tarleton the distance, before losing on points over 12 rounds. Six months later, Tarleton was the British featherweight champion.