Andrew Jephtha

South African born Andrew Jephtha (pronounced Jaaftar), was the first black fighter to win a British boxing championship. Born in Cape Town in about 1877, by 15, Jephtha had realised he had a talent for boxing, and had begun competing. By 1902, he was fighting in England.

He is said to have met Abby Mitchell at the Cardwell Arms, Adlington, Lancashire, her father’s pub. The pair are said to have eloped together shortly after meeting, marrying in Marylebone in early 1904. The couple went on to have four children over the next decade, and judging by his children’s birthplaces, I'd imagine Abby travelled around the country with him. 

Much has been written about his career already, by those with a better understanding of boxing than I do. However, it peaked in 1907 when he K.O’d the British welterweight champion, Curley Watson, in four rounds becoming the first black fighter to win a British boxing title.

However, by this point, his eyesight was failing, but having a family to feed, he carried on fighting when he could. He also took part in a Vaudeville play, named 'Black and White', where he took yet more blows to the head.


Andrew Jephtha c1910. Source

His ticket paid for by a kind benefactor, he spent eighteen months in 1912-13 in South Africa with the hope that his native air would restore his eyesight. He spoke to the Cape Times that he was “very anxious to get back to England to his wife and children”. 

Described as “penniless” and a “pitiful case” by the press, he also wrote the story of his career with the aim of publishing it, stating “I only wish to make a few shillings a week”. During this time, he was said to be seen sitting on on the pavement by the flower sellers in Adderley Street, and selling a booklet containing these memoirs.

The boxing community ran fundraisers and collections on his behalf, which meant he was able to undergo several eye operations with a possible chance of restoring his sight. It also bought him a sweet and tobacconist ship in Walthamstow, London, to which he intended to add a news agency, but it seems he was unable to continue with this plan when he lost his eyesight completely. 

Many online sources state he returned to Cape Town without his wife and died there in 1920, but there is evidence to the contrary. An article in the Daily Herald in January 1922 stated that he had been granted £2 a month for six months from the Boxers’ Benevolent Fund. The Liverpool Echo stated in June 1923 that he was an inmate of the Royal Infirmary at Liverpool where he had undergone an operation on his eyes, and went so far as to state his ward number so that any friends reading the article could visit him.

Andrew Jephtha c1907 - Source


He lived at 19/21* Chorley Road, Adlington, with his family until at least 1924, before moving to 14 Railway Road Adlington by 1927 where he lived for his remaining few years in the country. An article in the Daily Herald in June 1930 mentioned that he was hoping to return to his native country that summer. I think it’s likely that he made this trip back to South Africa, where he then died, as there is no death registered for him in Britain and he isn’t seen on electoral rolls after this point.

I suspect he was the Andrew Jephtha who died of pneumonia on 01 September 1931 aged 54, and was buried at Wynberg Cemetery. The address provided was 93 Chapel Street, Cape Town, a twenty-minute walk from Adderley Street where he had sat selling his memoirs.


*It’s unclear whether the family lived in both houses, or whether renumbering occurred between the 1911 census and the 1920 electoral roll.

Sources

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