Johnny Douglas

John William Henry Tyler "Johnny" Douglas ( born September 3, 1882 in London, † December 19, 1930 off the coast of Denmark at Læsø ) was an English cricketer and boxer.

Douglas was distantly related to the Marquess of Queensberry, after the Queensberry rules are named. His father was successful in the timber trade with Scandinavia operates in Covent Garden had a boxing club and was president of the English boxing federation. Already during his school years, Douglas proved to be a talented boxer and won several champions. In 1905 he was English amateur champion at middleweight.

He participated in the Olympic Games 1908 in London and was part of Olympic champion. In the final he defeated the Australians Reginald Baker on points. The fight was so considered scarce that was later claimed frequently and persistently, the judges would not be able to agree on a winner and Douglas ' father decided as the main referee the fight in favor of his son. But in truth this was only responsible for the awarding of medals in his capacity as president of the association. After Baker, who later made a career in Hollywood, 1952, claimed in an interview that the rumor was true, it was also shown in many reputable publications as fact. Only in 2004 could be proven beyond reasonable doubt that Douglas ' victory had been compliant.

From 1901 to 1928 Douglas played cricket at the highest national and international level. Throughout his career, he played in 23 Tests and 651 first-class matches, mainly for Essex County Cricket Club. In 18 games, he was captain of the England team. In 1915 he was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. His nickname was derived from his initials, Johnny Will not Hit Today (Johnny will not meet today ), which in view of his outstanding qualities as a batsman and boxer rather be understood as a slightly mischievous joke. In addition, Douglas denied 1910-1923 some games for the leading English amateur club Corinthian Casuals FC and FC and came to the Amateur Football Association in an audition for use.

Douglas drowned 48 -year-old in the Kattegat, seven miles south of the Danish island of Læsø. He had been with his father on a business trip in Finland and was on the way back to England when the passenger ship collided in heavy fog with another ship and sank.