Frankie Lucas
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Vincentian / British | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 August 1953 Saint Vincent | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 April 2023 (aged 69) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | boxing | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Frankie Lucas (15 August 1953 – 8 April 2023) was a boxer best known for winning the gold medal in the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand in the middleweight category for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In the final, Lucas defeated Julius Luipa of Zambia by knockout in the second round.[1]
Lucas moved from Saint Vincent to Croydon, London when he was nine. In 1972 and 1973 Lucas won the British Amateur Boxing Association middleweight title boxing out of the Sir Philip Game ABC.[2] He was not selected for the 1974 Commonwealth Games to represent England. The boxer he defeated in the 1973 ABA final, Carl Speare, was chosen instead. Lucas ultimately represented Saint Vincent in the Games, and defeated Speare in the semi-final in Christchurch. As a professional, he fought just 17 times and twice challenged for the British title, losing to Tony Sibson and Kevin Finnegan.
In 2002, it was reported that he was living in a council care home in North London.[3] Previously, many in Lucas's former circle had not heard from Lucas in years and had assumed that he had died.[4]
Lucas died on 8 April 2023, at the age of 69.[5]
Lucas is the subject of a 2023 play by Rose Hollingsworth (Lisa Lintott) - Going for Gold, shown at the Chelsea Theatre from June 5th to June 8th[6]. Going for Gold [7]was published by Salamander Street in 2024.
References
[edit]- ^ "10.Commonwealth Games - Christchurch, New Zealand - January 24 - February 2 1974". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ "Roll of Honour". England Boxing. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ Steve Bunce (29 July 2002). "Boxing: Sad downfall of a former champion". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ Brian Oliver (22 May 2014). The Commonwealth Games: Extraordinary Stories behind the Medals. A&C Black. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-1-4729-0843-8.
- ^ Cooke, Ernesto (9 April 2023). "Vincentian Frankie Lucas, first Commonwealth boxing gold medalist, dies". St Vincent Times.
- ^ "One of boxing's wildest stories ever is now a play". The Independent. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ Lintott, Lisa (2024). Going for Gold. UK: Salamander Street (published 6 November 2024). ISBN 9781068696275.
6. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/boxing/frankie-lucas-boxing-play-going-for-gold-b2351457.html
External links
[edit]- Boxing record for Frankie Lucas from BoxRec (registration required)
- Tony Sibson vs Frankie Lucas
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- 1953 births
- 2023 deaths
- Middleweight boxers
- People from Saint Vincent (Antilles)
- People from Croydon
- Boxers from the London Borough of Croydon
- English male boxers
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines male boxers
- Boxers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing
- England Boxing champions
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines sportspeople stubs
- Caribbean boxing biography stubs