Dode McNamee inquired if Davie Croll was related to Jimmy Croll, who was an unbeaten amateur boxer from Dundee.
“Many years ago, some people reckoned he was superior to Dick McTaggart,” he offered.
“Jimmy also turned professional.
“Another boxer who was Dundee-born was Danny Gilfeather, who beat Dick many times in boys’ bouts.
“Danny is the oldest of the Gilfeather boxing brothers, along with Dennis (sadly deceased) and Frank.
“The first time amateur boxing appeared on TV, the first bout televised was Dennis beating a lad named Bobby Keddie.
“Recently, I heard of the passing of Jim Munro.
“Jim was a real gentleman and also worthy of an honour.
“He was never slow to put his hand in his pocket to help a boy’s boxing club or football club.”
I put Dode’s points to the aforementioned Frank Gilfeather, also one of Dundee’s best-known boxers and now, of course, an author and broadcaster.
“Davie and Jimmy Croll were brothers,” he confirmed.
“Jimmy was the eldest of the two and, because he was such an exceptional performer, turned professional at 17.
“This was, perhaps, too young as he didn’t hit the heights in the paid ranks.
“Jimmy and Dan, my brother, were part of the team of Scottish youth champions which competed for British titles at the Empire Pool and Sports Arena, Wembley, in London and both returned victorious as British champions.
“Dan always said Jimmy was one of the finest boxers he ever saw.
“Dennis, my other brother, was, indeed, one of the two amateur boxers to appear first on TV when the BBC televised a tournament from the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow.
“As Dode commented, he beat the Glasgow boxer Bobby Keddie.
“They were, therefore, the first boxers to appear on TV in Britain.
“At this point, I must apologise to one of your regular correspondents Andy Walker, who made that claim some years ago, though he suggested Dennis had appeared for Scotland against Hungary.
“Andy was right that Dennis participated in the first boxing bout shown on TV in this country.
“Earlier, also from the same venue and, like the boxing, a live transmission, the Six-Five Special, the BBC’s first attempt at a rock-and-roll show, was broadcast.
“Older viewers (and readers of BwB) will remember it was presented by Pete Murray and Josephine Douglas, with resident band Don Lang and his Frantic Five.”
Returning to boxing, Frank concluded: “On the subject of Jim Munro, he was a remarkable man who embraced life and coached so many young boxers over a long period.”
John Egan, from Glamis Place, Dundee, was complimentary regarding recent boxing stories in BwB.
“It was good to read of all these great local boxers,” said John.
“However, there hasn’t been a mention of my uncle, Billy Rattray. He beat Billy White in Dunoon Hall to win the Scottish welterweight title. As a professional, he also fought in London.
“Any stories on him would be great . . . or even a photo.”
If anyone can oblige with information on Billy Rattray, then get in touch.
n We featured another Jim Munro a few weeks ago, and Niki Ferguson’s granny was recently talking to her about her family and, in particular, her grandmother.
“She explained her grandmother had been married to a footballer, James Munro,” said Niki (nik_ferg@yahoo.co.uk).
“I did a search online and saw a recent BwB article.
“James’ wife Helena re-married and had two girls, one of which was my granny’s mum, Esme.
“In reading your article, it was a surprise for my granny to find out that Helena and James had a child as there was no mention of this in her family and, therefore, no knowledge of what happened to this child.
“My granny is not a direct descendant of the Munros, as I have explained, but she would be interested to hear about the family of Helena and James’ child, about the plans for his grave or any other information.”
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