Augustine Robert Higgins (19 January 1931 – 26 December 2000) better known as Ossie Higgins was a Welsh/Irish boxer and footballer who won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Welsh / Irish | |||||||||||
| Born | 19 January 1931 Dublin, Ireland | |||||||||||
| Died | 26 December 2000 (aged 69) Newport, Glamorgan, Wales | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Boxing / Association football | |||||||||||
Event | Light heavyweight | |||||||||||
| Club | Ebbw Vale Boxing Club Aston Villa FC Ipswich Town FC | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
editHiggins began boxing in 1946 but retired after boxing as a junior to get married. He was a carpenter's mate by trade[1] and played football for Shamrock Rovers, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town from 1949 to 1953, although he did not earn a first team cap for Villa and only earned two caps for Ipswich.[2]
He later resumed his boxing career and was a member of the Ebbw Vale Boxing Club, making his Welsh international debut against Denmark in January 1958.[3] He won the 1958 Welsh ABA light-heavyweight championship.[4]
He was selected for the 1958 Welsh team[5] for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, where he competed in the light-heavyweight category[6] and won the silver medal.[7] The Welsh boxing team secured six medals from ten weight classes.[8]
References
edit- ↑ "Resumed his career". Pontypridd Observer. 19 July 1958. p. 23. Retrieved 3 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Ossie Higgins". Pride of Anglia. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ↑ "Rocky is fot to box again". Western Mail. 2 January 1958. p. 8. Retrieved 3 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Champions light heavyweight" (PDF). Welsh Boxing. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ↑ "Welsh Boxing Team for Empire Games". Birmingham Daily Post. 5 June 1958. p. 25. Retrieved 3 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Wales Cardiff 1958". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ↑ "Commonwealth Games Medallists". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ↑ "A boxing dynasty". Barry and District News. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2025.