John Smillie (boxer)
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British (Scottish) | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 November 1933 Scotland | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Boxing | ||||||||||||||
Event | Bantamweight | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Fauldhouse BC | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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John W. Smillie (born 1 November 1933) is a former boxer from Scotland who won a gold medal at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (now Commonwealth Games).
Biography
Smillie became a miner aged 17, working at the Woodmuir Colliery in West Calder.[1] He joined the Fauldhouse Miners Club where he took up boxing.[2]
Boxing out of Faulldhouse BC, he reached the final of the Scottish ABA Championships and was selected to represent Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics, as a reserve to Welshman Dai Dower.[2] He won the ABA bantamweight championship in 1953[3] and 1954.[4]
He represented the Scottish team[5] at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada, where he won the gold medal in the bantamweight division.[6]
Smillie continued working as a miner[7] but later turned professional and fought 46 bouts from March 1955 to October 1962.[8]
References
- ^ "Scots Boxers For Honours". Dalkeith Advertiser. 1 May 1952. Retrieved 20 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Midlanders fail to win a title". Sports Argus. 25 April 1953. Retrieved 2 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Ken Phillips wins title". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 24 April 1954. Retrieved 27 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Pat Devine". Dundee Courier. 29 June 1954. Retrieved 20 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games Medallists". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Heavyweight hopes". Evening News (London). 20 April 1953. Retrieved 20 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "John Smillie". Box Rec. Retrieved 20 September 2025.