Oscar Gardner
Sketch from The Buffalo Times, 1898
Born	Oscar Desire Gardner (1872-05-19)May 19, 1872 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Died	December 25, 1928(1928-12-25) (aged 56) Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Other names	The Omaha Kid
Statistics
Weight(s)	Bantamweight Featherweight
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Reach	63 in (1.60 m)
Boxing record [1]
Total fights	537-547
Wins	85
Wins by KO	59
Losses	18
Draws	32
No contests	1

Oscar Gardner (May 19, 1872 - December 25, 1928) was an American bantamweight and featherweight boxer known as the Omaha Kid. ^{[2] [3]} He was a top contender for the Featherweight Championship of the World ^[4] and the Featherweight Champion of America, ^[5] though he never won any awards or titles; many claim this was due to poor refereeing. ^{[6] [2]} Gardner was small but unusually strong, tough in the ring but "quiet, affable..., gifted with a winning personality, who made friends easily" when not boxing. ^[2] During his career, he fought between 537 and 547 battles (sources vary). ^{[7] [8] [6]}

Biography

Early life

Oscar Desire Gardner was born May 19, 1872, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the middle son of Joseph Gardner and his French-Canadian wife Alvina (c. 1852-1917). ^{[9] [10] [2] [11]} He grew up on the east side of the city with older brother Joe, younger brother Eddie (also a boxer), and sister Grace. ^{[2] [8] [12]} As a teenager, he and Eddie worked at the Salisbury & Satterlee mattress factory, where many of the workers "engag[ed] in rough and tumble battles... during the lunch hour." ^[2] Gardner struggled at first and was often used by more practiced boxers to pad their stats, but eventually became a top contender and earned himself the nickname "The Fighting Machine." ^[13] At 17, he moved to Sioux City, where he worked as a mattress maker and foreman and was active in the local boxing scene. ^[7] He relocated to Omaha after learning he could earn more money in their pugilistic community, then returned to Minneapolis in 1891. ^[2]

Career

Gardner stood almost 5'4" and weighed anywhere from 115 to 124 pounds during his career. ^[6] His "one weakness" was his weak hands, which he broke at least 7 separate times. ^{[6] [14]} Gardner was skilled at the knockout and favored 20-25 round fights, which he sometimes fought only two days or three apart. ^{[2] [15]} He claimed not to train for matches and both drank and smoked cigars, oftentimes waiting to put out his smoke until right before entering the ring. ^{[16] [17] [18]}

On April 7, 1898, Gardner was fighting George Stout in Columbus, Ohio when Stout tripped, fell, or was pushed down. ^{[19] [20]} Stout lost consciousness after hitting his head on the unpadded floor, cited by many as the fault of the event promoters, and he died the next morning. ^[20] Gardner was brought to court, facing charges of manslaughter and prize-fighting, but was quickly acquitted. ^[19]

In 1898, Gardner was a top contender for the World Featherweight title. ^[21] In October, he knocked out Sam Kelley after fourteen rounds; earned a TKO against Solly Smith after six rounds the following February; and drew with Martin Flaherty two weeks later. ^{[22] [23] [24]} Despite this success, he never won the championship. ^{[6] [2]} He lost his third and fourth attempts in 1900 and 1901 to Terry McGovern. ^{[25] [26]} Gardner retired in 1901 at age 29 and returned to Minneapolis. ^{[2] [10]}

Among those he fought were George Dixon, Harry Forbes, James J. Corbett, Eddie Santry, Dave Sullivan, Solly Smith, Torpedo Billy Murphy, Terry McGovern, Joe Bernstein, and Austin Rice. ^[2]

Retirement

Gardner spent the first decade of his retirement in Minneapolis, where he owned a saloon called "The Only Omaha Kid." ^{[27] [28]} In 1912, he moved to Washington with a plan to open a fight club in Vancouver, and by 1914 he owned a boxing school in Portland, Oregon. ^{[29] [30] [31] [32]} In 1918, Gardner was reportedly back in Minneapolis, this time as a bar owner with his brother Eddie and, according to writer Jack Grace, as a politician, but was in Pittsburgh by 1924. ^{[33] [14] [34] [2]} He worked as a promoter with Tex Rickard for several years and in 1928 was working as a boxing judge and a factory watchman in Brooklyn. ^{[2] [35] [36]} He contracted yellow jaundice in June 1928 but did not respond to treatment and was seriously ill by September. ^[35] Gardner died on December 25, 1928, in a Minneapolis hospital. ^[7] He was survived by his wife and his children, Oscar Jr. and Grace, who lived in Portland, Oregon; his two brothers; and his sister. ^[7] At the time of his death, he had four grandsons and one granddaughter. ^[2] Oscar Jr. debuted as a boxer on June 3, 1913, against Dick Hewitt. ^[37]

He was inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012. ^[6]

References