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Joseph "Joe" Shears (c. 1892 – November 25, 1957), also known as Joe Shulman, was a former boxer and member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Early life

Born Joseph or Joe Shulman in the 1890s, he was born in Poland. When Joe Shulman was a year old, his family relocated from Poland to London, England.

Boxing career

Shears was the fighting moniker of Joe Schulman, and it was later taken on by his son Jerry and the rest of the family. Shears fought in England, Canada, and the United States before the First World War.

In 1908, he defeated George Jones in the first professional boxing match conducted in Belleville, Illinois. Shears fought an eight-round fight with Canadian boxer Frankie Fleming in 1910. He later competed in a match at New Bedford's Sharpshooters Hall in 1913.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, Shears enlisted as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After sailing to England in 1916, "Little Joe" Shears became the bantamweight champion of the Allied forces in France and England. In November 1916, English artist Laura Knight was commissioned to paint the physical training at Witley Camp in Surrey where the 156th Canadian Infantry Battalion was stationed. Joe Shears was encountered by Laura Knight outside of the camp barber's shed, where he accepted an offer to be her model. She described Shears as having a "bashed-in purple face, cauliflower ears, and a broken nose." Knight set up her easel and paints, the gym transformed into her art studio, with Shears acting as an attendant, model, and teacher. The two formed a friendship, and he regularly walked her back to the Angel Hotel in Godalming, three miles from the camp. After viewing her completed works, Joe proposed setting up a shop in Leicester Square to display and sell her drawings. Knight painted over 9 paintings which included a final large canvas, titled "Physical Training at Witley Camp" which featured the boxer. One piece illustrated Shears punching a double end bag, while another captured him training with Corporal W. Atkin in the gym.

Shears escaped a German prison camp by crawling through a sewer.

After the war, in 1919, he went back to boxing in Montreal. Weighing in at 116 pounds, the Canadian soldier defeated Young Demers in a six round bout in September 1919.

Personal life

Jerry, Phil, Max, Al, and Joe Jr. were his five sons, all of whom became amateur boxers inspired by their father's example.

After stepping away from boxing, he worked as a taxi driver in Montreal. In March 1929, he joined 22 survivors from his regiment for a reunion and later escorted his friend Tom Patterson to New York before returning to Canada.

Death

Joseph Shears died on November 25, 1957 in Montreal, Quebec.

Honors and awards

• Allied Forces Bantamweight Champion. (1916)

References

1. ^ "The Unbelievably Tough Little Guy Passes - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
2. "Obituaries: Jerry Shears – Fighter Was A Champ Boxer And Broker - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
3. "Belleville IL Boxing Gyms | History Of Boxing In Belleville". legendaryboxingtraining.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
4. "Joe Shears, Former Montrealer Proves Himself A Clipper - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
5. "The Sports Digest - The Montreal Star Elmer Ferguson - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
6. "Laura Knight: Joe Shears and a Sparring Partner | National Gallery of Canada". gallery.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
7. "Artists at war: Dame Laura Knight". libraryblog.lbrut.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
8. Knight, L. (1965). The Magic of a Line: The Autobiography of Laura Knight D.B.E., R.A. ; with Sixty Plates and Twenty-two Illustrations in the Text. United Kingdom: William Kimber.
9. Bolling, G. F., Withington, V. A. (1993). The graphic work of Laura Knight: including a catalogue raisonné of her prints. United Kingdom: Scolar Press.
10. Morden, B. C. (2013). Laura Knight: A Life. United Kingdom: McNidder and Grace Limited.
11. WILCOX, T. (2015). Laura and Harold Knight in the First World War. The Burlington Magazine, 157(1350), 602–609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43858554
12. Country Life. (1918). United Kingdom: (n.p.).
13. "Hard Rock Joe Shears Failing - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
14. "Joe Shears Won - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
15. "Scrappy Crew - Newspapers.com™". newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
16. Life. (1929). United States: Life magazine, Incorporated.

• 1892 births
• 1957 deaths
• Bantamweight boxers
• Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers