EPISODE 12: WALKER – HIGH ANTICIPATION
The contest against Mickey Walker, Herb’s 28th professional bout, was the crossroads of his career.
Walker was a renowned Sydney fighter who, according to boxrec.com, went in with a record of 12 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw (although it’s likely this is incomplete). Walker had been competing against top-notchers in Sydney over the preceding year – he’d drawn with Archie Cowan and knocked out Bobby Gray. The Barkle-Walker match-up took place at Leichhardt Stadium on 8th July 1927. It was a much-anticipated clash, and there was extensive pre-publicity.
Herb Barkle, the good little Queenslander, will return from the North this weekend and prepare under Al New for Mickey Walker, whom he meets at Leichhardt on Friday, July 8. Herb beat Rolls and Gray, and if he can add Walker to his scalps, he will become entitled to a fight with the best of his division.
The Leichhardt stadium fixture list for the next few weeks is as follows: next Friday, Cowan and Jackson; Friday week, Mickey Walker v Herb Barkle; Friday fortnight, Cowan and Thurbon for the Australian bantamweight championship; and on July 22 a contest between Tommy Barber and an opponent to be selected.
HARD-HITTING BANTAMS MEET
(By ‘Straight-Left’ in the Daily Telegraph)
Heavy punchers are the popular drawcards nowadays, and to-night at Leichhardt a great house is sure to be in attendance to see Mickey Walker and Herb Barkle, of Queensland, in action.
Walker’s style of fighting is something akin to that of Harry Collins when the latter was in his heyday. Mickey does not start to fight until six or seven rounds have gone, and he might be well behind on points when his dangerous right hand will suddenly turn the scales in his favour.
Barkle commences operations from the opening bell, and it is questionable whether Mickey will be able to take the heavy punishment the Queenslander is sure to hand out, and still be strong.
SERIOUS AND METHODICAL – HE IS!
When Herb Barkle, the solid thumper from Queensland, hits the man in front of him, he hits him to “stay put”. Herb will make another appearance at the Leichhardt Stadium on Friday next opposed to another walloping merchant, Mickey Walker.
STERN UNDERTAKING FOR BARKLE
FIGHTING MICKEY WALKER
LEICHHARDT TO-NIGHT
Leichhardt patrons of the leather-pushing game are promised many thrills and a surfeit of fight to-night in the match between Queenslander Herb Barkle and the hard-punching local Mickey Walker.
Barkle in his two Sydney fights “stopped” Johnny Rolls in one round and outpointed Bobby Gray in one of the fiercest battles ever staged at McHugh’s.
A great puncher, Barkle is tougher than most bantams, and one of the pluckiest glovemen in the present boxing firmament.
Whether he can continue his winning sequence is a question that is troubling the cognoscenti.
Walker “stopped” Bobby Gray in twelve rounds at his last appearance. He has a reputation for springing surprises.
It promises to be a great little “scrap”.
SURVIVAL OF TOUGHEST
HARD HITTERS TO MEET AT LEICHHARDT TONIGHT
The Queensland bantam Herb Barkle makes another appearance at the Leichhardt Stadium to-night.
The fact that he can punch as well as being able to take it is the main reason for his present prominent position.
He may, however, find the going pretty hard on this occasion, as he will have to contend with Mickey Walker, who, since his return to the ring, is much more pugnacious than before.
Working out at the baths at Bronte every day under Mick Hawkins, Walker looks the picture of health. It can be taken for granted that he will compel the Brisbane fighter to go all out.
It is doubtful if this fight will go the full distance. Both are extraordinary hitters for their weight and it looks a case of the survival of the toughest.
It took Walker 11 rounds to finish Bobby Gray, while Barkle had to be satisfied with a decision over the same boxer; still he made it a close thing for Gray, as he had his man down in the last round of a scheduled 12-rounder.
Barkle is practically a newcomer to the fight enthusiasts of Sydney and should he be successful against Walker it will probably pay him to forget all about his “home town” for some time.
The Queenslander may not look the part of a fighter, but the best recommendation as to his ability comes from Johnny Rolls and Bobby Gray, who both found him much too good.
FRIDAY NEXT – JULY 8TH, 1927 AT 8 P.M.
ONE PUNCH ARTISTS – 15 ROUNDS CONTEST
HERB BARKLE (Bantam Champion of QLD) V MICKEY WALKER (New South Wales)
WILL IT BE A JOB for the sweeper on Friday night?
MICKEY WALKER and HERB BARKLE, who clash this week, would have it well over our old friend OLIVER TWIST at a “slug feast.”
Both of them say they can’t get enough of the “slather-em-whack” part of the fight menu. However, it stands to reason that one or the other has a limit, but just who will be the one to crack-up first, should give fight enthusiasts something to think over.
MICKEY WALKER is a fine example of tenaciousness. Every punch he lets go is a winner. If he is well behind in the referee’s ledger, it is always on the cards that he can turn the deficiency into a gold-lined security by some master stroke which would put his supporters on the collecting end.
Opposition, however, no matter how small it may appear, must be treated with due respect.
Practically unknown three months ago, beyond good credentials from Brisbane fight critics, HERB BARKLE, opened auspiciously by crashing his right hand against Johnny Rolls’ chin just exactly 65½ seconds after they had “dooked mitts.” Naturally, Rolls took no further part in the proceedings.
Next start was against BOBBY GRAY. No contest at Leichhardt could take precedence as having packed more thrills than this fight. BARKLE took everything Bobby had to offer and then commenced operations on his own account. He clouted GRAY with a beauty in the last round. It was just one of those short, scorifying right handers, that has the recipient “ripe” to take the lead in the “dying swan.”
GRAY beat the count and also had the satisfaction of being serenaded by the final bell just before BARKLE had time to back up with another. The decision in favour of the Queenslander, was the only one possible.
WALLY HANCOCK and TOMMY BARBER are considered punchers extraordinary, and it would be quite in order to place BARKLE and WALKER on a similar level.
General opinion favours a knock-out on this occasion. YES – MAYBE – but who’ll be the fellow to “kiss the canvas?”
EPISODE 13: THE FATES INTERVENE
The outcome of the Barkle-Walker fight on 8 July 1927 was a massive disappointment for Herb. He was beaten on points after fifteen rounds. However, the majority of the newspaper writers covering the bout, including ‘Straight Left’, thought it was the wrong decision.
LUCKY TO WIN
WALKER BEATS BARKLE
QUEENSLANDER BOXES WELL
(By ‘Straight Left’ in the Daily Telegraph)
SYDNEY, Friday – Micky Walker (8.6½) outpointed Herb Barkle (8.6), over 15-rounds at the Leichhardt Stadium to-night.
Walker was lucky to earn the decision, as it was only in the last four rounds that his heavy punches to the chin put him on the correct side of the referee’s book.
Barkle gave a surprisingly good display, and up to the 10th round looked a certain winner. He was punching a shade harder than Walker, and in the seventh round staggered the latter with a right hand punch behind the ear. Walker fell back on to the second strand of the ropes, but his ring generalship counter-balanced Barkle’s anxious efforts to finish matters. The Queenslander punched blindly, and Walker ducked and dodged every blow that was sent whizzing towards him.
Barkle counter-punched very heavily in the following two rounds, and Walker used the ring as much as possible.
The Queenslander seemed to have the fight well in hand, and won the 10th and 11th sessions handily.
Up to this stage Walker had not used his right hand to any appreciable effect.
In the 13th he was sent in to mix matters. He caught Barkle with a right to the chin and dropped him for one. For the remainder of the round Walker dealt out heavy punishment, but could not finish his man off.
Barkle was badly rattled in the 14th and last rounds, but his effective counter-punching prevented Walker from indulging in any toe to toe rallies.
The Sydney boy had much the better of those last two rounds, but Barkle’s splendid work in the early stages of the fight made many good judges question the accuracy of the decision.
BARKLE BEATEN
Decision for Walker
Herb Barkle was beaten on points by Mickey Walker at Leichhardt last night. In a wire to George Boxhall, Barkle says it was a bad decision.
Barkle Unlucky
Decision to Walker
Micky Walker (8.6 ½) was declared by the referee to have outpointed Herb Barkle (8.6) over 15 rounds at Leichhardt Stadium last Friday night. Walker was lucky to get the decision.
HARD HITTING
Walker Beats Barkle
CROWD ENJOYED IT
A constant growler you’ll find even in Paradise, but there wasn’t one about the place at Leichhardt on Friday night, which says a lot for the menu dished up.
Mickey Walker, 8.6½, scored a popular points decision over Queenslander Herb Barkle, 8.6, after fifteen rounds of hard hitting, thanks to good advice by his handler, Mick Hawkins, his ring craft and his opponent’s inexperience.
Barkle gave the Sydney boy a hard fight, and with it wallops that shook Michael from head to heels. In fact, many times it looked as if he would put Walker to sleep, but that gentleman is a hard puncher himself, and gave as much as he took.
Barkle is a deceiving individual. His small, slight frame and a most expressionless face, make him appear anything but an athlete. But you can’t judge a man by his looks – and Walker is one who can vouch for his punching ability.
In the early rounds it was evident that each had just one idea in mind – to watch his opponent’s right hand. Consequently they were very cautious in their work, and when four rounds had been ticked off no damage had been done, and it promised then to be anything but an interesting fight.
Mickey was content to use his long left hand, while his opponent scored a few left rips to the body. However, they put steam on in the next round, and Walker, being the faster, had the better of matters of that round, and also in the sixth.
Before the seventh session was in progress many seconds Barkle had sent a crushing right to Walker’s chin that rocked him badly. Mickey fell back on to the ropes and retreated to one of the corners, where the Queenslander furiously threw punches from all angles in an endeavour to send the crowd home early.
It was only Walker’s fighting instinct that made him duck every blow, and at the bell he retired to his corner looking very ‘sick’. For the next three sessions Barkle fought hard, but Walker’s clever evasion and footwork caused him to miss badly.
Realising that he was a little behind Mick commenced to fight hard in the devil’s session. Taking advantage of an opening, he staggered Barkle with a heavy right to the chin, and a few seconds later, with a similar punch, he dropped the Queenslander for a second.
Putting speed and powerful punching into his work over the last two rounds, Walker dealt out a severe lacing to Barkle.
Barkle lost a close decision, but there are not too many bantams, apart from Walker, who will beat him.
KEEN CONTESTS AT LEICHHARDT
WALKER BEATS BARKLE: LOSER LOOKED WINNER IN EARLY ROUNDS
(By ‘Solar Plexus’)
Mickey Walker scored a well-earned victory over the hard-hitting Queensland bantamweight, Herb Barkle, at the Leichhardt Stadium last Friday night. At first, such a result did not seem possible. In fact, it was Walker’s cleverness in defence, and the fact he kept his head so well, that saved him from a knock-out. In the seventh round the lad from the North unwound a right that, catching Walker on the side of the head, rattled him badly.
From round one to the seventh, when Barkle nearly ended matters by the short-cut route, nothing of an exciting nature happened. Barkle, always willing, made attempts with both hands, but very easily and gracefully Walker slipped, blocked or countered, and, in close, scored rapidly with well executed short rights: the loop-the-loop punch being reminiscent of Jimmy Clabby at his best.
Walker acted almost entirely on the defensive for a term, and the points went to the Queenslander.
Although his left proved a good scoring agent until the seventh round, which, added to his clever defence, gave him a shade to that period, Walker had not made a single attempt with his right until round 11. It then landed but without injury.
At that stage it looked as if the lad from the North might continue on the aggressive, and, if not score a knock-out, win by a narrow margin of points.
But in the 12th, Walker, fighting with dash and speed, connected with good stiff lefts …
Walker was really brilliant in the 13th. He rattled home impeccable lefts to the nose, swung his right to the jaw, and, as Barkle ducked, an uppercut under the chin. The latter staggered back, and a right to the side of the head sent him down to his hands.
Though badly beaten in the next two rounds, Barkle proved himself game and tough by fighting back, and right up to the final gong tried desperately with his right, but Walker was much too experienced to be caught again.
When Walker fought in earnest with both hands, he really showed better than in previous attempts. In his present form he would make it hard for the best of the bantams – that is, if he could make the weight at the ringside and still be strong. On Friday night he weighed 8.6½ against Barkle’s 8.6, and thanks to the handling of Mike Hawkins, the late Les Darcy’s trainer, the winner seemed in excellent shape.
Post-fight, Mickey Walker was showing the after-effects of his time in the ring against Herb, according to a column in one of the Sydney papers.
‘Tween Munches
When seen after his contest of Friday night, Mickey Walker was wrestling with a big orange, in between vicious snaps at the juicy morsel be said, “Yes (munch) Gee. He certainly (munch) can hit (munch). It was a good (munch) punch that rattled me (munch), but look at that (munch) lump on the back (munch) of my head.”
There was certainly a large lump on the back of his head. It was the size of a large egg, and all that worried Mickey was that he might need a larger size of hat.
If Herb had been awarded the decision against Walker, it’s likely he would have remained in Sydney and fought Archie Cowan for the Australian bantamweight championship prior to the end of August.
BARKLE’S BAD LUCK
Bad Decision Robs Him of Title Bout
Had Herb Barkle received the points decision over Micky Walker most of the experts thought he was entitled to at Leichhardt recently he would have figured in a match for the Australian bantam championship with the winner of the forthcoming Thurbon-Cowan title bout. Now Walker gets the match instead. Barkle returned to Brisbane this week, and is bemoaning his bad luck. He returns to Leichhardt for another contest next month.
Read all of the episodes of Diamond in the Dust Heap HERE
All images provided by Dave Goodwin.
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About Dave Goodwin
Dave Goodwin is a Queenslander by origin. He was born in the country town of Kingaroy but he’s been based in Melbourne for the past 40 years which makes him a fish out of water. Along the way he’s developed a passion for the Hawthorn Football Club. His musings on Aussie Rules (including applying nineteenth century bush ballad forms to sports reporting) were part of The Footy Almanac editions from 2007 to 2015. As a cricketer he played in four losing grand finals in Melbourne’s Mercantile Cricket Association for the Yarra Park Club -– albeit he's taken four career hat tricks, bowling leg spin. He’s an appreciator of athletics and of the noble art of boxing.
Going in to his bout with Mickey Walker at Leichhardt Stadium on.8 July 1927, Herb’s professional record stood at 22 wins (16 by KO or TKO), 2 draws, 3 losses. He had never been knocked out and he was poised to contend for the Australian bantamweight title. There are enthralling pieces in today’s episodes by two of Sydney’s great boxing columnists of the 1920s – ‘Straight-Left‘ and ‘Solar Plexus’. Clear contrasts are presented between the personalities of the two fighters. Walker, the popular Sydney local., is charismatic and well-liked by the ladies (despite his diminutive stature). He works out at the Bronte Baths each day under the supervision of Mike Hawkins, the late Les Darcy’s trainer. By contrast, Herb is said to be “serious and methodical” with a “small, slight frame and a most expressionless face” which made him appear “anything but an athlete”. Surviving photos of Herb from this time attest to his expressionless demeanor.
Dave, the margin between winning and losing in sport at all levels, but particularly at the elite level, is very small. Liam Hauser’s ‘State of Origin’ books have as their subtitle, ‘The fine line between winning and losing’. And he’s right on the mark. And so it was with Herb in this battle with Walker with a somewhat disputed decision, the ramifications of which cast a long shadow over what was to follow. What if? Sliding doors. An early precursor of the road ahead? It’s this degree of uncertainty, the impact of the human factor (referees, judges, human error, etc) and ‘the whim of the sporting gods’ that lure us back time and time again in the hope of redemption. Almost religious, isn’t it?