THE sporting scene has suffered a tragic loss with the sudden death of a man who made a major contribution to the worlds of boxing and football.

George 'Bold' Thomas, aged 85, was found dead at his home in Carnegie Crescent, Sutton, on Sunday, after failing to arrive for his regular night out at Parr Conservative Club.

A widower, Mr Thomas leaves two daughters Dorothy and Barbara, stepson Roy Keenan, three grandchildren, one grandchild, and sisters Dorothy and Emma.

Born and bred in Sutton, lightweight fighter Bold earned his nom-de-plume through an uncompromising approach to the 'noble art' from boyhood, and his love affair with boxing certainly went the distance.

He rubbed shoulders with some of the big names in the fight game, including Larry Gains, Harry Briers, Stan Hawthorne, Johnny Molloy, Mick Gibbons, Bill Connor, Ray Shiel, Albert Freeman and Tommy McNamara. Arguably the high-point of Bold's on-going bout with the boxing game came when he made a pilgrimage to the sport's one-time Mecca at Madison Square Gardens, New York, while at local level the ultimate accolade was his appointment as chairman of St. Helens Ex-Boxers' Association.

Employed at Sutton Rolling Mill in his working life, Bold also involved himself in the promotion of boxing, and was also a skilled masseur as countless local sportsmen would testify.

Said ex-ABA champion Bill Connor: "Bold Thomas was a born raconteur with a fund of stories to tell about battles won and lost and characters met, and he worked tirelessly for our association.

"Never more so than at fund-raising efforts at St. Anne's Club, and in general Bold Thomas was a popular figure on the boxing circuit throughout Merseyside, and life will not be quite the same without the genuine gentleman that he was."

Away from the square ring Bold's other consuming sporting passion was soccer, and with it the affairs of St. Helens Town, whose Hoghton Road ground is just around the corner from his home.

Bold was a familiar figure in the dressing room as trainer in the halcyon days of Lancashire Combination glory in the immediate post-war years, a time when a certain German POW named Bert Trautmann and future Busby Babe Bill Foulkes wore the Town shirt.

Paying tribute to Bold's devotion to the Town cause former captain Bill Twist said: "Bold was a source of inspiration in the re-building days of 1948/49 in that, although good humoured, he was a firm disciplinarian who instilled great team spirit."

A funeral service for Mr. Thomas takes place at All Saints' Church, Sutton, tomorrow, Friday, at 10.15am.

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