JEM HALL, THE "GORNAL CHAMPION AND CHARLEY HEDGE (THE "BRIERLEY HILL PET.")

During the year 1836 a tremendous amount of rivalry existed between the then hot beds of pugilism - Gornal and Brierly Hill. The champion of the latter place, Charley Hedge had defeated in a sensational battle the best fighter Gornal could produce at that place John Bate, the "Ore-eyed Wonder."
The district was scoured for a man to avenge the indignity put upon Gornal as a fighting centre, and eventually Jem Hall, who also had put paid to the account of Bate, was selected to bring back the honours to the town.
After a lot of angry disputes and not a few impromptu scraps, Hall and Hedge were matched to fight for £20 a-side on Tuesday 22 November 1836.
The excitement in both places was tremendous and spread to the surrounding districts. A subscription was raised by the sportsmen of Gornal to defray their champion's expenses. The eccentric Tommy Roundhead, Deaf Burke's old trainer and second, was engaged to prepare him for great event, whilst the two well-known brums, Surrender Lane and Dave Davis were retained to put a polish on Jem Hall with the gloves. But Hedge was favourite at 6 to 4.
Harry Preston who was then training for his fight with Sambo Sutton was particularly sweet on the "Brierly Hill Pet" and the sports men of Brierley Hill were just as anxious as their rivals to spare no expense getting their man up to concert pitch.

"BRUMS" INTERESTED."

Mr. Jack Sutton the sporting landlord of the Cross Guns, Summer Street, Birmingham, undertook the preparation of Charley Hedge and as Hammer Lane lent his assistance, the confidence of Brierley Hill sports men increased as the day for the battle approached.
The excitement spread to Birmingham, where there was a considerable amount of gambling on the affair.
The spot for the battle was Kinver Edge that picturesque place not far from Stourbridge, and about nine miles from Gornal, and to there trooped hundreds of the class of people who seldom missed a prize-fight.
Among the crowd were many women, who entered into the rivalry with as much zest as the men, Jem Hall's wife was there, and she followed the various phases of the battle close to her husband's corner with alternate greetings of joy and depression.
So far as weight went, the pair were fairly well matched. Hall having pulled the beam at 12st. 61b., and Hedge at 12st. 2lb. The Gornal champion however, had a considerable advantage in height, standing 5ft 9½in., to the others 5ft.7½in. Moreover, Jemmy was the younger man by several years, and was without question in much better condition than his opponent.

THE FIGHT.

Upon being ordered from their corners, the pair of them stood eyeing one another for fully a couple of minutes without attempting to strike a blow. At length Jemmy landed his right slightly on the Pets neck. Charley countered sharp with the left, but was short. Then Hall rushed in desperately hitting out with both hands but the Brielery Hill man was wide awake, ducked his head, avoided the blows, and at once came to grips.
Hedge rather fancied himself at wrestling, but he failed to pull it off this time, and after a clumsy scuffle, the two of them came down, Hedge undermost. Loud cheers from the Gornalites.
Jemmy lost no time in beginning to fight, and as soon as he had his man opposite to him, went for him again with his right, getting home a stinger on the knowledge-box, and a lump suddenly appeared on Charley's brow. Hall again rattled in his right catching his man, as before, on the forehead.
Charley's counter was ludicrously short, and when he saw the Gornal man obviously preparing to send in another hot one, Hedge dropped down on his nether end-just in time, for Jemmy's fist whistled over his head, and Jemmy, unable to stop himself, fell over his prostrate antagonist.
When he came up for the next round Charley evidently meant mischief, for as Jemmy came at him the Pet landed him a beauty with his left on the left eye. Hall was taken aback for a moment but he pulled himself together before Hedge could repeat the compliment, and went for his man in the most spirited manner. Charley stood up to him gallently, and a splendid rally ensued, both men hitting away like steam-engines.
But the Brierly Hill man's blows were almost all short, whilst Jemmy made full use of his superior length, and propped his man repeatedly and severely on the nose, till the blood came which was hailed with shouts by the Gornalites as first event for their man. Still Charley stuck to his work, manfully, though outfought at every point, till a tremendous right-handed slog between the eyes sent him clean off his feet on the broad of his back
Charley came up for the next round looking very much the worse for the severe toweling he had had. He appeared to be unsteady, too, as though he were losing his head, whilst Hall was as yet unmarked, and looked all over a winner. Then Carley began to fight on the retreat, letting Jemmy chase him all over the ring, and artfully dropping just as he adversary's fist reached him.
But so fiercely was he hooted and censured for his conduct by the other side that at last he was fairly frightened into standing up and facing his man. This change of tactics did him no good, for Jemmy had it pretty nearly all his own way for the next dozen rounds.
Hedge was thrice knocked down by tremndous right-handers on the nose, was three times thrown fairly, was twice undermost in the falls, and, in short, had all the worst end of the stick right away to the end of the eighteenth round. But just as the Gornal Champion seemed to be winning in easy fashion there came a startling surprise.
Hall with a confident and jaunty air, was advancing to crush his antagonist in the nineteenth round, when he was suddenly met with a counter-attack, delivered so swiftly and furiously that Jemmy was hard put to it to hold his own. Hedge, whose face wore an expression of the grimmest determination, went at his man with both hands, and for the first time during the battle measured his distance accurately.
Bang, bang went right and left into Hall's face. The dose was repeated, and with such vim and fury did Charley pot in his blows that he hit his man back step by step, drawing the blood at every blow, till he fought Jemmy clean up to the ropes. Then, springing on his opponent he bent him back over the cords and punched him with his left. Hall was perfectly helpless, and the excitement of the crowd was frantic.
There cannot be the slightest doubt that Hedge would pretty nearly have killed his antagonist had not Surrender Lane come to the rescue, and forcing the ropes down with all his might, enabled Hall to fall over on his head, bringing Charley with him. Not till the two of them were on the ground did Hedge let go his clutch, and Jemmy was saved by the skin of his teeth. The uproar round the ring was beyond all words to describe, for in one round, lasting less than five minutes, the whole aspect of the fight had been changed, and Hall, who had looked a certain winner, with scarcely a mark on him, had suddenly been thrashed almost senseless, and punished in such a manner as to render his claim to victory almost hopeless.

ROUNDHEAD'S REVIVER

But wily old Tommy Roundhead was equal to the occasion. He had brought with him from the Green Dragon, at Gornal, a quart of fine old Cognac brandy, and dose of this wonderful spirit had an astounding effect on reviving Jemmy. He came up very groggy indeed, but with enough of his senses about him to understand Tommy Roundhead's orders and fight on the saving suit. But though he did his best to fight cunningly, Charley was too quick for him, and gave him such a gruelling that Jemmy's case seemed utterly hopeless, and his backers would not take even 10 to 1.
In the next round Charley had it all his own way, till Hall was glad to get own anyhow.
Jemmy had gone quite slow and stupid; his blows were wild and aimless; he missed with his right (his favourite weapon) time after time; struck open-handed with his left, and appeared generally demoralised.
At this juncture even his wife began to despair of Jemmy's success. But Charley, in his frantic efforts to finish off the fight, took so much out of himself that it soon became painfully evident to his backers that his strength was going, whilst Hall was slowly but steadily recovering his form.

HARD HITTING

A fine cross-buttock in the twenty-eighth round improved Hall's chance immediately. Hedge came up for the twenty-ninth terribly distressed, the fall coming at such a critical moment had shaken him fearfully. Jemmy had "the office" to go to work at once, and he did so, hitting away with his right in a style worthy of Hammer Lane himself.
Charley was hit back with both hands till his body was hitting the ropes, then Jemmy, gathered himself for a mighty effort, dashed in his right on the throat and knocked the Brierly Hill Pet clean over the cords out of the ring. Terrific was the cheering for the Gornal Champion, and 5 to 1 on him found no takers.
But it was no certainty yet, for Hedge fought the next four rounds with desperate courage, still hitting straight and hard with the left, and doing considerable execution every time he got home.
Thrice more the game Pet faced the music, but at last, in the thirty-eighth round Hall rushed in, seized Hedge by the right arm with his left, and hammered away at his face with the right till he was tired.
When Jemmy let go his hold, the Brierley Hill Pet fell like a lump of lead to the ground. Then his seconds reluctantly recognised the fact that he was beaten and threw up the sponge.
This battle has passed on record in annals of Black Country pugilism as one of the gamest ever witnessed even in that hotbed of fighting.