Del Fontaine
Encyclopedia
Del Fontaine ne
Raymond Henry Bousquet (22 February 1904 - 29 October 1935) was a Canadian
boxer
who fought between 1925 and 1935. He is most notable within boxing for winning the Canadian middleweight boxing championship in 1926 and again in 1931. In 1932 he travelled to Britain to continue his boxing career, and began a relationship with Hilda Meeks of Bristol. In 1935, Fontaine was arrested and convicted of the murder of Miss Meeks and was executed at Wandsworth Prison.
Fontaine's boxing style was described as aggressive and crowd-pleasing, but with a poor regard for defence.
, Manitoba
, with his first recorded boxing match against Sammy Hudson, a fellow Canadian from Moose Jaw. Fontaine won the bout by knockout in the fifth. Fontaine was unbeaten in his next six matches, including a draw with Jack Reddick, who was at the time Canadian light heavyweight champion. On 14 August 1925, Fontaine faced Harry Dillon at Regina, Saskatchewan
for the vacant Canadian middleweight title. The fight went the distance of ten rounds, and Dillon won the Championship on a points decision.
Despite his first professional defeat, Fontaine returned quickly to his original form, finishing his next four contests undefeated. On 8 May 1926, Fontaine had his second attempt at the Canadian middleweight belt which had become vacant. Fought in Ottawa against Henry Henning, Fontaine won the match and the title in the second round with a technical knockout over his opponent. From this point, Fontaine attracted a better class of fighter, beginning with his first fight outside Canada, travelling to Philedelphia in a win over experienced American Bobby Marriott. His biggest fight to date came on 16 August 1926 when Welsh
fighter Frank Moody
travelled from the U.S. to Canada to face Fontaine. The contest went the distance, with Moody victorious. Fontaine finished the year with two bouts in the U.S., a win over Joe Anderson followed by a points loss to Rocky Smith.
The following year Fontaine travelled widely around the U.S. and Canada fighting with mixed results. His most notable fight that year was against Vincent Forgione, facing him twice in two months. After losing to Forgione by points in their first encounter, Fontaine was knocked out for the first time in his professional career when he faced Forgione for their second contest in July 1927. Fontaine continued fighting in North America over the next four years, and at the end of 1931 he faced Ted Moore, regaining the Canadian middleweight title.
In early 1931 Fontaine travelled from Canada to the United Kingdom
by cattle boat to further his boxing career. Over the next three years Fontaine faced many of Britain's most successful middleweight boxers, including Billy Bird, Jack Casey
, Gipsy Daniels
, Tommy Farr
, Jack Hyams and Harry Mason. From his arrival in the U.K., Fontaine's fight record was good with 23 wins, 4 losses and 3 draws, but from November 1933 his form took a terrible reversal with 4 wins, 16 losses and 2 draws. This string of poor results would later be used as Fontaine's defence during his murder trial, with his defence counsel stating he was "punch drunk
" and therefore of diminished responsibility
.
-born Meeks was a one-time West End
waitress, with dreams of becoming a dancer. Hilda was described by her friends as "flighty". On 10 July 1935, she was caught by Fontaine making a date with another man on the telephone. Fontaine, who was known to drink, confronted Meeks, taking the phone from her and challenged the man she was speaking to. Meeks' mother came into the room to protect her daughter and Fontaine pulled a revolver. As Meeks ran into the street, Fontaine fatally shot her, he then fired a second shot into her mother. When Sam Meeks, Hilda's father, returned home he saw Fontaine carrying his daughter back into the house. Fontaine stated "I've done for her and done for the old woman", showing that he believed he had killed both women, though in fact the mother had survived.
At the trial Fontaine's defence contended that the boxer was suffering from acute depression and was probably "punch drunk". The defence called upon Ted Lewis, a former welterweight champion, who stated "Del shouldn't have been in the ring at all for his last fight. He wasn't in a fit state. ... As a boxer, he has received more punishment than anyone I have ever seen." Sam Meeks countered the claim believing that Fontaine had thrown his later fights. Fontaine was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
Fontaine left a note "Hilda Meek broke my heart I spent my last cent on her. She turned me against my own wife." A warden at the prison is quoted as saying "He was the bravest fellow we ever saw go to the scaffold."
Name at birth
The name at birth is the name a child is given by his or her parents, according to a generally universal custom, and legal requirement. What happens subsequently about this name has a substantial cultural component....
Raymond Henry Bousquet (22 February 1904 - 29 October 1935) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who fought between 1925 and 1935. He is most notable within boxing for winning the Canadian middleweight boxing championship in 1926 and again in 1931. In 1932 he travelled to Britain to continue his boxing career, and began a relationship with Hilda Meeks of Bristol. In 1935, Fontaine was arrested and convicted of the murder of Miss Meeks and was executed at Wandsworth Prison.
Fontaine's boxing style was described as aggressive and crowd-pleasing, but with a poor regard for defence.
Boxing career
French Canadian Fontaine was a resident of WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, with his first recorded boxing match against Sammy Hudson, a fellow Canadian from Moose Jaw. Fontaine won the bout by knockout in the fifth. Fontaine was unbeaten in his next six matches, including a draw with Jack Reddick, who was at the time Canadian light heavyweight champion. On 14 August 1925, Fontaine faced Harry Dillon at Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
for the vacant Canadian middleweight title. The fight went the distance of ten rounds, and Dillon won the Championship on a points decision.
Despite his first professional defeat, Fontaine returned quickly to his original form, finishing his next four contests undefeated. On 8 May 1926, Fontaine had his second attempt at the Canadian middleweight belt which had become vacant. Fought in Ottawa against Henry Henning, Fontaine won the match and the title in the second round with a technical knockout over his opponent. From this point, Fontaine attracted a better class of fighter, beginning with his first fight outside Canada, travelling to Philedelphia in a win over experienced American Bobby Marriott. His biggest fight to date came on 16 August 1926 when Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
fighter Frank Moody
Frank Moody
Frank Moody was a Welsh boxer who fought between 1914 and 1936. He is most notable for winning the British and Empire middleweight boxing championship in 1927 and 1928 and the light-heavyweight title from 1927 to 1929....
travelled from the U.S. to Canada to face Fontaine. The contest went the distance, with Moody victorious. Fontaine finished the year with two bouts in the U.S., a win over Joe Anderson followed by a points loss to Rocky Smith.
The following year Fontaine travelled widely around the U.S. and Canada fighting with mixed results. His most notable fight that year was against Vincent Forgione, facing him twice in two months. After losing to Forgione by points in their first encounter, Fontaine was knocked out for the first time in his professional career when he faced Forgione for their second contest in July 1927. Fontaine continued fighting in North America over the next four years, and at the end of 1931 he faced Ted Moore, regaining the Canadian middleweight title.
In early 1931 Fontaine travelled from Canada to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by cattle boat to further his boxing career. Over the next three years Fontaine faced many of Britain's most successful middleweight boxers, including Billy Bird, Jack Casey
Jack Casey
John "Jack" Casey is an American Democratic Party politician who served one four-year term in the New Jersey Senate, where he represented the 7th Legislative District from 1994 to 1998. Casey also served in the New Jersey General Assembly in 1991.Casey earned an associate's degree from Rider...
, Gipsy Daniels
Gipsy Daniels
William "Gipsy" Daniels , was a Welsh Light-heavyweight boxing champion of Britain who, in an eighteen-year career, took in 141 contests, including eight fights in New York, and notably knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round of a 1928 encounter.There is some confusion as to Daniels' actual...
, Tommy Farr
Tommy Farr
Thomas George Farr was one of the most famous Welsh and British boxers of all time. Born in Clydach Vale, Wales and nicknamed "the Tonypandy Terror", he became British and Empire heavyweight champion on 15 March 1937. Prior to 1936, he had boxed in the light heavyweight division in which he was...
, Jack Hyams and Harry Mason. From his arrival in the U.K., Fontaine's fight record was good with 23 wins, 4 losses and 3 draws, but from November 1933 his form took a terrible reversal with 4 wins, 16 losses and 2 draws. This string of poor results would later be used as Fontaine's defence during his murder trial, with his defence counsel stating he was "punch drunk
Dementia pugilistica
Dementia pugilistica is a type of neurodegenerative disease or dementia, which may affect amateur or professional boxers as well as athletes in other sports who suffer concussions...
" and therefore of diminished responsibility
Diminished responsibility
In criminal law, diminished responsibility is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired. The defense's acceptance in American...
.
Murder of Hilda Meeks
Although Fontaine had a wife and children back in Canada, he had begun a two-year relationship with 21 year-old Hilda Meeks whilst living in Britain. BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
-born Meeks was a one-time West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
waitress, with dreams of becoming a dancer. Hilda was described by her friends as "flighty". On 10 July 1935, she was caught by Fontaine making a date with another man on the telephone. Fontaine, who was known to drink, confronted Meeks, taking the phone from her and challenged the man she was speaking to. Meeks' mother came into the room to protect her daughter and Fontaine pulled a revolver. As Meeks ran into the street, Fontaine fatally shot her, he then fired a second shot into her mother. When Sam Meeks, Hilda's father, returned home he saw Fontaine carrying his daughter back into the house. Fontaine stated "I've done for her and done for the old woman", showing that he believed he had killed both women, though in fact the mother had survived.
At the trial Fontaine's defence contended that the boxer was suffering from acute depression and was probably "punch drunk". The defence called upon Ted Lewis, a former welterweight champion, who stated "Del shouldn't have been in the ring at all for his last fight. He wasn't in a fit state. ... As a boxer, he has received more punishment than anyone I have ever seen." Sam Meeks countered the claim believing that Fontaine had thrown his later fights. Fontaine was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
Execution
By the time the execution date had been decided, protests had started pleading for a reprieve. A long petition was delivered, but to no avail. On the morning of 29 October 1935 a crowd gathered outside Wandsworth Prison, hymns were sung and politicians made anti-capital punishment speeches. That morning Fontaine was executed.Fontaine left a note "Hilda Meek broke my heart I spent my last cent on her. She turned me against my own wife." A warden at the prison is quoted as saying "He was the bravest fellow we ever saw go to the scaffold."