Caleb Baldwin

Loss against Dutch Sam

For a purse of 25 guineas, at Woodford Green, Essex on 7 August 1804, Baldwin was matched with the exceptional Jewish lightweight Dutch Sam, a future hall of famer who was making a name for himself during the same period. Reporting the following day, London's Morning Post estimated the size of the attending crowd around 500. Though they were close in height, Baldwin was the bigger man by around seven pounds, as well as six years older, and used his superior ring experience and weight advantage to his benefit in the early rounds. The early betting favored Baldwin 2-1. In the 9th, he floored Sam with a terrific blow to the temple, improving the already superior odds on his winning to 4-1, but tired in the later rounds. By the 20th, the tide turned, and the younger Sam struck with uppercuts wreaking havoc on the face of Baldwin. The uppercut was considered Sam's signature punch, a blow he was credited with introducing to in the ring, and his right uppercut was considered particularly powerful. The fight was stopped in Sam's favor after thirty-seven rounds of hard fighting, and Sam's uppercuts proved so devastating that Baldwin had to be carried from the ring. This fight was the only known loss of Baldwin's career.

Matches with Bill Ryan and Bristow Available records indicate Baldwin fought just twice more in 1805 and 1816, obtaining draws against Bill Ryan and Young Massa Bristow. Ryan, who Baldwin met on 6 August 1805, was a somewhat heavier and younger opponent, who frequently threw Baldwin from the seventeenth through the twenty-first rounds. Ending the battle at the end of the Ryan match at round twenty-six, a company of Artillery on horseback from Woolwich charged the ring, and as this Cavalry group retained possession of the ground, the spectators began to leave. As both contestants were considered to have fought a valiant and skilled fight, the match was generally considered a draw after fighting around 30 minutes, though a foul was claimed at the end. Several Noblemen were included among the crowd. His last match with Young Massa Bristow occurred as a result of a disagreement with Bristow, a Black servant, and Baldwin, who was acting as master of ceremonies of a boxing match. Deciding to enter the ring to resolve their dispute, Bristow dominated the older Baldwin throwing him to the ground, but after taking £30 after the 13th round, the match was declared a draw.

In September 1825, two years before his death, he attended a boxing match between Jones the Sailor Boy, a known boxer and a fellow costermonger, and Tommy O'Lynne also known as Jemmy Wilson at Old Oak Common, six miles from London. A considerable number of fellow Westminster residents were present. Baldwin later was present at a modestly attended sparring presentation by the great English champion Daniel Mendoza given at a London Tennis Court around 16 November 1825. Many of the greatest boxers of the era were present, including Baldwin's former opponent Paddington Jones, as well as his friend and mentor Tom Johnson. As a tribute, Mendoza demonstrated a boxing style similar to several of the great boxers present.

Death Baldwin died at 58 on 8 November 1827 at St. Margaret's Workhouse on the outskirts of London, in Westminster, the community where he grew up and lived most of his life. St. Margaret's was an establishment where the poor could exchange lodging for work. In their early years, the primary form of work available to their on-site tenants was knitting and spinning flax. According to London's The Standard, Baldwin had a son, Jem, who in at least one other instance appeared in an area newspaper.

Selected bouts

Caleb won easily Win Jack "Butcher" Lee 25 Nov 1801 Hurley Bottom, England 21 rounds, 23 mins Win Jack O'Donnell 21 Oct 1803 Wimbledon, England 8 rounds Loss Dutch Sam 7 Aug 1804 Woodford Green, Essex, England 37 rounds Sam used uppercuts after 20th rnd

Bill Ryan 6 Aug 1805 Blackheath, London 26 rounds, 30 min Fought for 50 guineasA Cavalry charge stopped the fight

Young Massa Bristow May 1816 England 13 rounds Bristow took £30 to declare a draw

Honors Baldwin was inducted into the IBHOF in 2013 in the Pioneer Category.