This prestigious boxing meet was inaugurated in 1914 and in the long annals of its history, it had not been held only on three occasions, viz, in 1942 and 1943 during the second World War when Colombo City had to be evacuated after the bombing raid by Japanese Air Force and in 1988 due to the escalation of violence in the country due to J.V.P. activities.
Boxing introduced to Stationed Armed Forces
Since the beginning of the 20th Century, British Armed Forces were in occupation of various parts of the country. They had even recruited many Ceylonese people into their Armed Services. In order to maintain discipline and also to keep them healthy and happy, the British Administrators introduced many games to them.
Athletics, Boxing, Cricket, Soccer and Rugby Football were among them. Being a man-to-man game, boxing became immensely popular overnight and drew not only a large number of Spectators, but also a considerable amount of competitors.
Royal Army Inter Regimental Contests, Royal Navy Inter Command Contests and Royal Air Force Inter-Squadron contests were held annually in addition to the Inter-Defence Services Meets-In order to conduct these boxing tournaments, an Association consisting of representatives from all three Armed Forces was formed. It was named as the United Services Boxing Association of Ceylon (USBAC).
This was the first boxing Association of the country.
Boxing Introduced to Schools
At the beginning of the Second decade of the 20th Century, around 1912, in order to popularise this new game, boxing was introduced to Schools of Ceylon. At this time C.G. Pigford of the Ceylon police along with L.M.C.D. Robinson taught boxing at the Old Police Training School at Thimbirigasyaya where the Police Field Force Headquarters is now situated.
Any schoolboy around the area who wanted to learn the game there, was most welcome. Donald Obeysekara, a Cambridge University Blue (Coloursman) taught boxing at his old school Royal College.
A.B. Henricus of Royal Army taught boxing at Wesley College, Borella. R.V. Routledge and Sgt. Major Jobson trained boxers at Trinity College, Kandy and John Gaye taught at St. Anthony's College, Kandy, where the present St. Sylvesters is situated whilst St. Thomas' Mt. Lavinia also started the game during the same era.
Stubbs Shield Competition begins
It was the British Tea-Planter S.C. Trail who fore-saw that boxing could be made popular and be wide-spread throughout the country by introducing an All-Island Inter Schools Championship Tournament. He met the British Colonial Secretary of Ceylon then, (later the Governor) Sir. R. Edward Stubbs and obtained his permission to present a challenge shield in Sir Stubbs' name at a championship boxing tournament.
Trail then drew up rules and conditions to hold an All Island Inter-Schools boxing tournament and also got a large shield made, had it engraved it as the "Stubbs Shield" and passed on the drawn up papers and the Shield to the USBAC to conduct this tournament annually.
The inaugural tournament was held at Royal College Hall in July 1914 and Trinity College Kandy won the First Championship. Trinity retained the Championship in 1915 but St. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia won it in 1916. Trinity re-captured it in 1917 and retained it in 1918.
The ABA of Ceylon is formed
Until 1925, the USBAC conducted the Stubbs Meet. By this time, Government Departments such as Police, Railways, Prisons, Ports and also Clubs such as YMCA had been training boxers.
Unfortunately, they could not participate at competitions as they had been confined to Armed Forces. Hence, after much persuasion by these clubs, the U.S.B.A.C. was dissolved and the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) of Ceylon was formed in 1926.
This meeting had been held at YMCA. The ABA of Ceylon consisted of the representatives of the three Armed Services, Police, YMCA and few other Clubs. The A.B.A. started the first National Championship in 1926 followed by the Clifford Cup Meet in 1927 and Layton Cup Meet in 1942. The A.B.A. conducted the Stubbs Shield from 1926 onwards.
T.V. Wright Challenge Cup introduced
With the intention of improving the quality of Schoolboy boxing the A.B.A. introduced the Col. T.Y. Wright Challenge Cup in 1927 to be awarded annually to the most Scientific Boxer" of the Stubbs Shield Meet. S. Ratwatte of Trinity College was awarded this prestigious Cup that year.
Schools Boxing Association is formed
In 1935, the Ceylon Schools Boxing Association (C.S.B.A.) was formed with the Principal of Royal College being elected as the inaugural President. Two other Masters of Royal College, Major L.V. Gooneratne (later the Mayor of Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia Town Council) and F.D. Wijesinghe were elected as Hony. Secretary and Hony. Treasurer, respectively. The C.S.B.A. conducted the Stubbs Shield Boxing Meet. In addition to the Stubbs Meet, the CSBA now conducts the T.B. Jayah Memorial Cup Meet for Novices since 1970 and the L.V. Jayaweera Memorial Cup Meet for Freshers, from 1972. Since its inception in 1935 the C.S.B.A. (Now known as Schools Boxing Association Sri Lanka-SBASL) has become an important Executive Council Member of the A.B.A. of Ceylon.
When the University authorities abolished boxing from their Sports activities in late Fifties, Certain Schools also hung-up their gloves. Among them were St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya, Trinity College, Kandy, Cathedral College, Kotahena, St. Anne's College, Kurunegala and Christian College, Kotte. Trinity however revived the game back in 1982.
Indo-Ceylon Boxing begin
In 1958 the C.S.B.A. was instrumental in organizing the Indo-Ceylon Schools Boxing contest. Our Team consisted of the winners of the 15 weight categories of the Stubbs Shield Meet that year. Rafi Abdeen of Thurstan College my sparring partner at School was picked to captain Ceylon Schools team.
They toured India for two contests. This dual lasted until 1965. Of these contests, most occasions, Ceylon teams won because of the high standard of our Stubbs Shield Selections.
First Inter-national Gold Medal to Ceylon
It was Police Sub Inspector A.W. Henricuss (Barney) a Lanky Burgher lad who had brought the first-ever International Gold Medal to Ceylon, creating the first sensation. At the Empire Games (now called Common Wealth Games) held in Sydney, Australia in 1938, he won at the finals of the Feather Weight.
He had been a Stubbs Shield Champion from Royal College who had also been awarded the Col. T.Y. Wright Challenge Cup for being adjudged as the most scientific Boxer at the Stubbs Shield Meet in 1933.
Master Tactician School Master
The success behind the gallant victories of St. Mary's, Dehiwala was their Master in charge of boxing E.L. De Souza. He was a shrewd tactician and was the man behind the scene. He always carried with him a 80-page exercise book which contained the dates of birth, the weights and performances of boxers of all schools- No one could bluff him.
He could always predict the boxers and their weights of other schools boxers for forthcoming meets and thereby adjust his team to ensure victory. His sickness of severe Asthma followed by his retirement from Government Service as a teacher may have caused the downfall of St. Mary's Boxing.
Burgher Crowds Fill Boxing Halls
As the medium of education at Schools upto Nineteen Sixties was English, there were lot of Burgher boys studying at Schools. Those affluent, went to schools such as Royal, St. Thomas', Mt. Lavinia, St. Peters' Bambalapitiya, Trinity, St. Anthony's Kandy, Carey and Wesley.
The less affluent ones went to Arethusa, Wellawatte, St. Michaels, Polwatte, St. Mary's Dehiwala, Cathedral Kotahena and St. Sylvester' Kandy
Ministry honours Stubbs Shield contest
In 1991, as the result of an appeal made to the Sports Department of the Ministry of Education by me, as the Senior Vice President of the School Boxing Association then, the Education Ministry recognized the Stubbs Shield Championships as the National Schools Game in Boxing and agreed to sponsor the tournament fully, annually- from that year.
The winning school is now awarded the National Schools Games Shield in addition to the Stubbs Shield. This sponsorship has become a great salvation to the Schools Boxing Association which conducts the Meet.
Records in the Annals of the Stubbs Meet
In the long annals of 85-years of Stubbs Shield Boxing Royal College, Colombo has dominated. They have won the shield 18 times the highest ever for any school. Except in 1999, Royal has participated 84 times, which is also a record.
They have won the shield consecutively for four years on two occasions from 1944 to 1947 and 40 years later from 1984 to 1987. Both Trinity College and St. Sylvester's College have won 11 times each. St. Mary's College, Dehiwala has won it seven times St. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia and Zahira College, Maradana have won it five times each. However, Vidyartha College, Kandy holds the unique record for winning the Shield consecutively for seven years from 1991 to 1997.
