Orval Woollard

From The Great Outdoor Fight

Orval Woollard (Born 1845, Died 1892) was one of the most inspirational figures in the history of the Great Outdoor Fight, and a true testament to the unique qualities that a Fight Champion must possess. While there has been a puzzling lack of scholarship regarding both his win and his nigh-unbelievable second-place finish in 1880, Woollard retains the distinction of having the highest finish by a blind fighter.

Born to Irish immigrant parents in South Boston, his family was a part of the famed "'49ers" who moved to California in hopes of striking gold. His father met only with disappointment, and Woollard's early adulthood was spent moving between low-paying jobs in mines, docks, and railroads. His motivations for entering the fight remain unknown, though shortly after his victory he remarked: "I just wish I had known about this earlier." This suggests that he had always possessed the inclination towards the Fight, but for whatever reason had remained unaware of it until the 1875 competition.

Woollard's march through the 1875 competition was generally unremarkable, following closely the formula that had already been established by this point in the Fight's history. His fighting style was based upon the bare-knuckle boxing that his co-workers in the mines had practiced as entertainment during the off hours. His attacks were almost always made with clenched fists; unlike many competitors ripping, throwing, and wrestling was never a part of his arsenal.

His simple style was nonetheless devastating early on Day 1, his amazing reflexes and incredible fist speed eliminating over twenty combatants within the first half-hour. His reputation thus cemented, his camp grew, and with Woollard at the head remained the most powerful until the final free-for-all.

The finish to Woollard's championship might have been remembered as one of its best had the runner-up, future victor Joey Schuck, not attempted to sully it forever through a display of cowardice. When the fight was reduced to three, James Francois, ending one of the longest runs in the history of the Fight for a French-born fighter, cracked Woollard unexpectedly over the back of the head. Woollard responded quickly with an elbow and a whirling uppercut that instantly eliminated Francois. It is speculated in modern times that the blow likely caused brain damage, because according to contemporary accounts, Woollard lost the ability to see.

Rather than attempt to withdraw, he instead pursued the sounds of survivor Joey Schuck around The Acres, unable to precisely locate him due to his blindness. Schuck, nursing a broken right arm, attempted for over half an hour to flee Woollard. At this early stage in the fight's development, there was no agreed-upon solution to this dilemma. Before any conclusion could be reached (Schuck's elimination being the most likely outcome), Schuck finally realized the advantage that he carried and stopped moving, attempting to silently sneak up on Woollard and deliver a finishing blow.

Schuck stumbled, however, and the slight noise behind Woollard was sufficient to alert him. He launched himself at the sound and was able to defeat Schuck immediately.

It was after the victory that he was asked whether losing his sight was worth winning the Fight, to which he gave the aforementioned response: "I just wish I had known about this earlier."

Where Woollard's true legacy came was in the bizarre 1880 Fight, when Woollard re-entered after several years training to do battle without his vision. While it is poor form to criticize a legitimate Champion, contemporary accounts agreed that he would have been unlikely to last until the third day without the bizarre weather conditions that favored such a strong swimmer. Woollard eliminated relatively few contestants for a second-place finisher, unsurprising since he could only fight those who were willing to attack a blind man. As tenth-place finisher Ezekiel Crosby put it, "who wants to say they got beat by a blind man? I sure as hell don't, but let me tell ya, that man can fight."

His unlikely run came to an end much the same as his first victory had occurred: with a twenty-minute standoff. Again, Woollard's inability to see ensured that he had little chance of finding his way by chance to Scot Dickinson, whose Dutch Fugue similarly left him unlikely to leave his island of defeated foes. Once again, Woollard threw the Ruling Body into chaos about the potential results, but fate intervened as the log Woollard was floating on happened to wander within Dickinson's view, and the resulting single roundhouse-kick to Woollard's head ended the Fight.

Woollard would never regain his sight, and his experience in the 1880 fight led him to make it his last: "If I ain't do it when half the men was drowned and the other half was scared to fight me, I ain't deserve to be here."