Tiger Flowers

CTL-E-6876 · Person · other · 1895–1927

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07748 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6876.

Theodore "Tiger" Flowers (1895–1927), a southpaw from Camilla, Georgia known as "the Georgia Deacon" for his devotion — he recited Psalm 144 before every bout — began boxing in 1918 while working in a Philadelphia shipbuilding plant, as the International Boxing Hall of Fame records. On February 26, 1926, before 16,311 spectators at Madison Square Garden, Flowers defeated Harry Greb to become the first Black world middleweight champion, a first stated by both the Hall of Fame and BoxRec; he beat Greb again in an August 1926 rematch. He lost the title to Mickey Walker in Chicago that December on a decision the Hall of Fame describes as questionable even after an official investigation. In November 1927, Flowers died from an operation to remove scar tissue from around his eyes — the same kind of procedure that had killed Greb the year before. His birth date is given as February 14, 1895 in some sources and August 5, 1895 in others; the year is not in dispute.

The record

• Also known as: Theodore Flowers, Tiger, The Georgia Deacon

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0442. Firsts disposition: 'First Black world middleweight champion' (defeated Harry Greb, February 26, 1926) ASSERTED — supported by the International Boxing Hall of Fame and BoxRec, with BlackPast corroborating. Flags: birth date contested and shown unblended — February 14, 1895 (BoxRec-line sources) against August 5, 1895 (BlackPast/PSA-line sources); era uses years only. Career win totals vary widely by source and are not asserted. Decision characterizations of both Greb fights vary (unanimous vs split); the description follows the Hall of Fame's 'unanimous' and does not blend. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Flowers beat the most relentless fighter of his age twice in six months and was dead within two years, killed not by a punch but by surgery. The Deacon's faith and the southpaw's craft belong in the same sentence. Photo: CLEARED — Tiger Flowers portrait LOC.jpg, Public domain.

Sources

• International Boxing Hall of Fame. "Tiger Flowers." International Boxing Hall of Fame (inductee biography, excerpted from The Boxing Register). Accessed 2026-11-03. http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/oldtimer/flowers.html (primary source · build store)
• BoxRec. "Tiger Flowers." BoxRec Wiki, carrying the International Boxing Hall of Fame biography (Class of 1993). Accessed 2026-11-03. https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tiger_Flowers&oldid=332224 (build store)
• BlackPast. "Theodore 'Tiger' Flowers (1895–1927)." BlackPast.org. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/flowers-theodore-tiger-1895-1927/ (build store)

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Record CTL-E-6876 · Combined Graph record U-07748 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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