Tom Spring

After his retirement he became landlord of the Castle Inn at Holborn in London, where he arranged the patronage and contracts of many of the major boxing events of the period while overseeing fair play in the ring.

Spring's first fight in the Prize Ring was with a Yorkshireman named Stringer, the bout taking place on 9 September 1817 at Moulsey Hurst.

His defeat of Jack Carter in 1819 earned him some notoriety, and he toured the country giving exhibition matches with the reigning English champion Tom Cribb.

The fight lasted just 37 minutes, with Spring victorious after knocking Neat down in the first round and cutting him severely in the second.

On his retirement he purchased the Castle Inn at Holborn (previously owned by the pugilist Bob Gregson), which under his management became the unofficial headquarters of English boxing; fights were arranged and contacts signed under his supervision.

On 25 September 1828 an organization known as the Fair Play Club was formed to try and clean up boxing's image, "to ensure fair play to the combatants" and "to preserve peace and order in the outer ring";[9] this was in addition to the London Prize Ring rules, which had been devised by Jack Broughton almost a century earlier.

Spring was elected as the club's first treasurer, and was also authorised to employ officials to enforce the new rules and prevent invasions of the ring by supporters.

[2] Vast amounts of money were bet on the outcome of fights and inside knowledge could make the holder enormous sums.

After his death on 20 August 1851 his funeral was well attended, with many neighbours from The Castle, Holborn, walking with his coffin to West Norwood Cemetery.

[11] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story, "The Lord of Falconbridge", with Spring as the protagonist.