His first fight in the States was a cracker. It took place in 1923
against a tough Philadelphian named Joe Tiplitz, who knew a few tricks about
"cutting" his opponents up. During the 12-round battle Mills was
struck by three terrific right-handers to the jaw in quick succession, but
he astounded the crowd and his opponent by wading back and forcing the
American onto the ropes.
Pat's opponent turned on the dirty stuff and the Briton's nose was bleeding
profusely from the eighth round on. But the crowd loved his courage,
and booed at the finish when the decision went narrowly against him.
Pat learnt quickly about the American style of fighting, and a short while
later pressed Tiplitz for a return. This time, the crowd booed Pat,
but he won. He had learned his lesson.
The Gosport lad had hundreds of fights in the States, winning most of them
and at the same time winning praises from the American press, who bestowed
him with such titles as Pat (sock'em) Mills, or the "Fighting Irishman".
Bearing in mind his Gosport background, the latter is rather difficult to
explain, but boxing did have a strong element of showbiz about it in the
States at that time.
He boxed on the east and west coasts and had the distinction of beating the great American hope Ray Mitchell.
Pat Mills settled in California for a while, and went into the production
side of the movie business. Eventually, he moved to Dublin, where he
managed an office for a short while for Universal Pictures. It was
about this time that his old R.F.C. friend Bill Crockford remembered meeting
Pat on the beach at Stokes Bay. Pat had a great white sports car and
supported a film starlet on each arm. But Bill also remembered how leathery
his face was. Those American fights had taken their toll.
Pat
entered the services again, this time the Royal Signals, which was also my old
mob. He was posted to India and, whilst there, won the middleweight title by
beating Gunboat Jack.
He did not stay in the army long and returned to England and boxing.
One of his first fights was in Gosport, in a special tournament at the New
Barracks arranged by his brother Fred. Pat fought Tommy Phillips, the
Welsh lightweight champion, and he really was in cracking form that night,
forcing the Welshman to retire in the eighth round. He also had a
memorable battle with the renowned Jack Hood, but age was catching up
with Pat.
In 1929, a new sensation suddenly hit the northern boxing circuit. His
name was Pat O'Brien and he was knocking out all the young hopefuls in
sight.
Solution of
the "Pat Mills" Mystery
Evening News,
Portsmouth report