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Dick McTaggart

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Dick McTaggart
MBE
McTaggart (left) at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameRichard McTaggart
NationalityScottish
Born(1935-10-15)15 October 1935
Dundee, Scotland
Died9 March 2025(2025-03-09) (aged 89)
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
SpouseDoreen Cochran (1966-2025; his death)
Sport
SportBoxing
ClubRoyal Air Force
Dundee Boxing Club
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Lightweight
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Rome Lightweight
Representing  Scotland
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1958 Cardiff Lightweight
Silver medal – second place 1962 Perth Light welterweight
European Amateur Championships
Gold medal – first place 1961 Belgrade Lightweight

Richard McTaggart, MBE (15 October 1935 – 9 March 2025) was a Scottish amateur boxer who was Olympic lightweight champion in 1956. In 1960, he won bronze in the same category. In 1956, he received the Val Barker Trophy for best boxing style at the Olympics. At the 1964 Olympics, McTaggart moved to the light-welterweight category but lost in the third bout to the eventual winner Jerzy Kulej. McTaggart won the British ABA title in 1956, 1958, 1960, 1963 and 1965,[1] and retired with a record of 610 wins out of 634 bouts.[2]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1985 Birthday Honours for services to amateur boxing in Scotland.[3]

In retirement, McTaggart worked as a boxing coach and prepared the Scottish team to the 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games. In 2002, he was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. His four brothers were also amateur boxers.[1][2]

McTaggart died from complications of dementia on 9 March 2025, at the age of 89.[4][5] At the time of his death, McTaggart had been living with the disease for nearly two years.[6]

Achievements

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Year Competition Location Position Event
1954 ABA Championships London, England
2nd
 Featherweight
1956 ABA Championships London, England
1st
 Lightweight
Olympic Games Melbourne, Australia
1st
1958 ABA Championships London, England
1st
Commonwealth Games Cardiff, Wales
1st
1960 Olympic Games Rome, Italy
3rd
1961 European Amateur Championships Belgrade, Serbia
1st
IABA Golden Jubilee Tournament[7] Dublin, Ireland
1st
1962 Commonwealth Games Perth, Western Australia
2nd
 Light welterweight
ABA Championships London, England
2nd
1963 ABA Championships London, England
1st
1964 ABA Championships[8] London, England
3rd
1965 ABA Championships London, England
1st

1956 Olympic results

[edit]
  • Last 32: bye
  • Last 16: defeated Chandrasena Jayasuriya (Ceylon) by decision
  • Quarter-final: defeated Andre Vairolatto (France) by decision
  • Semi-final: defeated: Anatoly Lagetko (Soviet Union) by decision
  • Final: defeated Harry Kurschat (West Germany) by decision (won gold medal)

Awards and honours

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dick McTaggart". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b Dick McTaggart. sshf.co.uk
  3. ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 50154". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1985. p. 14.
  4. ^ "Dundee boxing legend Dick McTaggart dies aged 89". The Courier. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Dick McTaggart obituary: Scotland's only Olympic boxing champion". The Times. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  6. ^ "Scotland Boxing Legend, Dick McTaggart, Passes!". Strictly Business Boxing. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  7. ^ "IABA Golden Jubilee Tournament". Amateur Boxing. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. ^ "British ABA National Championships 1964". Amateur Boxing. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Dick McTaggart". Team Scotland. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Dick McTaggart Delighted by Lifetime Achievement Award". Team Scotland. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
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