Magee, Joseph P. - 1994
Before there was television in Savannah, there was local boxing. And where there was boxing in the 1920s and 30s, there was the late Joseph P. Magee. In an age when boxing was held every Friday night, Magee was a central figure in the local entertainment for more than thirty years as a fighter, ring comic, referee, and announcer.
Magee began his career in 1918 as a preliminary fighter on the under-cards before the main event. He had modest success in the ring, a .500 record, but found he was much more entertaining without his gloves.
Performing slapstick comedy with his partner, Al McClure, Magee toured the Southeast. Despite the obvious staging of their act, Magee and McClure once had a sheriff in Brunswick stop the show because it appeared to be too brutal.
He was also a referee of note, and his creed was always to protect fighters and never let a kid get hurt. He was a boxing announcer and helped nurture the sport in the city as co-chairman of the City Boxing Commission from 1949-52. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the National Boxing Association. Magee died in 1962 at the age of 61.