Tommy Burns

Who was Tommy Burns?

Tommy Burns was the professional name of the Australian boxer Geoffrey Mostyn Murphy. He was born in Mullumbimby, New South Wales, but spent most of his life in the neighbouring Australian state of Queensland.

Murphy chose his fighting name in honour of the Canadian heavyweight boxer and former world champion, Tommy Burns, who lost his title to Jack Johnson in Australia in 1908.

In 1947, he won the Australian Welterweight Championship and fought many of the best Australian boxers of his era, becoming a crowd favourite. He appeared in the 1949 Charles Chauvel Australian movie Sons of Matthew.

Murphy, as Tommy Burns, was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.