Joe Shears

Joseph "Joe" Shears (born 1892 - November 25, 1957), also known as Joe Schulman, was a former boxer.

Early History
When Joe Shulman was a year old, his family relocated from Poland to London, England.

Shears was the fighting moniker of Joe Schulman, and it was taken on by his son Jerry and the rest of the family.

Boxing career
Shears fought in England, Canada, and the United States before the First World War.

In 1908, he defeated George Jones in the first professional boxing match conducted in Belleville, Illinois. He competed in a match at New Bedford's Sharpshooters Hall in 1913.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, Shears enlisted as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After sailing to England in 1916, "Little Joe" Shears became the bantamweight champion of the Allied forces in France and England. In November 1916, English artist Laura Knight was commissioned to paint the physical training at Witley Camp in Surrey where the 156th Canadian Infantry Battalion was stationed. Knight painted over 9 paintings which included a final large canvas, titled "Physical Training at Witley Camp" which featured Joe Shears.

Shears escaped a German prison camp by crawling through a sewer.

After the war, in 1919, he went back to boxing in Montreal.

Personal life
Jerry, Phil, Max, Al, and Joe Jr. were his five sons, all of whom became amateur boxers by imitation.

Death
Joseph Shears died on Monday, November 25, 1957.

Honors and awards

 * Allied Forces Bantamweight Champion. (1916)