The Joyce Sports Research Collection, Department of Special Collections, University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries holds many of the annual guide books covering boxing that have been published since the late ninteenth century. The dates that follow the guides listed on this page indicate the span of years a given title was published; available holdings are indicated in the linked catalog record or finding aid.
Of particular note are the holding of guidebooks published by the National Police Gazette and the Ring Magazine, which were among the leading authorities on boxing during, respectively, the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries and after the 1920s. Given the frequently excellent editorial content of the guides, they are a convenient source for obtaining a good contemporary overview of the sport.
The Ring Record Book (New York: 1942-1988). Conceived and compiled (until 1972) by Ring magazine publisher Nat Fleischer was the most comprehensive annual reference source about boxing. Features appeared and disappeared over the years, but the book's core remained its lifetime records of active professional fighters around the world over and former champions (and other prominent fighters) in all weight divisions. The book functions as both guide to the preceding year's events and as reference tool treating the full history of professional boxing; the typical edition runs upwards of 800 pages.
Title: Nat Fleischer's All-Time Ring Record Book
Publisher: New York: The Ring
Publication History: Annually, 1942-1944
Notes: Continued by Nat Fleischer's The Ring Record Book
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Call No.: Rare Books Medium GV 1137 .R5
Title: Nat Fleischer's The Ring Record Book
Publisher: New York: The Ring Bookshop
Publication History: Annually, 1945-1952
Notes: Continuation of Nat Fleischer's All-Time Ring Record Book; continued by Nat Fleischer's The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Call No.: Rare Books Medium GV 1137 .R5
Title: Nat Fleischer's The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia
Publisher: New York: The Ring Bookshop
Publication History: Annually, 1953-1966
Notes: Continuation of Nat Fleischer's The Ring Record Book; continued by The Ring Boxing Encyclopedia and Record Book
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Call No.: Rare Books Medium GV 1137 .R5
Title: The Ring Boxing Encyclopedia and Record Book
Publisher: New York: The Ring Bookshop
Publication History: Annually, 1967-1979
Notes: Continuation of Nat Fleischer's The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia; continued by The Ring Record Book
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Call No.: Rare Books Medium GV 1137 .R5
Title: The Ring All-New Boxing Record Book.
Publisher: New York: The Ring Publishing
Publication History: Annually, 1980
Notes: Continuation of The Ring Boxing Encyclopedia and Record Book; continued by The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Call No.: Rare Books Medium GV 1137 .R5
Title: The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia
Publisher: New York: The Ring Publishing
Publication History: Annually, 1981-1985, 1986/87, 1988
Notes: Continuation of The Ring Record Book
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Call No.: Rare Books Medium GV 1137 .R5
Title: Police Gazette Sporting Annual
Publisher: New York: Richard K. Fox, 1896-1912; Richard K. Fox Publishing Co., 1913-1918, 1930
Publication History: Annually, 1896-1918, 1930
Location: Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 741 .P7
Note: All these titles emphasize professional boxing, and combine the records of contemporary fighters with assorted other features
Title: World's Annual Sporting Records [Variant titles]
Publisher: Milwaukee: T.S. Andrews
Publication History: Annually, 1903-1938
Notes: Continued by T.S. Andrews' World's Sporting Annual Record Book
Location: Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 741 .C53
Title: Everlast Boxing Record Book [Variant Titles]
Publisher: New York: The Everlast Sporting Goods Manufacturing Co.
Publication History: Annually, 1922-1923
Notes: Continued by Everlast Boxing Record
Location: Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 1115 .E94
Title: Post Boxing Record Book and Sports Annual [Variant Titles]
Publisher: New York: John J. Romano
Publication History: Annually, 1936-1937
Notes: Continuation of Boxing Records and Sports Annual
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Small GV 1115 .P6
Title: Boxing News Record
Publisher: New York: The Boxing News, 1937-1938; New York: George Winn, 1939
Publication History: Annually, 1937-1939
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Small GV 1115 .B78
Title: National Collegiate Athletic Association official boxing rules.
Publisher: New York: American Sports Publishing
Publication History: Annually, 1935/1936-1941
Notes: Continued by The Official NCAA Boxing Guide
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 1115 .O44
Title: The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Boxing Guide
Publisher: New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1942-1950; New York: The National Collegiate Athletic Bureau, 1951-<1957>
Publication History: Annually, 1943-<1957>
Notes: Continuation of NCAA Official Boxing Rules
Location: Dept. of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 1115 .O44
Great Britain
Title: Boxing News Annual and Record Book
Publisher: London: War Facts Press, 1945-1952; Ring Publications, 1953-1968; City Magazines, 1969-1972; Williams Publishing and Distributing, <1973>
Publication History: Annually, 1945-1985
Location: Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 1115 .B781
Jack Solomons Boxing Annuals
Title: Jack Solomons' Annual of the Ring [Variant Titles]
Publisher: London: Play Fair Books
Location: Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 1115 .J12
France
Title: Annuaire du ring
Publisher: Paris: Les Editions Arcadiennes <1945/1946>-<1958>
Publication History: Annually, 1909-1939, 1945/1946-1959
Location: Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library
Catalog No.: Rare Books Boxed GV 1115 .A67
Publication History: Annually, 1948
Notes: Continued by Jack Solomons' International Boxing Annual