Some of the shows, however, were a bit more bizarre than others. We are not talking about dancing dogs, trained bears, and acrobatic contortionists, although there were plenty of those. One unique Vaudeville act that was so popular it attracted the attention of Thomas Edison was the Boxing Gordon Sisters. Here is their story.

Boxing Was Big

In the 1890s, boxing was coming into its own as a sport, albeit a male-dominated one. Professional boxing matches were held across the country, and most of the audiences were made up of men. The audience often determined the winners. Some of the great boxers were revered as celebrities in much the same way we hero-worship sports figures today. But boxing was a man’s world. That’s what made female boxers such a novelty. 

Not much is known about the early lives of the Gordon sisters. It is likely that Bessie Gordon, who also used the first name ‘Belle’, was the eldest sister. At the least, she was the leader of the sisters. The other Gordon girls were Millie, Alice, and Freda. We also don’t know whose idea it was to start a vaudeville act, but at some point, they did. Perhaps they needed money. After all, there were few jobs for women in those days. It could also be that they wanted to escape their home and travel around. Maybe they were hoping to find husbands on the Vaudeville circuit. One thing we do know is that they hit on an idea that got peoples’ attention.

Getting Paid to Punch Your Sister

The Boxing Gordon Sisters, as their act was called, usually featured Bessie Gordon as the main boxer. She started by giving a boxing demonstration with a punching bag. Then the audience or one of the other Vaudeville performers selected one of her sisters to join her in the ring. Wearing regular street dresses and boxing gloves, they would pound on each other as the audience cheered and rooted them on. The use of boxing gloves was notable. The male boxers in those days did not use boxing gloves. They fought bare-fisted. The Gordon sisters preferred to box with gloves.

They Were Terrible Boxers

Perhaps you are thinking that the Gordon girls were naturally gifted athletes who used Vaudeville as a way to legitimately participate in the sport they loved. That doesn’t appear to be the case. None of the girls were very good at boxing, even Bessie. They were not athletic and were not in top shape. They did not practice or spend their days training and working out. A few of the sisters could be described as plump. They just got in the ring and punched each other. 

Do you know how parts of professional wrestling are fake and all for the show? That’s kind of how the Boxing Gordon Sisters’ act was. Although the Vaudeville announcer tried to build the excitement by fabricating drama between the boxing sisters, the Gordon girls were not punching each other to vent their grievances. They were actually very close. The boxing bouts were enhanced for theatrical purposes, just to make things more exciting for the audiences.

Thomas Edison Was a Fan

In 1892, inventor Thomas Edison patented his movie camera. He spent the next several years shooting short, silent, black-and-white films covering a variety of topics. When he saw the Boxing Gordon Sisters’ act, he knew he had to capture the gender-bending boxing bout on film. The short movie remained in Edison’s personal collection. Edison himself wrote a description stating,” Champion lady boxers of the world. Here we depict the two female pugilists that are really clever. They are engaged in a hot and heavy one-round sparring exhibition.” Edison’s film of the Boxing Gordon Sisters, Bessie, and, possibly Minnie, is believed to be the first sports movie featuring female athletes.

The Boxing Gordon Sisters were the first female boxers on the Vaudeville circuit, but they weren’t the last. Copycat acts sprang up. Soon, seeing women box was not the novelty that it once was and the popularity of the act faded.