Jim Driscoll

James Driscoll, widely known as “Peerless Jim,” was born in Cardiff in 1880 to Irish parents and grew up in a poor Catholic community. His speed, footwork and defensive skill made him one of the leading featherweights of his generation. He became British champion, won the first Lonsdale Belt awarded outright at featherweight and also held European honours, while major appearances in the United States increased his international reputation.

Driscoll served during the First World War and later attempted a return to professional boxing, but age and ill health curtailed his career. He remained a major figure in Cardiff sporting memory and was later inducted into several boxing halls of fame. His reputation rested not only on results but on the technical elegance that produced the nickname “Peerless.”

Alexander Cordell makes Driscoll the subject of the biographical novel Peerless Jim. The book follows his rise from working-class Cardiff through championship boxing and international fame, using his career to explore sport, poverty, Catholic community life and Welsh civic pride.